Jürgen Klopp has taken Liverpool to four European finals, one Champions League trophy and places that players and fans alike may never have imagined possible but a journey that enriched his reign is over. There will be no fairytale ending in Dublin after one more feat of escapology proved beyond Klopp’s team against Atalanta.
The 91st European game of Klopp’s nine-year Liverpool tenure was also his last despite a much-improved display and victory against Gian Piero Gasperini’s shaky, nervous but ultimately euphoric side. “If we fail, then let’s fail in the most beautiful way,” Klopp had said on the eve of the Europa League quarter-final second leg. Liverpool could not quite deliver. Mohamed Salah converted an early penalty that decided the game but could not transform the tie, however much Liverpool threatened to overturn a 3-0 first-leg deficit during a dominant first-half performance.
