Liverpool lost Napoli away
In the first round of the Champions League group stage, Liverpool went to Naples, where they lost to Napoli 2:0 as the acting champions.
In the last season of the Champions League, the Reds lost Napoli away in a similar fashion. Back then, the hosts scored only one goal. However, at Anfield, Klopp’s team managed to nullify the advantage of the Neapolitans and win 1:0 thanks to Salah’s goal.
The German came out on this match without any special thoughts of attack. It became clear from the midfield three in the persons of Henderson, Milner and Fabinho. There were no changes in attack and defense; therefore, Liverpool constantly felt deficit when moving from defense to offense. Everything because of Napoli’s formation 4-4-2.
Ancelotti went for a risk and his plan justified. Callejon played on the right wing of attack, Insigne played on the left, and Mertens and Lozano on the edge. At the same time, the attackers constantly worked in defense, thanks to which the two central midfielders of Napoli received the support of two more players in the center and Callejon with Insigne on the wings.
An interesting game went in the second half. Liverpool had a chance to advance, but in the final stage of the attack, Mane gave powerful pass to Salah. Salah had a moment to score after a mistake from Di Lorenzo, but Meret rescued the Italian team. Adrian, after a series of salvations of the Liverpool goal and the constant loss of position by Alexander-Arnold, still missed from the penalty spot. The rules were violated by Andrew Robertson, and the 11-meter shot was realized by Mertens, who shot powerfully point. After the match, Klopp did not admit a violation at this point,
“I can tell a lot about this penalty, but I will look like a complete loser. Yes, I am not the best loser in the world, but I am not a complete one.”
At the end of the match, Liverpool opened up and ran into the attack. The second goal came after a cut of the ball from van Dijk. The Dutchman gave a pass right on Llorrente’s foot and the Spaniard seized the moment. The defender already has two productive deliveries for 17 matches in the Champions League, when there is only one in the Premier League for 57 games.
Liverpool lost, and deservedly lost. Napoli were more assertive and not afraid to go forward when the Reds came out with the mood to hold a draw and take points with little blood before the match with Chelsea in the Premier League. Perhaps Klopp is no longer interested in the Champions League after last year’s victory. This is logical because Liverpool has not won in the championship for almost 30 years. But Napoli finally showed a decent game after three rounds of Serie A, which cannot but rejoice Ancelotti.
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