‘It was precisely when’ - Napoli boss Luciano Spalletti says exactly why they lost to Liverpool

Luciano Spalletti praised a ‘great performance’ from Napoli in their loss to Liverpool - but felt they were architects of their own downfall.

The Serie A leaders suffered their first defeat of the season in all competitions at Anfield last night. The Reds earned a 2-0 Champions League Group A win to stop Napoli picking up maximum points from their six games.

Liverpool, who lost 4-1 to the Azzurri in Naples, were made to work for their victory. Mo Salah finally opened the scoring in the 85th minute before Darwin Nunez doubled the Reds’ lead with the last kick of the game and a VAR check.

Both sides had already booked their places in the last 16 of Europe’s elite club competition ahead of kick-off. And Spalletti felt that Napoli were too happy to sit back rather than going on the front foot in pursuit of victory.

The Napoli boss (via football-italia.net) told Sky Sport Italia: “I think we put in a great performance, because for most of the game we kept the ball well, created hypothetical chances and kept the match in total balance without ever struggling. That was fundamental.

“Then as time wore on I saw the side feeling a bit sated with the draw, so I made changes to introduce more pace and sparkle, but it wasn’t enough.

“In terms of mentality, it was precisely when we felt comfortable that we should’ve pushed, because we had nothing to lose. Having said that, Liverpool clearly are more accustomed to keeping that intensity and pace for 90 minutes and more.

“This is a strong squad, because to come here and play the way we did for long periods means there is belief in ourselves. We need to put it into practice against the big clubs so we have proof of our strength and we nearly did it tonight. That is a wonderful result, as we were up against Liverpool and had a stratospheric, extraordinary set of performances from my players.

“We held out well physically too, but conceded once we fell away and allowed more corners. We knew they tended to have 13-15 corners on average per home game, so without physicality, muscle and height in the box, you’re going to have problems. Nonetheless, this match confirms that we are a strong team.”