Liverpool now focus on the Europa League, where they have the chance to take another step toward winning a trophy. They will do this today, after being disappointed with their draw with Manchester United on Sunday.
Atalanta of Serie A will be their opponent in the quarterfinals. Many people don’t think Atalanta is playing their best this season, but they are still in the running for a spot in Europe as the 2023–24 season comes to a close.
They also won their Europa League group and beat Sporting and the likely next manager that Liverpool wants, Ruben Amorim, in the Round of 16. The present manager of Liverpool, Jürgen Klopp, knows that there are no more games in this round.
Klopp said, “As soon as we saw the chance to get into the Europa League, you want to win it.” “But you have to do everything that’s asked of you, and it’s clear that only great teams are left in the competition.”
“We know what Atalanta is all about.” Gasperini has done a great job there for years, and it’s always tough to play against Italian teams because they are very precise in their tactics and dangerous in many ways, so we need to be at our best.
Klopp and Liverpool have played Atalanta twice before in the history of the club. Both times were in the group stage of the 2020–21 Champions League season, with Liverpool finishing first and Atalanta finishing second.
“We don’t think about the final or other things like that,” the Liverpool boss said. “We have to be at our best.” “We expect an opponent who is very well organized and has a lot of experience.” We expect that to happen. It is going to be fun.