Napoli suffered their first loss of the 2022/23 campaign after conceding late goals to Mohamed Salah and Darwin Núñez. However, despite the 2-0 loss at Anfield, gli Azzurri finished top of UEFA Champions League Group A. Here are three takeaways selected by Forza Napoli Press.
End of the Streak
With the loss, Napoli’s streak of 13 consecutive victories (and 17 matches unbeaten) in all competitions came to and end. If the streak had to end, it might as well have been in this match. By conceding fewer than four goals, the Azzurri still finished atop Group A. Therefore, the loss was of little consequence.
A loss in a near-irrelevant match is far better than a loss in Serie A, where Napoli are currently five points clear of second-placed Atalanta – the club Napoli will square off against on Saturday.
For the optimist, losing to Liverpool might have even taken a weight off of the Partenopei‘s shoulders. They no longer carry the burden of having not lost a single match this season. They can play freely, with the objective of simply winning as many games as possible.
Solid at Left Back
Three days after Mario Rui picked up his sixth assist of the season, Mathias Olivera started the match at left back. The Uruguayan was tasked with marking one of the most dangerous wingers in the world in Mohamed Salah, who entered this match having already scored six goals in the competition.
Olivera was outstanding, winning seven tackles and five clearances, according to Sofascore.com. Though Salah was awarded the Man of the Match award, it was through no fault of Olivera. Salah created two big chances in the match, one for Curtis Jones in the opening minutes and another for Thiago at the half-hour mark. On both occasions, Olivera and co. took away the shooting lane and forced Salah to pass.
The former Fiorentina and Roma player scored the match winner, but it was from a set piece in the 85th minute. Prior to the goal, Salah managed only two shot attempts (one of which hit the target). It appeared as though the Egyptian might score a second on the counter-attack very late in the match. However, Olivera raced back to muscle Salah off the ball and played it out for a corner kick. Unfortunately for Napoli, Liverpool scored their second from the ensuing set piece.
Defending Set Pieces
Though Napoli did not concede until the 85th minute, both goals were scored from Liverpool corner kicks, raising concerns about Napoli’s ability to defend the set piece. On the first, Núñez won the header over Eljif Elmas before Salah put home the rebound. On the second, Virgil van Dijk won a free header in the area and Núñez cleaned up the rebound.
Alex Meret spilled the ball on both goals, though he wasn’t entirely to blame. Núñez and van Dijk won their aerial duels far too easily, while Piotr Zielinski was slow to push up on the second, thereby playing Núñez onside.
Luciano Spalletti will be eager to address this concern ahead of Napoli’s match against Atalanta on Saturday.
