Liverpool’s defence of their Champions League crown started with a defeat to Napoli on Tuesday night.
Former Manchester City midfielder Nigel de Jong has slammed the ‘passion’ and ‘effort’ Liverpool put in during their 2-0 Champions League defeat to Napoli on Tuesday night.
Jurgen Klopp saw the defence of Liverpool’s Champions League crown begin in defeat in Naples, with Dries Mertens converting from the spot-kick and Fernando Llorente also finding the back of the net in stoppage-time.
The biggest talking point came in the second half when Andy Robertson was judged to have fouled Jose Callejon, with the away team insistent that it wasn’t a penalty.
After the game, former Holland international de Jong believes that Liverpool didn’t learn from last season’s mistakes when they suffered a similar fate at the hands of Napoli.
He brutally questioned their desire on the night despite Klopp’s side being known for their effort they put into games, regardless of the outcome.
“Would you not think, especially after the first game knowing that you lost last year against Napoli in the same situation.” De Jong told Bein Sports.
“Would you not guess, knowing Klopp and the team that they have and go ‘listen, we learn from last year, let’s go out here, whether you win or lose, but show the passion and the effort’. And that was lacking.”
The Reds have started the Premier League campaign in a very strong fashion by winning their opening five matches, but they couldn’t get past a strong Napoli team.
Whilst Liverpool were sloppy in their play, they did have chances to put the ball into the back of the net, but poor decision-making ended up proving to be costly.
The defeat shouldn’t dampen Klopp’s hopes too much because his team came back from much worse last season to lift their sixth European crown.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
