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Liverpool were stunned 3-0 by Atalanta at Anfield in the first leg of their UEFA Europa League quarter-final clash on Thursday, April 11.
The Reds entered this game on the back of a decent run of form. With just one defeat in their last eight games across competitions, they were in pretty good shape. Jurgen Klopp's men secured five wins and two draws in the other seven games.
The German made five changes to the side that drew 2-2 against Manchester United in their last game. Ibrahima Konate started the game as he marked his return from an injury layoff.
Liverpool made a good start to the game and kept the ball for extended periods as they looked to break Atalanta down patiently. However, they could not make much of having the ball for so long as they were unable to create clear-cut chances, hitting the target just once in 45 minutes. The midfield looked disjointed while the defenders struggled with good runs from the visitors' players.
The first goal of the game came in the 38th minute after a soft mistake by Caoimhin Kelleher. Davide Zappacosta passed the ball to Gianluca Scamacca, who fired a regulation shot on goal. However, the Irishman spilled it as the ball rolled into the net for 1-0. Atalanta led Liverpool by a slender one-goal margin at half-time.
The second half was a similar story in terms of possession as Liverpool had 70% of the ball once again. They were also eager to find a way back into the game and attempted 14 shots, but hit the target just four times. Things went from bad to worse for the Reds on the hour-mark as Charles De Ketelaere played a lovely cross to Scamacca. The striker applied a first-time finish to make it 2-0.
Mohamed Salah seemed to have breathed life back into Liverpool and Anfield as he made it 2-1 from Andrew Robertson's pass midway through the second period. However, the goal was ruled out for marginal offside following a VAR check and Atalanta's 2-0 lead remained. The Italians put the game to bed in the 83rd minute as Mario Pasalic scored to make it 3-0.
Liverpool had no response and will have to overturn a huge deficit in the second leg in Bergamo next week. Having said that, let's take a look at their player ratings from this game.
Liverpool Player Ratings
Caoimhin Kelleher - 6/10
Kelleher made a rookie mistake for Atalanta's first goal as he allowed the ball to roll into the goal after a weak save. He played 11 accurate long balls.
Joe Gomez - 6/10
Gomez struggled against Atalanta's left side and won just three of his eight duels. He was also dispossessed a staggering 21 times.
Ibrahima Konate - 7/10
Konate had a decent game in defence as he won 12 duels, making three clearances and one interception. He also played eight accurate long balls.
Virgil van Dijk - 6.5/10
Van Dijk was passive while defending in key situations at times and could have done better to prevent the cross for Atalanta's second goal. He won six duels and played two accurate long balls.
Konstantinos Tsimikas - 6.5/10
Tsimikas played a decent game on the left flank as he passed the ball with 86% accuracy and won three duels.
Curtis Jones - 6.5/10
Jones played well with the ball and passed it with 92% accuracy, including one key pass and one long ball. However, he lacked a bit of sharpness off the ball, lacking in defensive effort.
Alexis Mac Allister - 6.5/10
Mac Allister's usual passing range failed to come forth today as he misfired slightly. However, he won five duels in midfield and also made one interception.
Wataru Endo - 6/10
Endo had a subpar game in midfield and was unable to make a positive impact on proceedings for Liverpool.
Harvey Elliott - 7/10
Elliott played well out wide as he passed the ball with 86% accuracy, including one key pass and three long balls. He also attempted one shot that hit the woodwork.
Darwin Nunez - 6.5/10
Nunez got into good shooting positions but managed to guide just one of his four attempts on target, with the other three going wide. He also won just one of his eight duels.
Cody Gakpo - 8.5/10
Gakpo was Liverpool's best player on the pitch and looked to create something everytime he had the ball. He passed it with 86% accuracy, including five key passes and two accurate crosses. He also won 11 duels and completed five dribbles past players.
Substitutes
Andrew Robertson - 7/10
Robertson replaced Tsimikas at half-time and made the desired impact for his team offensively. However, he was unable to do much to prevent the onslaught from Atalanta.
Dominik Szoboszlai - 6/10
The Hungarian had a poor outing having come on at half-time.
Mohamed Salah - 7/10
He nearly brought Liverpool on terms but Atalanta were spared their blushes as an offside canceled the goal.
Luis Diaz - 7/10
Diaz came on at the hour-mark and played two accurate long balls. He also won two duels and had one shot on target.
Diogo Jota - 6.5/10
Jota replaced Endo in the 76th minute but failed to make an impact.
