Liverpool beaten by Napoli in first Champions League fixture
Relive Liverpool’s match in Naples
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Your support makes all the difference.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.
Relive the action.
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:
Team news - Liverpool
Adrian, Alexander-Arnold, Matip, Van Dijk, Robertson, Fabinho, Milner, Henderson, Mane, Salah, Firmino.
Andy Robertson is passed fit to play for the reigning champions and he starts for Liverpool.
Team news - Liverpool
The reds make three changes to the starting XI that defeated Newcastle 3-1 at Anfield on Saturday.
Roberto Firmino, Jordan Henderson and James Milner come in for Divock Origi, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Georginio Wijnaldum.
Liverpool get their Champions League campaign underway as they look to be the first English team to win the trophy in back-to-back seasons.
Over the last ten years, the previous season's finalists have reached the last eight on six occasions, lost in the semi-finals five times and won the trophy four times.
It's incredibly difficult to win back-to back Champions Leagues and Liverpool will need to get their campaign off to a good start.
The reigning Champions League winners have not lost their opening game the following season for 24 years since AC Milan did so in 1994-95 against Ajax.
Team news - Napoli
Menet, Di Lorenzo, Manolas, Koulibaly, Mario Rui, Callejon, Allan, Fabian, Lozano, Mertens, Insigne
Liverpool have arrived at the San Paolo Stadium. They lost here 1-0 in the group stages last season after a rather lacklustre display.
Fortunately they were able to win the return fixture at Anfield 1-0 and squeeze into the knockout stages.
Captain Jordan Henderson isn't too focussed on the result of last year and is dedicated to move the team forward.
"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."
Napoli have started their season relatively well, they've won two and lost one in the Serie A. They sit fourth in the table having scored 9 goals but the good news for Liverpool is that they've also conceded 7.
The atmosphere at the San Paolo is a tough one to compete in. Italy is a difficult place to travel to and dominate. Napoli proved last season that they can cause problems for Liverpool but the Reds are in blistering form themselves.
Five wins in five Premier League games. Five points clear at the top of the table with a goal difference of +11. Mane, Salah and Firmino are one of, if not the most, formidable strike trios in world football.
We could be in for a thriller.
Jurgen Klopp is well aware of the threat that Napoli pose, especially to his defensive line of Alexander-Arnold, Matip, van Dijk and Robertson.
He said: "Last year, we learned from one game to the next game and we have to use that experience, because if we don't defend with all we have then we have no chance against Napoli. They are so strong,
"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."
In the pre-match interview with BT Sport, Jurgen Klopp explained his reasons behind the changes to the starting XI. He said:
“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."
Carlo Ancelotti is attempting to win the Champions League with three different teams as Napoli get their campaign going.
He made some good signings over the summer, including 24-year-old Mexican striker, Hirving Lozano.
He is a proven goalscorer with 21 goals in the Eredivisie for PSV Eindhoven last season.
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