Liverpool, the Champions League runners-up last season, were off to a flying start grabbing a thrilling 3-2 win against heavyweights Paris Saint-Germain in their opening group stage encounter but expected a tougher test tonight at Stadio San Paolo against Napoli. The Serie A giants had the significant advantage of a hostile home ambience and Jurgen Klopp, the Reds boss, was aware of the possible difficulties his side could face during 90 minutes of the gruesome encounter.
The tie, meanwhile, proved to be the worst outing in Klopp’s tenure as the Merseysiders failed to threaten even once before conceding late in the game to go down 1-0.
Below are the Liverpool players rated in their 1-0 defeat against Napoli.
Alisson Becker: 6.5
Was busier of the two custodians and made a routine stop in the first half to deny Arkadiusz Milik’s strike. Was forced to make a few more saves after the break but could not prevent his side from conceding in the closing minutes.
Trent Alexander-Arnold: 4
The youngster did not have the best of nights in terms of his attacking contribution as well as defensive resilience. Struggled often against Mario Rui and Lorenzo Insigne that led to some misplaced passes whereas his crosses and overlapping runs lacked the end product in most cases.
Joe Gomez: 6
Maintained his strong presence in the heart of the Liverpool defence alongside van Dijk. Won duels, carried the ball out of the defensive third with strong runs and passing attributes and also exhibited great physical presence against Napoli’s frontline. Looked fatigued towards the end as he failed to grind out a result from Stadio San Paolo.
Virgil van Dijk: 6
The Dutchman was the reason why the Reds were still hoping at least a point from the game. He, too, looked worn-out towards the closing minutes and could have done little to deny Lorenzo Insigne’s tap-in from close range.
Andrew Robertson: 5.5
Was not having his best of games yet managed to make some timely tackles and clearances. He, however, should have done better to contain Jose Callejon who kept the ball perfectly for Insigne towards the end to break the deadlock.
Georginio Wijnaldum: 5
Worked hard in the middle of the park but lacked creativity while carrying the ball forward. Gave away possession against immense pressure from Marek Hamsik and Allan as he lacked support from his teammates in the dying minutes.
James Milner: 5
The veteran Englishman was sloppy with his tackles and kept on losing duels against a charged-up and combative Napoli midfield. Was taken off in the second half to be replaced by Fabinho.
Naby Keita: 6
Started the game brightly but suffered an ugly-looking back injury which forced him to be stretchered off the pitch.
Mohamed Salah: 4.5
The Egyptian once again failed to impress as he was being dispossessed quite easily and was unable to create any attacking threat to the resilient Napoli backline.
Sadio Mane: 5.5
Made some decent runs but often lacked support. Wrong decision makings hindered him from producing anything spectacular and was eventually replaced by Daniel Sturridge in the closing seconds.
Roberto Firmino: 5
The Brazilian was disappointing tonight as he failed to trouble David Ospina as the Colombian was not tested even once.
Substitutes
Jordan Henderson: 5
The skipper failed to uplift his team who were in a complete mess particularly after the break. His backpasses did no favour and instead put the Reds in further difficulty on many occasions.
Fabinho: 5
Was far from impressive as he struggled with the pace and tempo of the game after replacing James Milner in the second half.
Daniel Sturridge: NA
Played too little to warrant a rating.
