NAPLES, Italy (Reuters) - Lorenzo Insigne’s 90th-minute winner gave Napoli a deserved 1-0 Champions League victory over Liverpool on Wednesday that saw the Italians move to the top of Group C.
Carlo Ancelotti’s side produced a dominant performance against a muted Liverpool team that failed to muster a single shot on target in a Champions League game for the first time since a 1-0 defeat to Benfica in February 2006.
Napoli top the group with four points, while Liverpool are level on three with Paris St Germain, who they beat 3-2 at Anfield in their opening game. Red Star Belgrade are bottom with one point.
The visitors were dealt a blow inside the opening 20 minutes when midfielder Naby Keita was taken off on a stretcher on his Champions League debut for Liverpool, and Napoli had the better of the first half with Insigne shooting wide and Arkadiusz Milik forcing a save from Alisson Becker.
Poland striker Milik again stung the palms of Alisson early in the second half as Napoli grew in confidence.
They went close to taking the lead with 10 minutes remaining when substitute Dries Mertens met a cross from Mario Rui and volleyed off the crossbar from six metres.
The pressure paid off in the 90th minute as Insigne scored a deserved winning goal, stretching to tap in a low cross from Jose Callejon.
“It’s wonderful to win like this, but we had a great performance as a team and wanted the result at all costs,” Insigne told Sky Italia.
"Now we’ll enjoy this victory for a little bit...
"We know it’s a difficult group, we always did, but we want to make our mark in every game and put any opponent under pressure."
Liverpool face Red Star at Anfield next and Napoli travel to Paris to play PSG on Oct. 24.
(Reporting by Alasdair Mackenzie; Editing by Toby Davis)
