Liverpool were rocked by a 3-0 defeat to Atalanta in the Europa League quarterfinal first leg at Anfield on Thursday as Jurgen Klopp’s farewell party is spoiled.
Whether it was complacency or just the latest in a string of intense but ineffective performances, Liverpool are now in danger of having played their last game under the lights at Anfield in the Klopp-era.
That fear will either be realised or Liverpool will produce yet another miraculous comeback under the German.
For now, though we can do little but reflect on this poor result and begin anew in the Premier League when Crystal Palace travel to Merseyside.
What Jurgen Klopp said after full-time
“Oh my god”: What Klopp said immediately after Liverpool lost 3-0 to Atalanta
Speaking to reporters after full-time, Klopp found it difficult to explain what was one of the worst recent performances for his Liverpool side.
“It was just a really bad game, oh my God,” Klopp said.
“We started really well but we didn’t continue. We just lost the plot a bit. We were everywhere and nowhere. The midfield was spread out. I didn’t recognise us. It was really strange. In football terms, that’s tactical discipline.
“We deserved to lose and we must feel that now. The boys have this night to feel bad about it. Then we have to build up again for Crystal Palace (in the Premier League on Sunday). Congratulations Atalanta, really well done.”
When Klopp was asked why Liverpool were so bad when they should have been right up for it, the German pointed towards the Reds’ performance and Atalanta’s defensive display as possible reasons.
Klopp added: “Atalanta cause many teams problems with the way they defend.
“I cannot remember a situation where they outplayed us but they won the ball and went from there. You need a lot of tactical discipline to do what they did. They did man marking all over the pitch. Man marking is uncomfortable when you are not on top of your game.
“If you are in a better playing mood than we were tonight then you can cause massive problems. We suffered from the way they defended.”
Klopp was in no mood, however, for questions about how this defeat with impact Liverpool’s Premier League title race with Arsenal and Manchester City.
“I’m not in the mood to think about the game in a week’s time. We have another game in between,” he said.
“This isn’t the time for having a big mouth about what we will do there. This was a low point for us performance wise tonight.”
