Liverpool suffered a 3-0 home defeat at Anfield against Atalanta in the Europa League in what could prove to be Jurgen Klopp’s final European home game for the Reds. It was a disastrous performance from Klopp’s side, who were poor for most of the night, and now face a mammoth task to overturn the deficit.
Two goals from former West Ham striker Gianluca Scamacca and a third from Mario Pasalic were enough to sink Liverpool, who had some good chances, and a goal from Mohamed Salah ruled out for offside, but could not find the back of the net.
Following the match, Klopp congratulated Atalanta on the victory and expressed his frustration with Liverpool’s poor performance, explaining how they “lost the plot a bit”, and the fact there were “zero positives” to take from the game.
Perhaps Liverpool could have done with their talismanic right-back tonight because it was a poor performance from both of their fullbacks. Andy Robertson, who was rested, came off the bench at half-time to replace Kostas Tsimikias although his introduction could not prevent Atalanta from scoring twice in the second half to take a 3-goal lead back to Bergamo.
Kostas Tsimikas' night to forget
Thursday night's game certainly was not one of Tsimikas’ best in a Liverpool shirt. Since joining the club from Olympiacos in 2020 for just £11.75m, the Greek left-back has been a consistent squad player for Klopp, but struggled this time around, often having to deal with Charles De Ketelaere, who at times drifted out to the left, and marauding wing-back Davide Zappacosta.
Former Chelsea man Zappacosta managed to get four crosses into the box, completing two, as per Sofascore.
However, not all of those crosses came when Tsimikas was on the pitch after the Greece international was replaced at the break following a shoddy opening 45 minutes.
With that being said, De Ketelaere, in particular, proved to be a tough challenge for Liverpool’s number 21, who was constantly caught out of position, giving room for the Belgian to exploit in behind.
It was a tough night in all for Tsimikas, so much so that Goal.com’s Mark Doyle gave him a dismal rating of just 3/10, noting how he was “put out of his misery at half-time” by being substituted.
Joe Gomez's performance in numbers vs Atalanta
Tsimikas was not the only Liverpool full-back to struggle, with Joe Gomez putting in an equally disappointing performance. Coming up against young wing-back Matteo Ruggeri, Gomez was run ragged by the 21-year-old, as well as struggling to handle matchwinner Scamacca, who often peeled out wide.
In fact, you could arguably pin some of the blame for Scamacca’s second goal on Gomez. It was a slick finish from the Italian, who now has five goals in his last five games. However, you could argue the Englishman did not mark him tightly enough, allowing the former West Ham striker the space to finish off an inch-perfect cross from De Ketelaere.
Whilst Gomez lasted the whole game, he struggled both in and out of possession tonight. The 26-year-old won just one of his five ground duels, completed only one of three long balls, and managed a pass accuracy of 79%, according to Sofascore.
Minutes played
90
Touches
77
Accurate passes
38/48 (79%)
Tackles
0
Interceptions
1
Duels won
3/7
Possession lost
21x
Dribble success
0/2
Key passes
1
Not only that, he was wasteful in front of goal, crucially wasting a chance to cross the ball in from the edge of the area, after the ball fell to him from a set-piece. His wait for a professional goal goes on.
It was a night to forget for Gomez, who was notably handed a 4/10 rating by goal. He has been superb for the most part this season, but with Trent Alexander-Arnold’s imminent return from injury after he was named on the bench tonight, it could mean Gomez is dropped to the bench soon enough.
It is the second loss in five games for Liverpool and the first after the international break. They will be hoping to bounce back on Sunday when they host Crystal Palace, in a must-win Premier League game, as the title race hots up with only a few games left this season.
