Well that was terrible. We almost got away with it but this time the late sting came in our tail. We bagged a late winner against PSG, which was deserved. We got a miraculous late equaliser at Chelsea, which was deserved. This time we conceded a late winner, and it was also very much deserved.
For all the talk of how Napoli is an intimidating environment and a difficult arena to play in, I'm not having it at all. It was a half empty stadium. These lads played a semi final in Rome, so this was nothing. The stadium had nothing to do with the performance. I'm also irritated to lose to a side playing in a kit as terrible as that.
Napoli always had boss kits but this one looks like a teenager designed it. How have their fans stood for that? Maybe that's why half the stadium was empty and why their best players always seem to leave. Except Hamsik of course, but one look at his haircut tells you all you need to know about his sense of style.
Napoli were alright but I wasn't blown away by them at all. They defended very well but they were a bit lightweight and predictable in attack. For most of the game Joe Gomez and Virgil Van Dijk kept that at bay relatively easily. When it keeps coming back at you because the front lads are having a night off though, it's difficult, and eventually Napoli started to look threatening in the closing stages.
We had a massive let off when they got in down our right and Mertens hit the bar from close range. The warning wasn't heeded though and soon after they got in down the other flank and this time Insigne was there to score from close range. Had we came away with a point it would have been a great result considering how badly we played. It would also have been daylight robbery.
What went wrong? That's easy. We were shite, especially the front three. Answering why it went wrong is above my pay grade. Hopefully Jurgen knows, because this performance has been coming. We haven't played anywhere near this badly, but the signs have been there with the front three. They've not been at it all season barring the odd flash here and there.
Put it this way. Had we played Napoli last March or April, we'd have smashed them everywhere. Now? We're not even mustering a single effort on goal. Not one. When was the last time that happened? Maybe we needed something like this, because when you're getting results it's easy to just say "imagine how good it will be when we start playing well".
At some point though you actually have to start playing well. We've been doing well in a lot of areas but we've just not hit top gear in others. In fact, the front three have barely got out of second all season. Last season it was disappointing when one of them didn't get on the scoresheet. In the last three games none of them have scored, and this time Sturridge couldn't come to the rescue.
Mané was doing my head in again. Slowing it down when he should have been speeding it up. Not going at the full back when he should have, then inexplicably trying to run past four players. No idea what he was doing. On the other flank Mo was even worse. I thought he played quite well against Chelsea until his final pass or shot. This time he didn't even have that to fall back on.
He seemed to realise early in the game that it was nice and cosy in the pocket of Koulibaly so he stayed there for the entire 90 minutes. The big defender was outstanding to be fair, but he was helped by Mo being fucking rubbish. Bobby ran around a lot but it wasn't his night either.
Napoli's three at the back system completely shut us down, which is surprising as usually we tear that formation a new one. I love it when teams go three at the back against us as it leaves our forward lads with one v one match ups a lot of the time. That happened here too, the problem was Napoli's three defenders won those match ups.
It's worrying, no question about it. I have no great concerns in the term, I know they'll find their form again sooner or later, but how much damage will have been if its later?
The midfield weren't great either but to me that's a direct result of how the forward lads are playing. There's only so much they can do as they're basically just workmanlike players who facilitate the forwards. They're all good players of course, but what I mean is there's Steven Gerrard or Philippe Coutinho in there who can step up and win a game with a bit of magic when the forwards aren't delivering.
They're cogs in the machine, and when the machine functions as it should they look very good. If the forwards aren't doing anything though, it's hard for players like Milner, Wijnaldum and Henderson to shine. Perhaps if Keita hadn't been forced off with a freak injury it might have been different, but probably not because he'd been dreadful in the time he was on.
Alisson is blameless as he did all he could. Van Dijk was fine too, while I thought Gomez was superb again. The rest? All need to do better. Trent was terrible, Robbo was ok but not his usual self and by the end the midfield lads were chasing shadows. Again though, when the forwards play like that it makes everyone else's job harder.
The game on Sunday is huge and I have absolutely no idea what to expect. It's easy to fear the worst because we're not playing well and it's City. We have to be at our best to have any chance, so anyone who is worried has a right to be.
Equally though, maybe the players need a game like this to get them going again. And by players, I mean the front three. And by the front three, I mostly mean Salah and Mané because I think they're much more to blame for the misfires than Firmino is.
They have to be at it on Sunday or we have no chance. It's such a big game though you'd expect them to step up and deliver. We'll see.
Team: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Gomez, Van Dijk, Robertson; Wijnaldum, Milner (Fabinho), Keita (Henderson); Salah, Firmino, Mané (Sturridge):
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