Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp called his side s fixture schedule a crime as he prepared to face Brighton and Hove Albion in the Premier League less than three days after suffering a 2-0 Champions League loss to Atalanta.
Second-half goals from Josip Illicic and Robin Gosens helped secure an unexpected win for Serie A visitors Atalanta, who Liverpool thrashed 5-0 just three weeks earlier, as the Reds missed the chance to qualify for the Champions League knockout stage.
Wednesday s result left Premier League champions Liverpool with one win from their last three games as they approach a run of four matches in 12 days.
Klopp predicted his players would not be alone in suffering dips in form as a result of the congestion, telling BT Sport: I m afraid to say I think it could happen not only to us but to other teams as well.
You ask us to go on Saturday at 12:30, which is nearly a crime to be honest. That s nothing to do with our game tonight.
Now my only interest is I got thumbs up, nobody is injured. Now let s recover immediately. The boys are disappointed and frustrated but we don t have time for it, to be honest.
It s just get fresh legs as quick as possible and go again.
1 Liverpool attempted just one shot in the first half against Atalanta (Mo Salah in the 44th minute), their lowest in the opening 45 minutes of a competitive match at Anfield since January 2017 in a Premier League game against Chelsea (also one). Reserved.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe)
Klopp selected a number of fringe players in his side to face Atalanta and saw them struggle to find any rhythm, with Mohamed Salah s shot in the 44th minute Liverpool s first of the game.
For the first time since Opta had shot data available in the Champions League since 2003-04, Liverpool failed to record a single shot on target in a home game in the competition.
Up against 19-year-old full-back Nico Williams, Atalanta s Papu Gomez enjoyed a successful night on the wing, providing the cross for Ilicic to score the opener and then making a second assist in the build-up to Gosens goal.
Klopp – whose side lost a competitive home fixture by a margin of more than one goal for the first time in 137 matches at Anfield – admitted his players struggled with the intensity of the game, saying: Both teams didn t create a lot until they scored the goals. We saw it coming a little in the first half but couldn t avoid it or defend it anyway.
The ref brought a lot of tempo in the game, he didn t whistle a lot. That makes it even more difficult on both sides. It was unbelievably intense for the boys; you need one or two breaks.
We changed five times, that always costs rhythm, that s normal. Usually when the first half is gone it settles a bit but you could see for some players who hadn t played for a while it was very intense for them.
So we didn t really find a way in the game. We didn t find ways to create.