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Well, then. It was one of them.
Liverpool showed quality in patches against Napoli at Anfield but ultimately didn’t do enough against what is becoming a bogey team. Perhaps they could have one on another say, but it was not to be. Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp had mixed feelings on the matter.
”In [the Napoli] dressing room they feel like they are already through and maybe they are”, Klopp told BT Sport, as reported by BBC Sport. Everybody here thinks, ‘Oh my god, it will be tough’ and it will be tough, that much is clear.
”The way Napoli set up, it didn’t help that they scored, they could follow their plan all the time, we had to increase pressure all the time. We were not brilliant but we put pressure on them. I was not happy with the last 15 minutes of the first half. Second half it was just intense and of course it’s not easy, they really defended the goal they had.
”We didn’t have the biggest chances, maybe one or two. For tonight it might not be enough but it’s still our situation. When we go to Salzburg, if we had done it tonight we would try to win there, so it’s still our goal.
”They closed the centre so we needed to come from the wing. The plan is one thing but the boys have to execute it, and they crossed too early. We take that, it was always a hard one.
”The biggest things is the Fabinho injury, that’s massive. It’s early and we all hope it’s not too serious but it’s pretty painful and in an area you don’t want to have pain, around the ankle.”
Liverpool will go to Austria needing a point against Red Bull Salzburg, which is entirely doable. But for now, the focus will return to the league, and the much more pressing matter of that title being in sight.