Jurgen Klopp’s men suffered a rare setback at home turf as they seemed lost against the highly-rated Italian opposition on Wednesday.
Liverpool experienced a taste of their own medicine, though less intense, when they took to the pitch to face Atalanta.
The Reds were far from their usual high standards as they largely lacked creativity and attacking intent – evident from the fact that they had zero shot on target all night.
Atalanta made them pay, with a quickfire double from Josip Ilicic and Robin Gosens inflicting the first defeat for the English champions in 2020/21.
Prior to the 2-0 loss, Liverpool had not tasted defeat at home turf by more than one goal in 137 previous competitive matches.
The Champions League Group D matchday 4 game also marked the first time they failed to register a shot on target since Opta began collecting such data in 2003.
All in all, Liverpool put in a horrific display which has left Group D wide open, for now at least, and a former striker wants the team to bounce back as soon as possible.
Michael Owen told BT Sport: “It was a really, really poor performance, the worst we’ve seen from Liverpool in a long time. It’s one of those where you go, ‘let’s put this to one side and focus on the next one’.
“You always must look at the positives. If you are going to have a bad day, you should have it today.
“If you said at the start of the group, ‘you need one win from the last two games’, then Liverpool would have taken it. If you are going to lose one then this is not a bad one. It is not ideal but it’s better than on Sunday [against Leicester].”
Jurgen Klopp’s men return to the Premier League next with a trip to 16th-placed Brighton awaiting on Saturday.
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