Scores in the Europa League, fear gauge: AC Milan struggles against AS Roma, Liverpool is devastated by Atalanta

The first leg of the quarterfinals of the UEFA Europa League was anything but easy for the favorites, with teams like AC Milan and Liverpool losing to start the match and Bayer Leverkusen requiring two goals in the last ten minutes to take the lead.
The most well-known teams in the competition now find themselves in varying circumstances ahead of next week’s second legs, with some being much more favorable than others. The most unexpected outcome of Thursday’s play was definitely Atalanta’s 3-0 victory against Liverpool at Anfield, which puts the Reds in maybe the worst possible situation going into the second leg of the match.

That may indicate that, while applauding others for a job well done in the first leg, it’s time to raise the alarm about Liverpool and maybe Milan, who fell 1-0 to Roma. Let us take a moment to activate the panic meter after an exciting day of Europa League activity.

Europa League standings

•Barcelona 0, Milan 3

•West Ham 0, Bayer Leverkusen 2,

•Roma 0, AC Milan 1

•Barcelona 1, Marseille 2.


Don’t freak out: Bayer Leverkusen
Even though Leverkusen’s sole goal came in the last ten minutes of the match, they have shown this season that they can always come through with the win. It’s not like they didn’t play well enough to justify the score; all in all, they had 72.5% of the ball, took 33 shots, 13 of which were on goal, and 2.36 anticipated goals. They also only allowed West Ham to muster one shot. In terms of play style and their two-goal lead, Leverkusen will be difficult to overcome, even if West Ham will benefit from playing at home in the second leg.

Scarcely any panic: Roma
Romano defeated Milan 1-0 to extend their winning run under new boss Daniele De Rossi. The outcome caps off Roma’s impressive performance, as they withstood Milan’s siege and outperformed them in their few offensive opportunities. While Milan managed 25 shots, only five of which were on goal, Roma managed 10 shots, three of which were on target, and scored a goal. The home field advantage may be helpful in the second leg, but Milan has a lot of offensive power, so the tie is still open. The margin of victory is narrow.

AC Milan, somewhere in the middle
Milan, who prioritizes offensive, made several good plays on Thursday, such as their high shot total. Despite all of their efforts, they managed to achieve just 1.55 projected targets, demonstrating a shocking amount of waste. Milan has the ability to turn things around, particularly in the lineup with Olivier Giroud, Rafael Leao, and Christian Pulisic, three goal scorers. They were rather outplayed by a rejuvenated Roma, however, so they will have to put in more work if they want to close the one-goal deficit.

Liverpool’s five-alarm fire panic
Liverpool has had a difficult week; in a few days, they may have eliminated themselves from both the Europa League and the hunt for the Premier League crown. Despite controlling possession and shots, the Reds fell short 3-0 on Thursday, combining a lack of efficiency up top with carelessness on the defensive end. The fact that Mohamed Salah and Luis Diaz, among others, remain in the team means they will always be there, so it’s not like Liverpool won’t be able to catch up in a week. Although Jurgen Klopp’s squad has mostly avoided waste this season, it finally caught up to them against Manchester United on Sunday and Atalanta on Thursday. That means it will be difficult to overcome a three-goal disadvantage and probably will need perfection to accomplish so.

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