Klopp out to write another rollicking Reds fightback tale

IT IS mission improbable, but not impossible, for Liverpool as they look to overturn a shock 3-0 deficit against Atalanta. Manager Jurgen Klopp wants to summon the spirit of 2019, when his side pulled off a mighty comeback to beat Barcelona. The circumstances are vastly different, though. Liverpool had the Anfield crowd roaring them from 3-0 down to win 4-3 on aggregate against the Catalans. Now they will have a raucous band of Italian ultras jeering every touch. But it is hard not to think back to that famous win, which is celebrated in pictures and inspirational quotes around the club’s training base in Kirkby. And Klopp will urge his men to go out with a bang at the least by winning the second leg and seeing where it takes them. ‘I remember (before Barcelona) I said, “If we fail, let’s fail in the most beautiful way”,’ said the Reds boss, who also told his team to ‘show some balls’ in 2019. ‘That’s exactly how I see it again. We want to win the game. If we want to win, we’d better play good. If we play good, we have a chance. After last week everyone thought, “That’s it”. But a week later, I don’t think everybody thinks it’s already decided. I have been long enough in this business to know it is two legs, it is over when it is over. We are 100,000 per cent focused.’ Liverpool will be without Conor Bradley, but the ankle injury he suffered on Sunday is not as serious as feared and he hopes to return at the start of May. That opens the door for Trent Alexander-Arnold to make his first start since early February.