90min

X reacts as 'tepid' Liverpool exit Europa League with a whimper

  • Liverpool beat Atalanta in Italy but lose Europa League quarter-final tie on aggregate
  • Mohamed Salah scored early penalty but Reds were a shadow of their best
  • Jurgen Klopp's team will not finish the season with the chance of a European trophy

By Jamie Spencer

A Mohamed Salah miss summed up Liverpool's night
A Mohamed Salah miss summed up Liverpool's night / Jonathan Moscrop/GettyImages
facebooktwitterreddit

Jurgen Klopp will not get the chance to finish his Liverpool career with a European trophy next month following elimination from the Europa League at the quarter-final stage.

Liverpool managed to beat Atalanta in Bergamo on Thursday night, but a 3-0 aggregate deficit coming into the second leg meant that a solitary Mohamed Salah penalty was not enough to change things or mount a 2019-esque comeback as had so famously happened against Barcelona.

Ultimately, it was a bit of a damp end for Liverpool's European campaign, threatening to do more than just 'blow the bloody doors off' to begin with, but eventually accepting their fate a little too readily. Of course, Atalanta deserve immense credit for their first leg victory and the nature of their second leg performance, shutting down a Liverpool side who have started to limp towards the season's finale.

As things kicked off, the band was at least back together after an injury hit few months.

But, before any of the action really started, Virgil van Dijk dislocated a finger in the earliest minutes.

To the letter of the law...penalty.

Salah made no mistake from 12 yards when Liverpool were awarded their penalty.

Racking them up...

But Atalanta grew into the game and punished Liverpool sloppiness on the ball. Curtis Jones in particular came in for heat from disgruntled fans.

Salah missed a great chance to double Liverpool's lead on the night and further cut into the overall deficit. But it bounced miles wide after a poor contact with the ball.

Things were petering out for Liverpool when Klopp turned to the bench for something different.

With time ticking away and Liverpool still needing two goals just to force extra-time, fans were resigned to their fate.

Jayden Danns made his senior European debut late on.

In the end, Liverpool just didn't play their usual game.

READ THE LATEST EUROPA LEAGUE NEWS, PREVIEWS & RATINGS HERE

feed

Home/Liverpool