Atalanta crushed the Reds at Anfield on Thursday in the UEFA Europa League and Liverpool put on a very worrying display.
Gianluca Scamacca’s double and Mario Pasalic’s goal put an end to Jurgen Klopp’s worst night in his nine years on Merseyside, raising serious concerns about Liverpool’s chances of winning the Premier League.
Many Liverpool supporters at Anfield had a frustrating evening, as did the players. In the 82nd minute, Diogo Jota lost it with Dominik Szoboszla.
On Thursday night, Liverpool’s forward play was surprisingly timid as they made a lot of passes that went sideways or backwards with little to no urgency.
See Also: Jurgen Klopp Says Liverpool ‘Deserve To Lose’ After Defeat At Anfield
At least, Jota gave the game a little more energy when he replaced Wataru Endo in the 76th minute. The Portugal international attempted to jolt Liverpool into life with several strong runs.
The Liverpool No. 20 player appeared to be the only one attempting to make an impact, according to Steve McManaman.
What Happened In The 82nd Minute?
TBR Football made some notice that Jota made a particularly amazing run in the 82nd minute to get past the Atalanta defense, but Szoboszlai chose to go backwards with the ball instead of passing it to him, leaving Jota with a frustrated expression on his face.
Actually, the 82nd minute pretty much encapsulated Liverpool’s performance.
It is quite unusual to see players who have scored more goals than any other team in Europe’s top five leagues this season afraid to take chances and move forward.
Even though the 3-0 loss to Atalanta will go down as one of Klopp’s worst Liverpool performances, it might turn out to be a godsend and serve as a reminder for the rest of the 2023–2024 season.
With seven Premier League games left, Liverpool is only nine goals behind Arsenal instead of having a larger point differential.
In the second leg matchup with Atalanta, the Reds will have one more opportunity. If Klopp’s team can overcome a 3-0 deficit against Lionel Messi’s Barcelona, they can do the same against the Serie A team.
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