Qualification for the Champions League knockout stages was the prize for Liverpool but resting some legs for the Premier League trip to Brighton on Saturday was clearly also a priority for Jürgen Klopp. He rang the changes against Atalanta and lost, as Liverpool suffered their first home defeat in the group stage of the competition since losing 3-0 to Real Madrid just over six years ago.
Atalanta, humiliated on home soil when the teams last met, marked coach Gian Piero Gasperini’s 200th game in charge with a fully deserved victory that strengthens their own prospects of qualifying from the group. Two goals in quick succession in the second half, both created from the crossing of captain Alejandro Gómez, punctured Liverpool’s…
