Phil Thompson critical of Liverpool’s attacking play against Napoli

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It was an opening night defeat in the Champions League for current holders Liverpool, who fell short against Napoli.

Phil Thompson has been critical of Liverpool’s decision-making in the final third after they suffered a 2-0 defeat against Napoli in the Champions League on Tuesday night.

The former Reds defender stated that winger Sadio Mane made the ‘wrong decision’ when Jurgen Klopp’s side hit Napoli on the counter-attack, as he was critical in their ‘final ball’ and ‘final touch’.

When the game was goalless, Liverpool hit Napoli on the counter, with Mane running with the ball and Salah to his left. Mane waited until he got near the edge of the box before he tried to play a through ball to his teammate, but he ended up over hitting his pass.

Speaking to Soccer Special on Sky Sports News (17/09/2019 10:10 pm), Thompson admitted that his former club shouldn’t have won as he shared his thoughts on their attacking play on the night.

“Liverpool started really well,” Thompson told SSN. “Then Napoli took control then Liverpool came back into it. Both goalkeepers making good saves at important points.

“I wouldn’t say Liverpool should have won the game – no great drama. As we saw last season, Liverpool lost their first three games and came back. But a couple of errors that would have disappointed Jurgen Klopp.

“They had a couple of chances, but it was the final ball [that was mssing]. And the final touch, just at the time when they are in the box and you need that touch and the ball is bouncing off them. You can accept now and again, but it happened time and time again [against Napoli]. That was really disappointing. I remember it was 2 vs 1 when Mane and Salah went through and I believe Mane has made the wrong decision trying to find Salah and he has over hit the ball.”

It has been pretty rare in recent seasons for Liverpool’s front three to be slightly off colour, but even then, they were still causing Napoli problems.

The defeat shouldn’t concern Liverpool supporters too much because they were in a much worse situation last season, yet they still came back to win their sixth European crown.

Klopp will face RB Salzburg in the Champions League next, with the Austrian club thrashing Genk 6-2 on the same night Liverpool were beaten in Naples.