{"id":2474,"date":"2024-04-11T22:59:10","date_gmt":"2024-04-11T22:59:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=2474"},"modified":"2024-04-11T22:59:10","modified_gmt":"2024-04-11T22:59:10","slug":"europa-league-atalanta-blast-three-goals-past-liverpool-at-anfield","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=2474","title":{"rendered":"Europa League: Atalanta blast three goals past Liverpool at Anfield"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n \t<\/i> Read Time:<\/span>2 Minute, 34 Second <\/div>\n\n <\/div>

Liverpool face a huge battle to stay in the Europa League after suffering a shock home defeat to Atalanta in the quarter-final first leg at Anfield.<\/p>\n

Former West Ham forward Gianluca Scamacca scored in each half, before ex-Chelsea player Mario Pasalic added a late third goal to ensure the Italians start strong favourites to reach the semi-finals when the sides meet in next Thursday\u2019s return in Bergamo.<\/p>\n

Liverpool face a huge battle to stay in the Europa League after suffering a shock home defeat to Atalanta in the quarter-final first leg at Anfield.<\/p>\n

Former West Ham forward Gianluca Scamacca scored in each half, before ex-Chelsea player Mario Pasalic added a late third goal to ensure the Italians start strong favourites to reach the semi-finals when the sides meet in next Thursday\u2019s return in Bergamo.<\/p>\n

Scamacca broke the deadlock in the 38th minute after Caoimhin Kelleher allowed his low drive to creep under him.<\/p>\n

On a deeply frustrating night for below-par Liverpool, Darwin Nunez missed two big chances, while Harvey Elliott\u2019s curling attempt struck the bar before dropping on to the post.<\/p>\n

Mohamed Salah, who started on the bench, forced a fine save from visiting keeper Juan Musso after Kelleher had atoned for his error to stop the unmarked Teun Koopmeiners from doubling Atalanta\u2019s lead.<\/p>\n

The Egyptian also had a goal disallowed for offside, but the Reds were flat and lacked urgency in their play \u2013 and punished for some dreadful defending.<\/p>\n

Atalanta celebrate goal against Liverpool Photo Courtesy: Getty Images<\/p>\n

Scamacca \u2013 who had just one season at West Ham before joining Atalanta last August \u2013 took advantage of being left unmarked by doubling the lead with a crisp finish on the hour.<\/p>\n

Virgil Van Dijk Photo Courtesy: Getty Images<\/p>\n

Pasalic\u2019s 83rd-minute strike came after Brazilian midfielder Ederson was afforded too much space to shoot and, when Kelleher made a save, the Croatian snapped up the rebound to score.<\/p>\n

Jurgen Klopp looked bewildered at the final whistle after seeing his side comprehensively beaten by Atalanta, who sit sixth in Serie A and trail leaders Inter Milan by 32 points.<\/p>\n

The Liverpool boss, who made six changes to the side that drew 2-2 at Manchester United on Sunday, has enjoyed some incredible European nights under the lights at Anfield during his nine years in charge.<\/p>\n

Liverpool Manager J\u00fcrgen Klopp Photo Courtesy: Getty Images<\/p>\n

But this could well be the last time he experiences a European home game after his side were a poor second-best to a clinical Atalanta, whose players and management team celebrated in front of their jubilant travelling fans long after the final whistle.<\/p>\n

It was Liverpool\u2019s first defeat at Anfield since losing 5-2 to Real Madrid in the Champions League in February 2023, ending a 33-game unbeaten run.<\/p>\n

Pasalic celebrates goal against Liverpool Photo Courtesy: Getty Images<\/p>\n

The winners of this tie will face Benfica or Marseille in the semi-finals, with Benfica establishing a 2-1 first-leg advantage to take to France next week.<\/p>

\n
\n \n
\n \n \"Happy\"\n <\/a>\n
\n Happy <\/div>\n
\n 0<\/span>\n \n 0<\/span> %<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
\n \n \"Sad\"\n <\/a>\n
\n Sad <\/div>\n
\n 0<\/span>\n 0<\/span> %<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
\n \n \"Excited\"\n <\/a>\n
\n Excited <\/div>\n
\n 0<\/span>\n 0<\/span> %<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
\n \n \"Sleepy\"\n <\/a>\n
\n Sleepy <\/div>\n
\n 0<\/span>\n \n 0<\/span> %<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
\n \n \"Angry\"\n <\/a>\n
Angry<\/div>\n
\n 0<\/span>\n 0<\/span> %<\/span>\n \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
\n \n \"Surprise\"\n <\/a>\n
Surprise<\/div>\n
\n 0<\/span>\n 0<\/span> %<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n ","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Liverpool face a huge battle to stay in the Europa League after suffering a shock home defeat to Atalanta in the quarter-final first leg at Anfield. Former West Ham forward… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":2475,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_2277560469115098_106292521332774":"","twitter_aToxNzczMzI3Njk4OTg4ODUxMjAxOw==_1773327698988851200":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2474","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2474","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2474"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2474\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2475"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2474"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2474"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2474"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}