"Klopp farewell tour not going to plan" - Social media explodes as Liverpool crash out of Europa League after 3-1 aggregate loss to Atalanta
Football fans on social media went into a frenzy after favorites Liverpool crashed out of the UEFA Europa League at the hands of Italian outfit Atalanta. The Reds won the second leg 1-0 at the Gewiss Stadium, but it was ultimately not enough, as they lost 3-1 on aggregate.
Liverpool have failed in their bid to win the last remaining title that has eluded Jürgen Klopp in his nine years at Anfield. They lost to Sevilla in the final of the UEFA Europa League in 2016 and hadn't played in the competition since, until the ongoing season.
The Reds breezed through the group stage and Round of 16 before falling to a shock defeat on home soil at the hands of Atalanta. Their best efforts were not enough in the second leg in Bergamo, as the Serie A outfit successfully stifled them and denied them a place in the semifinals.
For a side that was in the hunt for all four competitions they featured in in February, the Reds are now in danger of not winning any more silverware this season. The farewell tour for Jürgen Klopp is not going as planned, and the fans know as much.
Liverpool fans had varied reactions to their elimination from the Europa League, but were mostly critical of the manager and his team's performance over two legs.
"Thank you Klopp … YOU CAN GO," one fan wrote.
"Never seen us play this scared. Shambolic," another fan added.
"We actually deserve it. We have had a terrible performance from leg 1 to this 2nd one. Gave us hope In the first 10 minutes then what??!!" a fan wrote.
Liverpool will now turn their attention to the Premier League, where they trail Manchester City by two points after losing to Crystal Palace at the weekend. They will look to leapfrog the champions, who are on FA Cup duty, when they face Fulham this weekend.
Dogged Atalanta show steel to send Liverpool out of Europe
Atalanta had to dig deep and show their defensive solidity to navigate a tricky second leg against the Reds at home. The Italian side fell to a narrow 1-0 defeat, but their first leg buffer was enough to send them through.
Liverpool managed to open the scoring inside seven minutes through a Mohamed Salah penalty as the Reds threatened to run away with it. They were forced to slow down by a quality rearguard showing from the Italians, which prevented them from scoring again.
In the end, Atalanta managed to reach the semifinal of a major European tournament for the first time since 1988. They will face French outfit Olympique Marseille for a place in the final of the competition.