Liverpool have first-class expertise in sparking comebacks under Jurgen Klopp, and one final match of magic will be needed to overturn a 3-0 Anfield defeat against Atalanta in the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final tie last week.
While Liverpool have been largely brilliant this season, injuries and lingering defensive fragilities from a drab 2022/23 campaign have surfaced lately, with last Thursday's loss setting up a devastating 1-0 defeat on home turf against Crystal Palace in the Premier League, putting Manchester City – ominously – in the driving seat.
Klopp will take solace in the fact that Arsenal have also faltered, losing at the Emirates against Aston Villa just hours after the Palace misery, but Pep Guardiola's side have purred into pole position.
Today though, Liverpool will be fixed on sinking Atalanta in Italy, returning the favour and ascending to the final four to gift Merseyside's sea of red a final slice of success on the continent, reinvigorating a thrilling campaign – Klopp's last as manager – that is in danger of petering out at the final stretch.
To have battled so hard, with such zest and zeal, throughout the months of staggering injury issues only to slump at the crucial moment, with key personnel filtering back in from the sidelines, is inexcusable, and Klopp will at least be buoyed by a relatively lean bill of collective health.
Liverpool team news
Conor Bradley is one of the unavailable options, having been confirmed to face three weeks out of action with an ankle injury sustained against the Eagles.
Thiago Alcantara, Joel Matip and Ben Doak remain long-term absentees and Stefan Bajcetic will not be involved, recovered after a lengthy layoff but not travelling to Lombardy.
That aside, it's much brighter on the injury front for the Reds, with Alisson starting last weekend and on pre-match media duty this week, suggesting he will start between the sticks.
Moreover, Trent Alexander-Arnold could make his first start in over two months after returning from the bench last time out.
Corner taken quickly
Klopp put it poetically: "If we fail, let’s fail in a most beautiful way."
Gianluca scored twice and Marko Pasalic added insult to injury with a late third to sink Anfield in ignominious circumstances for the hosts, whose lofty and unlikely dreams of a quadruple have crumbled to the threat of just the Carabao Cup in a startling flash.
Klopp's words were actually uttered five years ago, when Liverpool trailed Barcelona by three goals to nil in the Champions League semi-final, all hope seemed lost, hopes of enriching Anfield's illustrious European history in tatters.
"Corner taken quickly." It's a sentence that has almost become synonymous with Liverpool football club. An inherent part of the outfit's modern history and the riches plundered under Klopp, an angelic saviour sent to lift a withered superpower back to the forefront.
Alexander-Arnold's whipped corner allowed Divock Origi to complete an unbelievable four-goal turnaround en-route to the final, which was won.
Elite subterfuge. Barca baffled. Anfield in deafening noise. For Liverpool, this was the sonorous sound of salvation; for Lionel Messi and La Blaugrana, the din of despair.
Anfield was a blaze of belief on that night, but if Klopp hopes for Liverpool 2.0 to repeat the feats of the past then this will have to be achieved 1,000 miles away from Merseyside. A hero will be needed.
Alexander-Arnold will likely play a part but given Liverpool's woes in front of goal recently, a hero will likely need to emerge in the form of an unfailing goalscorer.
That man might just be Diogo Jota.
Diogo Jota could be the hero
He squandered a glorious opportunity to restore parity against Crystal Palace but Jota is still one of the finest goalscorers in England and he will be vital against Atalanta, possibly replacing the profligate Darwin Nunez as the focal point.
Liverpool's wastefulness has been the crux of the recent struggle. A besetting lack of fluency and defensive resilience has hardly helped but the Reds have had an abundance of chances that have skidded wayward in recent fixtures.
Games
24
39
34
Goals
12
16
21
Big chances missed
5
35
15
The table above portrays the respective levels of prolificness that Salah, Nunez and Jota possess, Liverpool's greatest goal threats.
Jota might not be matching Salah in his rate of scoring but he sure is proving to be the most clinical, missing just five big chances. Compare that to Nunez and the actual goalscoring prowess and composure of each player is laid bare.
As per FBref, 5 ft 10 Jota ranks among the top 1% of centre-forwards across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for goals, the top 17% for shot-creating actions, the top 5% for progressive carries and the top 1% for tackles per 90.
He's a remarkable, dynamic player and if Liverpool are going to snatch a chance and spark a stunning comeback against Atalanta, he will be key to the success, bagging a hat-trick the last time the Premier League side travelled to the Gewiss Stadium.
Salah takes many of the plaudits with his incredible potency in the final third, but Jota could arguably be the main man in Italy, with pundit Michael Owen even claiming the Portuguese is the club's best finisher.
"There's a lack of confidence in front of goal at the minute and it's showing," the one-time Reds goal machine said. "Again in this situation it's Jota who I think is probably the best finisher in this Liverpool team, you can either side there or there, but you can't play safe, you have to find the corners. Be cool, be calm."
In all competitions this term, the £140k-per-week star has posted 14 goals and four assists despite earning just 18 chances from the outset – it's no wonder he's been hailed as a "deadly" forward by analyst Raj Chohan.
They couldn't, could they? Klopp hopes Liverpool will fight with fire and ferocity to add another chapter to an incredible story. Very recent results don't suggest that this will be the case.
But Klopp's never been one to leave his sleeves empty…
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ByAngus Sinclair Apr 17, 2024