Humiliation for Liverpool as vibrant Napoli rip them to shreds

A rupture occurred in the shadow of Mount Vesuvius. It was Liverpool, ripped apart and destroyed by Napoli on a humiliating night when Jürgen Klopp’s team resembled Champions League novices rather than seasoned finalists from three of the past five years.

One of Liverpool’s heaviest European defeats was the deserved end product of arguably the worst European performance of Klopp’s near seven-year reign. Certainly, it is hard to think of a rival for that unwanted accolade. The visitors were torn open from the outset as their winless streak in Naples continued, but in far more alarming fashion than their last two group stage defeats here under Klopp.

Klopp stated before kick-off that he wanted Liverpool to extinguish the emotion and aggression that Napoli feed off inside their stadium through football principles and compact defending. His players never got the memo. They poured oil on the incendiary atmosphere inside Stadio Diego Armando Maradona instead with a passive, chaotic performance in which their defence was shredded time and again. By the time Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa doubled Napoli’s lead in the 31st minute it could easily have been 5-0 to Luciano Spalletti’s vibrant side. The hosts sliced through at will in the first half. Liverpool, abysmal from back to front, offered little resistance.

Klopp’s instructions were almost redundant after merely 42 seconds. Amir Rrahmani and Stanislav Lobotka brought the ball out of defence with casual ease before Giovanni Di Lorenzo’s pass sent Victor Osimhen racing into a 50-50 with Alisson. The pacy striker got there first but swept a shot from a tight angle against the outside of a post. Napoli had revealed their hand to play quick, incisive passes behind the Liverpool