Liverpool’s Egyptian forward Mohamed Salah (L) and Napoli’s Spanish defender Raul Albiol go for the ball during the UEFA Champions League group C football match between Napoli and Liverpool on October 3, 2018 at the San Paolo stadium in Naples.
Alberto PIZZOLI / AFP
Napoli set out to throw a wet blanket over Liverpool
Napoli have made no bones about the fact that they will look to play stereotypically Italian football against Liverpool in the Champions League tonight.
Liverpool’s Egyptian forward Mohamed Salah (L) and Napoli’s Spanish defender Raul Albiol go for the ball during the UEFA Champions League group C football match between Napoli and Liverpool on October 3, 2018 at the San Paolo stadium in Naples.
Alberto PIZZOLI / AFP
Napoli have made no secret of their tactical approach heading into a Champions League match against Liverpool where they need only avoid defeat to qualify for the last sixteen.
The Serie A club will also progress if they are able to get on the score sheet and lose by a single goal.
The situation sets up Napoli to play stereotypical Italian football and if they perform at their best the Reds could be in for a frustrating night at Anfield.
Defender Raul Albiol outlined the Partenopei’s intent to defend well as well as looking out for opportunities to strike:
“We know it will be a complicated game, we will have to be very focused. We have to know how to defend and it will be important to be compact at the back and not give them too much space and good, but we need the right mentality to score and win the game.”
Meanwhile the key player for Liverpool may not be the red-hot Mohamed Salah but Jurgen Klopp favourite Bobby Firmino, who has been doing all the small things correct according to the manager.
Klopp said of Firmino recently:
“It’s because of the small things he is doing. He is working hard, he is here, he is there, he has five goals now and he opens 5,000 gaps for everybody. It’s about how you see it.”
What Liverpool need to do to make the last sixteen.
The match between Liverpool and Napoli is shaping up to be a battle between Liverpool’s attack and Napoli’s defence who will also look to launch counterattacks.
Napoli Manager Carlo Ancelotti feels that if his team are solid at the back, Liverpool will present them with an opportunity to score.
Ancelotti told Sky Sports:
“I do not know what Liverpool will do, but we know the intensity that we put in these matches and we have to be focused on what we want.
“We are here to play our game as we have always tried to do, then sometimes we he have succeeded and other times we haven’t. But if we are clever in both phases, we have more chances to get through.
“We certainly will not take the opponent lightly. We are at the final stage of a path where we have done very well and now we need to take one last step.
“It is impossible to think that tomorrow we will be superficial: the first leg taught us so many things and from that we start again to try and play a similar match.”
Liverpool host Napoli at Anfield tonight (December 11) with kickoff at 22:00 (SAST).
