Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has admitted that his side will ‘have to reinvent ourselves’ after they suffered a hefty 4-1 defeat in their Champions League opener in Naples.
The Reds were all at sea in the first half, to the extent where the 3-0 scoreline that the hosts took into the break should in all likelihood have been closer to 5, with Victor Osimhen missing a penalty and Virgil van Dijk forced to clear off the line.
NAPOLI 3-0 LIVERPOOL 😨
The hosts assert even more dominance before half time, with Giovanni Simeone scoring with one of his first touches since coming onto the pitch! ⚽️
A #UCL debut goal ✔️ pic.twitter.com/gLtV2QJCOp
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) September 7, 2022
And, while Liverpool held onto the ball better in the second half thanks to the introduction of Thiago, they could not mount a fightback, with a goal apiece in the second 45 leaving the Reds on the wrong side of a 4-1 hammering.
As the Liverpool boss told the media after the defeat, it is now time for introspection.
“We played bad in the first half but usually we don’t concede three goals”, Klopp explained after the game.
“With Alisson in goal, you have to be really bad for that to happen. It looks like we have to reinvent ourselves. There is a lot of things lacking.
“In football there are always solutions. We don’t play good enough, that is obvious and that is why we lose games. There is a job to do, my responsibility and I need time to think about it.”
Currently six points behind leaders Arsenal in the Premier League, they need to improve fast to stay in the race to win the competition they came so close to clinching last season.
