After a devastating loss to Atalanta, Jurgen Klopp is not thrilled with his “unrecognisable” Liverpool team. The Reds now have a three-goal deficit to overcome before their second leg in Italy on Thursday. They will play Crystal Palace in their return to Premier League action on Sunday.
With Liverpool’s chances of qualifying for the Europa League hanging in the balance, manager Jurgen Klopp referred to Thursday’s 3-0 home loss to Atalanta as “a low point” in the team’s season.
Throughout the first leg of the quarterfinal, Liverpool was lackluster, and it was lucky for Atalanta at the end of the game that they did not seize one of their numerous late opportunities to enhance an already favorable scoreline.
The much-changed Reds lacked the spark and fluidity needed to upset a well-organized Atalanta team, who will now be the overwhelming favorites to win the tournament when they play again in Bergamo in a week. Mo Salah had a goal disallowed for a slight offside, though.
“Oh my God, it was a really bad game,” Klopp remarked following Liverpool’s first loss at Anfield in almost 14 months.
“They scored, they broke, and we kind of lost the plot.” We were sometimes in midfield; I was not aware of it.
“In football parlance, that was tactical discipline, but it was incredibly weird. We continued to play into their hands after they scored.
“We deserved to lose because we played a poor game. We have to feel that way right now, but we only have tonight to feel horrible about it before we have to prepare for (Crystal) Palace.”
Following Sunday’s 2-2 draw with Manchester United, Klopp made six changes in all, switching three players in the backline. However, his attempt to rejuvenate the team had the exact opposite impact, as Liverpool struggled to gain and maintain possession.
With ninety minutes remaining at the Gewiss Stadium on Thursday, Klopp responded, “I think it’s not the moment to talk about that,” when asked if the tie was still in play. When we have another game in a week, I’m not in the mood to ponder about this one.
“We must attempt; we want to win the game, but this is not the time to speak out loud. We need to play a very competitive game.
“Performance-wise, we’re definitely at a low point right now, so we can play much better and we can play a little bit better. But Sunday is now the most important thing.”
