BIG SHOCK AS VISITORS STUN REDS AT ANFIELD IN THE UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE QUARTER-FINAL AS LIVERPOOL 0-3 ATALANTA

Liverpool’s quarterfinal first leg at Anfield on Thursday saw Atalanta win 3-0; to advance in the Europa League, Liverpool needs to stage an incredible comeback in the second game.

Gianluca Scamacca scored goals each side of halftime, and Mario Pasalic added a late goal. As a result, the Reds will have a big deficit to overcome when they play Italy the following week if they are to advance to the round of four.

At Stadio di Bergamo, Liverpool must now mount a tremendous comeback after Harvey Elliott struck the woodwork with the score still at 0-0 and Mohamed Salah had a goal disallowed for offside before Pasalic added the visitors’ third.

Six changes were made to Liverpool’s starting lineup by Jurgen Klopp, with Curtis Jones making his first start since February. As replacements, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Stefan Bajcetic, and Diogo Jota were added back to the matchday roster.

When the ball ricocheted into Pasalic’s path from no more than six yards out in the first three minutes, Atalanta might have, and probably should have, taken the lead, but Caoimhin Kelleher spread out to make a heroic save.

Then came a respectable spell from the Reds. After Jones slipped in Darwin Nunez with a weighted, slide-rule pass, Elliott came dangerously near with a precise, curled effort that struck the underside of the crossbar and post before bouncing to safety. However, the No. 9 scuffed his attempt at a raised finish.

Nunez then supplied a deep cross from the byline, and Jones went wide. With Atalanta now on the defensive, they broke through when Davide Zappacosta’s pull-back was met by Scamacca, whose finish slipped under Kelleher and into the net.