Atalanta Stun Liverpool with 3-0 Victory in Europa League
Much-Changed Liverpool Outclassed by Serie A Side
Atalanta's Pasalic Shines with a Goal and an Assist
In a stunning upset, Serie A's Atalanta stunned Premier League giants Liverpool 3-0 in the first leg of their UEFA Europa League quarter-final at Anfield on Thursday. The much-changed Liverpool side, without several key players, were outplayed and outclassed by the Italian visitors.
Mario Pasalic opened the scoring for Atalanta in the 14th minute with a low shot that found the bottom corner. Andreas Cornelius doubled the lead just six minutes later with a header assisted by Duvan Zapata. Pasalic then sealed the victory in the 59th minute with a powerful strike that gave Liverpool goalkeeper Adrián no chance.
Atalanta dominated the match, recording the highest expected goals (xG) by a visiting team at Anfield since Manchester City in February 2021. Liverpool's 5-0 win against FC Porto in the previous round was the biggest ever by an English club away to Italian opposition in European competition, but Atalanta turned the tables on them with an even more impressive performance.
The result leaves Atalanta in a strong position heading into the second leg in Bergamo next week. Liverpool will need a major turnaround to advance to the semi-finals, but their recent form has been poor and Atalanta will be confident of completing the job on home turf.
Comments