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Jamie Carragher left red-faced after Liverpool comment backfires badly in Atalanta loss
Jamie Carragher's recent tweets about the Europa League have resurfaced.
Jamie Carragher has been left red-faced after his comments on the Europa League came back to bite him on Thursday. The former England international talked up Liverpool’s chances in the Premier League due to how they are playing in a ‘less demanding’ European competition, just days before the Reds were put to the sword by Atalanta.
Liverpool were favourites to lift the Europa League at the end of the season, though their hopes of achieving such a feat were handed a monumental blow on Thursday night when they were taken apart by Serie A side Atalanta.
A brace from ex-West Ham forward Gianluca Scamacca gave the Italian outfit a healthy lead after an hour before Mario Pasalic pounced on a sloppy error from Dominik Szoboszlai to seal the win at Anfield.
The Reds now head to the Gewiss Stadium next week needing to be at their very best if they are to win by three or more goals, with only Valencia in 2013-14 having ever overcome a three-goal deficit from the first leg in the competition.
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The CL is much more demanding than the EL so that gives us an advantage.
— Jamie Carragher (@Carra23) April 7, 2024
The hefty defeat comes at a poor time for Liverpool, especially as there was an aura of confidence that the Premier League high-flyers would book their spot in the final four of the Europa League in their home leg.
Carragher was among those to be vocal about his confidence in his former club, and the 46-year-old appeared to underestimate the task at hand. Last week, in the heart of a conversation about the title race, the ex-defender tweeted: “The CL (Champions League) is much more demanding than the EL (Europa League) so that gives us an advantage."
There is, of course, a difference in quality between the two competitions, though the latter stages of either tournament were never going to be smooth sailing. Both Manchester City (vs Real Madrid) and Arsenal (vs Bayern Munich) drew in the opening legs of their Champions League clashes and therefore all three title contenders will head into their second leg ties needing to win on the night. A draw would mean extra time and potentially penalties.
Carragher has other ideas though and feels the 3-0 defeat to Atalanta is too big of a deficit to turn around and says the league should be prioritised. He wrote: “Awful result and performance from Liverpool, the consolation about getting beat so heavily is Jurgen should play a full second string in the second leg and go all in for the league!”