- Reds fail to put shot on target
- Keita injured
- Insigne scores 90' winner
Liverpool saw its winless run hit three matches, as Lorenzo Insigne’s goal rewarded Napoli’s dominant day with a 1-0 UEFA Champions League win at the Stadio San Paulo.
Jose Callejon and Dries Mertens set up the winner, as Napoli went atop Group C with four points. Liverpool joins PSG on three points.
[ MORE: Champions League standings ]
Lorenzo Insigne and Mohamed Salah had dangerous moments early, with Insigne’s long shot missing the far post by centimeters.
The first notable moment of the match was an injury, as Naby Keita crumpled to the turf with the ball nowhere near him. He pointed to his lower back and was driven off the field strapped down on a cart.
Alisson Becker slapped an Arkadiusz Milik blast over the bar after the half-hour mark, as Liverpool hoped for a win which would join a much more famous victory in the category of “rare triumphs over Carlo Ancelotti.”
[ LIVE: Champions League scores ]2005 - The only one of Carlo Ancelotti’s four #ChampionsLeague meetings with @LFC he failed to win was the 2005 final with Milan, which Liverpool won on penalties following a 3-3 draw. Istanbul. pic.twitter.com/TESjmhtz5x
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) October 3, 2018
[ MORE: Full lineups, stats, box score ]
Becker was back in action during the early stages of the second half, again off a Milik shot that led to a corner.
Napoli took firm control for the first 20 minutes of the second frame, with Fabian Ruiz and Milik busy in attack. Milik was especially off the mark with his attempts.
Dries Mertens’ flying volley hit the cross bar in the 82nd minute, but the near misses ended in the 90th.