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By Mark Lawrenson
Pundit and former Liverpool defender
Sometimes that’s not the worst thing that can happen to a group, although liverpool defeat by Napoli has been a real smack in the face.
Jurgen Klopp’s unwanted had forgotten what it felt like to reduce and have coasted through their five Premier League games this season.
So, this is a reminder of what happens in soccer in case you don’t take your chances and lose your focus not or whether you are winners of Europe.
Liverpool I’ve played in the seasons when we began our defence of the Cup – 1981-82 and 1984-85 – that I had been thinking’crikey, we are here in order to be shot ‘ maybe not’ah, we’re the best group in Europe’.
Yes, we might have been the greatest the May, but this means nothing in September.
That is something Klopp’s side have to deal with, and they need to keep churning the results out. It is a very long road back to this year’s closing in Istanbul.
Tuesday’s defeat was the sort of lesson every team requires periodically about the level you will need to remain in to keep winning things, and it is far from a disaster that it has arrived in Liverpool’s very first match of this Champions League campaign, contrary to the best team they will face in Group E.
The Reds did not work at the San Paolo Stadium at their regular standard in defence or attack, however that I still do not think this result is going to affect their advancement to the stage.
After losing all three of their off group games last year they just made it to the last 16 by the skin of their teeth.
But this was when they’d Napoli as well as Paris-St Germain in their group. This time around, the other resistance is simply not the exact same calibre and I simply do not see Liverpool completing under Genk or Salzburg.
That’s the biggest reason I see Tuesday’s defeat as a, because I am confident they will still qualify.
A draw would have been a good result for Liverpool, and they have been much less than 10 minutes apart from getting it until things unravelled in the trunk.
I’m far from convinced it had been a penalty for Napoli target – the first time I watched it, I thought it was the correct choice, but the more I see it that the less I agree it should have been given.
However, it was a challenge by Andy Robertson on Jose Callejon, that gave the chance to the referee.
It killed the match entirely, when Napoli scored their second goal in injury time, and Virgil van Dijk was accountable.
When they are in possession in the back to concede from a mistake like that is very unlike Liverpool also Van Dijk particularly.
Two late errors cost Klopp’s side, however I do think they were too poor at the trunk until that point.
They played against a talented Napoli team with a lot of goal, who forced Adrian into making some great saves – particularly his flying halt from Dries Mertens only .
Nonetheless, it isn’t as when Liverpool struggled for 90 minutes, and when Klopp investigations it, I am pretty sure he’ll believe the biggest problem on the night was in the end of the pitch.
Liverpool probably saved their lacklustre attacking operation of this season.
Part of that was down to the opposition; Napoli were strong at the back, together with Kalidou Koulibaly striking.
But Liverpool should have done better when they came and it was irritating to observe that the last ball go so often when they did have chances.
Mohamed Salah forced one brilliant save however, if they got to some very promising rankings overall, they were not clinical enough.
If that occurs, you are always going to be penalized when you are currently facing a team as good as Napoli – which is just what happened.
Mark Lawrenson was speaking to BBC Sport’s Chris Bevan.
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