A four-minute double through Josip Ilicic and Robin Gosens earned Atalanta a remarkable 2-0 win over Liverpool at Anfield, extending champions league Group D betting to two matches of the final.
Jurgen Klopp’s appearance beat Atalanta in a brutal way when they faced each other on the third day, Diogo Jota scored a hat-trick in the 5-0 win in Bergamo, but today’s impressive demonstration of Atalanta’s defensive organization and superior tension is far more a reflection of the perfect game that has won the heart of European football in recent months.
A summary of the main speech problems below.
Without Luis Muriel or Duvan Zapata, there was an unbridled taste in the attacks of the Atalanta. It was never known where Josip Ilicic, Matteo Pessina or Alejandro Gómez could appear, but it seemed that anyone who was the central midfielder he dreamed of, could have his own brief pass. center front when the nominal fronts moved into space.
For a newly reunited pair of Joel Matip and Rhys Williams, liverpool’s tenth tandem this season is like an omnipotent challenge, protecting without a genuine benchmark.
This allowed Robin Gosens to go unnoticed in unnoticed attacks, as he did when he fired a shot from the pole in the 9th minute, a snorting effort from a closed angle that took Alisson by surprise, however, he probably hit him from the left wing. position not because he likes his goal chances, because there is no genuine choice in the area.
At the moment he replaced with Ilicic increasingly assuming that central role, proceeding to descend deep and making an attempt to maneuver the defense out of position, since everything around him was a hotbed of movement and passes. Fast. The chain of moves that took the ball to Gomez diverted by Atalanta left at its most productive time and left Liverpool astonished as Ilicic’s ghost to turn his first purpose of the season.
One of Liverpool’s triumphs over the past 18 months has been the way they have quietly built intensity in key positions, even with a small team. Some of them came to the cover of external additions such as Thiago and Diogo Jota, while Fabinho established himself as a fair central defensive option and Curtis Jones joined as a midfield veteran.
Still, finding an option for Andrew Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold, still with calf injuries, is too difficult. No wonder, after all, they are the most productive left and right wingers in the world. And without them, Liverpool are struggling to get hold of the wings, to create panic in defenses who have to face Mane on the inside and Robertson on the outside.
Kostas Tsimikas, who began while the Scottish left back rested on the bench, did his best to bomb and Olympiacos actually made a good impression of Robertson’s darts on the flank. His delivery seemed very clever from time to time, but it is not. at the point of Liverpool’s first choice. That meant Atalanta was much more willing to let him carry the ball around the field, the equivalent of a collapsed NBA defenseman over a three-point below-average shooter and obstructing the way for others around him.
That explained why Liverpool took until the 44th minute to sign a shot at the door, especially from a centre in Tsimikas that only cleared up to Mohamed Salah. Matter? Probably not when with one of the Robertson or Alexander-Arnold, this team can be as devastating as he opposed Leicester City on Sunday. In the meantime, it’s hard to imagine a main game in which Klopp doesn’t deploy if they’re available either.
Still, much of this game served as a healthy reminder of this dynamic duo’s influence on their team.
It was perfectly understandable that Klopp felt compelled to leave a number of senior players on the bench, adding Roberto Firmino, Fabinho and Robertson. His team had worked hard to get rid of Leicester on Sunday and by noon on Saturday they will return to action, outside gates Brighton and Hove Albion who beat comfortably even with a reserve team.
Rather, the latter point raises the question of whether this adjustment might have been the one that was filled. This team played as a team that believed the rankings were on the stock market, not literally waking up before Ilicic opened.
Three other problems would have opened up room for Ajax and Atalanta. Klopp has probably chosen a more or less marginal look in Amsterdam and Midtjylland.
Next week, Klopp will now have to make sure his team is strong enough to do the task outside Ajax while making plans for a difficult house game against Wolverhampton Wanderers a few days later. ask your most productive players for more in the coming weeks.
Cristian Romero: Juventus lender strong in the air and disciplined when the ball on deck. The fact that Divock Origi had to cede his central position at the beginning of the part is a tribute to the way Romero had chained him.
Alisson: These are the types of games in which a smart reading of the game through your goalkeeper can save you a number of harmful opportunities. Liverpool number one very smart in that regard, mostly appeared out of nowhere to grab a ball from Ilicic’s feet after Gomez’s deep ball. SCORE: 8
Alejandro Gómez: On a day like today, there was something very cheerful about seeing a little Argentinian No. 10 To create annoyance to the faced parties, and joy to the neutrals who saw him.
Liverpool will go to Ajax next week, only two transparent issues from dutchman and Atalanta, who will receive Midtjylland in Bérgamo. La Klopp’s defeat at Johan Cruyff Arena would not wish them to qualify, but it would be an unwanted challenge for the Premier League Winners.
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