PublishedSeptember 7, 2022, 10:57 PM
FootballLiverpool’s nightmarish Neapolitan evening
Finalists of the last Champions League, the Reds took the water in Naples (4-1). For its part, Bayern Munich won 2-0 on the lawn of Inter.
Mohamed Salah may have his head down. Naples (in the background) can however exult: his performance will have been perfect.
AFP
It is a score that is flattering. For Liverpool. The Reds have indeed lost 4-1 in Napoli, but they are doing well. Very well even. Because for his first Champions League match, the finalist of the previous season (who had been beaten by Real Madrid) sank at San Paolo.
On Tuesday, the Reds supporter coordinators had appealed to their fans: “Be careful, Naples can be a dangerous city” they had warned in substance. They would have done well to also warn Jürgen Klopp and his players. It was better not to expose yourself to the Neapolitans. The English quickly learned this the hard way.
Five minutes were enough for Naples to obtain a first penalty, whistled for a handball by James Milner. Piotr Zielinski took advantage of it. He should have been quickly joined by Victor Osimhen, but the Nigerian missed a penalty less than a quarter of an hour later. No matter, Naples was so dominating, he couldn’t pay so dearly for it. Then Zambo Anguissa (31e) and Giovanni Simeone (44e) quickly gave a three-goal advantage at the break.
The Reds were lost, like an overwhelmed Virgil Van Dijk. And immediately, on returning from the locker room, Piotr Zielinski offered himself a double. The 4-1? A goal in the wake of Luis Diaz. Simply to save what was left of the honor of the English, who are having a lot of trouble at the start of the season.
Bayern and Barca meet
Inter is also a little bit in this case, he who has just lost the derby against Milan last weekend. Nothing to do with a Bayern Munich which has become accustomed to unfolding, even if it does not always win. But logic often ends up being respected, and it was very natural that the Bavarians won 2-0 at San Siro.
Leroy Sané was involved in both Bayern Munich goals on Inter’s lawn.
AFP
Leroy Sané will have been the decisive man. The former Manchester City winger first took advantage of a superb pass from Joshua Kimmich to erase André Onana and go on goal (25e), before forcing Danilo D’Ambrosio to the autogoal in the second half.
Something to look forward to next week’s clash against Barcelona. The Catalans also approached this campaign perfectly, with a 5-1 victory against Viktoria Plzen. Franck Kessié was the first to crack the Czechs, before Robert Lewandowski scored a very clean hat-trick. His return to the Allianz Arena is likely to be hot.
Tottenham bat l’OM
In the other groups, Olympique de Marseille cracked at the end of the match at Tottenham. The Phocaeans lost 2-0, following a double from Richarlison in the last quarter of an hour. OM had been reduced to ten from the 47e minute, after the expulsion of Chancel Mbemba.
The return to the Champions League for Gerardo Seoane, who experienced competition with Young Boys in 2018, was also difficult. With Bayer Leverkusen, the Swiss coach was defeated 1-0 by Bruges. In the same group, Atletico Madrid beat Porto 2-1, in a game that was decided in stoppage time. Antoine Griezmann gave the victory to the 101e minute to the Colchoneros. The latter had yet opened the scoring in the 92e by Mario Hermoso, before Mateus Uribe equalized from the penalty spot in the 96e minute.