In what was Liverpool FC’s best performance of the campaign by any lengths possible, Jurgen Klopp’s men stormed to a 5-0 thrashing of Atalanta at the Stadio di Bergamo on Tuesday night as Diogo Jota continued his rich vein of form with a fantastic hat-trick against the Italian side.
Jota was superb throughout the match, as were Mohammad Salah and Sadio Mane, both scoring to give the Reds’ their third straight win in Group D of the UEFA Champions League.
TEAM NEWS
The most talked-about team change prior to kick-off was Jota replacing Roberto Firmino in the Liverpool FC XI, as Klopp chose to give the in-form Portuguese international a chance to display his worth alongside the likes of Mane and Salah.
Rhys Williams displaced Nathaniel Phillips at the heart of the defence, due to the latter not being a part of the Reds’ 24-man squad in the ongoing Champions League campaign.
The previously injured trio of Joel Matip, Naby Keita, and Kostas Tsimikas all featured on the bench as Klopp got some much-needed boost on the recovery front of his key players ahead of a weekend Premier League showdown at the Etihad Stadium against arch-rivals Manchester City.
MATCH PROCEEDINGS
It was the visitors who were on the front foot in the opening minutes of the game and looked all set to open their account on their journey to Lombardy, only for Atalanta’s backline to scamper away efforts on goal from Jota and Mane.
Atalanta shot-stopper Marco Sportiello was defiant between the sticks as the game went on but Liverpool FC’s attack-minded game showed that it only for a time that the hosts could keep out the Mane-Salah-Jota trio from getting their name on the scoresheet.
On the other end of the pitch, Alisson Becker had some work to do, as Luis Muriel’s driven effort from the edge of the box swirled on the greasy pitch before being collected by the Liverpool FC No.1.
Following another one of the Reds’ shots being denied by Sportiello, a superbly timed pass from Trent Alexander Arnold found Jota, whose dink over the Atalanta goalkeeper brought up Liverpool FC’s first goal of the night.
Muriel looked to trouble Alisson once again as the hosts piled pressure upon the Reds, but Alisson stood tall against the Atalanta forward, keeping his side very much in the lead before Jota’s second goal seemed to wrap up the game firmly in Liverpool FC’s favour.
This time the 23-year-old made a darting run in behind the Atalanta backline after a pass from Joe Gomez opened up the hosts, and Jota’s half-volleyed effort on goal was too great a strike for Sportiello to get his hand on as the Reds’ marched on.
As the second half came to life, Liverpool FC put the game to bed with as many as three goals in a span of just ten minutes, with Jurgen Klopp’s side putting in their best-attacking display seen by the viewers in a very long time.
21 – Mohamed Salah has now scored 21 goals for Liverpool in the Champions League, drawing level with Steven Gerrard as the club's highest goalscorer in European Cup/Champions League history. Dizzying. #UCL pic.twitter.com/pZcsID2kf6
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) November 3, 2020
It was Salah who got the Reds’ third goal, as the Egyptian made a trademark run in behind the Atalanta defence before slotting the ball past Sportiello.
Just a couple of minutes later, Salah turned provider for his attacking partner Mane by channelling the ball into his direction, whose chipped effort over the advancing Sportiello was a great way to bring Liverpool FC’s fourth goal of the game.
And then it was Mane who turned provider in the minutes following his goal, as the Senegalese released an inch-perfect pass for Jota to latch onto as the new Liverpool FC star man brought up his hat-trick in a formidable fashion, turning around Sportiello and rolling the ball into the empty net.
Duvan Zapata was the sole Atalanta player who posed a threat to the Reds’ over the course of the 90 minutes, as two of the Columbian international’s efforts on goal in the latter stages of the game struck the post.
Salah did have a great chance to double his account for the night as Liverpool FC’s brilliant counter-attacking display led to the star forward having a pop on the goal, but Sportiello foiled the Egyptian international’s strike.
GET IN! BIG WIN REDS 💪
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) November 3, 2020
Liverpool FC held out a rather timid showing from Atalanta, and with three victories out of their opening three games in the Champions League, sit on top of Group D with nine points.
