Serie A underdogs Atalanta pulled an incredible upset at Anfield last night, inflicting a shock and chastening Europa League quarterfinal defeat on Liverpool to rue Jurgen Klopp’s treble hopes, MySportDab reports.
In a game the Reds were expected to ace through easily, it turned out a nightmare for the Merseyside outfit as Atalanta ran riot against all odds to escape with a win.
Liverpool dominated proceedings from the start but struggled to make it count as Atalanta held on to defend while hoping to catch them out on quick and pacey counterattacks.
Things took up a frenetic tempo each time Atalanta won the ball as they set out immediately on the offensive, trying to put their dominant hosts to the sword.
Eight minutes after the half-hour, Scamaca put the Reds to the sword, scoring to give the visitors the lead. The goal was enough to send the Serie A side to the break with a lead as Liverpool did little to mount a response.
In the second half, Liverpool still struggled to find the back of the net with Atlanta maintaining their attacking threats with having the ball.
Exactly at the hour mark, Scamacca struck again for the visitors to bag his brace and sink Liverpool’s comeback hopes with half an hour left on the clock.
Liverpool found the back of the net after Scamacca’s second goal but the goal was ruled out as offside. With less than 10 minutes left on the clock, it was Atalanta still leading 2-0.
Unluckily for Liverpool, they were dealt a final blow six minutes from regulation time as Pasalic scored for Atalanta to make it 3-0.
The game ended with Liverpool settling for a shock 3-0 home defeat to the Serie A side. The Reds will now face the tough task of overturning the three-goal deficit when heading to Italy for the return leg next week.
Reacting to the loss in post match interview, Jurgen Klopp described the game as a ‘bad’ one that left him totally at a loss.
He also blasted his players for an underwhelming show throughout the game, and losing touch of the game plan (the plot).
‘It was a really bad game, oh my God,’ groaned the German manager.
‘We started really well and then didn’t continue. Before they even scored, we just lost the plot a little bit.
The Reds are now on the brink of missing out of their treble chase and will face a huge task overturning the 3-0 deficit in Italy next week.
