Truly unbelievable scenes were on display in the first-leg of this UEFA Europa League (UEL) quarter-final tie, as Atalanta defied the odds with a 3-0 win over European juggernauts Liverpool at Anfield. That severely jeopardised Liverpool’s hopes of reaching a 21st European semi-final, a stark contrast to Atalanta who are primed to make just their second ever appearance at that stage if they can get the job finished here.
The Italians will take some stopping from realising that dream, proven by the fact that they’ve lost just one of their last 22 UEL matches (W13, D8). If the Gewiss Stadium faithful needed any more comforting, they can look to the fact their side have won the first-leg of a European tie away from home on two previous occasions, and going on to progress in both.
In contrasting fashion, Liverpool have been beaten in a home first-leg encounter in UEFA competition twice before, and were eliminated on both occasions. They were denied a 250th win in all European competition on Merseyside last week, and will need to achieve that feat in remarkable fashion if they’re to progress on this occasion, which would also see the departing Jürgen Klopp become the first Liverpool manager to guide his team to five European semi-finals.
Luckily, Liverpool have a history of memorable European comebacks, and will need to produce a performance similar to their only prior visit to Bergamo, a 5-0 win in November 2020. A result like that seems highly unlikely though, especially after their Premier League aspirations took a similar blow to their European hopes last time out, following a shock 1-0 defeat to Crystal Palace at the weekend which once again highlighted their wasteful nature in front of goal.
Players to watch: Atalanta’s Mario Pašalić may have already struck the killer blow with the third at Anfield last week, but with his four prior goals this season all coming in home wins, he’ll be looking to put the final nail in the coffin. Another chapter of Liverpool European history may rest on the shoulders of Darwin Núñez, who has fired his club to victory in all 15 of his goalscoring appearances this season.
Hot stat: Liverpool have scored three or more goals only four times in their last 20 away games.
