Jurgen Klopp unhappy with “unrecognisable” Liverpool after damaging Atalanta loss; it leaves the Reds with a three-goal deficit to chase ahead of next Thursday’s second leg in Italy; they return to Premier League action on Sunday, taking on Crystal Palace live on Sky Sports
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Jurgen Klopp says he takes responsibility for Liverpool’s 3-0 defeat to Atalanta in the Europa League quarter-final first-leg tie
Jurgen Klopp called Thursday’s 3-0 home defeat to Atalanta “a low point” in Liverpool’s season as their Europa League hopes were left hanging by a thread.
Liverpool looked flat throughout the quarter-final first leg and ended the night somewhat fortunate Atalanta did not take one of their many late chances to add further gloss to an already favourable scoreline.
Mo Salah had a goal ruled out for a marginal offside, but the much-changed Reds lacked fluency, and the spark needed to dislodge a well-organised Atalanta side, who will now be odds-on to knock out the tournament favourites when they meet again in a week’s time in Bergamo.
“It was a really bad game, oh my God,” Klopp said after Liverpool’s first Anfield defeat in nearly 14 months.
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“They broke, they scored and we just lost the plot a little bit. We were here and there in midfield, I didn’t recognise it.
“It was really strange but in football terms it was tactical discipline. They scored and we kept playing into their hands.
Image: Mohamed Salah saw a second-half strike chalked off after he had strayed offside
“We played a bad game and we we deserved to lose. We must feel that now but we have exactly this night to feel bad about it and then we have to build up for (Crystal) Palace.”
Klopp made six changes in total – swapping three of his backline – following Sunday’s 2-2 draw with Manchester United, but his bid to freshen up the side actually had the exact opposite effect, as Liverpool were laboured in and out of possession.
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Asked if the tie was still alive, with 90 minutes at the Gewiss Stadium still to play next Thursday, Klopp said: “I believe it’s not the moment to talk about that. I’m not in the mood to think about the game in a week’s time when we have another in between.
Image: Atalanta's Mario Pasalic celebrates scoring their third goal against Liverpool
“Definitely we have to try, we want to win the game but now is not the moment to have a big mouth. We have to play a really good game.
“Where we are, this is probably a low point for us performance-wise so it should be possible to play a little bit better and we can play a lot better. But first and foremost it’s about Sunday now.”
Liverpool host Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Sunday, live on Sky Sports Premier League, before travelling to Italy for the second leg of an uphill task.
Verdict: Disjointed Liverpool declining at a key time?
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Anton Toloui reacts to Liverpool’s defeat
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