Atalanta 0-1 Liverpool (3-1 agg.): Reds' Player Ratings as Salah's penalty not enough to avoid elimination | UEFA Europa League 2023-24
Liverpool secured a 1-0 win against Atalanta in the second leg of their UEFA Europa League quarter-final clash at the Gewiss Stadium on April 18. However, the margin of victory was not enough as they bowed out after losing 3-1 on aggregate.
The Reds entered this game on the back of a faltering run of form. With three wins, three defeats and one draw in their last seven games, they were desperate for some consistency. They were humbled 3-0 by Atalanta in the first leg at Anfield.
Jurgen Klopp's men then lost the subsequent Premier League game 1-0 to Crystal Palace. The German made six changes to that lineup as main goalkeeper Alisson returned to the XI, along with Trent Alexander-Arnold and others.
Liverpool made a sharp start to the contest and were handed a dream start by Atalanta as Matteo Rugeri gave away a penalty. Mohamed Salah stepped up and put the Reds 1-0 up after just seven minutes. The visitors continued to dominate possession as they kept the ball for 69% of the first half.
However, Liverpool lacked accuracy in the final third as just three of their eight attempts were on target in the first half. They did well defensively though as Atalanta managed just one shot in the first half. The Reds led 1-0 at the break.
Atalanta made a good start to the second period and burst into life in the final third. Despite having just 29% of the ball, they created decent openings but were unable to find the target with good frequency. The hosts attempted seven second-half shots but just two were on target. Liverpool, on the other hand, did not do too much better.
The Reds managed just two attempts despite dominating possession. Jurgen Klopp also made periodic changes to keep things fresh but that did not help his team score more goals. Atalanta did well to prevent any late drama as they lost 1-0 on the night, but progressed to the semi-finals with a 3-1 aggregate win.
Liverpool can now shift their focus back to the Premier League title race. With that said, let's take a look at their player ratings from this game.
Liverpool Player Ratings
Alisson - 7.5/10
Alisson made two decent saves but had a great game distributing the ball as he played 14 long balls.
Trent Alexander-Arnold - 6.5/10
Alexander-Arnold played well as he lasted 72 minutes on the pitch. He won three duels, played one key pass and seven long balls and also completed two dribbles.
Ibrahima Konate - 8/10
Konate was solid in defence as he won 13 duels, making four tackles, three clearances and three interceptions. He also played three long balls.
Virgil van Dijk - 7/10
Van Dijk had a decent game as he won two duels and passed the ball with 89% accuracy, including two long balls.
Andrew Robertson - 6.5/10
Robertson had an average game on the left flank as he won one duel and passed the ball with 77% accuracy, including two long balls.
Dominik Szoboszlai - 7/10
Szoboszlai passed the ball with 85% accuracy and won five duels, making two tackles and one interception. He also attempted one shot on target.
Alexis Mac Allister - 7.5/10
Mac Allister passed the ball with 86% accuracy, including one key pass and one long ball. He also won six duels and made five interceptions and three tackles.
Curtis Jones - 7/10
Jones passed the ball with 90% accuracy, including one key pass and two long balls. He also won seven duels and made two tackles.
Mohamed Salah - 6.5/10
Salah scored an early penalty to give Liverpool hope. However, he was fairly ineffective apart from that.
Cody Gakpo - 7/10
Gakpo passed the ball with 71% accuracy, including two key passes. He also won four duels.
Luis Diaz - 6.5/10
Diaz passed the ball with 97% accuracy but won just one of his nine duels and attempted just one shot.
Substitutes
Darwin Nunez - 6.5/10
Nunez replaced Salah but failed to make an impact on the game for Liverpool.
Diogo Jota - 6.5/10
Jota came on shortly after the hour mark but failed to make an impact.
Harvey Elliott - 6.5/10
Elliott replaced Szoboszlai and put in a decent cameo.
Joe Gomez - 6.5/10
Gomez replaced Alexander-Arnold and had a decent game.
Jayden Danns - 6.5/10
He replaced Robertson late in the game and played well.