Liverpool vs. Napoli: The Reds’ difficult start to the season continues with a 4-1 win over the Italians in the Champions League


The red shirts kept getting ripped open, particularly in the first half, and only a few unpredictable finishing touches – including a missed penalty by Napoli striker Victor Oshimen – kept the half-time score at a semi-respectable 3-0.

An early penalty from Piotr Zieliński following a handball from James Milner set the tone of the game as wave after wave of blue shirts slammed into Alisson’s goal.

Trent Alexander-Arnold – who has had a particularly hot start to the season – and Joe Gomez were caught multiple times in the first half before André-Frank Zambo Anguissa finally scored Napoli’s second goal and slid the ball past Alisson after a smart exchange with Zielinski.

Then, just before the break, Champions League debutant Giovanni Simeone, who came on as a substitute for Oshimen, had an easy throw-in after being found completely uncovered in front of goal by Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.

If Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp had hoped the half-time break would give his side a chance to regroup and struggle in the second half, he was terribly wrong.

Within two minutes of the restart, Napoli had made it 4-0 when Zielinkski scored his second, bringing home the rebound after Alisson saved his first shot.

It was almost too much for Klopp as he pulled his cap off his head to shield his eyes from the horror he was observing.

Liverpool got one back just a few minutes later after a mistake in midfield from Napoli gave Luis Díaz possession, allowing the Colombian to put in a smart finish in the bottom corner.

In truth, there was never a chance or sign of a toothless Liverpool making a comeback on what Klopp described as a “really tough” night for the club.

“[It’s] hard to take,” the German told BT Sport. “I would say not that difficult to explain once you’ve seen the game. First of all, Napoli played a really good game and we didn’t, that’s the first explanation for the defeat.

“It looks a bit like we’re going to have to reinvent ourselves. There are a lot of things missing, not in all games but now the fun part is we have to do it in the middle of a Premier League season and a Champions League campaign.

“We’re playing wolves in three days and after watching the game tonight, they probably can’t stop laughing and thinking, ‘Oh my god, this is a perfect moment [to play Liverpool]but we have to try and find a setup that’s a lot better at pretty much everything.”

Liverpool has had a difficult start to the season.

Liverpool are currently seventh in the Premier League with just two wins from their first six games.

Back-to-back home games against Wolves and Ajax, no less than six points and a huge improvement in performance is enough for a side desperate to get back on track.