Worst Euro display of the Klopp reign
Embarrassing, wretched, disjointed. Issues mount for dumbfounded Reds
YOU would hope those Liverpool fans who followed Jurgen Klopp’s advice in May, to ‘ book your hotels’ in Istanbul for the 2023 Champions League final, secured refundable rates. In the moments after the defeat by Real Madrid in Paris, an emotional Klopp pledged to oversee
Liverpool’s return to the biggest club game in the world within 12 months and urged despondent supporters to follow his dream.
On this evidence, Liverpool will be lucky to make the knockout stages in 2023. The tournament that has often been such a wonderful diversion from domestic matters could not have started in a worse fashion for Klopp and his players here in Naples. This, frankly, was an embarrassment, a display so wretched and disjointed it made it easy to label this the worst European performance of the Klopp era. All credit to Napoli, who were young, aggressive and dynamic, for wreaking such havoc but Liverpool recklessly assisted them.
Three goals down at half-time, it was scarcely believable only 103 days have passed since Liverpool were going head-to-head with Madrid, looking to conquer Europe for a seventh time.
How the issues are mounting for Klopp, who bore the dumbfounded look of a man who had just seen his house collapse in front of him. The shock, undoubtedly, was exacerbated by the fact he saw Napoli doing everything he expected Liverpool to do. It was apparent within 42 seconds that Liverpool were there to be taken apart: Napoli had seven players on the halfway line at kick- off, waiting to burst forward. But it was a decoy: they went backwards to launch their attack and pulled those in red out of position.
The move ended with Victor Osimhen, the Nigeria international, skipping around Alisson Becker, who had dashed out of his area, but, agonisingly, his shot cracked against the post. This jolt should have woken up Liverpool but, instead, they froze.
Within four minutes, they were behind. Piotr Zielinski, a player who Klopp tried to buy in 2016, broke into the area but his effort was stopped by James Milner’s hand. Carlos del Cerro Grande had no hesitation in giving the penalty and Zielinski duly converted.
Games in this stadium have always given Liverpool headaches but this was the first time they had conceded here so early. Sensing something special might happen, the locals created a noise like thunder and watched Napoli play with the electricity of lightning.
Joe Gomez was the man Klopp held accountable at half-time, taking the defender off, but this was not about one man. Trent Alexander-Arnold was lamentable, Virgil van Dijk was so horribly out of sorts, Fabinho was wooden, Milner so off the pace.
Each time Napoli scuttled forwards, it felt as though they would score. Osimhen, with his changes of gear, tormented Van Dijk and Co. He should have had a goal of his own in the 18th minute after he had been tripped by the Dutchman.
VAR advised Del Cerro Grande to look at the monitor and he was sufficiently convinced to award another spot-kick but Osimhen could
not convert, as Alisson plunged to his right to beat it away.
Any fears that Napoli would be left to rue that miss were quickly dispelled. Van Dijk had already cleared a shot off the line from Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, the prodigy who is winning such rave reviews, before the 21-year- old created the second. his surge in the 31st minute allowed AndreFrank Zambo Anguissa, once of Fulham, to beat Alisson.
Quickly two would become three as Kvaratskhelia waltzed through non-existent challenges to provide a ball that gave Giovanni Simeone, son of Atletico manager Diego, the easiest of chances. Cue Bedlam.
here was where you could see how deep Liverpool’s issues are: there was finger-jabbing and arms raised in exasperation, the tell-tale signs of a team that is malfunctioning. Klopp ran to the dressing room to see if he could summon a response but none was coming.
Did anything he said during those 15 minutes make a difference? Joel Matip replaced Gomez but, in the 48th minute, another counter enabled Zielinski to plunder Napoli’s fourth and have historians searching for comparable misery.
This, numerically, was Liverpool’s worst european night since Ajax thrashed Bill Shankly’s side 5-1 in the late 1960s but the impoverished nature of it all had you thinking back to the 1990s when they were as effective on the continent as a domestic plug.
Luis Diaz, at least, scored a consolation but it brought no joy. At the end, Klopp walked over to the visiting fans and made a gesture, hands clasped together, that is universally recognised as an apology. It was an appropriate way to end a sorry evening. Istanbul has never felt so far away.
NAPOLI (4-2-3-1): Meret 6; Di Lorenzo 7, Kim 7, Rrahmani 7, Olivera 7 (Rui 74min, 6); Lobokta 7, Anguissa 8; Politano 7 (Lozano 58, 7), ZIELINSKI 8.5
(Elmas 74, 6.5), Kvaratskhelia 8 (Zerbin 57, 6.5); Osimhen 8 (Simeone 41, 8). Scorers: Zielinski 5 (pen), 47, Anguissa 31, Simeone 44.
Booked: Rrahmani.
Manager: Luciano Spalletti 8. LIVERPOOL (4-3-3): Alisson 7; AlexanderArnold 4, Gomez 4 (Matip 46, 5), Van Dijk 4, Robertson 4; Milner 4 (Thiago 63, 5), Fabinho 4, Elliott 5 (Arthur 77); Salah 4 (Jota 63, 5), Firmino 4 (Nunez 62, 5), Diaz 6. Scorer: Diaz 49.
Booked: Milner, Van Dijk.
Manager: Jurgen Klopp 5.
Referee: Carlos del Cerro Grande (Spa) 7. Attendance: 51,793.