7 months ago
113 Liverpool delivered a seriously concerning performance in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday as Atalanta hammered the Reds at Anfield.
A double from Gianluca Scamacca and a strike from Mario Pasalic saw Jurgen Klopp endure one of the worst nights in his entire nine years on Merseyside – one which now poses real questions about Liverpool’s chances of winning the Premier League title.
It was a frustrating night for many Liverpool fans inside Anfield – as well as the players – and one incident in the 82nd minute saw Diogo Jota lose it with Dominik Szoboszlai…
Diogo Jota left very unhappy with Dominik Szoboszlai
Well, Liverpool were uncharacteristically shy going forwards on Thursday night, as many passes went backwards or sideways with very little urgency on show.
Jota – at least – injected a little more speed into the game after coming on for Wataru Endo in the 76th minute, as the Portugal international made a number of good runs and tried to spark Liverpool into life.
Steve McManaman even claimed that the Liverpool No.20 looked like the only player trying to make a difference.
Jota made a particularly superb run in the 82nd minute in behind Atalanta’s defence, but was left throwing his arms around in frustration after Szoboszlai decided against slotting the ball through to him, with the £60m man instead going backwards.
In truth, the 82nd minute moment effectively summed up Liverpool’s performance in a nutshell.
The players looked scared to take risks and go forwards, which is very strange to see from a side who have scored more goals than any other side in Europe’s top five leagues so far this season.
Wake up call for Liverpool
While the 3-0 defeat to Atalanta will go down as one of Klopp’s worst results at Liverpool, it could be a blessing in disguise and act as a wake up call for the remainder of the 2023/24 campaign.
Liverpool still have seven games remaining in the Premier League – and only nine goals put them behind Arsenal rather than any points gap.
The Reds also have another chance in the second leg against Atalanta, and if Klopp’s side can overturn a 3-0 deficit against Lionel Messi’s Barcelona, they can do it against the Serie A outfit too.
Hopefully, some good emerges from the humiliating 3-0 loss to Atalanta, or else Klopp’s memorable time at Liverpool may unfortunately end on a sour note.
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