LONDON – Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has criticised his players for “losing the plot”, as their hopes of winning the Europa League were left hanging by a thread after a shocking 3-0 home defeat by Atalanta in the first leg of their quarter-final clash on April 11.
Bayer Leverkusen are now favourites to win Europe’s second-tier club competition after Xabi Alonso’s side beat West Ham United 2-0 to extend their unbeaten record this season.
Liverpool will still hope to make the final in Dublin on May 22, their final game before Klopp steps down as manager, but they face a monumental task to turn their last-eight tie around after a stunning Atalanta performance.
“It was a really bad game, oh my god,” said Klopp.
“We started really well but didn’t continue. Before they scored we just lost the plot.
“We were everywhere and nowhere. Midfield was spread like that, right midfield and left midfield, I didn’t recognise it a bit. It was really strange.
“In football terms, that’s (a lack of) tactical discipline. We played a bad game, we deserved to lose. But the boys have exactly this night to feel bad about and then we have to build again for the Crystal Palace game (on April 14).”
The Reds, who started with Mohamed Salah and Dominik Szoboszlai among the substitutes, saw Harvey Elliott come agonisingly close to opening the scoring with a shot that hit the bar and struck the post on its way back out.
Atalanta took the lead seven minutes before half-time via former West Ham striker Gianluca Scamacca. The Italian doubled their lead on the hour with a fine finish.
Salah, who had come on at the start of the second half, then had a goal disallowed for offside before Atalanta made it 3-0 with seven minutes left as Croatian midfielder Mario Pasalic scored.
The victory for the side sitting sixth in Serie A ends Liverpool’s 33-game unbeaten home run.
Recent history suggests there is still hope for Klopp’s side, as they won 5-0 away to Atalanta in Bergamo in the Champions League group stage in 2020-21, a campaign in which they also lost to the Italian side at Anfield.
Elsewhere in Germany, Bundesliga champions-elect Leverkusen made it 42 games without losing in any competition this season as they beat West Ham to seize control of their quarter-final tie.
Jonas Hofmann and Victor Boniface both came off the bench to score late goals.
If Leverkusen finish the job against West Ham, they will advance to a semi-final against either AC Milan or Roma.
Roma ran out 1-0 winners at the San Siro, while the other game saw Benfica beat Marseille 2-1 in Lisbon. AFP, REUTERS
