Hello and welcome to Sportstar’s HIGHLIGHTS of NAP v LIV UEFA Champions League Group A match at Diego Armando Maradona Stadium in Naples.
That is it from the LIVE coverage of Napoli vs Liverpool. Thanks for tuning in!
READ: Napoli stuns Liverpool 4-1 as Zielinski scores twice
Ajax defeated Rangers 4-0 in the other Group A fixture tonight. Liverpool will face the Amsterdam side next and would hope to make use of the Anfield advantage and get full three points on the board.
What would hurt more is the lacklustre performance from their star forward Mohammad Salah. The Egyptian forward has failed to provide the spark going forward and that has hurt Liverpool.
Liverpool’s poor start to the season just got worse. After losing to Manchester United in the Premier League, it fails in yet another big game against Napoli.
The four minutes of stoppage time come to an end. Napoli hand a 4-1 defeat to Liverpool. A defeat that will leave more questions for Jurgen Klopp to answer. The home side was dominant from the kick off whistle and rattled Liverpool with three goals in the first half. It started the second half with the same intensity but Liverpool’s consolation goal got Napoli’s scoring spree to a halt.
Liverpool scrap the ball in Napoli’s penalty area. The ball ultimately is crossed by Trent and a Napoli defender guides it safely to give Liverpool a corner.
Anguissa finds Zurbin and the Napoli forward breaks out into an attack. Matip gently waits and tracks back and does not allow much space to Zurbin. The Napoli forwards succeeds in taking a shot but can only guide it straight to Alisson.
Napoli are dominating the possession now. Labotka has been pulling the strings and controlling the tempo of the game for the last few minutes.
Arthur makes his debut for Liverpool. The Brazilian comes on for Harvey Elliot.
Napoli with another shot. Lozano has been actively involved since he’s been on the pitch. This time he gets the ball, skips past Fabinho and takes the shot. The product is, however, weak and goes wide off goal.
End to end action. Liverpool with a shot on target but Meret is able to save it. The ball then goes out of Napoli’s penalty area and Lozano starts the counter attack. The Mexican, however, goes for goal from a very difficult angle and the attack comes to nothing.
An opportunity wasted. Luis Diaz is fouled on the left side as Rrahmani is late to tackle him. The freekick is taken by Trent Alexander Arnold who ends up putting too much power behind the shot. The ball goes long.
A good save by Meret! Trent produces one of his signature crosses from the right side. Luis Diaz with some good movement moves into space and meets the ball on his head while running. This ends up generating power on the ball but it is right in the middle and Meret is able to guide it away.
Herving Lozano and Simeone get in behind. A slight confusion between the two prevents any potent attack. They were both offside so would not have counted anyway.
Kvaratskhelia gets the ball and he switches on his nitro boosters. He takes the ball all the way along the pitch and cuts in and shoots. The shot is weak and is easily blocked by Matip.
Salah tries to drive into the opponent’s penalty area and ends up winning a corner.
Liverpool cut the deficit back to three goals within seconds. Diaz drives with the ball ans takes a shot from the edge of the Napoli box. He ends up curling it well and the ball goes into the right corner of the goal.
Napoli scores a fourth goal! It goes from bad to worse for Liverpool as it is caught from a long range ball once again. Zielenski takes a shot which is saved by Alisson but the forward is quick to the second ball and dinks the ball past Liverpool’s keeper.
As expected, Joe Gomez has been substituted. Gomez had a nightmare of a first half. Joel Matip comes on.
The second half action is about to get underway.
Fun fact - Liverpool have never scored a goal at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium.
The score is 3-0 in favour of Napoli and it’d be safe to say it could have been worse. Liverpool has been ripped to shreds here in Naples. It has been caught napping on multiple occasions, been flat in attack and has no answer to the home team’s relentless attack. Some thinking to do for Jurgen Klopp.
Napoli have a third! They are tearing Liverpool apart. Brilliant stuff from the Italians. First, Zielenski goes around Trent on the left side. He then fights off Joe Gomez with his brute physical power and crosses the ball. Simeone very cleverly goes behind Van Dijk and scores the third goal for Napoli.
Victor Osimhen is down injured and the medical staff is working on him. And Osimhen is subbed off. Giovani Simeone replaces him.
Another chance for Liverpool. The ball is driven into Napoli’s penalty area and reaches the young Elliot. The teenager is unable to collect the ball cleanly and ends up going out of play.
Van Dijk with a powerful header from the centre of the penalty area but Napoli keeper is able to guide the ball to safety.
Joe Gomez is having a nightmare. Kvaratskhelia robs the ball of the English defender. He then gets into a slick one-two move with Anguissa, and the latter is able to slot the ball into the Liverpool net.
So close for Napoli! The home team breaks out into a counter attack. Osimhen is able to beat Joe Gomez and squares the pass to Kvaratskhelia. The shot, however, is blocked off the line by Van Dijk.
A weak delivery from the corner. The ball is aimed at the near post which is met by a Napoli defender, and the attack fizzles out.
Liverpool have a long, meaningful spell of possession. The ball lands up with Trent and he crosses with his left foot. A corner for Liverpool.
Penalty Saved! Alisson goes the right direction this time. Osimhen was the penalty taker who chose to go on the keeper’s right but the Brazilian judged the shot well and made the save.
A second penalty awarded to Napoli! Osimhen and Van Dijk are in a tussle to get to the ball. The Dutch defender steps on the forward’s foot and sends him to the floor. A long VAR check leads to penalty for Napoli and a yellow card for Van Dijk.
The forward is then as calm as one can be, from the spot and sends the Liverpool custodian the wrong way, and his side in front for the night.
Zielenski gets a shot from the edge of the penalty area which ends up going wide via a deflection. On second checks, the referee sees that it came of the Liverpool defender’s hand and Napoli wins a penalty.
A chance in the first minute. Osimhen makes a run in behind and Alisson charges from his goal line. The forward is able to take it past him but his shot at the empty goal hits the outside of the post.
And it is Kick-off in Naples.
The fan-favourite UEFA Champions League anthem reverberates across the Diego Maradona Stadium. We’re all set to go.
The players are making their way to the pitch and the match is about to begin.
Napoli has proven to be a tough team for Liverpool to get the better of. Here is the head to head record of the two in the Champions League:
Napoli vs Liverpool - Head to Head
2019/20
2018/19
The lineups for the two teams are out:
Napoli (4-2-3-1): Meret - Di Lorenzo, Kim, Rrahmani, Olivera - Zambo Anguissa, Lobotka - Zielinski, Politano, Kvaratskhelia - Osimhen
Liverpool (4-3-3): Alisson - Alexander-Arnold, Gomez, Van Dijk, Robertson - Fabinho, Elliott, Milner- Salah, Firmino, Diaz
PREVIEW
Last year’s runner up Liverpool has got off to a sluggish start in the Premier League and is outside the top four spots. Jurgen Klopp’s men will now hope to start their Champions League campaign off to a winning note in the tricky Group A, with the first encounter coming at the tricky Diego Armando Maradona Stadium.
The six-time winners of the competition will bank on the firepower of Mohammad Salah, also the club’s top scorer in the Champions League, to combine with Luis Diaz and hit the net against Napoli.
The attack firing becomes all the more important after Sadio Mane left the club for Germany’s Bayern Munich.
Napoli will be without their seasoned forward Dries Mertens in the 2022/23 Champions League. The Italian side has got off to a good start in the Serie A and is second in Serie A.
It not lost a game in the league so far and will hope to emulate the performance on the European stage.
HEAD TO HEAD
Liverpool and Napoli have faced each other four times in the Champions League and the Italian side has edged out the English giant.
All matches have been in group stages - in the 2018/19 and 2019/20 season.
Napoli vs Liverpool - H2H
2019/20
2018/19
PREDICTED XI
Napoli (4-3-3): Meret - Di Lorenzo, Kim, Rrahmani, Rui - Zielinski, Zambo Anguissa, Lobotka - Politano, Raspadori, Kvaratskhelia
Liverpool (4-3-3): Alisson - Alexander-Arnold, Gomez, Van Dijk, Robertson - Fabinho, Elliott, Arthur - Salah, Nunez, Diaz
WHEN AND WHERE TO WATCH
When and where is Napoli vs Liverpool?
The Champions League fixture NAP vs LIV will be played at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium in Naples, Italy. The match is scheduled for a 12:30 am kick-off on Thursday.
Where can I watch Napoli vs Liverpool in India?
Channel: Sony SIX, Sony SIX HD
OTT Platform: Sony LIV, JioTV
Time: 12:30 am
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