THEY had a decent go but there was to be no miracle in Italy. Not like in Istanbul in 2005 or against Barcelona in 2019.
And so there was no happy ending in Europe for departing Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp.
Jurgen Klopp’s hopes of leaving Liverpool with a European happy ending are over
The Reds were dumped out of the Europa League by Atalanta
Mo Salah’s early penalty gave Liverpool hope of an almighty comeback after the 3-0 first leg loss
Atalanta held firm to advance to the semi-finals for the first time in their history
In the end, his team’s poorest performance during his tenure as manager—which began seven days earlier at Anfield—was sufficient to eliminate them from the Europa League quarterfinals, a tournament they were destined to win.
However, Atalanta wiped off Liverpool’s name from the trophy, despite the belief held by many.
With a penalty in the seventh minute, Mo Salah gave Liverpool’s supporters hope, but in the end, they were unable to overcome Gian Piero Gasperini’s team, who, to be honest, struggled to start this leg with a 3-0 advantage.
However, they performed well enough to win, and Klopp now has to concentrate on his final six Premier League games as manager, which begin on Sunday when they go to Fulham.
Liverpool, encouraged by their early goal, had plenty of possession as was to be expected, but they were unable to generate many clear-cut opportunities when it mattered most.
You can only image the number of supporters who would have traveled to Ireland by land, sea, and air if Liverpool had advanced to the Europa League final on May 22 in Dublin. Without a doubt, it would have exceeded 100,000.
Only 750 people attended Klopp’s last game in Europe, however some managed to sneak into their homes.
Reaching the last four was Atalanta’s finest ever accomplishment, led by former West Ham striker Gianluca Scamacca and former Arsenal defender Sead Kolasinac at the defense.
At first glance, Liverpool’s prospects appeared favorable. Divock Origi gave the Reds the lead after seven minutes in that 4-0 victory against Barcelona in the Champions League semi-finals of 2019. With precisely the same amount of time remaining, the Reds repeated their lead.
When a VAR check revealed that Trent Alexander-Arnold’s cross had struck Matteo Ruggeri’s arm, Mo Salah scored from the spot, sending goalkeeper Juan Musso the wrong way.
Playing in his hybrid role as a right-back who can also play midfield, the returned-to-form Alexander-Arnold gave Atalanta some trouble. He made the most passes (44), the most touches (60), and a few shots in the first half.
In the first half hour, Atalanta looked incredibly uneasy and unsure of how to handle the situation, forcing them to make hasty clearances by booting the ball into inaccessible places.
In the first half, Liverpool’s defensive problems were limited to a few instances as Atalanta found it tough to generate momentum.
Alisson made an incredible stop to keep Virgil van Dijk from scoring an own goal, but it was disallowed due to offside.
Teun Koopmeiners also fired a shot past Alisson, but the flag was raised again as he was heading to celebrate in front of the ultras in the Curva Nord.
Salah squandered a fantastic opportunity prior to halftime; had he not sustained a few injuries in the earlier half of the season, he would have finished this off. He had sprinted through on goal, but his poor shot went wide with the keeper only a step in front of him.
Atalanta pose for a team group photo after securing the famous victory
Atalanta had a couple more opportunities as Liverpool pressed forward, and midfielder Ederson wasted one good one by sending a weak sidefoot into Alisson’s arms.
This turned out to be Klopp’s final European match as manager of Liverpool, and the outcome was by far the most devastating for him.
Of course, the victory over Spurs in the 2019 Madrid final is the most memorable. But the Spanish capital has always loomed large when it comes to Klopp’s heartache.
In the Kiev and Paris finals versus Real Madrid, Klopp was defeated. Along with losing to Real in the knockout stages twice, his squad also lost to Atletico Madrid in the 2020 playoffs.
While Unai Emery’s Sevilla defeated Klopp’s team in the 2016 Europa League final, they were all competing in the Champions League.
Liverpool undoubtedly did that, as Klopp has always maintained that the defeat in Basel gave them the motivation to keep going.
Now, Klopp will be hoping that his team can find their form again and possibly qualify for the league. And that will be Klopp’s biggest accomplishment to date if they manage to hoist the Premier League above the ground on May 19.
Nobody in Lombardy will be recalling this loss by then.
Trent Alexander-Arnold made his first start for over two months after a knee injury
Alisson – 7 (out of 10)
Pulled off a stupendous one-handed save to claw away Van Dijk’s misplaced interception.
Spent a lot of the second half constantly angry at the midfield for not moving enough to allow him to pass to a red shirt.
Trent Alexander-Arnold – 7
Didn’t take him long to have an impact, crossing to win the penalty when a hand blocked it. Then also fizzed through two magnificent passes from deep to open up Atalanta’s defence.
Also got caught on the ball at the back which was almost costly. We didn’t get too much from him after the restart and he was subbed on 70 as his recovery continues.
Ibrahima Konate – 7
Looked more assured and focused than he has done in his last few outings. Won the battle in the channel when he needed to, had speed in the recovery and did fairly well against Scamacca’s massive bulk aerially.
Virgil van Dijk – 7
A dislocated finger early on was an annoyance; his mis-kicked 60-yard volley was ludicrous. Those two things almost made him look human in the first half.
Defended fine after the break, only really called upon twice to make significant interceptions and did so without much fuss. If only he connected better with that 60-yard half-volley, hey…
Andy Robertson – 6
Some good overlapping runs and sent himself infield on plenty of occasions as the Reds sought to create space, but the one-twos didn’t always come off.
No real danger from his crosses though and set-piece delivery was pretty poor throughout.
Alexis Mac Allister – 7 – Man of the Match
Saw plenty of the ball in deep areas as Atalanta allowed Liverpool to hold play in their own half. Sometimes that was fine, as Alexis was able to raise the tempo and find passes between the lines. Other times it was just having our best player miles from anywhere dangerous.
Defensively fine, did enough to cover the back four and protect the channels.
Dominik Szoboszlai – 5
Occasionally looks impactful when speeding into space, but his end product and decisions have not been great recently. Combined nicely in the right channel at times but looks well off his early-season best.
We’ve needed more from him in the final third of the season and, to be frank, we haven’t seen it.
Curtis Jones – 6
Another who was more endeavour than eventual output. Some good recoveries and held his ground in the middle, but the quick passing side of his game wasn’t there and he wasn’t an attacking threat.
Mohamed Salah – 5
Barely had a touch before he got to take a penalty – buried it bottom corner. Should have had his second before the break when through on goal and lobbed the keeper… but sent it wide.
A couple of almost moments after the restart but ultimately held onto the ball too long or failed to turn sharply enough.
Cody Gakpo – 6
Showed good power and determination a few times in the first half and linked nicely with both forwards around him – showed good mobility with the positional rotation on show.
Shifted further and further back downfield as the subs came on; the best of the forwards who started but he ended up as a faux-left wing-back.
Luis Diaz – 6
Another hit-and-miss night for the Colombian. Some really good work rate and movement off the ball, but never really looked in the running to add to the scoresheet.
Involved in the buildup to the penalty and the handball which could have been a red card outside the box, but otherwise thwarted.