PLAYER RATINGS: NAPOLI 4-1 LIVERPOOL

It was a completely abject display as Napoli tore through the Reds at will in the Champions League group opener tonight. 4-1 flattered Jürgen Klopp’s men in the end. Here are player ratings from the encounter.

Alisson – 6

Strong save from Osimhen’s penalty. Good save from Zielinski’s shot but no help available as the Pole tucked home the rebound. Made some easy saves from long range efforts. Not at fault for any goal.

Alexander-Arnold – 0

Seems to think he can abdicate his defensive duties because he can pick a pass. Lost count the number of times he just stood by and let Kvaratskhelia skip past him. For one of the goals he literally stands still and watches the move develop into a goal. No sense of urgency to track back into his own box. Such laziness can’t be tolerated.

Gomez – 0

All over the place today. Bullied for two goals by Kvaratskhelia who’s smaller than him. Made another error which saw Van Dijk bail him out on the goalline. A horrendous display akin to Lovren at Tottenham all those years ago. Spared further embarrassment at the break.

Van Dijk – 0

Clumsy tackle to give away another penalty. Made up for it with a goalline clearance but the performance didn’t improve. The high line was all over the place tonight. He’s supposed to be leading from the back but was as culpable as the rest of them.

Robertson – 0

Absolutely woeful. So many slack passes and terrible deliveries. No energy whatsoever. Looks like he’s never met Diaz in his life, no linkup play whatsoever. Did win the ball for Diaz to score but he owes the Colombian for that ‘assist’ he’ll get credited with.

Fabinho – 0

A cowardly performance. Scared to take the ball forward. Everything went sideways and back. Sent back to Brazil about five different times by simple Cruyff turns. Anguissa made a show of him.

Elliott – 0

Always wants to check back onto his left foot which makes him predictable and easy to defend against. Didn’t have any influence on the game and missed a sitter at the backpost. Has to do more than just pass the responsibility to his more senior colleagues.

Milner – 0

Gave away a penalty after barely five minutes. It was amusing watching him try and fail to bring down a bouncing ball over and over again. Was given the runaround by Lobotka and Anguissa. Must be time to pack it in at the highest level. Lasted a whole hour.

Salah – 0

Miscontrolled every pass it seemed. Shocking doesn’t begin to cover it. Had the gall to have a go at the defence after the fourth went in. He should take a long hard look at himself.

Firmino – 0

Back to the Bobby we’ve become accustomed to over the past two years. Constantly gave the ball away. Had opportunities to play Diaz and Salah in, underhit it every time. That purple patch was fun while it lasted.

Diaz – 4

First half he was ineffective. Didn’t try taking on his man, just kept turning back and running as fast as he could into his own half. Strange. Second half he woke up, beat his man and scored a pearler. Saw a powerful header pushed over. Run out of gas late on.

Substitutes

Matip – 0

His first involvement was to play his man onside and make no attempt of a tackle as the ball was squared for Zielinski to score. Usually breaks the lines with his passing, not tonight.

Thiago – 6.5

Not only was he confident enough to receive the ball under pressure and pick a forward pass but he added bite and a bit of steel to the midfield. Must have won more tackles than all of them put together.

Jota – 0

Another who didn’t seem to know how to control a pass. Ball kept bouncing off him. Clearly rusty. Tried to backheel a Trent layoff in the box with his side 4-1 down. That just sums the night up.

Darwin – 0

Looks very awkward on the ball. Where’s the lad that tore us apart at Anfield last season? The team put in several crosses first half but as soon as the big man came on, they stopped. Not the first time that’s happened. Weird.

Arthur – 1

Caught on the ball a number of times. Tried to sidefoot an effort from the edge of the box when he should have put his laces through it.

Jürgen Klopp

The manager made three changes to the side that took on Everton, with Robertson, Milner and Firmino coming in for Tsimikas, Carvalho and Darwin Nunez. Arthur started on the bench, as did the returning Thiago.

It was yet another piss poor performance. This can’t be chucked down to a bad day at the office. It’s been coming. The side is getting worse by the week. Whatever the manager is doing on the training ground isn’t working and he keeps picking the same out of form players in the same predictable system.

There were so many disgraceful performances tonight. Tough decisions must be taken. This can’t continue. How is a Klopp team so lerthagic and devoid of energy? Has he run them into the ground? The jury is well and truly out.