Champions League day 1
UEFA Champions League winners Liverpool came out flat late in the game and lost for the first time this season in Naples, Italy. Klopp and his men could not keep a clean sheet and let Napoli score a pair of late goals to grab the first win in the group.
Last season Liverpool also had lost in Napoli but then went on winning the trophy. So maybe this defeat is not as alarming as it could have been.
Coach Klopp comments on Liverpool‘s performance:
“It was much more of a game than last year when we played here and lost 1-0. We had a lot of good moments. I think we controlled the game in a lot of moments, we had a lot of interceptions, we won the ball and had counter-attacks. Both teams showed a lot of respect for each other, very compact, defended well and that’s how you play a game against a strong side, to be honest. It was really hard work for both teams. We conceded the 1-0 and that was the game-changer tonight.
We have to accept the result and we do that. We are really critical with ourselves but it was not a really, really bad performance; it was a game which you can win at Napoli, but we didn’t because we didn’t score and that doesn’t work then really.”
Home defeat for Chelsea
For its return to the Champions League Chelsea did not impress and lost at home 1-0 to Valencia. The Blues missed a penalty and will have to battle to get back into a competitive group.
Chelsea coach, Lampard, was coaching his team for the first time in the Champions League, a competition he won in 2012.
We created enough good chances, had a penalty and then conceded from one shot on target. It’s a harsh lesson of Champions League football because we played pretty well but lost.
The good news is we’ve got five more games left in the group but we should have got more tonight.
The reality of losing the first game at home makes the rest of the games more important, particularly when they come next back-to-back away from home [Lille and Ajax]. We need to have a strong focus on getting a result in one of those games now.”
Spurs gave away two points
Last year’s finalists Tottenham Hotspur started their campaign in Greece at Olympiacos. The London club was leading 2-0 but then let the Greek come back into the game. The final result 2-2 is a disappointing one before receiving Bayern Munich next match.
Coach Pochettino reacts to what happen at 2-0:
“We didn’t start well but we scored the penalty and the second goal from Lucas, but it wasn’t a great end to the first half.
“In the second half we improved but conceded another soft goal. We need to focus on being more aggressive like we were against Palace. In the moment we dropped, our quality dropped too and we conceded too many chances.
“It’s disappointing because we are not talking about quality, we are talking about intensity, will and aggression. We need to be optimistic and positive.”
Only Man City won its first game 3-0 at Shakhtar and well reacted to their first loss in the Premier League 3-2 at Norwich this past weekend.
