Atalanta easily won the Europa League match at Anfield thanks to two goals from Gianluca Scamacca, but the second leg is still to be played.
The striker for Atalanta, Gianluca Scamacca, is adamant that his squad will not become comfortable before the second leg of their quarterfinal Europa League match against Liverpool.
Liverpool hosted Atalanta at Anfield on Thursday night, having won four of their previous four home games in Europe by an overall score of 17–2. But when Scamacca scored twice and Mario Pasalic added a third, they were taken aback.
Given that they defeated Sparta Prague 5-1 on the road in the last round, Jurgen Klopp’s team may yet have some hope. But if Gian Piero Gasperini’s men don’t rest on their laurels, they’re a whole different story.
With his brace against Merseyside, Scamacca—who arrived from West Ham over the summer—moved onto 13 goals for the year. In remarks made following the match on April 18, he acknowledged that there was still work to be done in Bergamo.
Scamacca reportedly stated, “Jokes aside, it’s a fantastic night because we believed in it from the start, we’re very happy,” according to TuttoMercatoWeb. He did, however, reiterate that Atalanta’s priority is still winning the second leg, saying, “It’s not much against them, it’s not enough, you know.”
The former Sassuolo frontman continued, “We tried to live it as calmly as possible, entering the field with courage, helping each other.” It takes a team to accomplish such things, not an individual. I scored two goals today, but I never would have scored if it weren’t for my teammates. Everyone deserves credit for it.
Encouraged to celebrate his own accomplishment, Scamacca remained grounded. “There’s the second leg; don’t let the two goals or the excitement deceive you. For now, I have to maintain my composure; we’ll see you next week.”
Liverpool, who were second in the Premier League and had already won the Carabao Cup, entered the match with the intention of completing a treble in Jurgen Klopp’s last season. However, following the defeat at home, their management did not hold back.
Klopp said to TNT Sports, “Unfortunately, there isn’t anything really positive to say about the game.” “We had a strong start, and although Harvey Elliott’s strike against the crossbar may have been fortuitous, we really should have been ahead 1-0 at that point. Darwin [Nunez]’s opportunity was another fortunate break, so it was excellent as well.
“But after a while, the game turned into an awful one, and there’s nothing good to say about that. Our possession discipline didn’t sit well with me. We were nowhere because we were everywhere. There was no counter-press; we gave them the advantage.
“A few of tonight’s performances were quite astounding—I had no idea they could play like that. Many of the gamers appeared to be really lonely at various points. It was awful. Finally, we got our best opportunity, but we passed it up.”
