Liverpool failed but gave fans hope that the Jurgen Klopp era can still have a magical ending, writes LEWIS STEELE

If you are going to fail, then make sure you fail beautifully. That was the rallying cry of Jurgen Klopp before Liverpool attempted to write another chapter into the book of inspirational comeback triumphs in Europe.

In the end, this will have to go down as a failure. It was not quite beautiful, but it was a valiant performance that has healed some of the psychological wounds of the last fortnight and given fans hope that the Jurgen Klopp era can still have a magical ending.

Winning on the night, via an early Mohamed Salah penalty, stopped the rot after two losses and a draw in the weeks before threatened to derail their season. Liverpool ended this tie with their heads held high but the damage had already been done and they left with nothing.

Klopp will hope the Premier League finale does not follow that pattern. The German manager now has just six dates remaining on his farewell tour. The days of following Klopp’s Reds around Europe – a journey yielding four finals and a sixth European Cup crown for the club – are over.

Salah’s goal after just seven minutes set the senses tingling that another great comeback was well on the cards but Gian Piero Gasperini’s hard-working side soon settled and induced this tie to fizzle out. With apologies for an obvious pun, the stubborn display was a typical Italian Job.

Harvey Elliott sat on his haunches at full-time after Liverpool’s slender win proved insufficient

The brilliant Italian side were able to dig in and deny Liverpool clear-cut chances

The Reds played well overall and at least offered hope for the end of the season 

Mo Salah scored from the spot early on as Liverpool made the perfect possible start

Salah grabbed the ball quickly and rushed back to restart the game for the Reds

In this picturesque city stalked by shadows of the Italian Alps and Mont Blanc, it felt like Liverpool had a significant but not insurmountable mountain to climb. It was mission improbable but certainly not mission impossible.

If they were to summon the spirit of 2019 when they turned round a three-goal deficit to topple the mighty Barcelona of Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez, Reds fans knew they needed a quick start. They got that, scoring with just seven minutes on the clock.

Trent Alexander-Arnold, starting his first match since February after a knee injury, showed Liverpool what they had been missing and repeatedly popped up in dangerous areas. The full back won a penalty after his cross was blocked by the hand of Matteo Ruggeri.

Was it handball? Yes, 100 per cent. Should that be a penalty, given the proximity of the defender and how it was challenging to move his arm out of the way? It’s a bizarre rule. Mohamed Salah did not care a jot, stepping up and shooting hard and low to his right.

The small number of Liverpool fans caged like zoo animals in the corner of this incomplete stadium started to believe, and that confidence was also zapping through the Reds players, with Luis Diaz and Dominik Szoboszlai fluffing decent openings in the following minutes.

Atalanta, on the other hand, looked nervous. Their manager, the impressive Gian Piero Gasperini, had said this was the biggest game in the club’s history. But they soon settled and gave Alisson a couple of scares at the other end.

Luis Diaz toiled against the resilient Atalanta defence and the hosts made life difficult

Alexis MacAllister pulled the strings for Liverpool in midfield of a strong line-up

Salah missed  a big chance at 1-0 and his lob went astray, which could have changed the game

Gian Piero Gasperini roared in celebration of a job well done as his side progressed

First, captain Virgil van Dijk nearly diverted a cross into his own goal and had to be bailed out by the keeper – though it might have been offside. Then Aleksei Miranchuk would have been one-versus-one after a fine give-and-go with Gianluca Scamacca but his first touch was sloppy.

Salah missed a golden chance to add a second when he was put through on goal and went to lob Juan Musso but he pulled his side-footed effort wide, then Liverpool had a wake-up call at the other end as Teun Koopmeiners had a goal ruled out for offside.

Atalanta looked more organised after the half-time interval, which came at a good time for the Italian side. Gasperini’s men retreated further towards their own goal and limited the space for Liverpool, who threw on Darwin Nunez and Diogo Jota in search of another goal.

Indeed, as the second half ticked on, Atalanta looked the more likely team to score. Midfielder Ederson saw a big chance go awry and Koopmeiners – an energetic midfielder with a big future potentially in the Premier League – fired a drilled shot straight at Alisson.

Virgil van Dijk applauded the travelling supporters after Liverpool’s Europa League exit

Atalanta’s players saluted the crowd, who had provided an excellent atmosphere

Cody Gakpo and Salah had good openings but could not muster much more than tame efforts. So what to make of Liverpool’s exit? Given the talent in their squad, this was a below-par Europa League campaign which ended on a disappointing note.

But their sabbatical from the Champions League will soon end and a return to Europe’s elite competition is on the cards. Sadly for Liverpool fans, Klopp will not be the man to lead them as they search for European Cup No 7.

Whoever takes over Klopp’s duties has sizable shoes to fill. The German brought the good times back on their European tour. After those four finals against football royalty like Real Madrid, no one expected the journey to end in Bergamo. But it was quite the ride for those fans.