April 12 – Liverpool suffered a serious knock in their Europa League hopes on Thursday night as Anfield witnessed a dismal 0-3 defeat at the hands of Atalanta.
The shock result has been described as the “worst Liverpool performance under Jurgen Klopp” and puts an ugly dent in the German’s leaving parade.
Former West Ham striker Gianluca Scamacca capitalised on Liverpool’s incredibly disjointed defence with two simple goals, both finished with nonchalance and style.
Pasalic’s late goal cemented a game to forget for the Premier League hopefuls, with the away side leading 3-0 heading into next week’s Italian decider.
“It was a really bad game, oh my God,” Klopp said after Liverpool’s first Anfield defeat in nearly 14 months.
“They broke, they scored and we just lost the plot a little bit. We were here and there in midfield, I didn’t recognise it.
“It was really strange but in football terms it was tactical discipline. They scored and we kept playing into their hands.
“We played a bad game and we deserved to lose. We must feel that now but we have exactly this night to feel bad about it and then we have to build up for [Crystal] Palace.”
Asked if the tie was still alive, with 90 minutes at the Gewiss Stadium still to play next Thursday, Klopp said: “I believe it’s not the moment to talk about that. I’m not in the mood to think about the game in a week’s time when we have another in between.
“Definitely we have to try, we want to win the game but now is not the moment to have a big mouth. We have to play a really good game.
“Where we are, this is probably a low point for us performance-wise so it should be possible to play a little bit better and we can play a lot better. But first and foremost it’s about Sunday now.”
After dropping points versus Manchester United on Sunday, followed by the damning Atalanta result, the Reds will look to salvage their rapidly faltering form against Crystal Palace on Sunday. It is a must-win game for Klopp’s side with the title race tightening up, as Anfield looks to undo the damage caused on Thursday night.
Contact the writer of this story, Harry Ewing, at moc.l1734995856labto1734995856ofdlr1734995856owedi1734995856sni@g1734995856niwe.1734995856yrrah1734995856