Mohamed Salah 4, Divock Origi 3; Papu Gomez 8: Liverpool v Atalanta player ratings

Reds slip to surprise home defeat in Champions League

LIVERPOOL RATINGS: Alisson Becker - 6, Made a good first-half save at the near post from Gosens. Alert and quick off the line. Could do little about either goal. EPA

Neco Williams - 4, Struggled as Atalanta probed down the Liverpool right. Did not generate much threat going forward. AFP

Joel Matip - 6, Took on the responsibility of leading the defence but was wasteful when on the ball. Withdrawn late on for Minamino as Liverpool chased the game. Getty

Rhys Williams - 5, The 19-year-old’s inexperience showed on the second goal. Until then he had played well, doing the simple things effectively. EPA

Konstantinos Tsimikas - 4, The Greek was unable to create much going forward and had his hands full with Hateboer when defending. Should have cut out the threat for the first goal. Replaced by Robertson with a little less than half an hour to go. EPA

Curtis Jones - 5, Tried to add some thrust to the midfield but was unable to impose much creativity on the game. Getty

Georginio Wijnaldum - 5, Worked hard closing the opposition down and but had little impact going forward. Taken off for Fabinho with 29 minutes left. AFP

James Milner - 5, Always in the thick of battle but needed much more precise passing in a game where the team did not function properly. AFP

Mohamed Salah - 4, Very few sights of goal and his touch was off. Not the Egyptian’s finest performance. Replaced by Firmino in the 61st minute. AP

Divock Origi - 3, Slows down the attack. The Belgian showed for the ball but did little when it arrived. Withdrawn for Jota with 29 minutes remaining. EPA

Sadio Mane - 4, Repeatedly ran down dead ends. He usually sets the tempo up front but did not find his groove against a disciplined defence. EPA

SUBS: Andrew Robertson - 4, Replaced Tsimikas in the 61st minute in a bid to get more drive down the left. It did not work. The Scot let Hateboer bully him at the back post to set up the second goal. Getty

Diogo Jota - 5, Gave the team a sense of urgency when replacing Origi in the 61st minute but was shut down by the packed defence. Reuters

Roberto Firmino - 4, On for Salah with 29 minutes left and struggled to make an impression on the game. Disjointed display from the Brazilian. AFP

Fabinho - 5, Given almost half an hour when Wijnaldum was withdrawn and added some snap in midfield. Rotated into the centre back role when Matip went off. Getty

Takumi Minamino - 4, Part of a late reshuffle after replacing Matip. The Japanese made little difference in those final seven minutes. EPA

ATALANTA RATINGS: Pierluigi Gollini – 6, The goalkeeper was not tested by Liverpool and had a surprisingly quiet night at Anfield. EPA

Rafael Toloi - 7, The Brazilian made a nervous start but grew into the game. He kept things tight and allowed Mane little latitude. Reuters

Cristian Romero - 8, Dwelt on the ball in the first half and was nearly caught out but otherwise was comfortable and composed. Handled Origi with ease. AP

Berat Djimsiti - 7, Excelled defensively and distributed the ball nicely when in possession. Rarely worried by Liverpool’s front three. Getty

Hans Hateboer - 7, Enjoyed his night against Tsimikas and made a fine headed contribution to the second goal. AP

Marten de Roon - 8, The Dutchman was injured for the reverse fixture in Italy and provided what was missing three weeks ago. He pressed hard and did not allow his opponents time on the ball. EPA

Matteo Pessina – 6, Used space cleverly when Liverpool had the ball and worked hard up and down the pitch. Replaced by Miranchuk with five minutes left. EPA

Remo Freuler - 8, Ran the midfield. The Swiss knitted the side together and was effective on the ball. PA

Robin Gosens - 8, Took his goal beautifully. The German displayed fine movement to take advantage of Liverpool’s static back line. Replaced by Mojica after 75 minutes. EPA

Josip Ilicic - 7, The Croat’s lack of pace was counterbalanced by clever positioning. Worked his way into a great position to put his side 1-0 up. Replaced by Zapata with 20 minutes to go. EPA

Papu Gomez - 8, At the heart of his team’s attacks and was busy throughout the game. He provided a splendid cross for the opening goal. AP

SUBS: Duvan Zapata - 6, On for Ilicic with 20 minutes left. The Colombian was steady as the Italian side closed out the game. Getty

Johan Mojica - 6, Introduced for the last 15 minutes when Gosens was replaced. Produced an unruffled cameo. EPA

Aleksei Miranchuk - 5, Given a brief run out when Pessina was withdrawn. The Russian was diligent in his work. AFP

Jurgen Klopp admitted Liverpool could have no complaints after they wasted a chance to book their place in the Champions League last 16 as Atalanta earned a shock 2-0 win at Anfield.

Klopp's side could have guaranteed qualification with a victory, but they produced a poor display that was deservedly punished by the impressive Italians.

Two goals in four minutes from Josip Ilicic and Robin Gosens in the second half gave Atalanta a memorable victory that ended Liverpool's 100 per cent record in this year's tournament.

Liverpool had thrashed Atalanta 5-0 in Italy at the start of the November to make it three wins from their first three group games.

But for the first time since Virgil van Dijk was lost to a serious knee injury at Everton in October, the Reds looked vulnerable at the back in a rare Anfield defeat.

Beaten for the first time in nine games in all competitions since Van Dijk was sidelined, Klopp's group leaders still have their Champions League destiny in their own hands.

"A deserved defeat in a difficult game. The ref didn't whistle a lot and that makes it even more difficult, for both sides. It was unbelievably intense and you need some breaks," Klopp said.

"When the first half is gone, you usually settle but for some players who didn't play for a while it was very intense for them. We didn't find a way in the game."

Early qualification would have allowed Klopp to rest players for the final two group matches amid a hectic schedule.

Instead, Liverpool host Ajax next week with work still to do before their final game against Midtjylland.

"It was not a good game. We had moments but not real chances. It could happen to other teams."

Assessing the individual performances from Anfield, Tony Evans has provided his player ratings in the photo gallery above. To move on to the next photo, click on the arrows or if using a mobile device, simply swipe.