If you’re going to fail, make sure you fail beautifully. That was Jurgen Klopp’s rallying cry before Liverpool attempted to write another chapter in the book of inspiring European triumphs.
In the end, this will have to be considered a failure. It wasn’t entirely pretty, but it was a brave performance that healed some of the psychological wounds of the last fortnight and gave fans hope that the Jurgen Klopp era could still have a magical end.
Winning that night, through an early Mohamed Salah penalty, stopped the rot after two defeats and a draw in the previous weeks threatened to derail their season. Liverpool finished this tie with their heads held high but the damage had already been done and they left with nothing.
Klopp hopes the Premier League final does not follow that pattern. The German coach only has six dates left on his farewell tour. The days of following Klopp’s Reds around Europe – a trip that netted four finals and a sixth European Cup crown for the club – are over.
Salah’s goal after just seven minutes rattled the senses that another great comeback was on the cards, but Gian Piero Gasperini’s side soon calmed down and caused this tie to fade away. With apologies for an obvious pun, the opinionated sample was a typical Italian work.
The task at Atalanta proved too much for Liverpool after a disastrous first leg
Harvey Elliott took a full-time squat after Liverpool’s narrow victory proved insufficient.
The brilliant Italian team knew how to attack and deny Liverpool clear opportunities.
The Reds played well overall and at least offered hope for the end of the season.
Mo Salah scored from the penalty spot early on as Liverpool made the perfect start possible.
Salah grabbed the ball quickly and ran back to restart the game for the Reds.
In this picturesque city haunted by the shadows of the Italian Alps and Mont Blanc, it seemed Liverpool had a significant, but not insurmountable, mountain to climb. It was an improbable mission but certainly not an impossible mission.
If they were to recapture the spirit of 2019 when they overcame a three-goal deficit to topple Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez’s mighty Barcelona, Reds fans knew they needed a quick start. They did it, scoring with just seven minutes on the clock.
Trent Alexander-Arnold, starting his first game since February after a knee injury, showed Liverpool what they were missing and repeatedly appeared in dangerous areas. The full-back won a penalty after his cross was blocked by Matteo Ruggeri’s handball.
Was it handball? Yes, 100 percent. Should it be a penalty, given the proximity of the defender and how difficult it was to move his arm out of the way? It’s a strange rule. Mohamed Salah didn’t give a damn, he stepped forward and shot hard and low to his right.
The small number of Liverpool fans caged like zoo animals in the corner of this incomplete stadium began to believe, and that confidence was creeping into the Reds players too, with Luis Diaz and Dominik Szoboszlai missing decent chances in the following minutes .
Atalanta, for its part, seemed nervous. Their coach, the impressive Gian Piero Gasperini, had said that this was the most important match in the club’s history. But they soon settled in and gave Alisson a couple of scares at the other end.
Luis Díaz worked hard against the resilient Atalanta defense and the hosts made life difficult for him
Alexis MacAllister pulled the strings for Liverpool in the midfield of a strong line-up
Salah missed a great opportunity at 1-0 and his lob went the wrong way, which could have changed the game.
Gian Piero Gasperini roared in celebration of a job well done as his team progressed.
First, captain Virgil van Dijk almost deflected a cross into his own goal and had to be rescued by the goalkeeper, although he could have been offside. Then Aleksei Miranchuk would have been one on one after a good give and take with Gianluca Scamacca, but his first touch was sloppy.
Salah missed a golden opportunity to add a second when he was put on goal and went to shoot for Juan Musso but his shot went wide, then Liverpool had a wake-up call at the other end when Teun Koopmeiners scored a goal. ruled out for offside.
Atalanta seemed more organized after the break, which came at a good time for the Italian team. Gasperini’s men retreated further towards their own goal and limited the space for Liverpool, who pounced on Darwin Núñez and Diogo Jota in search of another goal.
In fact, as the second half progressed, Atalanta looked like the team most likely to score. Midfielder Ederson saw a great opportunity miss and Koopmeiners, an energetic midfielder with potentially a big future in the Premier League, fired a drilled shot straight at Alisson.
Virgil van Dijk applauds traveling fans after Liverpool’s elimination from the Europa League
The Atalanta players greeted the public who had created an excellent atmosphere
Cody Gakpo and Salah had good starts, but couldn’t do much more than moderate efforts. So what to make of Liverpool’s departure? Given the talent of their team, this was a below-par Europa League campaign that ended on a disappointing note.
But their sabbatical from the Champions League will soon end and a return to Europe’s elite competition is on the cards. Unfortunately for Liverpool fans, Klopp will not be the man to lead them in their quest for a seventh European Cup.
Whoever takes over Klopp’s duties has big shoes to fill. The German recovered the good times on his European tour. After those four finals against football kings like Real Madrid, no one expected the trip to end in Bergamo. But it was quite a ride for those fans.