2019-2020 UEFA CL: Liverpool vs. Napoli

(The Guardian) Preamble
Their defence of this competition may have got under way on a bum note in Naples but Liverpool have been unblemished since that defeat in September, going on to show their true colours. That loss is one of a few anomalies in an extraordinary year – Jürgen Klopp’s side have lost just four matches in 2019 – and they edged past the Serie A side at Anfield 1-0 en route to the final last season. Victory will once more secure passage to the knockout stages of a competition they fell head over heels for all over again last season. For Klopp, it is the 100th European game of his managerial career, dating back to visiting Armenia with Mainz. In Napoli they face a brilliant team perturbed by off-field troubles, with club president Aurelio de Laurentiis set to fine players because of a failure to attend a week-long training camp and Carlo Ancelotti’s side winless in six matches. Some housekeeping: the winner of this, if there is one, will qualify from Group E and if Red Bull Salzburg fail to win at Genk then Liverpool will qualify for the last 16, even if they lose to Napoli. “I expect Napoli to be really strong for a number of reasons,” Klopp said. “They are a really good football team and now they’re not in Italy, they feel maybe relief they can play in this game. Napoli gave us a proper fight at Anfield last season. We have to make sure from the first second this is a different place. We want to go as far as possible in the Champions League. Napoli are experienced, tactically strong, super players.”

(The Guardian) Klopp makes three changes, with Salah, Joe Gomez and James Milner in for Alexander-Arnold, Wijnaldum and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. Xherdan Shaqiri, meanwhile, is on the bench for the first time since September after returning from injury. If Napoli are going to do the double over Liverpool, they will have to go some, because they are without Arkadiusz Milik and Lorenzo Insigne. Fabián Ruiz is helluva player, though.

The teams are on the pitch; for Liverpool, a win (or elsewhere, a Genk win OR a Genk-Salzburg draw) will see them advance...

Time...for some European football! liverpool scarf-1 liverpool scarf-1

(The Guardian) 2 min: Napoli swing an early free-kick into the box but Liverpool whoosh it clear. Salah races in behind but Meret is alert to it.

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3 min: Firmino plays a sly ball in for Salah but Koulibaly is equal to it. Sadio Mané is then almost freed and Napoli, eventually, choose to clear their lines. Liverpool have made a fast start here.

(The Guardian) 5 min: Sadio Mané surges down the left but Maksimovic blocks him off. Napoli goal-kick. Bright start for Liverpool, whose supporters seem well up for it.

(The Guardian) 8 min: Fabinho overcooks a high ball over the top of the Napoli defence in search of Mané. Meret races out to greet him before Henderson tries and fails to gather the seconds. Napoli have seen precious little of the ball.