7 months ago
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After the Reds get shown up at Anfield, we dig into the winners, losers and narratives on the night.
Following a frustrating and deeply undeserved draw with Manchester United at the weekend, the expectation was that Liverpool would look to right the ship as soon as possible, starting with a visit from Atalanta in another European Night™ at Anfield. Instead, the Reds were humbled by a well-organised and fired up Bergamo side, and could have few complaints about the result in the end, even if the scoreline was perhaps somewhat harsh.
Below, then, a (very) quick word on the winners and losers on the night.
Winners
Gasperini: The 66-year old has been at Atalanta nearly as long as Jürgen Klopp has been at Liverpool, and he boasts a 100% winning record at Anfield with the Nerazzurri. Gian Piero Gasperini brought his team to Merseyside with a clear plan, and his charges executed it ruthlessly, as a combination of man-marking, clear transition patterns and good old commitment to the cause undid the hosts
The silver-haired Italian will fancy his chances of making it to the semi-finals now, and perhaps nicking his first ever trophy in a career that has spanned over two decades.
Losers
The Coaches: The Reds started a slightly weakened line-up tonight, with Mohamed Salah, Andrew Robertson, Dominik Szoboszlai and Luis Díaz all on the bench, and while the players on the pitch are expected to compete with anyone, it did perhaps signal that Jürgen Klopp was under the impression that Liverpool could get away with resting some key players, something that proved terribly false.
Furthermore, the Reds did not look like they were at all set up to deal with Atalanta’s man marking in midfield, and players were constantly finding themselves under heavy pressure when receiving the ball into feet with their backs to goal, as no easy bounce pass outlet had been set up during the initial play. It looked a lot like a team that was expecting to impose its style on the opposition and in doing so, failed to adapt to what they would be facing.
The Players: While questions can be asked regarding team selection, tactical decisions and specificity of pre-match coaching, in the end, Liverpool were beaten at the basics tonight. Trapping the ball with precision, passing to a team-mate with accuracy, committing to your decisions, competing physically, winning duels, tracking the runner, putting your shots on target, not punting your set-pieces directly into fucking orbit... Name a fundamental tenet of playing football and Atalanta executed at a higher level than the Reds tonight.
There is little point in naming individual players; nobody played well enough to come out with much, if any credit, and the failure to properly compete with Atalanta was a collective one, not individual.
The Fans: That sucked to watch. Having elite performers fail so often to succeed at the very basics over the course of 90 minutes is an immensely frustrating experience, and while this team has provided plenty of late sprints to nick a result at the death, that never truly felt like it was coming tonight.
What Happens Next
It’s a trip to London to take on Roy Hodgson’s Crystal Palace on Sunday, hopefully with a team prepared to pounce on any potential stumbles made by Manchester City or Arsenal, before the return leg in Bergamo takes place next Thursday, where the Reds will attempt to overturn the 3-0 goal deficit.
