It’s official, and can now be confirmed. No, not a VAR check, or Liverpool’s progression to the last 16 of the Champions League, but that SSC Napoli, are Liverpool’s ultimate bogey team.
Over the past 14 months, Liverpool have faced the Italian outfit five teams, with only one victory, that coming with the last minute heroics of Alisson Becker last December.
Carlo Ancelotti’s tactics, like the reverse game in September paid off. The opposition stifled the life out of the front three, leaving Joe Gomez and Andrew Robertson with not much options when pressing forward.
Kalidou Koulibaly, again at the back for Napoli gave a monstrous performance, although questions could be asked on his handling of Mohamed Salah in the second half at the Kop end. Which, if it wasn’t for the Egyptian’s honesty and professionalism, could easily have been a penalty.
There can be as many match evaluations, graphs, figures of this game, but the external factors have got to be assessed. Personally, being in the ground, I got the sense that it was more of a choir for the Anfield crowd to be there.
Opinions time and time again make football, some may disagree. But Wednesday night, and Genk a couple of weeks ago, were atmospheres of a crowd that are just used to Champions League football. Crowds that are used to success, but most importantly it showed that we rate this team so so highly, that if we do go a goal down, it’s a case of ‘well we are going to score anyway’. In times like this, we must remember the dark places we have been and what we would have given then for continuous Champions League football. The crowd never got going, which then transcended onto the pitch.
A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a piece about the reverse fixture, and how it was imperative that we went to Salzburg qualified, before the trip to Qatar. That the game in Austria could have been a chance for some of the youngsters to get game time, before their definite starts at Villa Park.
Now Liverpool must go to Salzburg and do the job and qualify. But, it’s Liverpool and it’s not in our ethos to qualify with a game to spare. A point will do the job, and most probably finishing second. But in a competition where finishing first faces you with the prospect of potential trips to Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid (as it stands) there are pros and cons to wherever we finish.
It is important to, as fans, keep our heads. We are top of the Premier League, top of our group in Europe and in the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup. This time last year we needed a win or else at home to Napoli to go through to the last 16. Most of us were looking at cheap flights to Baku by now! This team is more than capable of getting the point that’s needed in Austria.
