Atalanta have won the Europa League following their conquering Liverpool in the quarter-final.
The Italian side stunned the Reds in April, pummelling them 3-0 at Anfield. Up against unbeaten Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday night, they won by the same scoreline.
It was a mightily impressive victory and represented Atalanta’s first trophy since 1963, only the second in their 116-year history.
The mastermind of it all was manager Gian Piero Gasperini. The 66-year-old coach was linked to the Liverpool job on the back of beating the Reds and has shown his quality once again.
But although he won’t be taking over at Anfield any time soon, the Reds were on Gasperini’s mind after he had hoisted his trophy into the Dublin sky.
Gian Piero Gasperini makes ‘extraordinary’ Liverpool claim
Just as they were against Liverpool, Atalanta went into Wednesday’s final as underdogs. Leverkusen had just romped to the Bundesliga title and were still unbeaten all season.
But in his first full season in management, there was always a chance Xabi Alonso would be outfoxed by the wily Gasperini. That’s exactly what happened.
Alonso can take solace in the fact that even the great Jurgen Klopp was bettered by the Italian in much the same manner. Those man-marking tactics can be hard to get the better of.
READ MORE: What Gian Piero Gasperini said about links to the Liverpool job
It wasn’t just Liverpool and Leverkusen who Atalanta saw off, though. They also beat a Sporting side who have won their own league title in impressive fashion this season. And speaking to Sky Italia after the game, Gasperini was keen to give a nod to the sides beaten along the way.
“I think we are in history, but the way we won was extraordinary,” raved the manager. “We repeated the performances of Liverpool and Lisbon.
“Sporting won their league, Liverpool were top of the Premier League when we went there, Bayer Leverkusen absolutely dominated the Bundesliga.”
Liverpool can have no complaints about Europa League fate
Wednesday night should really have been a night of celebration for Liverpool supporters.
Of course, nobody is owed anything in football. You have to earn every little bit that you get. But the Reds had such a good chance to make Wednesday the 22nd of May a red party in Dublin. They were big favourites but let it slip.
The fact is that Liverpool weren’t good enough when it mattered. Atalanta deservedly beat them after putting on such a show at Anfield.
In a way, at least Liverpool can look back and say they were beaten by the eventual winners, whatever solace that may bring.
Ultimately, while this would have been just one more gong in the Reds’ illustrious trophy history, it is something much more meaningful to Atalanta. You can’t help but be happy for them. Congrats, mister Gasperini.