The Reds fall short against Atalanta despite early Salah goal
\nLONDON
\nLiverpool crashed out of the Europa League after a 1-0 win against Atalanta that wasn\u2019t enough to overturn their quarter-final deficit, while Bayer Leverkusen\u2019s 1-1 draw at West Ham took the German champions into the last four on Thursday.
\nIn Jurgen Klopp\u2019s last season as Liverpool boss, the Reds were hoping to give the German a memorable farewell in the final in Dublin.
\nBut Liverpool had suffered a stunning 3-0 loss in the first leg against Atalanta at Anfield last week.
\nAnd although Liverpool have authored some of European football\u2019s greatest comebacks down the years against the likes of St Etienne, AC Milan and Barcelona, there would be no miracle escape this time.
\nMohamed Salah converted a seventh minute penalty in the second leg in Bergamo after Trent Alexander-Arnold\u2019s cross hit Matteo Ruggeri\u2019s arm.
\nHowever, Klopp\u2019s men couldn\u2019t breach the stubborn Atalanta defence again.
\nIt has been a brutal week for Liverpool, whose Premier League title challenge was damaged by a shock home defeat against Crystal Palace on Sunday.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s mixed emotions. We are out but I\u2019m happy with the game,\u201d Klopp said.
\n\u201cIt was clear we gave ourselves a massive hurdle. We wished we could have gone to Dublin but that hasn\u2019t happened.\u201d
\nWhile Klopp contemplates his failure to land the one major trophy to elude him during nine years with Liverpool, Atalanta can dream of winning the second silverware in their 116-year history after the 1963 Coppa Italia.
\nBidding to reach their maiden European final, Gian Piero Gasperini\u2019s team will face Marseille in their first European semi-final since the 1988 Cup Winners\u2019 Cup.
\nFresh from clinching their first Bundesliga title last weekend, Leverkusen survived a scare from West Ham before advancing 3-1 on aggregate. In the semi-finals, Xabi Alonso\u2019s side will play Roma, who saw off Italian rivals AC Milan 3-1 on aggregate.
\nLeverkusen won the first leg 2-0 but West Ham made the perfect start in east London when Michail Antonio met Jarrod Bowen\u2019s pin-point cross with a close-range header in the 13th minute.
\nWest Ham eventually ran out of steam and Jeremie Frimpong struck in the 89th minute with a shot that deflected in off Aaron Cresswell.
\n\u201cThe momentum was with West Ham. To be honest, we were not at our best in the first half. I\u2019m happy to go through. In the Europa League you always have tough moments,\u201d Alonso said.
\nLeverkusen are into their second successive Europa League semi-final, while West Ham\u2019s exit means for only the third time in the 21st century, England will have no teams in the Champions League and Europa League last four.
\nLeverkusen\u2019s 44-game unbeaten run in all competitions has taken them to the brink of an incredible treble, finally ridding the club of the \u2018Neverkusen\u2019 tag that mocked their decades of underachievement.
\nAlonso\u2019s team, who face second tier Kaiserslautern in the German Cup final on May 25, beat Werder Bremen 5-0 on Sunday to win the Bundesliga title.
\nAt the Stadio Olimpico, Gianluca Mancini put Roma head from close-range in the 12th minute and Paulo Dybala doubled their advantage in the 22nd minute with a blistering strike.
\nDaniele De Rossi\u2019s side were reduced to 10 men in the 31st minute when Zeki Celik was dismissed for a foul on Milan forward Rafael Leao.
\nMatteo Gabbia got one back in the 85th minute, but his header was little consolation for Milan.
\nAfter losing last season\u2019s Europa League final against Sevilla, Roma are one step closer to finally winning the competition for the first time.
\nRoma, who won the Europa Conference League in 2022, are into their fifth European semi-final in the last seven seasons.
\nIn the south of France, Marseille were 4-2 winners in a penalty shoot-out against Benfica following the French side\u2019s 1-0 victory in a tie that finished 2-2 on aggregate.
\nFaris Moumbagna struck in the 79th minute, heading in Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang\u2019s cross to force extra-time.
\nIn the shoot-out, Luis Henrique scored the winner for Jean-Louis Gasset\u2019s side after Benfica duo Angel Di Maria and Antonio Silva missed their kicks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Reds fall short against Atalanta despite early Salah goal LONDON Liverpool crashed out of the Europa League after a 1-0 win against Atalanta that wasn\u2019t enough to overturn their quarter-final deficit, while Bayer Leverkusen\u2019s 1-1 draw at West Ham took the German champions into the last four on Thursday. In Jurgen Klopp\u2019s last season […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":401381,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-401370","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n