Topic: EL: Liv 0 vs 3 Atal (1st leg) Scamacca 39’ 59’ Pastalic c83’

[skipper757]

Defending has been relatively poor recently, and our attackers are still fluffing their lines.  It's left us with very fine margins in games, and we got hammered tonight.  No surprise if you're going to be playing poorly in both boxes.

That being said, this isn't the worst result (if you're going to lose, ideally it's first leg away but this is still savable).  If we lost 3-0 to Palace, that's likely title 100% over.  Losing 3-0 tonight is likely curtains for the Europa, but we can still come back (however unlikely it might seem).  It's not over.

Like, it would be nice not to get tonked, but got to look on the bright side somehow.

[DangerScouse]

I think Jurgen vastly underrated the opposition.  Some of the players did too and it conspired to become one of our worst performances at Anfield.  It's strange when a goalkeeper that made a mistake for the first was probably our best player.
Can't blame any individual player as it was the collective that stank.

I think Jurgen is in a difficult position having had so many injuries and the fact we have a crucial league game in 3 days. Atalanta had one win in their last 6 games.

The players starting tonight are far better than what they showed but the truth is, we were worse when we strengthened the team in the second half.

 Full credit to Atalanta though, they were excellent and very clinical.

[Crosby Nick]

Plenty of people before the game were saying they didn’t want to see Konate, they wanted him to play on Sunday as a priority. Granted he started, so the point I’m making is probably wrong. But ah well. I wanted us to go strong tonight, I’m usually on the record for saying I want us to win all the cups. But I can understand why we tried to rest a couple. That front three have played a lot recently. Maybe resting Mo and Diaz was a change too far. Don’t really have a quibble with Tsimikas starting. Robbo still beating eased back, Gomez fighting fires elsewhere. If you don’t start him here, where do you.

Ultimately don’t think we were disrespecting Atalanta by picking that side, or showing complacency. But maybe the lack of rotation has caught up with us.

It’s been a shit night, really disappointing and I understand the worries about the season petering out but at the same time, we win on Sunday and at the very worst we’re level with the leaders with 6 games to go, and we are getting players back soon. Alisson in particular will be a welcome sight.

Hate the lashing out and arguing on here. We’re all fucked off with the performance and I don’t think anyone saw it coming, even if our form has been a little more sketchy of late. Off to bed, hope it feels better in the morning (it probably won’t!).

[robertobaggio37]

There was a post in HT thread saying this was the 20th in a season game we conceded 1st. There's a clear pattern.

[Enders]

Fuck me, there’s a lot of things about this club that are clearly on their arse.

So sad isn't it?

[darragh85]

The complete lack of energy is most concerning. They destroyed us physically

Can szobozslai complete a pass? Since he has come back he leaves everything short whether ita 5 or 50 yards

[Fromola]

Fucking abysmal from the players on the pitch but let’s keep the protests outside the ground, to say it didn’t make a difference is simply untrue.

Did they pick the team as well then?

[Eeyore]

0 season tickets and I get to 2-3 home games a season. I don't know what your point is here? I hate the entitlement of people who have the opportunities to go to lots more games think they have divine rights to treat other fans like poop. We're a global team in a global sport, the success we experience is through a collective job of everyone.

Everyone's entitled to their opinion. Just feel people pick battles for the sake of it. 2% is fuck all and supports staff getting pay increases across the board along with inflation along with all over costs, which have also gone up?

That the point though.

The fucking essentials in life like food, heating and other costs have gone up massively. That means people have far less disposable income. That is why it is wrong for what is basically an entertainment industry quite simply can't justify another price increase.   

[Pat The Red]

You just don’t get it. Liverpool fc is not Sainsbury’s. The club is now worth billions and our revenues are huge. But working class supporters are always squeezed and not recognised for what they give to the club. The protests were 110% justified as principle needs to be defended. It’s not just about 2%.

I am so exasperated that so many don’t understand the point of these protests.

We'll agree to disagree. Not sure what Sainsbury's has to do with it though YNWA

[Son of Spion]

From quadruple to just the Carabou within a month.

Devastating how the season is petering out.

Can't see how Klopp picks the players up after the last few weeks. Just hope he gets the send off he deserves from the fans.

The ridiculous quadruple talk was just media nonsense. I don't think any sensible fan gave it any credibility whatsoever.

A League Cup and a Champions League place this season is progress on where we were last season. Anything more is a bonus. There's been an incredible level of arrogance around this Europa campaign. Too many believed we'd walk the competition. We might still overturn this tie in the second leg too, but tonight has been one hell of a reality check for a lot of people.

The saddest thing about how things are currently going is that we've done it to ourselves.

[RedDeadRejection]

So sad isn't it?

So is calling people a c*nt yet here you are.

[JackWard33]

The way i see it, there is going to be no 'in the middle' now. Either we quickly rediscover our form and stay in the title hunt until the end, OR we just continue to drop points, continue to put in performances like tonight and continue to look we're just out of ideas and gas and basically go out on a whimper.

Seems pretty unlikely it’ll be the second option given we’ve had one bad performance with a changed team vs a system we never come up against

[Pat The Red]

That the point though.

The fucking essentials in life like food, heating and other costs have gone up massively. That means people have far less disposable income. That is why it is wrong for what is basically an entertainment industry quite simply can't justify another price increase.

Same as for LFC...Jus sayin

[Enders]

So is calling people a c*nt yet here you are.

Truth hurts like a bitch doesn't it

[Tonyh8su]

I just find it amazing that all of a sudden it's the crowd's fault for not having flags.

So we praise the atmosphere as "the twelfth man" who "seem to suck the ball into the net" when we pull off miraculous wins but now it doesn't matter?

[spider-neil]

You can't say 2% is fuck all. For a start, there is a cost of living crisis. Second, 2% is a drop in the ocean for a club like Liverpool so why risk the wrath of the fans for an amount that is relative peanuts?

[Spongebob Redpants]

Shut it, big nose.

HaHa 

[Eeyore]

Is that all it is, 2%? That's well below inflation.

The City has had a decade of austerity that has hammered working-class people. People can't afford to heat their homes and are using food banks at record number and people are defending billionaires who have seen their investment increase by over 1000%. The world has truly gone mad.

[RedDeadRejection]

Truth hurts like a bitch doesn't it

Not reading what people are saying is a skill some people seem to lack too.

[spider-neil]

A League Cup and a Champions League place this season is progress on where we were last season.

Especially when last season we were on our knees.

[FlashingBlade]

Ticket price issue and no flags got fuck all to do with tonight..team shite..Klopps selection shite..crowd shite..shite result..in conclusion,  shite!

[robertobaggio37]

The only thing I'll say is that you can be sure the prices won't go down from this point, so go figure.

[stoa]

Tbf jota had two great chances when he came on
If he has been match fit I would have fancied him to hit the net
Fancy us scoring over there but can’t see us hitting 3

It's basically a freebie next Thursday. Give it a go and try everything to turn it around. We've seen weirder stuff than us going to Bergamo having lost 3-0 at home and still going through somehow. I don't expect it to happen, but why not? Just give it a try...

[Caps4444]

Especially when last season we were on our knees.

I agree…..but such a shame tonight. It was a real chance of a major trophy

[spider-neil]

The City has had a decade of austerity that has hammered working-class people. People can't afford to heat their homes and are using food banks at record number and people are defending billionaires who have seen their investment increase by over 1000%. The world has truly gone mad.

The billionaires have done an absolute number on the working class by buying up all the media outlets and controlling the narrative to the point where the working class defend billionaires hiking prices.

[Snail]

You can't say 2% is fuck all. For a start, there is a cost of living crisis. Second, 2% is a drop in the ocean for a club like Liverpool so why risk the wrath of the fans for an amount that is relative peanuts?

Just like every other c*nt corporation under the sun, they’re grabbing an extra 2% here, another 3% there, just because they can. Funnily enough, all that begins to add up. I think I’m getting an email to tell me something is going up in price every month at this point.

[TheCunningScorpion]

Is that all it is, 2%? That's well below inflation.

Tory.

[Legs]

Yes but it would be very surprising.
If Atalanta man mark again and rush the player on the ball then I cannot see us dealing with it.
They smothered us today and forced us to make mistakes.
There was nothing positive tonight and I expect similar tactics for the 2nd game.

The most worrying thing is that other teams can now try the same tactics and they may get a similar result.
Our game is about possession and moving the ball around.
However Atalanta prevented us from playing out from the back and marked all our players hence preventing us passing the ball around.

Interesting point about how others set up against us and most teams in the PL who have spent more than Atalanta would not have the bollocks to do it they will camp their ten behind the ball.

PL is over rated imo there is some good sides in Europe but cos we have the likes of Rio Joe Cole telling us how superior the PL is people get shocked when an English team loses, I’m shocked we lost 3-0 for sure but it was never going to be easy it never is in Europe.

[John C]

That was a shock. Atalanta played a canny game, not exactly pressing us but using a man-marking system and arriving at speed to close down the man on the ball. They didn't even bother closing down the passing lanes, preferring to follow the man every time. It was  very effective. It looked like we were bamboozled. Do they always play like this? If so, what the hell went wrong with our preparation?

You know things are bad when even Mac Allister looks poor. And yet he was one of the better ones. Endo had miserable night. He clearly prefers a conventional press. Poor old Konate couldn't control the ball for the life in him and Joe Gomez played his worst game since his mental collapse against Napoli. Szoboszlai was sloppy, as he has been on numerous occasions since coming back from injury. The European campaign's effectively over now. What a pity to turn in such a limp performance in Jurgen's last European night at Anfield.

The biggest question is now, how will it affect our league campaign? I imagine there'll be a lot of anger in the dressing room right now. Most of it from Klopp. We probably won't play - Bergamo aside - such an organised team again this season. Can we use this as fuel for what remains?

My own preference is for Darwin to take a back seat. I know the stats say he's pretty good but he often looks a mess in front of goal. If his general play was excellent, rather than merely OK, we could overlook that. But his profligacy is costing us dear and outside the box he's no Bobby Firmino is he? We need to get Jota up to speed as quickly as possible.

Let's hope Trent is ready to go next week too. Connor Bradley at right back, and Trent in midfield for me now. Macca back at 6. Quansah to partner Virg at the back. Elliott didn't have a good game, but he didn't have a bad one either so I'd also stick with him. Jones, I can forgive. Awful, but awfully rusty too.

Yep, I agree with all that Yorky. You're probably being a bit polite as well.
We were awful, not a single player gets more than a 2/10 for me tonight.
Sloppy, complacent and embarrasinly out-fought all over the pitch.

It was fuck all to do with the atmosphere or ticket price issue, it was about Atalanta wanting it more than us on the night.

[n00bert]

I just find it amazing that all of a sudden it's the crowd's fault for not having flags.

The crowd were flat and flat from the get go. We know our team feeds off the crowd, and there wasn’t even barely a ‘come on!’ in the first half. I’m not saying it’s the protest necessarily, but the crowd has always played a part in our teams success. They were less than fucking useless as a motivator tonight.

[RedDeadRejection]

Genuinely haven't seen anyone defending them. Fsg are scum. No such thing as ethical billionaires.

[spider-neil]

Next Thursday, if we're going out at least go down fighting. Get the first goal and they will shit themselves.

[cornishscouser92]

So, how do we change that next week?

Perhaps a question for Monday...

I’d probably start Macca or Jones as the 6. Jones was poor tonight, but when he’s had a run of games he is a bit like a Wijnaldum Mk2. Suspect he’ll go with Macca as he has done a lot this season.
But I’d definitely start them both, if you beat their man-man press they’re open - as shown by the Nunez chance and Salah disallowed goal

[Pistolero]

The billionaires have done an absolute number on the working class by buying up all the media outlets and controlling the narrative to the point where the working class defend billionaires hiking prices.

And you've got dickheads on an LFC forum absolutely lapping it up....

[WorldChampions]

Defending has been relatively poor recently, and our attackers are still fluffing their lines.  It's left us with very fine margins in games, and we got hammered tonight.  No surprise if you're going to be playing poorly in both boxes.

That being said, this isn't the worst result (if you're going to lose, ideally it's first leg away but this is still savable).  If we lost 3-0 to Palace, that's likely title 100% over.  Losing 3-0 tonight is likely curtains for the Europa, but we can still come back (however unlikely it might seem).  It's not over.

Like, it would be nice not to get tonked, but got to look on the bright side somehow.

Chasing four goals in Europe, away to an Italian team with our leaky defence is about the worst situation you can be in. If we somehow manage to keep a clean sheet we will need 200 chances at current conversion rates to even get ET.

[Enders]

Not reading what people are saying is a skill some people seem to lack too.

Yep I can see that you've spouted shite about blaming fans for a lack of atmosphere and it having a negative impact on the result, been called out for it by numerous people, and are now backtracking like a simp in an attempt to save face.

[Caps4444]

Tory.

Why is he a Tory?

[William Regal]

Shit, that was bad tonight, it's really hard to pick out anyone who had a good game tonight, Gapko's all round play was pretty sharp but he didnt get into goal scoring positions, and Robertson was decent.

Think Tsmikas and Gomez probably gave the worst combined fullback display since Roy Hodgson and Jones looked way off it again.  Our pressing from the front was non existent all way through the game. At least we're in no doubt what to do in the away game, we need to go for their throat from the 1st whistle

[spider-neil]

Just like every other c*nt corporation under the sun, they’re grabbing an extra 2% here, another 3% there, just because they can. Funnily enough, all that begins to add up. I think I’m getting an email to tell me something is going up in price every month at this point.

It's not a matter of grabbing 2% here 2% there. It's them testing the water to see what they can get away with. It's 2% today, what will it be tomorrow with no push back?

[Fromola]

The City has had a decade of austerity that has hammered working-class people. People can't afford to heat their homes and are using food banks at record number and people are defending billionaires who have seen their investment increase by over 1000%. The world has truly gone mad.

The thing is, it'll only raise 1 or 2 mill in revenue anyway. We'll lose more than that in lost match revenue for the semi final (let alone UEFA prize money for the rest of the competition).

However, it's got fuck all bearing on tonight. Crowd and perhaps players hangover from Sunday if anything and key injury absences catching up with us. Harvey's shot a fraction lower and the crowd pick up and we probably win the game. It wasn't our night.