Liverpool miss chance to book a ‘holiday’ in Austria
1 Liverpool Lovren 65 1 Napoli Mertens 21 Att: 52,128
If you listened closely enough on the final whistle at Anfield you could hear them clearing their throats in Salzburg.
Unable to get the job done at home to Napoli, Liverpool’s hopes of a leisurely, pressure-free trip to Austria in December were scuppered. “People wished we could finish the group tonight and make kind of a holiday game in Salzburg,” said Jurgen Klopp, the sarcasm not disguised. Any hope of an exercise in schedule easing never materialised. The manager will need his strongest side in the final group game to retain his team’s grip on the European Cup.
Napoli left with what they came for – the point which should guarantee their qualification – although for a while they dared to imagine more. Until Dejan Lovren’s headed equaliser from James Milner’s corner midway through the second half, Carlo Ancelotti looked on course to become the first visiting manager to win a European game at Anfield since Klopp’s appointment.
Napoli may have been embroiled in a civil war in their own city, but Klopp’s prediction they would be wounded lions on foreign soil was prophetic, Ancelotti offering a timely reminder he is not the busted flush some presume. Plenty of English clubs with looming managerial vacancies must have taken note at the manner the former Chelsea manager was able to succeed where so many Premier League coaches have failed.
Led by Kalidou Koulibaly – it must surely be a matter of when, not if the defender is the subject of an offer Napoli cannot refuse – the visitors were as well organised defensively as any to come to Merseyside
this season, doubling up on Liverpool’s wide men and pouncing on every midfield error.
Even without Lorenzo Insigne they carried a counter-attacking threat to extend the discomfort of Klopp’s back four, which has lingered despite a prolonged winning league run.
“Napoli were up for a proper fight, and whoever sees Napoli play usually, this was a different approach – scoring a goal and defending with all they have,” reflected Klopp, whose concerns were provoked by more than the result. There was a three-minute spell in the first half when an eerie hush fell upon Anfield, the likes of which Klopp may never have heard in this stadium before – certainly not on a European night.
Virgil van Dijk was lying in agony in the centre-circle, his team-mates urging medical staff to come to his attention. Three minutes earlier Fabinho – the imperious centre midfielder who has probably been Liverpool’s player of the season – had departed after requiring similarly lengthy treatment on his ankle. He left Anfield later in a protective boot – the most worrying sight of all on a frustrating evening.
“Hopefully not serious,” said Klopp, his mannerisms hinting he feared it was. The discouraging sights were everywhere. Mohamed
Salah had been hunting without much joy for his confidence, first touch and goal compass; Andy Robertson kept giving the ball away when trying to send Sadio Mane down the left wing; and Joe Gomez, preferred to Trent Alexander-arnold, was struggling to replicate the crossing ability of the man he replaced.
Of more pertinence, as Van Dijk was treated, the Napoli players were celebrating the opening goal by Dries Mertens, who had taken advantage of the space vacated by the centre-half to pounce on Giovanni Di Lorenzo’s pass and beat Alisson from a tight angle.
The Kop silently awaited two verdicts. The first, courtesy of VAR, was negative. The TV pictures declared a valid goal despite the initial appearance of a foul and then an offside. The second bulletin about Van Dijk was received more enthusiastically, as he dusted himself down and tried to lead the charge back into the game. For those moments in the 21st minute, Liverpool were not only considering the implications of a final game shootout in Austria, but their domestic ambitions. To lose one influential player ahead of the most hectic schedule of the campaign would have been considered unfortunate, two downright careless.
The surest sign of mounting concern came when Klopp was shown a yellow card after one animated protest too many at Spanish referee Carlos del Cerro Grande.
It was a reminder of the jeopardy in the fixture. Group E had a comfortable look prior to kick-off and still does with Liverpool in control of their destiny. What is unexpected is that all possibilities remain, even if Klopp pointed out his team were accustomed to taking it the final group game.
A year ago, this fixture was the catalyst for Liverpool’s eventual European conquest, Becker’s lastminute save redirecting the course of history. It was worth around £60 million given what followed.
Napoli played as if they were invigorated rather than scarred by that experience, vengeance in every tackle. An anticipated barrage after Lovren struck never fully materialised, although the introduction of the lively Alex Oxladechamberlain gave Liverpool a tempo they had been lacking.
“We had to increase pressure, and we did,” said Klopp. “The problem was we had the wings open, we tried to use them with the crosses, but we crossed the ball too early most of the time. That’s why the goalie caught so many balls. We scored a goal, a really nice one, and then we continued to chase the game. But it didn’t work out for us, and that’s how football is sometimes.”
Liverpool are making a habit of leaving it late domestically. By taking qualification to the final group game for the third consecutive season, they are back in familiar territory in Europe, too.