Liverpool crash out of Europa as Ademola Lookman’s Atalanta win 3-1 agg

Italian Serie A side, Atalanta, on Thursday night knocked out Liverpool from the quarter final stage of the Europa League, with 3-1 goal aggregate.

Liverpool were eliminated from the Europa League despite beating Atalanta 1-0 in Bergamo, Italy via Mohamed Salah‘ lone seventh minute penalty goal.

The 3-0 deficit from the first leg at Anfield last week Thursday had done enough damage.

Nigerian international, Ademola Lookman, made a 80th minute appearance during the game.

Trent Alexander-Arnold cross was handled in the box to give Liverpool hope of upturning the deficit but that was not to be.

As the first half drew to a close, the Egypt forward lofted well wide when put through one-on-one, but Klopp’s side struggled to create meaningful openings in the second period.

It marks the end of a difficult 12 days for the Reds, who drew at Manchester United and lost at home to Crystal Palace to surrender their lead at the top of the Premier League.

Attention will now turn back to the title race with Liverpool sitting third behind second-placed Arsenal and two points off leaders Manchester City.

The league now represents their final chance to give Klopp a fairytale ending to his eight and a half years on Merseyside and add to their success in the Carabao Cup in February.

Europa: Martinez two penalty saves power Aston Villa into S’final

Aston Villa on Thursday qualified for their first major European semi-final since 1982 with a dramatic victory on penalties over Lille in the Europa Conference League.

According to a THISDAY report, an extraordinary shootout after the tie ended 3-3 on aggregate after extra time, Villa keeper Emiliano Martinez – who had been booked earlier for time-wasting – was shown another yellow card for appearing to gesture to home fans.

Martinez, who had already kept out Nabil Bentaleb’s attempt, was allowed to carry on as his initial booking was not carried over into the shootout.

The Argentina World Cup winner then went on to keep out Benjamin Andre’s attempt as Villa won 4-3 on penalties to advance to the last four.

Matty Cash’s late goal in the 87th minute forced an extra 30 minutes after Yusuf Yasici opener in the 15th minute and Benjamin Andre’s 67th strike had seen Lille come from a 2-1 deficit from the first leg to lead the tie 3-2.

But nothing could separate the sides after 210 minutes and two legs, needing penalties to decide the quarter-final.

And it was marred in confusion. Martinez – who saved two spot kicks to send Aston Villa through – had already been booked in the first half for time wasting, and was shown another yellow card during the shootout.

Ever the performer, Martinez had ‘shushed’ the crowd after saving from Remy Cabella, leading to objects being thrown at him. He then gestured again to them, appearing to ask them to stop, and then was booked.

It left many wondering why the accumulation of two yellows did not result in a red. However, rules of the competition state that no yellow cards from the game carry over into shoot-outs, and therefore Martinez was not sent off.

He continued to take part in the penalty shootout, saving the final spot kick from Andre and seeing Aston Villa into their first European semi-final since 1982.

Court orders Juventus to pay Ronaldo £8.3m

Juventus have been ordered to pay Cristiano Ronaldo £8.3m in owed wages by an Italian court.

Ronaldo, 39, agreed to defer wages when football in Italy was halted by the Covid pandemic in the 2020-21 season.

The Portuguese had claimed he was owed more than £17m by his former club.

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The Court of Arbitration said the club should pay what the player would have received after tax and other deductions.

The five-time Ballon d’Or winner spent three seasons in Italy with Juventus between 2018 and 2021, helping them win two Serie A titles.

He left for his second spell with Manchester United and after 16 months at Old Trafford joined Saudi club Al-Nassr.

The five-time Ballon d’Or winner – awarded to the world’s best player – was ranked by American business magazine Forbes as the world’s highest-paid sportsman in 2023, with earnings of £109m.

Court orders Juventus to pay Ronaldo £8.3m