Atalanta progressed to the Europa League semi-finals with a 3-1 aggregate score against Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool, despite falling to a 1-0 defeat in Bergamo on Thursday night. Here are three talking points from the quarter-final second leg at the Gewiss Stadium.
The damage was already done
Facing the six-time European Champions, Liverpool, in international competition is always a fairly daunting task, however, for Atalanta, an excellent showing on the way to a 3-0 win at Anfield last week meant that they already had one foot in the semi-finals. Of course, they had to make sure they didn’t capitulate in Bergamo, but Liverpool’s 1-0 loss to Crystal Palace in the Premier League between the two European meetings will have given Gian Piero Gasperini’s side lots of confidence, Still, there was a job to do on the night, and, other than Mo Salah’s seventh-minute penalty, the Dea defence protected Joan Musso’s goal brilliantly, and were unfortunate not to come away with consecutive clean sheets. The performance was disciplined, hard-fought and probably deserving of a draw. Qualification is not a bad consolation prize, though.
Man-marking pays off
Atalanta’s work rate off the ball in both legs of their quarter-final was exceptional. Liverpool were simply unable to cope in the first leg at Anfield, and it was a similar situation for the reverse fixture on Thursday. Other than the penalty, Liverpool had one clear-cut opportunity, which fell to Salah, who attempted to lob Musso in the first half, but put his shot wide of the posts. Atalanta had an incredibly effective man-marking system at the Gewiss Stadium, with Sead Kolasinac often left man-to-man with Salah, Djimsiti one-on-one with Luis Diaz, while Ederson kept an eye on Dominik Szoboszlai. Virgil van Dijk, in his post-match interview with TNT Sports, highlighted Atalanta’s man-marking system as one of the main reasons why Liverpool. “Obviously, the man-marking could be an advantage, I think especially the first part of the first half, we were on them and created chances, but it’s about making the right decisions,” he said. “The damage was done last week and that’s something that we have to all be very disappointed about.”
A look ahead to Marseille
Atalanta will now face Ligue 1 side Marseille in the Europa League semi-finals on May 2 and May 9. Gasperini and his team are in what many consider to be the ‘favourable’ side of the draw, avoiding Serie A rivals Roma, and the still-unbeaten Bayer Leverkusen, who beat West Ham 3-1 over two legs of their quarter-final. Marseille have endured a turbulent season on and off the pitch, including the sacking of 2006 World Cup winner Gennaro Gattuso. Their 1-0 result and eventual penalty shoot-out victory over Benfica on Thursday night was the team’s first win in five matches in all competitions. Atalanta and Marseille will meet in France first before playing out the reverse fixture in Bergamo a week later, ie the same situation for La Dea as it was against Liverpool. And, if they can replicate their performances over the Premier League heavyweights when they face Marseille, there will not be a lot anybody can do to stop them from reaching the Europa League final.
More must-reads: