UEFA drew Liverpool to face Atalanta BC in the quarter-finals of the Europa League, so what can the Reds’ route to the 2023/24 final at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin look like?
The Merseyside club are bidding to complete their collection of trophies under Jurgen Klopp before he departs Liverpool. Anfield has seen the German win everything they have entered except the Europa League since he arrived in October 2015, having lost in the 2015/16 final.
Liverpool reached their first major final under Klopp in the Europa League during his maiden season at Anfield. But Sevilla took their fifth title in UEFA’s secondary team competition with a 3-1 victory in Basel. Liverpool did not play in the Europa League again prior to this season.
So, Klopp could now bow out with a full set of silverware with Liverpool after confirming his departure in January. The German has put Champions League, Premier League, FA Cup and EFL Cup titles in Liverpool’s trophy cabinet since he replaced Brendan Rodgers back in 2015.
Liverpool already have three Europa League titles in their haul after winning the tournament as the UEFA Cup in 1972/73, 1975/76 and 2000/01. So, as Klopp moves to add to their total, what will Liverpool’s potential route to the 2023/24 Europa League final in Dublin look like?
Liverpool’s 2023/24 Europa League group stage results
Liverpool entered the 2023/24 Europa League in the group stage after finishing the 2022/23 Premier League season in fifth place. UEFA further drew the Reds beside Toulouse FC, Union Saint-Gilloise and LASK in Group E. The Anfield outfit won the group with 12 points from 18.
Klopp oversaw a 3-1 win at LASK to open Group E with Darwin Nunez (56’ penalty), Luis Diaz (63’) and Mohamed Salah (88’) overturning Florian Flecker’s (14’) opener. Anfield then took in a 2-0 win over Union SG plus a 5-1 beating of Toulouse, who beat Liverpool 3-2 in France.
A 4-0 victory over LASK at Anfield then booked Liverpool’s place in the knockout stages as Group E winners. Diaz (12’) and Cody Gakpo (15’) kicked off the Reds’ rout over the Austrian outfit. Salah (51’ penalty) and Gakpo (90’) would ensure Liverpool advanced in style, as well.
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Klopp made wholesale changes to Liverpool’s starting XI for their game at Union SG to round out the group stage. But their heavily rotated line-up fell to an inconsequential 2-1 defeat as Toulouse advanced as the runners-up. Toulouse took a total of 11 points to Union SG’s eight.
Liverpool’s 2023/24 Europa League last 16 win vs Sparta Prague
UEFA drew Liverpool against AC Sparta Prague in the last 16 of the 2023/24 Europa League. The Reds visited the Stadion Letna for the first leg on March 7 after Klopp’s side reached the last 16 as group winners. Sparta Prague edged Galatasaray 6-4 in a knockout round play-off.
Liverpool breezed through the last 16 after winning 5-1 on the road and also beating Sparta Prague 6-1 at Anfield. The Reds were ruthless in the Czech Republic, with Alexis Mac Allister (7’ penalty), Nunez (25’, 45’+2), Diaz (53’) and Dominik Szoboszlai (90’+3) scoring for fun.
Klopp still needed Caoimhin Kelleher to stand up in the absence of their injured goalkeeper, Alisson Becker, though. Kelleher made an array of crucial saves whilst Liverpool led 1-0. Joe Gomez also cleared Lukas Haraslin’s shot off the line before Conor Bradley’s (46’) own goal.
Nunez (7’), Bobby Clark (8’), Salah (10’) and Gakpo (14’) also killed off any fait hopes Sparta Prague still held in their early exchanges of their second leg at Anfield. Szoboszlai (48’) and Gakpo (55’) also further extended the aggregate lead after Veljko Birmancevic (42’) replied.
The 11-2 scoreline also marked Liverpool’s biggest aggregate win in a European competition since 1980/81. It matched their 11-2 aggregate win against Finnish side Oulun Palloseura in the first round of the European Cup. Liverpool just completely overwhelmed Sparta Prague.
Liverpool’s 2023/24 Europa League quarter-final vs Atalanta
UEFA drew Liverpool to face Atalanta BC in the quarter-finals of the 2023/24 Europa League on March 15. The Reds will host the Serie A side in the first leg at Anfield on April 11 and go to the Gewiss Stadium for their second leg on April 18. Both legs will kick off at 20:00 GMT.
Atalanta head to Anfield in between Liverpool’s Premier League fixtures against Manchester United on April 7 and Crystal Palace on April 14. It is also only the second time that Liverpool have faced Atalanta in any competition. They first met in the Champions League in 2020/21.
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UEFA drew Liverpool and Atalanta together for the group stage of the 2020/21 edition of the Champions League. The Reds also recorded a 5-0 win away to La Dea thanks to a hat-trick by Diogo Jota and goals by Salah and Sadio Mane. But Atalanta won 2-0 at Anfield in 2020.
2023/24 Europa League semi-finals
Liverpool will face SL Benfica or Marseille in the semi-finals of the 2023/24 Europa League if they come through their quarter-final against Atalanta. UEFA has arranged the semi-finals to be played on May 2 and May 9. Anfield will also stage the second leg of any semi-final game.
A trip to the Estadio da Luz or Stade Velodrome will follow Liverpool travelling to West Ham United in the Premier League on April 27. Tottenham Hotspur also visit Anfield on May 5 in the top-flight, between Liverpool’s potential 2023/24 Europa League semi-final encounters.
2023/24 Europa League final
UEFA has arranged the 2023/24 Europa League final to be played on Wednesday, May 22 at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. It marks the first time that Dublin hosts the Europa League final since FC Porto beat Portuguese rivals SC Braga 1-0 in the 2010/11 final at the Aviva Stadium.
Additionally, UEFA has confirmed that each team in the final in 2023/24 will only receive an allocation of 12,000 tickets. The Aviva Stadium has a capacity of 48,000. But only half of the ground will be fans of either finalist. A further 12,000 tickets will be sold for fans worldwide.
The 2023/24 Europa League final is also three days after Klopp takes his last Premier League game with Liverpool. Wolves visit Anfield on the last day of the league term on May 19. The FA Cup final (May 25) and Champions League final (June 1) follow the Europa League final.