Atalanta Loss No Definition Of An Impressive Injury Hit Liverpool

By -
The Reds were comprehensively beaten in the Champions League clash at Anfield by an Atalanta side, who they had beaten 5-0 in the reverse fixture earlier this month. However, the score-line does not tell the truth behind a resilient Liverpool side, who have been impressive despite their injury crisis.

Liverpool players in action in their 2-0 Champions League loss at Anfield to Atalanta.


Jürgen Klopp's side, current second on the Premier League table, tied on points with leaders Tottenham Hotspur, have had their start to the season plagued with injuries to regular first team players with new signing Thiago Alcântara also a concern, playing only two league games since his move from Bayern Munich.

First choice defensive pair of Virgil Van Dijk and Joe Gomez have both suffered long term injuries while full backs, Trent Alexander Arnold and Andrew Robertson also have their fair share in the injury crisis with the former currently out until December while the later recovered in time for the win over Leicester City at Anfield last weekend.

Club captain, Jordan Henderson, Naby Keita, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Xherdan Shaqiri and Thiago Alcântara are currently on the sideline. Sadio Mané, Mohamed Salah, Allison Becker, Joel Matip were also not available at some point this season but have all returned and available for selection.

Despite injury to their main man in defense, Van Dijk in the Merseyside derby draw against Everton, Liverpool have conceded just two open goals in the  seven games played before Atalanta, keeping four clean sheets in that time. They have also emerged winner in all those matches except a draw at The Ethiad which was quite a remarkable result.

The loss against Atalanta is just as expected that a team will lose at some point in a season. Moreso, Liverpool did not start the game with all available first team players as Jürgen Klopp opted for Kostantinos Tsimikas at leftback while Robertson was on the bench and Divock Origi leading the line, flanked by Sadio Mané and Mohamed Salah, who just recovered from Covid-19.

Josip Illicic celebrates putting Atalanta in front with Alejandro Papu Gomez. Photo Credit: Twitter/ Faisal HQ


It was a well contested game nevertheless, with Atalanta edging it due to the inexperience in the Liverpool defense and some dodged play in a midfield, lacking creativity. Atalanta also benefitted from Alejandro Papu Gomez' brilliance, as the Argentine pulled the strings in the park of the area on an emotional night for him due to the passing of his countryman, Diego Armando Maradona.

The game was lost to second half goals from Josip Illicic and Robin Gosens. Although Liverpool did make some substitutions in order to salvage something from the game, it was not to be as the momentum of the game will not be taken away from Atalanta, who held on for all three points.

It will be harsh to conclude that the loss came as a result of the injury crisis because that was not the Liverpool that has been portrayed since the never ending in crisis ensued and The Reds will surely bounce back when they return to Premier League action on Saturday, with a trip to Brighton & Hove Albion.


Afolabi Kehinde Hassan

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Ralf Rangnick proffered a permanent solution but United choose to make more casualties with Erik Ten Hag

By -
Image
Ralf Rangnick appeared to have unraveled the puzzle at Manchester United during his short stint as the club's interim manager but the hierarchy did not take heed to his priceless advice. Albeit the German did not enjoy the best of time in the helm of affairs in Old Trafford, Rangnick, who had proven to be more of a administrative minded man prior to his appointment at the club did left blueprints that could have healed the club completely. Looking back and you'll realize it could have been more worth it had speculations of him becoming the club's Director after leaving the Coaching role come to pass. Even in his early days as a professional football coach, Rangnick did not have a reputation of thriving when the stake is high but he flourishes more in an environment that gives him the avenue to build from scratch. The notion was proven truth during his time at Stuttgart, Hannover and even Schalke, where he helped all these teams finesse nightmares into glamour. His appointme
Read more

Doping in sports and the popular culprits in football

By -
Image
Doping in sports is a huge crime as it damages its credibility, and athletes are viewed to have committed an offense when they test positive for illegal performance-enhancing drugs (PED). What is doping ? According to Merriam Webster defines doping as the use of a substance (such as an anabolic steroid or erythropoietin) or technique (such as blood doping) to illegally improve athletic performance. In sports, such action is regarded as cheat, and grave consequences always come with it. Not only that, but on the players' part and their safety, as in the long run, such substances have a long-lasting side effect on the health of the players. Why do athletes dope (take illegal performance-enhancing drugs (PED)) ? There are several reasons take illegal performance-enhancing drugs, and it also depends on the type of sports the athletes in question do. The majority of the reasons is to boost performance. Athletes are also tempted when injured and do not have enough time to recover before
Read more

A sign of what is to come but no excuse for Chelsea's late capitulation in the London derby

By -
Image
Chelsea ended a run of three straight home defeats to Arsenal in an enthralling London derby match in the Stamford Bridge on Saturday evening. While many will see it as a positive omen for the host, which is rightly so, it was very poor game management by both the players and the manager to allow the visitors snatch a point later on the night. Arsenal was there for the taking. It was the worst display by Mikel Arteta's side in recent years and despite having a two goal cushion, Mauricio Pochettino's side were unable to see out the win from a very comfortable position. Cole Palmer and Mykaylo Mudryk continue to show signs of finally settling into their rhythm under Mauricio Pochettino, much to the delight of the home support as the Blues were all over their rival from the North for the first 70 minutes in the Bridge. Both players also scored in either half, with Mykaylo Mudryk scoring his first ever Chelsea goal in the Stamford Bridge with a wonderful cross-cum-shot, which caugh
Read more