Liverpool lacked the 'belief' required to pull off comeback at Atalanta, says Peter Crouch after his former club crashed out of the Europa League as he insists Reds were 'disappointing'

Peter Crouch accused Liverpool of running out of ideas after they failed to pull off a comeback and crashed out of the Europa League at the hands of Atalanta on Thursday night.

The Reds entered the second leg of their quarter-final tie needing a miraculous result after losing 3-0 at home to their Italian opponents last week. They made the perfect start when Mohamed Salah put them ahead on the night from the penalty spot inside seven minutes.

But Jurgen Klopp's men struggled to create many clear-cut chances after that and succumbed to a 3-1 aggregate defeat. 

Reflecting on a frustrating night for his former club, Crouch admitted Liverpool lacked belief as they eventually came up well short of turning the tie around.

‘I don’t think they moved the ball quick enough. I don’t think they had answers really to Atalanta defensively,' Crouch told TNT Sports.

'I thought they were strong defensively and they didn’t have enough belief or enough about them creative-wise to create chances. It was disappointing.’

Crouch was convinced Atalanta defender Isak Hien should have been sent off for a deliberate handball in the first half when Luis Diaz appeared to be through on goal.

Atalanta being reduced to 10 men could have given Liverpool the encouragement they needed to complete their comeback, but Crouch conceded complaining about one decision would be 'clutching at straws' as he acknowledged Atalanta fully deserved to go through.

'I don’t think Liverpool were at their best tonight,' he said. 'We’re sitting here, clutching at straws and asking for a red card – they’re a better side than that. We shouldn’t be sitting here trying to get people sent off.'

Heaping more praise on Atalanta, Crouch added: ‘The management of the game in the second half was fantastic from Atalanta. They were pressing high up, but the last 20-25 minutes they were camped in their own box. 

'But Liverpool still didn’t have any chances. They defended well, they were strong in the tackle and good defensively. 

'Liverpool just couldn’t find a way to break them down, especially with Salah and Diaz off the pitch. That made it more difficult.’