Liverpool bow out despite Salah's early penalty

Europa League quarter-final

Atalanta 0

Liverpool 1 (Salah 7' P))

(Aggregate 3-1) 

JURGEN Klopp’s European career with Liverpool came to an end in exiting to Atalanta last night with Mo Salah, as he has been for so many of the legendary wins during his manager’s reign, at the centre of the action as he tasted defeat, for one last time.

The striker scored an early goal but missed a glorious chance to double Liverpool’s lead before half-time, a miss that, even at the time, felt like an end to his team’s hopes of overcoming a 3-0 first leg deficit in this Europe League quarter-final.

It was an improved Liverpool display, compared to some recent performances, which augurs well for domestic title hopes but this was an anti-climactic way for the former Champions League winner to bow out in Europe.

Salah gave Liverpool a dream start, sparking hopes among the 700 travelling fans and countless thousands at him that this would not be Klopp’s last European stand, after all.

The hope persisted that, after so many unforgettable occasion in the club’s modern history, the German had one more trick, one more implausible and spectacular comeback in his arsenal.

And when Cody Gakpo sent the Egyptian star racing clear, with only home goalkeeper Juan Musso to beat, on 39 minutes, it looked as though Salah was about to make it 2-0 and that would, surely, have put the Reds firmly in control.

But Salah missed; the ball taking an unkind and unflattering touch off his shin as it flew well wide of the Atalanta goal and the Italians had escaped.

The evening had certainly not started in the way the upstart Serie A side would have wanted, Liverpool taking the lead from the penalty spot with just seven minutes on the clock.

The move started