Atalanta destroyed the ragged Reds in the opening leg of their Europa League quarterfinal.

After Sunday’s terrible draw at Manchester United, Jurgen Klopp claimed there was no cause to panic. But what about now? Liverpool’s chances of winning the Premier League may not have been fatally damaged at Old Trafford, but their chances of qualifying for the Europa League are gone following an embarrassing 3-0 loss to Atalanta at home on Thursday night. This further solidifies the belief that the Reds are losing steam just when it matters most.

Liverpool’s opening leg of this quarterfinal matchup just never got underway. Atalanta could have been ahead by more than one goal at the half despite Darwin Nunez wasting a fantastic opening and Harvey Elliot making a fantastic effort to hit the woodwork.

The first goal was somewhat fortunate, as Caoimhin Kelleher somehow let Gianluca Scamacca’s effort slip under his body. However, the Italians were the superior, more confident team, and they duly doubled their lead in the sixtyth minute when the Italian side-footed home a fantastic cross from Charles De Ketelaere.By then, Klopp had introduced players like Andy Robertson and Mohamed Salah, but the Reds were uninspired and Mario Pasalic scored a game-winning third goal in the closing seconds.

The players from Liverpool who were destroyed by a superb Atalanta are ranked by GOAL below.

Goalkeeper & Defence

Caoimhin Kelleher (5/10):

Should have kept out Scamacca’s poorly-struck effort but Liverpool would have been further behind at the break had he not made huge saves from Pasalic and Koopmeiners.

Joe Gomez (4/10):

Solid enough defensively but offered so little going forward. Alexander-Arnold’s return to full fitness can’t come soon enough.

Ibrahima Konate (4/10):

Brought back into the starting line-up in place of Quansah and won plenty of posseession but was guilty of playing Scamacca onside for the striker’s second goal.

Virgil van Dijk (4/10):

Making some timely interceptions with some lovely touches, and also threatened at the other end of the field, but Liverpool’s atrocious defensive record does not reflect well on the captain, who didn’t step out early enough in the build-up to Atalanta’s third goal.

Kostas Tsimikas (3/10):

Atalanta caused all sorts of problems down Liverpool’s left-hand side, with their Greek full-back repeatedly caught out of position. Inevitably put out of his misery at half-time.

Midfield

Alexis Mac Allister (5/10):

Blazed over early on and just wasn’t his usual dynamic self, which is a major concern given how important he’s been of late.

Wataru Endo (5/10):

Another worryingly subdued showing from a player who has looked tired in recent weeks. Came off with 15 minutes to go.

Curtis Jones (4/10):

His wonderful through-ball for Nunez deserved so much better but his passing repeatedly let him down at times and he was hooked at half-time.

Attack

Harvey Elliott (5/10):

Given a deserved start after another super-sub showing at Old Trafford and cruelly denied what would have been a beautiful, Salah-like goal by a combination of the bar and the post. Seriously unlucky to be taken off at the break when his fellow forwards were performing far worse.

Darwin Nunez (4/10):

Caused problems with his pressing but made an absolute mess of his finish after being put clean through by Jones. The fact that he was subbed off while Liverpool needed a goal represented a damning indictment of his wastefulness.

Cody Gakpo (4/10):

Never stopped trying, at least, and created one chance for Nunez with his perseverance, but this was another wasted opportunity to press his claims for a starting spot.

Subs & Manager

Luis Diaz (4/10):

Replaced Nunez on the hour mark but failed to make an impact.

Mohamed Salah (4/10):

Reclaimed his usual berth on the right wing from Elliott at the start of the second half and thought he’d got Liverpool back into the game but his tap-in was ruled out for offside.

Diogo Jota (5/10):

A welcome return to action after two months out but his arrival came too late to turn the tide in the hosts’ favour.

Andy Robertson (6/10):

Unsurprisingly brought on in place of Tsimikas and while he was good going forward, he failed to curb the threat posed by Atalanta down the right flank.

Dominik Szoboszlai (3/10):

Came on in midfield for Jones but fared little better than his fellow midfielder before gifting Atalanta a killer third goal.

Jurgen Klopp (3/10):

An absolute nightmare for the German, who could only smile ruefully as his side completely capitulated. Clearly got his starting line-up all wrong against such a strong side and, on this occasion, his changes did nothing to alter the course of the game and Klopp now has a serious job on his hands to revive the Reds ahead of Sunday’s must-win Premier League clash with Crystal Palace.