Liverpool stunned by Atalanta in Europa League, Leverkusen beat West Ham

• Liverpool were thrashed 3-0 by Atalanta at Anfield in the Europa League.
• Bayer Leverkusen beat West Ham United 2-0 to extend their unbeaten record this season.
• In the Europa Conference League, Aston Villa inched closer to a first European trophy in more than four decades with a 2-1 win over Lille.
• For more soccer news, visit our designated section.

Liverpool's hopes of winning the Europa League were left hanging by a thread after they lost 3-0 at home to Atalanta in the first leg of their quarter-final tie on Thursday, while Bayer Leverkusen beat West Ham United to extend their unbeaten record this season.

Liverpool are hoping to make this season's Europa League final in Dublin on 22 May their final game before Jurgen Klopp steps down as manager, but they face a monumental task to turn their last-eight tie around after a stunning Atalanta performance.

Liverpool, who started with Mohamed Salah and Dominik Szoboszlai among the substitutes, saw Harvey Elliott come agonisingly close to opening the scoring with a shot that hit the bar and struck the post on its way back out.

Atalanta then took the lead seven minutes before half-time when Davide Zappacosta's low ball in from the right was finished off first-time by former West Ham striker Gianluca Scamacca.

The same player made it 2-0 on the hour with a fine finish from Charles De Ketelaere's assist.

Salah, who had come on at the start of the second half, then had a goal disallowed for offside before Atalanta made it 3-0 with seven minutes left.

Caoimhin Kelleher spilled a shot by Ederson and Croatian midfielder Mario Pasalic, who once belonged to Chelsea but did not play a first-team game, followed in to score.

The stunning victory for the side who sit sixth in Serie A ends Liverpool's 33-game unbeaten run at home.

"It hurts, we didn't lose here for a long time," said Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk. "They punished us for being sloppy in possession.

"This will definitely hurt tonight and then from tomorrow we need to switch it back on to get a result."

Recent history suggests there is still hope for Klopp's side, as they won 5-0 away to Atalanta in Bergamo in the Champions League group stage in 2020/21, a campaign in which they also lost to the Italian side at Anfield.

In Germany, Bundesliga champions-elect Leverkusen made it 42 games without losing in any competition this season as they beat West Ham 2-0 to seize control of their quarter-final tie.

Jonas Hofmann and Victor Boniface both came off the bench to score late goals for Xabi Alonso's side, with the opener arriving in the 83rd minute and the second coming in injury time.

The victory continues what could be a stunning week for Leverkusen, who are 16 points clear of Bayern Munich in Germany and can win their first Bundesliga title by beating Werder Bremen at home on Sunday.

Alonso told reporters "the anticipation is huge - it couldn't be bigger."

"We have a chance on Sunday - if we win, we're champions. We need to step on the gas and it would be something very special to achieve," he said.

If Leverkusen finish the job against West Ham, they will advance to a semi-final against either AC Milan or Roma, who clashed at San Siro in the first leg of their quarter-final on Thursday.

Roma ran out 1-0 winners on the night away to their Serie A rivals thanks to Gianluca Mancini's 17th-minute header from a corner. Mancini had also scored the winner in the Rome derby against Lazio last weekend.

"It's a great night for us. I couldn't have asked for more from this week," Mancini told broadcaster Rai.

Thursday's other game saw Benfica beat Marseille 2-1 in Lisbon in the first leg of their quarter-final.

Goals by Rafa Silva and Angel Di Maria either side of the break put the Portuguese side firmly in command, but Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's goal midway through the second half gives Marseille hope for the return next week.

Aubameyang is the Europa League's all-time top scorer and has 10 goals in 10 games in the competition this season.

Aston Villa edge closer to rare European silverware

Meanwhile in the Europa Conference League, Aston Villa inched closer to a first European trophy in more than four decades with a 2-1 win over Lille on Thursday.

Ollie Watkins and John McGinn scored either side of half-time to give the Premier League highflyers a serious option on the semi-finals ahead of next week's quarter-final return leg in France.

Villa, who crushed Ajax 4-0 on aggregate in the last 16, are aiming to claim their third continental title following their victory in the European Cup in 1982 and the UEFA Super Cup the following season.

The gloss was slightly taken off their night's work when Bafode Diakite scored for the visitors with six minutes left on the clock.

"We've had a lot of opportunities and 2-1 is a bit disappointing, I think it should have been three or four," reflected Watkins.

"We have a game plan and we stick to it no matter what," he added.

"It was important that we won the game and then go into the second leg a goal up. It feels like a lot of hard work has been put in," said Watkins with Villa away to Arsenal in the Premier League this weekend before next week's trip to northern France.

Villa manager Unai Emery has a remarkable European record, having won the Europa League as coach three times with Sevilla and once with Villarreal.

The winners of this tie will advance to face either Greek giants Olympiakos or Fenerbahce of Turkey.

This pair met earlier Thursday in Greece with Fenerbahce's tumultuous week continuing as they mounted a stirring second half fightback in a 3-2 loss.

The Turkish outfit appeared to be down and out after an hour's play, with their Greek hosts bossing the quarter-final first leg by three goals.

Kostas Fortounis and Stevan Jovetic put Olympiakos firmly in control by half-time, with Chiquinho consolidating their advantage on 57 minutes.

But a 68th minute penalty from Dusan Tadic followed by Irfan Can Kahveci's 74th minute contribution gave Fenerbahce a lifeline ahead of next week's return leg in Turkey.

"We started strongly, but Olympiakos are a very good side and they converted their opportunities. After falling 3-0 behind, we managed to regroup, play our game and increase our chances to qualify," commented Tadic.

Olympiakos captain and goalscorer Fortounis said: "Fenerbahce are a good side. We loosened up and conceded two goals. That's football. But we will go there with full concentration and will play to qualify."

Fiorentina goalless

Fenerbahce went into the fixture hours after copping a €115 000 fine over their Turkish Supercup protest at the weekend.

Fenerbahce walked off the field in the opening minutes of the fixture against Galatasaray on Sunday as a protest against alleged unfair treatment.

They fielded an Under-19 team for the game against their Istanbul rivals. Galatasaray went ahead after three minutes with Fenerbahce then walking off in a pre-planned protest.

The Turkish Football Federation awarded Galatasaray a 3-0 win and issued Fenerbahce with the six-figure fine.

"It's time for Turkish football to be reset," Fenerbahce president Ali Koc had told a press conference before the match.

Fenerbahce are chasing their first Turkish title since 2014 and are two points behind champions Galatasaray with seven rounds to go.

Fenerbahce claim they are being picked on. They had asked for the Supercup to be postponed ahead of their Conference League quarter-final.

With their tails up they will be desperate to finish off Olympiakos on home turf next week.

Fiorentina, last season's beaten finalists in Europe's third-tier continental competition, were held to a goalless draw at Viktoria Plzen in the Czech Republic.

The winners of this tie will go on to face the winners of the meeting between Club Brugge of Belgium or PAOK of Greece, with Brugge leading 1-0 ahead of next week's return leg.

This season's Conference League final will be played in Athens at the OPAP Arena on 29 May.

Roma won the inaugural Conference League in 2022, with West Ham lifting the trophy last season.