Scamacca brace helps Atalanta stun Liverpool

Europa League quarter-final

Liverpool 0 

Atalanta 3 (Scamacca 38’, 60’, Pasalic 83’)

GIANLUCA Scamacca, a striker last seen in these parts enduring an anonymous campaign with West Ham last season, scored twice at Anfield as Serie A’s sixth-placed club Atalanta pulled off an astonishing upset.

Jurgen Klopp bet on squad rotation for his Europa League quarter-final first leg tie and was left to count the cost, as was his goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher who made an uncharacteristic error in conceding the first goal.

The Liverpool manager backtracked with five substitutions but was left facing, arguably, the worst Anfield European night of his reign and one which was wrapped up by a third Atalanta goal, to add to Scamacca’s double, seven minutes from time.

Scamacca actually started the move on another break that pounced on yet more Liverpool errors, threading a pass for Ederson whose shot was well saved by Kelleher but only for the unmarked Mario Pasalic to net the rebound.

But this, Liverpool’s first home defeat since Real Madrid 14 months ago, was no fluke, against brilliantly managed opposition.

Klopp, certainly, seemed to be struggling to comprehend it as Liverpool trailed at the interval and could have been well and truly buried, with Kelleher at the centre of first half events.

It was a case of the good, the bad and the ugly from the Ireland international keeper or, more accurately, the ugly, the bad and the good.

The bad was, undoubtedly his role in Atalanta’s 38th minute goal which, while it had been threatened by the Italians, still managed to stun Anfield into silence.

As they had throughout the half, the visitors spotted Kostas Tsimikas as Liverpool’s defensive weak link and attacked down the flank through Davide