Liverpool must take inspiration from Jurgen Klopp's great comebacks for Europa League quarter-final

Liverpool are no strangers to comebacks. 

The Reds have a grand history of pulling off unlikely results. Whether it be the 2005 Champions League final in Istanbul or the 2006 FA Cup triumph in the Millennium Stadium, the Reds often do things the hard way on the big stage.

However, their powers of recovery will be put to an almighty test next Thursday, with the Reds travelling to Bergamo to face Atalanta in the second leg of their Europa League quarter-final.

A limp and quite frankly pathetic display at Anfield in the first leg saw Liverpool humiliated, Jurgen Klopp's side succumbing to an embarrassing 3-0 defeat to Serie A's sixth-placed side.

With the away goals rule no longer active, Liverpool now know they must win by three at the Gewiss Stadium, and that's just to take the game to extra-time.

But if you were to bet on any team to overturn such a deficit in the second leg, it would be the Reds, and Klopp has history of some sensational European comebacks.

JURGEN KLOPP'S EUROPEAN RECORD OFFERS GLIMMER OF HOPE

Liverpool have never tended to make life comfortable for themselves in Europe, even in the Klopp era.

They were 5-0 up after 68 minutes of their Champions League semi-final first leg against Roma in 2018, yet somehow only progressed to the final after a 7-6 aggregate victory. Even during their triumph in 2019, they only escaped the group on the final matchday with a 1-0 win over Napoli, in which Alisson had to produce a 94th-minute wonder save.

However, such tribulations have built character, with Liverpool never knowing when they are beaten.

Of course, there are two great examples of the 'Mentality Monsters', starting with a meeting against Klopp's old Borussia Dortmund side in the 2015/16 Europa League.

Having drawn the first leg of their quarter-final 1-1 at Signal Iduna Park, Liverpool found themselves 3-1 down at Anfield at the hour mark. Due to the away goals rule, the Reds needed three quickfire strikes to progress to the semi-final.

That's exactly what Klopp's side produced, with Philippe Coutinho's strike renewing hope before efforts from Mamadou Sakho and Dejan Lovren completed the turnaround - the latter's header coming in stoppage time.

Then, of course, there is that night against Barcelona.

En route to the Champions League trophy in 2018/19, Liverpool suffered a 3-0 defeat at Camp Nou in the semi-final of the competition, with the tie all but over.

An injury-hit Liverpool forward line were given little hope of producing a memorable turnaround, but that they did thanks to braces from Divock Origi and Georginio Wijnaldum. A 4-0 win and history made.

While Liverpool won't have the Anfield crowd to call on this time around, they have pedigree when it comes to feverish European nights and dream comebacks. Throughout Klopp's career, he's been able to harness the energy of such significant moments.

Therefore, it is not beyond the realms of possibility that the second leg in Bergamo will not be Klopp's final European match in the Liverpool dugout.

It remains incredibly unlikely, but past glories and tales of triumph should give those Liverpool players a glimmer of hope heading to Italy next week.

And where there's hope, we can afford to dream just a little.