ROPEY REDS TAKE A NAP
Liverpool switch off at the death as Insigne fires group wide open
LACKLUSTRE Liverpool got what they deserved as Lorenzo Insigne snatched a last-gasp winner.
Napoli dominated but missed a stack of chances until their on-fire forward struck with the last kick of a poor game.
It was justice done after Jurgen Klopp’s team turned in a lifeless display – failing to muster a shot on target in a Champions League match for the first time since February 2006.
Napoli hit the bar and saw Joe Gomez clear off the line as Liverpool’s incredible start to the campaign disappeared on a miserable night.
Klopp was visibly upset about a shocking performance from the Reds who couldn’t even pass to each other at times and failed to feed their hitmen.
It leaves them third in Group C after two games and with much work to do. And only a brilliant display from centre-halves Gomez and Virgil van Dijk prevented a heavier defeat.
Klopp said: “We had our moments but too often the formation was not right or we moved in the wrong spaces.
“The job of the midfield three was nearly impossible. You have to stay calm in a situation like that but we were too hectic with the ball.
“A 0-0 away from home is OK but we made a mistake before their goal.
“That’s the second time this season we’ve lost a goal like that. Sometimes Bobby Firmino or Sadio Mane ran too long with the ball.
“When that happens you cannot produce. The midfielders or full-backs tried to go forward but we lost the ball and had to go back. It was intense but we caused the intensity ourselves.”
Klopp dropped captain Jordan Henderson to the bench but his replacement, Naby Keita, lasted 17 minutes before a sickening challenge with Insigne saw him stretchered off.
Napoli quickly took control and Arkadiusz Milik turned van Dijk in the box and fired a powerful first-time shot that Alisson did well to beat out.
Milik threatened again with a skidding drive from distance that had Alisson scrambling low down to block.
Napoli sub Dries Mertens made an instant impact after the break, having a shot cleared off the line by Gomez then heading against the bar when he should have scored.
The Reds finally cracked when Jose Callejon’s low cross into the six-yard area was diverted home by Insigne.