- Liverpool are on the verge of crashing out of the Europa League quarter-finals
- Atalanta ran out 3-0 winners at Anfield to take control ahead of the return leg
- IAN LADYMAN and CHRIS SUTTON have their say on the Premier League’s Player of the Year – Listen to the It’s All Kicking Off podcast
Jamie Carragher savaged Liverpool’s ‘awful’ display in their Europa League quarter-final defeat by Atalanta and urged Jurgen Klopp to play his second string in Italy.
The Reds stumbled to a shock 3-0 loss at Anfield and face an uphill battle to stay in the competition after Gianluca Scamacca and Mario Pasalic both found the net.
Scamacca, formerly of West Ham, scored either side of half-time and Mario Pascalic added a third, placing the Serie A side in control of the tie ahead of the return leg.
But Carragher, believing the writing is already on the wall, says Klopp should turn to his reserves and instead focus fully on the enthralling Premier League title race.
‘Awful result & performance from Liverpool,’ he posted on X.
‘The only consolation about getting beat so heavily is Jurgen should play a full second string in the second leg & go all in for the league!’
Scamacca made the breakthrough after 38 minutes after goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher, a stand-in for the injured Alisson, allowed his strike to wriggle through.
The hosts then conspired to miss several golden chances, Darwin Nunez twice miscuing and Harvey Elliott hitting the woodwork, and were later made to pay.
Taking advantage of slack marking, Scamacca doubled Atalanta’s lead with a fine finish before Pasalic snaffled up a rebound to score seven minutes from time.
Klopp, who made six changes from the side that drew at Manchester United at the weekend, admitted there were no positives to take from the performance.
‘They [Atalanta] 100 per cent deserved it,’ Klopp said post-match. ‘It was a really bad game. I didn’t like our tactical discipline. We were everywhere.
‘No counter press. I know the boys can play better football, but not tonight.’
Captain Virgil van Dijk was equally downbeat as he rued individual sloppy errors.
‘It’s not great and a very disappointing evening, of course,’ the defender told reporters. ‘Too many individual mistakes, which we got punished for.
‘We can’t dwell on it. In three days we play again. From tomorrow, we have to switch it back on to getting a result.’
He did add, however: ‘If you don’t have belief, there’s no point in going to Italy.’
Olivia Martin is a dedicated sports journalist based in the UK. With a passion for various athletic disciplines, she covers everything from major league championships to local sports events, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis.
