Liverpool welcomed Atalanta to Anfield for the first leg of the UEFA Europa League (UEL) quarterfinal tie, but got lashed as Jurgen Klopp’s men seemed to have no answer for the 6th-placed Serie A side’s questions.
Klopp started the game with some not-so-regular faces in the starting lineup, but brought the big boys in when the Merseyside club was down 1-0 at halftime.
Harvey Elliott, Curtis Jones and Kostas Tsimikas started the game for Liverpool, alongside regular starters like Virgil van Dijk, Darwin Nunez, and Alexis Mac Allister.
Mohamed Salah, Dominik Szoboszlai, and Andrew Robertson eventually came on for the second half, but indeed the performance got worse with the seniors.
Atalanta opened the scoring in the 38th minute when Gianluca Scamacca struck home, with Caoimhin Kelleher fumbling what should have been a routine save.
The visiting side doubled the lead in the 60th minute again from Scamacca, this time a well-timed volley that caught Kelleher flat-footed.
Mario Pasalic completed the humiliation of the English giant in the 83rd minute with another goal, making it 3-0 to the visitors.
This loss follows the draw that Liverpool recorded against Manchester United in the league last Sunday, and will spell the end of Liverpool’s European hopes if they cannot come up with more than four goals in the second leg.
The second leg will be played at Atalanta’s home ground, which means it will be even more difficult for the Reds to dominate, which is something they’d need to do if they’re to score as many goals as they’d need, next week.
