Without Miracles, There Are Only Liverpool's Regrets in Bergamo

"Credit to Atalanta. They deserve to qualify. We made it harder for ourselves. We played badly last week. Today was better, we fought well. We got chances, but rushed ourselves to score the second and third goals," said Liverpool captain, Virgil van Dijk.

Liverpool's hope of repeating the story of the 2005 Champions League final in Istanbul, when they came back from being 0-3 down, was briefly ignited after a penalty was awarded. They quickly scored a goal, causing the opposing team to become a little panicked. The away team then took control of the game as Atalanta focused more on defending to avoid conceding another goal.

Also read: ”Man to Man” Atalanta Special, Liverpool Hostage

Several opportunities were created before the break. One of them was through Salah towards the end of the first half. The winger forward was left facing goalkeeper Juan Musso, but failed to double the lead. He was free and had the option to pass to Luis Diaz, but chose to chip the ball from outside the penalty box.

Regret is evident on Salah's face. He seems to realize that he missed the team's best opportunity to rise. If that effort had resulted in a goal, Liverpool would have ended the first half with a 2-0 lead. With the aggregate gap only one goal, Atalanta will surely be more cautious after halftime.

The opposite happened. Atalanta became calmer in the second half. The team coached by Coach Gian Piero Gasperini is actually braver in pressing without the ball. They again played an aggressive man to man defensive scheme which troubled Liverpool at Anfield Stadium. The visiting team was overwhelmed by the high intensity.

Credit to Atalanta. They deserved to get away. We make things harder for ourselves. We played badly last week.

According to Gasperini, he gave freedom to the players during halftime. "I offered them to play more defensively if they felt pressured. However, they answered no. For me, that reaction is worth as much as a trophy. They think like me," said the coach with an open playing style.

Also read: Leverkusen and Liverpool's Ideal Final Plan

Liverpool also lost control. Having created eight shots in the first half, they were only able to add two more after the break. The team coached by Manager Juergen Klopp did not manage to create a single shot during the 60th to 90th minutes.

"Our biggest issue was not being able to maintain the same pace in the second half. In the first half, they put a lot of pressure on us too, but we were still able to create some good opportunities. However, Atalanta deserve to qualify," said Klopp.

Liverpool's decline began with a change of players. Salah was withdrawn in the 66th minute, followed by wing-back Trent Alexander-Arnold six minutes after that. Alexander-Arnold is Liverpool's key to building attacks from below, while Salah is a source of creativity in the opponent's penalty box.

Klopp said he had to rest his main players because they were tired. He was very careful, especially with Alexander-Arnold who had just recovered from an injury. "If Alexander-Arnold is fitter, we could compete longer. His performance was outstanding, but he ran out of energy," he said.

Despite the early morning failure, Liverpool's biggest mistake was losing heavily at home. Klopp played a major role in this result. He fielded five backup players at once for the first quarterfinal match. Atalanta took advantage of Klopp's carelessness very well.

As a result, the Europa League trophy remains the only one that Klopp has yet to win at Liverpool. "It's a mix of feelings. We've been knocked out, but I'm happy with the performance of the players. Now we just need to focus on the remaining competitions," said Klopp, who will leave Liverpool at the end of the season.

Liverpool joined Arsenal and Manchester City in being knocked out of the Champions League on the previous day. According to Opta, there will be no English representatives in the Champions League or Europa League semifinals for the first time since the 2014-2015 season. This is a harsh blow for the world's biggest league.

Atalanta will meet the representative of France, Marseille, in the semifinals. After coaching the team since 2016, Gasperini has the potential to give the first trophy to "The Goddess" at the end of this season. Atalanta defender, Isak Hien, said that nothing can stop them anymore. "After defeating Liverpool, only the sky is our limit," he said. (AP/REUTERS)