Pep Guardiola once said that the game for Atalanta is like a ladder at the dentist.
And tonight at Anfield, the Italians inflicted a lot of pain on Jurgen Klopp, who after all would possibly not be entitled to his big farewell in Dublin.
Liverpool fans have already booked hotels in the Irish capital for May 22, when the Europa League final will be played, and it would also be Klopp’s last game in charge.
But hopes of a party at Temple Bar hang in the balance and the Reds want to achieve something normal in the city of Bergamo next Thursday.
Against Gian Piero Gasperini’s well-drilled team, it will be an incredibly difficult task for Klopp and his team.
However, the biggest wonder last night was the striker who took on the role of dental surgeon with his scalpel in West Ham’s failure, Gianluca Scamacca.
He didn’t do much in east London and even after his £22. 5m move to Atalanta in the summer, Scamacca hadn’t got Serie A off the ground and lost his place in the Italian national team.
But he made it to that tie on the back of a decent scoring run and continued that momentum by scoring twice to stun Kop.
His first goal was saved by Caoimhin Kelleher, but his finish for the moment was surely excellent.
As for Klopp, he shook his head in disbelief.
Gianluca Scamacca Atalanta leads! ⚽️ They’ve been in 5⃣ their 6⃣ last few games!?? @tntsports
The 2-2 draw at Manchester United on Sunday was disappointing, but Liverpool still played well and deserved to have been out of sight at Old Trafford.
But here it was a disappointing performance.
Gianluca Scamacca Finished 2⃣ – 0⃣ ?Amazing Scenes at Anfield ?? @tntsports
At half-time, Klopp made three changes and brought on Mo Salah, Dominic Szoboszlai and Andy Robertson, but, unusually, there was no first return at Anfield.
With just two wins in their last nine games, Atalanta (sixth in Serie A) was in wonderful form.
Due to a protest against the 2% increase in tickets at Anfield next season, there were no flags on the Kop.
Although the last time Atalanta were here in the Champions League was in November 2020, there were no fans – due to Covid restrictions – and Liverpool lost 2-0.
But given the form Liverpool are in this season, you wouldn’t expect history to repeat itself once again.
Atalanta took the lead against Kop in less than 3 minutes when Mario Pasalic failed to score from close range when he fired a shot into the face of Caoimhin Kelleher, who ended up with a giant red mark around his left eye.
INCREDIBLE! ? Liverpool are down 3-0 at Anfield! ?? @tntsports
It may have been thought that it was a clever save from the Irishman, but in the end, the Croatian foreigner scored.
Atalanta, without injured former Arsenal defender Sead Kolasinic, missed some other chance when Davide Zappacosta, despite being in the ideal position to score, made the stupid decision to take the ball away from Teun Koopmeiners, whose shot was blocked.
Darwin Nunez had scored seven goals in his last 10 games for Liverpool, but he remains an infuriating player who lacks composure at times. It’s not the first time this season that he’s squandered a simple chance with a wild ending when maybe he’s just gone. around the exposed goalkeeper Juan Musso.
From a more complicated position than his teammate, Havey Elliott came so close to scoring a brilliant first goal, but in a great outburst for Atalanta, his curving shot hit the crossbar and then the post.
After the first scares, Liverpool had done a good job frustrating the Italians, but they were disappointed seven minutes before the break.
Former Chelsea defender Zappacosta had a ridiculous area on the right and had time to spot Scamacca, who first struck right in the box. The effort wasn’t particularly hard, but it bounced off the ground and then went under Kelleher’s throw.
Left-back Kostas Tsimikas had been incredibly poor and disappeared in first-half stoppage time. Koopmeiners had a weak shot towards goal, but made a strong first touch and then fired at a rushing Kelleher.
Tsimikas may have had few court cases in the offseason, as he was one of three adjustments with Harvey Elliott and Curtis Jones also on the sidelines.
Liverpool looked better after the substitutions and Salah forced a save from Musso.
But, incredibly, Klopp’s team opened up too much in defence. Charles De Ketelaere found a zone on the right and chose Scamacca, who did not score at all through either Joe Gomez or Ibrahima Konate.
Scamacca made a brilliant debut against Kelleher and West Ham fans would have liked to see a few more moments like this.
Liverpool thought they had lost a goal, but Mo Salah was offside.
But with seven minutes remaining, Szoboszlai lost the ball, Scamacca delivered a brilliant pass to Ederson and, although his shot was saved, Pasalic made it 3-0.
As for Klopp, this loss may come at a critical time. With a trophy in their pocket, they are still hoping for a hat-trick, but now it is unlikely.
©News Group Newspapers Limited in England No. 679215 Registered Office: 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF. “The Sun”, “Sun”, “Sun Online” are registered trade marks or trade names of News Group Newspapers Limited. This service is provided under News Group Newspapers’ Limited’s popular terms and situations in accordance with our Privacy & Cookie Policy. To inquire about a license to reproduce material, please visit our distribution site. Check out our online press kit. For other requests, please contact us. To view all of The Sun’s content, please use the site map. Sun’s website is regulated through the Independent Press Standards Organization (IPSO).
Our hounds try to be precise, but we make mistakes. For more main points about our complaints policy and to register a complaint, please click on this link: thesun. co. uk/editorial-complaints/