“Never give up” - Manchester United star celebrates Liverpool loss against Atalanta on social media

Manchester United striker Rasmus Hojlund put out a post in appreciation of his former club Atalanta after their incredible win over Liverpool on Thursday, April 11.

Liverpool hosted Atalanta at Anfield in the first leg of their UEFA Europa League quarter-final clash. They had a few chances but failed to convert them before the Nerazurri took the lead through Gianluca Scamacca in the 38th minute. The Italian striker then doubled their lead at the hour mark.

Liverpool pushed for a response but failed to score due to a combination of poor finishing and excellent saves from Juan Musso. A Dominik Szoboszlai error then helped Atalanta to make it 3-0 as Mario Pasalic scored in the 83rd minute.

After the game, Manchester United striker Rasmus Hojlund shared the result on his Instagram story with the caption:

"Mola mia"

It is a saying in Bergamo, which means 'Never Give Up'.

Hojlund joined Atalanta from Sturm Graz in 2022 and scored 10 goals and provided four assists in 34 games for them. Manchester United then signed him last summer for a reported fee of £72 million.

The Danish striker struggled to get going, remaining goalless in his first 14 Premier League appearances. He has registered seven goals and two assists in nine league appearances since. Overall, he has contributed 13 goals and two assists in 34 games for Manchester United across competitions this season.

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Liverpool lose in Europa League as Manchester United's Champions League continue to dwindle

The Red Devils are currently sixth in the Premier League standings, 11 points behind fifth-placed Aston Villa with a game in hand. While generally top four are guarantee a place in the UEFA Champions League, a fifth place could be enough to qualify.

However, this week's results have been far from promising for the Premier League in terms of getting that fifth Champions League spot. Aston Villa were the only one of five English teams to win in Europe, beating LOSC Lille 2-1 in the Conference League quarter-final first leg.

Arsenal and Manchester City drew against Bayern Munich and Real Madrid respectively in the Champions League quarter-final first leg. Liverpool and West Ham United, on the other hand, lost against Atalanta and Bayer Leverkusen respectively in the Europa League.

England currently trail Germany in the race for that fifth Champions League spot, with Italy almost guaranteed to get one spot. Hence, the Premier League clubs will need to put up a big effort in the second leg next week to overturn the coefficient deficit.