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#3 Defensive masterclass from Napoli
Napoli arrived at Anfield well aware that they had a task at hand. Liverpool had one of the best attacks in Europe, so the away defence was in for an onslaught on Matchday 5. However, despite letting their lead slip in the second half, the Serie A side impressed at the back and managed to deal with almost everything that Liverpool threw in their way.
The Italian club was under tremendous pressure right from the start of the game, but after they had taken the lead, Napoli sat back comfortably and thwarted Liverpool every time they came forward. Kalidou Koulibaly and Kostas Manolas were excellent on the night, managing to keep the Liverpool frontline quiet, intercepting, clearing and defending like their lives depended on it. They were also ably assisted in their endeavour by Nikola Maksimović and Mário Rui, the full-backs.
Koulibaly had just 34 touches on the ball and attempted 19 passes with 74% accuracy. He also completed 1 dribble and won all of his 3 aerial duels. The Senegalese international registered 2 tackles with 50% success rate and also made 8 clearances. Manolas had 36 touches on the ball and registered 14 passes with 79% success rate. He won 2 aerial duels, attempted 2 tackles with 50% accuracy and also recorded 8 clearances.
Also, the whole team worked as a cohesive unit to keep Liverpool in check, and even though Lovren’s goal cost them a win, Carlo Ancelotti will still be pleased to earn a vital point at Anfield.
