Liverpool find themselves in a precarious position in the Europa League following a surprising home defeat to Atalanta in the first leg of the quarter-final at Anfield.
Former West Ham striker Gianluca Scamacca netted goals in each half, with ex-Chelsea player Mario Pasalic sealing the victory with a late third goal. As a result, Atalanta emerges as the clear favorites to advance to the semi-finals when the teams clash again in Bergamo next Thursday.
Scamacca opened the scoring in the 38th minute after Caoimhin Kelleher allowed his low shot to slip past him.
Despite a frustrating performance from Liverpool, including missed opportunities from Darwin Nunez and Harvey Elliott hitting the bar, Mohamed Salah, who began on the bench, forced a splendid save from Atalanta goalkeeper Juan Musso.
Liverpool’s lackluster display and defensive lapses allowed Scamacca to extend Atalanta’s lead with a well-taken goal in the 60th minute, while Pasalic capitalized on space granted to him to seal the victory with a late strike, profiting from Kelleher’s initial save.