Bergamo, Italy: Liverpool had been knocked out of the Europa League by Atalanta with the Italian facet reaching the semi-finals 3-1 on combination on Thursday.
Atalanta are within the final 4 of a European competitors for the primary time since 1988, regardless of Mohamed Salah’s early penalty giving Liverpool a 1-0 second leg win, due to their three-goal lead established within the quarter-final first leg at Anfield final week.
In what’s changing into a sobering climax to the season, Liverpool have received simply three of their final 9 video games in all competitions and once more appeared drained after already having performed 52 video games this marketing campaign.
Jurgen Klopp might properly solely have the League Cup to point out for his remaining season on Merseyside because the German’s staff have been eradicated from the FA Cup and Europa League and path Manchester City within the Premier League title race.
Gian Piero Gasperini known as Thursday’s match in all probability a very powerful Atalanta had ever performed and his gamers had been hailed as heroes on the remaining whistle by a pulsating crowd on the Gewiss Stadium in Bergamo.
Fireworks had been shot into the air from behind the stands whereas within the floor supporters bounced and roared at an enormous victory for his or her staff towards giants of European soccer.
Atalanta final reached the semi-finals of a European competitors in 1988 after they had been knocked out of the outdated Cup Winners’ Cup by Mechelen.
Atalanta had been then a Serie B staff however the future is more and more vivid for a traditionally small, provincial membership which has been punching properly above its weight ever since Gasperini took cost in 2016.
Reaching the final 4 even trumps their run to 2020 Champions League quarter-finals, the place they had been desperately unfortunate to lose to Paris Saint-Germain.
That run got here on the top of the Covid-19 pandemic, as Bergamo turned the epicentre of a lethal international well being disaster.
And Atalanta nonetheless have the chance to crown Gasperini’s reign with the membership’s first main trophy because the Italian Cup in 1963.
