Liverpool Lost the Plot in Atalanta Defeat, Says Klopp

 Soccer Football - Europa League - Quarter Final - First Leg - Liverpool v Atalanta - Anfield, Liverpool, Britain - April 11, 2024 Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp looks dejected after the match. (Reuters)
Soccer Football - Europa League - Quarter Final - First Leg - Liverpool v Atalanta - Anfield, Liverpool, Britain - April 11, 2024 Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp looks dejected after the match. (Reuters)
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Liverpool Lost the Plot in Atalanta Defeat, Says Klopp

 Soccer Football - Europa League - Quarter Final - First Leg - Liverpool v Atalanta - Anfield, Liverpool, Britain - April 11, 2024 Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp looks dejected after the match. (Reuters)
Soccer Football - Europa League - Quarter Final - First Leg - Liverpool v Atalanta - Anfield, Liverpool, Britain - April 11, 2024 Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp looks dejected after the match. (Reuters)

Liverpool lacked tactical discipline against Atalanta on Thursday and fully deserved their 3-0 defeat in the Europa League quarter-final first leg match, manager Juergen Klopp said.

Gianluca Scamacca struck either side of halftime before Mario Pasalic capped an impressive win for the Italians at Anfield as Liverpool slumped to their joint-heaviest home defeat in European competition.

"It just was a really bad game, oh my God. We started well, really well, and then didn't continue. I think even before they scored, we just lost the plot a little bit, we were everywhere and nowhere," Klopp told reporters.

"(The) midfield was spread like that, right midfielder left side, left midfielder, striker. I didn't recognize that, that was really strange. In football terms that's tactical discipline.

"We played a bad game, we deserved to lose and we must feel that now."

Liverpool will seek to overturn the deficit in the second leg in Italy next week, but before that they host Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Sunday.

With the Merseyside club involved in a tight title race with Arsenal and Manchester City, Klopp said the players had to move on from Thursday's defeat quickly.

"The boys have exactly this night to feel bad about it and then we have to build up again for the Crystal Palace game, that's how it is," he added.

"This was a low point for us performance-wise tonight, I would say, for a long time."



Saudi Arabia’s Participation in Paris Olympics Part of Quality of Life Program, Al-Bakr Says

The efforts of the sports system have combined to achieve the strategic goal assigned by Vision 2030 to the Quality of Life Program. (SPA)
The efforts of the sports system have combined to achieve the strategic goal assigned by Vision 2030 to the Quality of Life Program. (SPA)
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Saudi Arabia’s Participation in Paris Olympics Part of Quality of Life Program, Al-Bakr Says

The efforts of the sports system have combined to achieve the strategic goal assigned by Vision 2030 to the Quality of Life Program. (SPA)
The efforts of the sports system have combined to achieve the strategic goal assigned by Vision 2030 to the Quality of Life Program. (SPA)

CEO of Saudi Arabia’s Quality of Life Program Khalid bin Abdullah Al-Bakr said on Friday the Kingdom’s participation in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games is part of integrated and comprehensive efforts to build a distinguished future for the sports sector in the Kingdom.

This will help reach the goals of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 in achieving sports excellence and building a vital and stimulating sports sector for young Saudi men and women.

Al-Bakr said the participation reflects the support of the country’s wise leadership for the sports sector, as well as the efforts made by the Ministry of Sports and the Saudi Olympic and Paralympic Committee to develop the sector under the supervision of Sports Minister and Chairman of the Olympic and Paralympic Committee Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki bin Faisal.

The efforts of the sports system have combined to achieve the strategic goal assigned by Vision 2030 to the Quality of Life Program, which is “achieving excellence in several sports regionally and globally” by launching several initiatives on supporting and empowering Saudi athletes and contributing to increasing the number of athletes participating in the Olympic Games.

Since its launch in 2018, the program has offered many initiatives to develop the sports sector, Al-Bakr said. He cited the Elite Athletes Development Program, which trained and empowered Saudi players participating in the Paris Olympics, in addition to initiatives concerned with supporting and empowering women to contribute to the sports system, the Saudi Games, and building sports academies, including the establishment of Mahd Academy.

The program seeks to discover, develop, and support sports talents with the aim of creating a sports generation capable of competing in and representing the Kingdom in various regional and international events, he added.