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Liverpool hosted Napoli at Anfield on matchday 5 of the UEFA Champions League 2019/20. Liverpool side went into the fixture after winning back to back Champions League matches against Genk. Whereas, Napoli drew their last Champions League game against RB Salzburg played in Italy.
The first half belonged to Napoli through and through. They were smart enough to let Liverpool have most of the ball and tried to take advantage of defensive lapses from Liverpool. The Italian team opened the scoring through Dries Mertens who scored with a composed finish.
Liverpool started the second half on a high tempo. They won the ball up high in Napoli's box regularly and tried to press the resilient Napoli defence into submission. Liverpool finally scored through a corner headed in by Dejan Lovren. The Reds dominated the game after the equalizer but ultimately failed to get the winner.
#4 Napoli Bounce back amid dressing room unrest
Prior to the match, there were several reports of dressing room unrest from the Napoli camp. This was due to friction between team's senior players, coaches and the club management. A positive result in this crucial fixture was of utmost importance to Napoli's Champions League hopes.
The way Napoli started the game made it clear that they had a clear game plan of being patient and smart with their attacking instincts. They didn't over commit in order to score quickly. Instead, they sat back and let Liverpool have the ball while looking to capitalize on the Red's high defensive line in the process. This patient approach led to a breakthrough for the Naples side. Dries Mertens took advantage of Liverpool's offside trap attempt and scored a calm one on one against Alisson Becker.
There was cohesion in the visitors' play. One got the feeling that they wanted to play for each other and overcome last year's disappointment of not being able to qualify for the Knockouts.
Also check out: Premier League Premier League Table Champions League Schedule
#3 Liverpool fail to keep a clean sheet yet again
Liverpool have failed to keep a clean sheet in this year's Champions League so far. This is partly down to their style of defending, where the strikers and midfielders are the first and second lines of defence. Last year, Liverpool had the best defence in the Premier League due to their coordination in playing the offside trap as a defensive unit together, and due to some fantastic saves from Alisson Becker. We are yet to see that level of excellence from the European Champions so far.
Liverpool's main source of creativity this season has been from their full-backs. In doing that, a lot of space is provided to the teams who have got runners willing to exploit the space and create attacking situations. Manchester City exploited this space in the Community Sheild fixture earlier this year.
Specifically in this game, Liverpool had most of the possession. This meant that Napoli had chances to go long and provide the ball to runners like Dries Mertens and Hirving Lozano whenever they got the ball. Dries Mertens was very smart in not letting Virgil Van Dijk win the long ball challenge and was first to the ball. Liverpool also failed to play the offside trap, leaving Dries Mertens one on one with Alisson Becker.
To their credit, the Reds have bounced back after conceding silly goals. But to expect that Liverpool can grind their way through the season by coming back all the time from unfavourable positions is not ideal and logical. They need to balance their attack with a system that provides for adequate defensive cover.
#2 Injury scare for the reds amid a gruelling festive period
Liverpool suffered an injury scare early in the first half. Fabinho suffered an ankle injury after he got caught in the follow-through by a Napoli player after some midfield challenges between both sides.
Now Fabinho has been a pretty important player for the Reds since the time he started playing regularly last season. The Brazilian is one of the first names on the team sheet for Jürgen Klopp.
Fabinho was set to miss the upcoming weekend's Premier League clash with Brighton at home due to suspension. He was expected to be back for the Merseyside Derby in the Premier League which is set to take place on 5th December at Anfield. Now with an injury in the fold, it is difficult to expect the midfield maestro to start the game against Everton.
The Brazilian has provided 1 assist this season and also scored a crucial goal against Manchester City in their Premier League clash. Furthermore, he has a passing accuracy of 88% this season for the Reds. Fabinho has won 77% of his tackles and 75% of his aerial duels. In addition to that, his ability to read the situation and anticipate the next pass from the opposition is what the Reds crave for most in their current set up.
All in all, missing Fabinho even for three weeks is a big blow to Liverpool's spine.
#1 Knockouts qualification race will go down to the wire
The race for qualification into the knockout stages of the Champions League in Group E will go to matchday 6 where Liverpool play away against RB Salzburg in Austria. Whereas, Napoli host Genk in Italy.
Currently, Liverpool leads the group with 10 points. While Napoli are second in the group with 9 points and a goal difference of three. After beating Genk 4-1, RB Salzburg are third in the group with 7 points. When Liverpool faced Salzburg in the first round of group stage matches, it was clear that Salzburg were good enough to open up the European Champions' defence quite easily. The Austrian side are capable of beating any side on their day by simply outscoring the other team with the attacking talents within their ranks.
If Liverpool wins or draws this game against Salzburg, they go through to the next round. If Salzburg wins the game, there is a possibility that Liverpool might not qualify for the Knockout stages at all this season. Napoli on the other hand, are probably too strong to lose to Genk on their own turf in Italy.
Notwithstanding the favourite's tag in the football community, it is still possible that either of Liverpool or Napoli will not qualify for the next round of Champions League.
