Liverpool began the defence of their Champions League crown on a losing note as Dries Mertens' penalty and Fernando Llorente's injury-time strike handed Napoli a 2-0 victory.
On a balmy night at the intimidating Stadio San Paolo, the Reds fell behind in the 82nd minute when Mertens converted from the spot after Andy Robertson had upended Jose Callejon in the area.
Substitute Llorente - part of the Tottenham side beaten by the Reds in last season's Champions League final - then took advantage of a mistake from Virgil Van Dijk to bag his first goal for Napoli after joining them earlier this month.
The two teams meet at the San Paolo tomorrow night in the opening game of Champions League Group E. The clubs were paired together at this stage of the competition last season and Napoli came very close to knocking Jurgen Klopp’s team out at Anfield in December. Alisson Becker’s last-gasp save from Arkadiusz Milik preserved Liverpool’s 1-0 victory and their place in the knockout rounds. The Serie A side were consigned to the Europa League while Alisson and his team-mates went on to Madrid and glory. “We survived a really difficult situation,” Fabinho said. “After that we were full of confidence to go all the way to the final.
Carlo Ancelotti felt that his side were the better team over the two group games – they won 1-0 in the San Paolo – and it is true that Napoli caught Liverpool before they got into their stride in Europe. Klopp’s team lost all three away games in the group stage. They will start their defence of the trophy with more intensity under the shadow of Vesuvius.
Read more:
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp is wary of a Napoli side he describes as "stubborn in a very positive way" as the Reds begin the defence of their Champions League crown at the Stadio San Paolo.
The clubs have been drawn in the same group for the second season in a row, with Napoli prevailing in the corresponding fixture last term as Lorenzo Insigne's late strike settled matters.
Liverpool went on to pip Napoli to a spot in the knockout stages - by virtue of scoring more goals after they finished level on points and a number of other determining factors - before going on to lift the coveted trophy.
While the memory of Liverpool's 1-0 defeat here last October burns bright in the memory for Klopp, the German believes his side showed immediate improvement against title rivals Manchester City in their next outing and did not allow their levels to drop for the remainder of the campaign.
Klopp said: "Directly after the Napoli away game last year, it was a game where we had to defend really well and we improved in three days, did everything right that we did here wrong and kept that going for the rest of the season.
"Am I sure something like that can never happen again? No, of course not. The boys have given me no signs that I have to doubt them but things like this can happen.
"Last year we learned from one game to the next game and this year we have to use that experience because if you don't defend with all we have then we have no chance against Napoli, they are so strong.
"They are stubborn in a very positive way; they play football, they break lines, they have counter-attacks, they are creative.
"There are so many good football things and I enjoy analysing Napoli when I watch them, it's really interesting. But it's not only interesting, it's difficult as well."
Get excited, the Champions League is back.
Liverpool claimed the trophy for a sixth time in their glittering history last season when goals from Mohamed Salah and Divock Origi were enough to see off a stubborn Tottenham Hotspur in Madrid.
Jurgen Klopp’s side return as one of the favourites once again but, as they did in the Premier League a year ago, will have to outlast Manchester City with Pep Guardiola desperate to claim the trophy again.
Chelsea are back in the big time under Frank Lampard while Spurs will hope to go one better after going so close back in June.
And we can’t count out the big boys either: Barcelona return renewed with the added help of Frenkie De Jong and Antoine Griezmann while 13-time winners Real Madrid can never be dismissed. Here are our power rankings:
Jurgen Klopp, who revealed Andy Robertson faces a late fitness test after suffering a knock as Liverpool beat Newcastle to maintain their perfect start to the Premier League season, has said that he is looking forward to start afresh in Europe this season.
Yesterday he revealed both he and his players are hungry for further silverware and claimed they are feeling no additional pressure of being champions ahead of their Group E opener.
Klopp said: "No, we don't feel the burden because I don't know exactly how that should feel. It's long ago, three or four months (since winning the Champions League).
"We want to create more stories to remember in the future and not only this one, so we cannot stick to that.
"If you go nuts and start taking drugs and drinking and driving different cars or whatever and leave your missus at home because you are now the Champions League winner then I can't help you. But we are not like this."
Klopp laughed off suggestions scooping the Champions League title makes Liverpool the best team in Europe, adding: "We cannot be the best team in Europe because Man City is the best team in the world, that's the same planet!"
Napoli summer signing Fernando Llorente is out for revenge against Liverpool, having been part of the Tottenham side that were beaten in last season's Madrid final.
He told a press conference: "I'm still bitter about losing in the final against them last year and I really hope I can settle the score this time around as a Napoli player.
"Napoli can make an impact in the Champions League this season. At Tottenham last season, we certainly weren't touted as one of the favourites, yet we reached the final."
Everyone knows that seasoned campaigners such as Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Sergio Aguero will all be hoping to similarly inspire their clubs to glory this season, after missing out last time around.
But there are plenty of younger talents, alongside the veterans, who are looking to make their mark on the competition and propel themselves to the forefront of the game.
Here is our list of youngsters you should be watching closely.
Sadio Mané has settled his differences with Mohamed Salah after their on-pitch fall-out at Burnley earlier this month.
Mané was visibly angry with Salah towards the end of Liverpool’s 3-0 victory at Turf Moor when his team-mate chose to shoot rather than pass to him on one late counter-attack.
The Senegal international voiced his frustrations as he was substituted a few minutes later, complaining to captain Jordan Henderson about Salah’s apparent selfishness.
Jurgen Klopp played down claims of a falling-out between the pair after the game, and Mané has now confirmed that he and Salah have buried the hatchet.
“With Salah? It’s forgotten,” he told Canal+. “Sometimes you have to say things face to face.”
Read more:
Good news for Liverpool fans: Jurgen Klopp has insisted that his agent was joking when he said that the Reds manager could leave the club due to the weather.
Klopp’s current Anfield contract expires in 2022, seven years on from his arrival, but his future remains uncertain beyond that.
In an interview with DAZN, Klopp's representative Marc Kosicke claimed that warmer weather on Merseyside might help convince him to extend his stay.
“One has to wait and see how everything develops and whether climate change also brings better weather to England or only to Germany,” Kosicke said.
But Klopp has since clarified that Kosicke was joking, claiming prior to Tuesday’s Champions League tie against Napoli: “There is nothing in that story.”
Liverpool and Manchester City sit at the top of Europe. They're the champions of Europe and England respectively and have the confidence of two teams fully established to remain at the top of the highest level.
But the nature of the Champions League, a competition designed to find the best team in Europe but in the hardest way possible, may make their climb irrelevant.
The other super-clubs may be in transition but in the Champions League even the most unlikely clubs can come out on top:
"Last season was last season," said the 29-year-old England midfielder.
"We can take experience from the campaign and, if we can take that into this campaign, ultimately we feel we can still do a lot of things better and everything is possible again."
"They are stubborn in a positive way. They play football, they break lines, they have good counter-attacks, they are creative. I enjoy it when I analyse Napoli. I like to watch them."
“We need to be intense tonight and for that we need some fresh legs.
“We have that now in two positions in a very decisive area of the pitch. That’s clear. That was the plan for the line-up.
"It will be tricky, it will be lively. It has to be intense, you cannot play here with 50, 60, 70, 80 or 90 per cent; you have to play 100 per cent and that’s the plan obviously.
“Being brave with the ball yourself and play football, but first and foremost defend as well as possible because that’s a big strength of them, they are really flexible with that line-up."
Relive the action.
