Champions League: Atalanta v Liverpool match report
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Liverpool ripped apart Atalanta at the Bergamo Stadium as they put five goals past a tame Atalanta side. Diogo Jota fired in two goals to give Liverpool a two goal lead in the first half. Liverpool started the second half in breakneck speed as Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Diogo Jota combined to score three goals in seven minutes. Youngster Rhys Williams put in a brilliant performance for Liverpool to keep a clean sheet.
Match Report
Liverpool started the match in a controlled fashion. They kept the ball with them and dictated the pace of the match. They had a brilliant chance when Salah’s pass found Mane near the box. Mane turned and hit the ball hard, but could his shot was straight at the goalkeeper Sportiello. In the 16th minute Trent Alexander Arnold found himself in midfield and he played a beautiful through ball for Jota. The latter collected the ball, showed brilliant strength to keep his attacker off and lobbed the ‘keeper to score Liverpool’s first half.
Liverpool had greater control of the match after the first goal. They absorbed all of Atalanta’s attacks and countered intelligently. In the 33rd minute Joe Gomez sent a long range pass into the Atalanta box. In many ways it was similar to Virgil Van Dijk’s long passes. Diogo Jota took a touch to steady the ball and bring it into him and smashed the ball into the near post as Sportiello had no chance of saving it. Liverpool lead by two goals at the end of the first half thanks to Jota’s brace.
They started the second half in breakneck speed as Curtis Jones assisted Mohamed Salah two minutes after the restart. Alejandro Gomez’s corner didn’t go past Curtis Jones and he saw hit a pass towards the halfway line. Salah used his pace to receive the ball and ran straight at the goalkeeper. He then cut into his left and slammed the ball into the net to score Liverpool’s third goal of the night. A couple of minutes later Salah charged towards the box and passed the ball to Mane. Mane calmly lobbed the keeper and sent the ball into an empty net to score the fourth goal for Liverpool.
Five minutes later Sadio Mane sent in a beautiful pass that bypassed Atalanta’s defense and fell to Diogo Jota. The latter rounded up the keeper and sent in a delightful goal to get his hat-trick. This was the second hat-trick of Liverpool’s season, after Mo Salah’s hat-trick against Leeds United in the Premier League.
Atalanta were weak in defense and looked like they would concede everytime Liverpool countered. Their attack was marginally better, but whatever they could summon was thwarted by Alisson Becker. Muriel and Duvan Zapata couldn’t get one past the Liverpool keeper and regularly were thwarted by Joe Gomez and Rhys Williams. The centre-back pairing were insurmountable as they cut off vital passes and blocked counter attacks at will. Rhys Williams deserves special praise as this was his first start in the Champions League and against a team that scored 98 goals in its domestic league. He handled this challenge with aplomb and has established himself as a trustworthy person. So far Virgil Van Dijk’s absence isn’t being felt as Liverpool continue to outscore their opponents.
Opinion
What makes this match more special is Liverpool have suffered numerous injuries from the start of their campaign and were missing some of their key players. Players like Joel Matip, Virgil Van Dijk, Fabinho and Thiago Alcantara are yet to return and could strengthen an already super strong Liverpool side. Liverpool has conceded zero goals in three matches and now sit on top of the table with 9 points. They look poised to qualify when they host Atalanta next on November 23. They next face Manchester City away in the weekend while Atalanta host Inter Milan.
Also read: Atalanta v Liverpool player ratings
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