Liverpool are eliminated from the Europa League. In the return match against Atalanta they won 0-1 on Thursday, but that was not enough to wipe away the 0-3 defeat a week ago. For outgoing manager Jürgen Klopp, it was his very last European match for Liverpool. Atalanta is in a European semi-final for the first time in 36 years.

At Atalanta there were starting places for Marten de Roon and the coveted Teun Koopmeiners. Hans Hateboer started on the bench. On the Liverpool side, captain Virgil van Dijk played in the center back and Cody Gakpo started as the deepest striker. There was no more option for Ryan Gravenberch than a place on the reserve bench.

Liverpool started the return match in Bergamo very energetically and reached 0-1 after just six minutes of play. Matteo Ruggeri made hands in his own box, after which Mohamed Salah scored from eleven meters the Reds. The visitors from England increased their belief in a miraculous comeback.

Klopp's team smelled blood and tried through attempts from Luis Díaz and Dominik Szoboszlai. Liverpool's storm gradually subsided during the first half, giving Atalanta the opportunity to fight back into the match. Both teams went to tea halfway with a 0-1 score.

Atalanta came out of the dressing room fresh and it was Koopmeiners and Gianluca Scamacca, among others, who targeted Alisson Becker's goal. At the other end, Juan Musso defused Van Dijk's header. Meanwhile, time was ticking against Liverpool.

Klopp looked despondent on the sidelines, although the German did not give up hope. The outgoing manager brought on strikers Darwin Núñez and Diogo Jota in an attempt to force extra time. That extension did not happen, mainly because Liverpool proved powerless in the second half.

So no European prize for Klopp when he leaves Liverpool. He guided the superpower to final victory in the Champions League in 2019, but also lost three European finals. In 2016, Sevilla were too strong in the final of the Europa League. Afterwards, they lost twice to Real Madrid (2018 and 2022) in the final battle of the Champions League.

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