[Group A]Liverpool Vs Napoli
Mohamed Salah poked home from close range in the 85th minute while Darwin Nunez added another late on to give Jurgen Klopp's side a crucial win following their 2-1 loss against Leeds at the weekend -- although Liverpool failed to beat Napoli by the four goals or more they needed to win the group.
[Group A]Liverpool Vs Napoli
"We are proud of getting through such a difficult group, not only getting through but topping it," Spalletti said. "I think we kept the game very even, we created chances for ourselves, we suffered in moments.
The path to the 2022/23 final in Istanbul is now taking shape and Liverpool now know their group stage opponents they must navigate. Finishing top of their group will ensure Liverpool get the best route possible in the round of 16. Only the top two advance from each group.
Napoli, now coached by Luciano Spalletti, saw their Champions League campaign end at the last-16 stage last term as Barcelona progressed. These teams beat each other 1-0 at home in the group stages in 2018/19, when Liverpool finished in second above the Partenopei on goal difference. The following season, Napoli were the only team to beat the Reds in Group E as both sides progressed to the last 16.
Giovanni van Bronckhorst's side beat PSV in a Champions League qualifier over two legs to reach the group stages for the first time since 2010/11. In that season, Rangers shared a group with eventual finalists Manchester United, finishing third behind the Red Devils and Valencia.
Now Liverpool have found out their three group-stage opponents, European governing body UEFA will create a group schedule in the coming days in which the Reds will face the other three clubs home and away on the following dates:
Should Liverpool finish as one of the top two teams in their group at the conclusion of the six group-stage matches, they would advance to the knockout rounds, beginning with the Round of 16 in February 2023.
In addition to the five final appearances, Liverpool have reached the Round of 16 twice, the quarterfinals on three occasions, and one semifinal. They failed to make it out of the group stage in the other three editions of the tournament.
The Reds advanced out of every group stage as one of the top two teams in all editions except for three: 2002/03, 2009/10 and 2014/15. In the most recent tournament, they recorded a perfect group-stage record, beating the other three group opponents at home and away.
Liverpool have faced 37 different group-stage opponents across their history in the Champions League competition, drawing seven different Spanish clubs in that span, which is more opponents than from any other single European nation.
With Group C set for an enthralling finish on the final matchday, this game assumes a lot of significance. Liverpool are currently third in the group with six points while Napoli are top with nine points. PSG, who are second with eight points, will play group stragglers Red Star Belgrade.
The first round of Champions League fixtures will take place across 6 and 7 September, with round two the following week. The Champions League group stages will conclude in the first week of November this season to make way for the Qatar World Cup.
The result means Liverpool end their Group A campaign on a high and with a second-place finish, while Napoli top a Champions League group for just the second time in club history despite seeing their run of 13 consecutive victories come to an end.
Napoli vs Liverpool recap: The Reds conceded early and often, as they were beaten 4-1 in their UEFA Champions League group stage opener in Naples on Wednesday.[ MORE: How to watch Premier League in USA ]
Ajax will battle against Liverpool, Napoli and Rangers FC in the group stage of the Champions League. The Dutch champions drew those three teams during the lottery held in Istanbul, Turkey on Thursday.
The first round of the new edition of the Champions League will be played on 6 and 7 September. The second group stage round will be a week later, on 13 and 14 September. The other dates are 4 and 5 October, 11 and 12 October, and 25 and 26 October.
Despite the level of opposition and an outside chance to finish top of the group, this game realistically serves as a dead-rubber for Liverpool and Jurgen Klopp could therefore opt to make a number of changes in order to rest some of his best players ahead of this weekend.
With both teams already through to the knockout stage of the competition, the tie will still have good interest for both sides as the tag of group winners is up for stake. Liverpool would need to win by a minimum of four goals to guarantee the top spot as the match will have huge consequences.
Napoli are so far the only team alongside Bayern Munich to win all five matches in the Champions League. While other Italian teams are facing a tough time in the competition, Napoli are enjoying a cakewalk and will look to wend the group stage on high as they target a perfect 18 points in the competition with empathic wins against Ajax and Rangers.
The Italian debuted in Champions, before his new supporters, with a victory that put Napoli leader of group C with four points. Behind them, Paris Saint Germain with three, which will host Napoli in three weeks time.
Liverpool, the runners-up in the previous year's final, qualified directly for the group stage as the fourth-placed team in the Premier League.[36][60] They were drawn into Group C alongside French champions Paris Saint-Germain, Napoli of Italy and Serbian champions Red Star Belgrade, who qualified through the play-off round and were making their Champions League group stage debut.[61][62]
The final identity to be used in the final was unveiled on 30 August 2018 during the group stage draw. It was designed by Madrid-based artist Ruben Sanchez (Zoonchez) who drew inspiration from local folklore, including representations of the city emblem, cats (a nickname for Madrilenians), a guitar and a statue in Puerta del Sol. The colour palette includes blues and oranges that represent a type of Madrid sunset that is known as a "candilazo".[80][81]
Prices for accommodation in Madrid and flights to the city from English airports surged by up to 683 percent in the hours after the semi-finals.[84][85] The handling of the travel logistics and ticket pricing by UEFA were criticised by managers Jürgen Klopp and Mauricio Pochettino, as well as supporters groups representing the two clubs.[86] Tottenham announced plans to show a live screening of the Champions League final at their stadium in London that would be opened to a full-capacity audience.[87][88]
At first glance, the Champions League match between Liverpool and Napoli at Anfield may not seem that important. After all, both clubs have already wrapped up a spot in the Round of 16 and the result of the match is unlikely to change the group standings. But in reality, after a pair of inexplicable losses to Nottingham Forrest and Leeds United, Liverpool need to prove to themselves and their supporters that they are still a top club in European football.
The match between Ajax and Rangers went as expected, with the visitors opening the scoring in the fourth minute with a goal from Steven Berghuis. They doubled their advantage when Mohammed Kudus scored in the 29th minute to make it 2-0. The hosts pulled one back in the 87th minute via a James Tavernier penalty, but the visitors fired back, with Francisco Conceição scoring in the 89th minute to make the final scoreline 3-1 Ajax. As anticipated, Ajax, finishing third in the group, will not play in the knockout stage of the Champions League but will continue their European campaign in the Europa League. The Rangers, on the other hand, are out of Europe.
Leipzig also put up a four-goal margin in their head-to-head against Shakhtar Donetsk. Christopher Nkunku opened the scoring for the hosts in the 10th minute, André Silva made it 2-0 in the 50th minute, and Dominik Szoboszlai extended the margin to three goals in the 62nd minute. Things got worse for the visitors when Valeriy Bondar scored an own goal in the 68th minute, making the final scoreline 4-0 to Leipzig. With this win, Leipzig solidified their second-place position in the group, guaranteeing their qualification for the round of 16, while Shakhtar Donetsk remain in third, and will continue their European campaign in the Europa League.
With all of the domestic leagues finally up and running, it seems hard to believe that there is more soccer still to come. In just two weeks, the group stages of the UEFA Champions League will join the ranks, giving us something to watch Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
Group A is made up of Arsenal, FC Basel, Paris Saint-Germain, and PFC Ludogorets from Bulgaria. This is a very fortunate draw for Arsenal, who really only face competition from PSG for that first-place spot. I would be absolutely shocked if the Gunners do not make it through, and I can only imagine that the anti-Wenger movement would grow stronger in this event. Basel always puts up a good fight, while Ludogorets are notable for knocking out Liverpool a few years ago. All in all, this is a pretty decent group.
Celtic FC, FC Barcelona, Manchester City and Borussia Monchengladbach make up Group C. This is arguably one of the toughest groups in the field. Notably, Pep Guardiola will face off against his old team while new Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers will try to improve upon his last Champions League experience. Barcelona, obviously, is going to advance, but it could be a tough battle between City and Celtic for second place.
Borussia Dortmund, Legia Warszawa, Real Madrid, and Sporting of Portugal round out Group F. As the defending champion, it is inconceivable to think that Real Madrid will not move on. Dortmund should finish in second, thanks to the readdition of Mario Goetze, so this is a pretty easy group.
For the final group, we have Juventus, Dinamo Zagreb, Olympique Lyonnais, and Sevilla, who gained a berth thanks to winning Europa League. Arguably Juventus should win this group, and it is difficult to bet against Sevilla with the way that the Spanish club dominates in Europa League. 041b061a72