Napoli who had previously defeated Liverpool in their home stadium in the group stage in 2018 and 2019, led 3-0 goals from Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa and Giovanni Simeone, who came on as a substitute. Tottenham Hotspur and Bayern Munich also won to start their seasons, but Rangers' return to the group stage of Europe's top club competition ended in a 4-0 defeat in the Netherlands to Ajax.
Napoli replace Lorenzo Insigne, Dries Mertens, Kalidou Koulibaly, and Fabian Ruiz. Robert Lewandowski, who previously accomplished this feat with Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, is the first player to score a hat trick in the Champions League for three different clubs.
Napoli vs Liverpool, Champions League | Liverpool, the defeated finalist from last season, suffered a 4-1 loss away to SSC Napoli on Wednesday, while Robert Lewandowski scored three goals in a decisive victory for Barcelona.
Tottenham Hotspur and Bayern Munich also won to start their seasons, but Rangers’ return to the group stage of Europe’s top club competition ended in a 4-0 defeat in the Netherlands to Ajax.
Liverpool under Jurgen Klopp has won just two of their opening six Premier League contests this season, and their trip to Italy saw no improvement as Napoli jumped out to an early lead and never looked back.
Piotr Zielinski successfully converted a penalty in the fifth minute, while Victor Osimhen subsequently saw Alisson Becker save a second Napoli penalty kick.
But Napoli, who had previously defeated Liverpool in their home stadium in the group stage in 2018 and 2019, led 3-0 at the interval thanks to goals from Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa and Giovanni Simeone, who came on as a substitute.
Two minutes into the second half, Zielinski extended Liverpool’s deficit by scoring after his earlier attempt had been saved, although Luis Diaz did manage to score to make it 2-2.
Photo Recap of The Match | SSC Napoli vs Liverpool in Champions League
Liverpool Is In A Crisis? | SSC Napoli vs Liverpool in Champions League
Jurgen Klopp, Liverpool’s manager, is searching for explanations as his team’s recent domination appears to have come to a screaming halt. Having given up the first goal in five of their seven games this season, a club that once seemed invincible suddenly appears average.
The Reds put on yet another stunning display, their worst of the year, as they lost 4-1 at Napoli on Wednesday. They were thoroughly destroyed by a hot-headed Italian team.
Trent Alexander-Arnold continues to be exposed as a below-average defender, and the Liverpool defence was out of rhythm at the Estadio Diego Armando Maradona.
Napoli, however, deserves a lot of praise. In a way, they had to rebuild, but in reality, they had reloaded. They have looked fantastic with Georgian Khvicha Kvaratskhelia developing into an amazing superstar despite club stalwarts Lorenzo Insigne, Dries Mertens, Kalidou Koulibaly, and Fabian Ruiz all departing in the summer transfer window.
New signature As Napoli declares that they are here to stay, Gio Simeone also put the ball in the back of the net. What a night to remember for the guests, while Liverpool is hoping to quickly forget what just happened.
Twitter Reacts | SSC Napoli vs Liverpool in Champions League
If you still think that Trent Alexander-Arnold is better than Reece James in September 2022 none of your football opinions can be taken seriously.
I genuinely can’t think of a single attribute Trent has over James and I’m not even joking.
— ًEllis. (@UtdEIIis) September 7, 2022
trent alexander arnold is the most overrated fullback ever he will ghost against an Elite attacking team, then he will score or assist against the likes of Bournemouth and get a goat shout out, an absolute FRAUD! pic.twitter.com/FZCBggEH0G
— ORE_UTD🔰 (@BrunoisDgoat) September 7, 2022
[Trent Alexander-Arnold’s defending Philosophy] #lfc #Liverpool pic.twitter.com/u4VwQX0uQR
— SimpsonsEFL (@EflSimpsons) September 8, 2022
There is a concerning lack of desire from Trent Alexander-Arnold when it comes to defending. Wrong to single him out; Joe Gomez far worse & Virgil van Dijk a shadow of his former self. Collectively, this is borderline unacceptable by Liverpool’s standards. #NAPLIV #UCL
— Ryan Taylor (@RyanTaylorSport) September 7, 2022
What was Trent Alexander-Arnold doing? 😳 pic.twitter.com/hlR6SJ3DLr
— Pulse Sports Nigeria (@PulseSportsNG) September 7, 2022
Nobody:
Trent Alexander-Arnold : pic.twitter.com/WtlmD4XnAq
— 🅿️rince_ (@princerequiem7) September 7, 2022
Trent Alexander Arnold plays like he doesn’t give a shit about football anymore. pic.twitter.com/ZyvMg26duk
— DJ™️❓ (@ChiesaLFC) September 8, 2022
Trent Alexander Arnold plays like he doesn’t give a shit about football anymore. pic.twitter.com/ZyvMg26duk
— DJ™️❓ (@ChiesaLFC) September 8, 2022
Trent Alexander Arnold is the best right wing back in Europe.Never mind the hate from rival fans!
— ThelostbrazilianMosheOfficial (@DaLostBrazilian) September 8, 2022
My sincere apologies to trent alexander arnold . It seems I might have overestimated you, I apologize for misgendering you for all these months. You are clearly not HIM https://t.co/D10LrhIVTg
— 🎟️ (@MythfieIder) September 8, 2022
Trent Alexander-Arnold after hearing that Allan Saint-Maximin is injured pic.twitter.com/OVWyQLttom
— ODDSbible (@ODDSbible) August 31, 2022
Best way to describe Trent Alexander Arnold’s defending… pic.twitter.com/1p4NxWS5gx
— Álvarez¹⁹ (@19Alvarez_) September 7, 2022
Trent Alexander Arnold whenever he’s asked to defend pic.twitter.com/LsUk0PFHRk
— Dreaded Redemption (@Locsymoron) September 7, 2022
Trent Alexander-Arnold and Joe Gomez going to the dressing room at HT #NAPLIV #UCL #Liverpool pic.twitter.com/ay4Ckyei7l
— D🅰️niel (@DanielAlva85) September 7, 2022
Trent Alexander-arnold // 2022 skills and highlights // better than Cafu? pic.twitter.com/Y9M1xM7pqK
— ℨ𝔞𝔠𝔥™🎩 (@LFCZxch) September 8, 2022
Lewandowski immediately lends credence to Barca | Barcelona vs Viktoria Plzen
It seems premature to declare Barcelona a contender. It will take some time for everything to come together with all the new signings. However, Robert Lewandowski is an excellent enough player to propel Barca to victory in this matchup.
He recorded his sixth UCL hat trick on Wednesday against Viktoria Plzen by scoring three goals. Only Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have more. Robert Lewandowski, who previously accomplished this feat with Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, is the first player to score a hat trick in the Champions League for three different clubs.
Twitter Reacts | Barcelona vs Viktoria Plzen
The first of many, The best 9 in world#Barcelona pic.twitter.com/bLQUvxzO6l
— the scorer (@varviel18) September 7, 2022
LEWANGOALSKI🤩🇵🇱
Robert Lewandowski 🇵🇱 with his 3️⃣ goals today against Viktoria Plzen becomes the FIRST player to score a Champions League Hat-Trick with 3️⃣ different teams🤯
☑️ Borussia Dortmund ⚽️⚽️⚽️
☑️ Bayern Munich ⚽️⚽️⚽️
☑️ Barcelona ⚽️⚽️⚽️#LewanGOALski #Barcelona pic.twitter.com/P1kFToyHxO— TheSquadra90 (@TheSquadra90) September 8, 2022
The first man to score a UCL hattrick for three clubs – Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich, Barcelona. 😮
ROBERT LEWANDOWSKI, for you guys.#RobertLewandowski #BorussiaDortmund #Barcelona #BayernMunich pic.twitter.com/DbvoBMXyK9
— Sportskeeda Football (@skworldfootball) September 8, 2022
“You know Robert LewanGOALski” ⚽️⚽️⚽️#Lewandowski #RobertLewandowski #barcelona #FCB #barcelonafc pic.twitter.com/BHAVtD8Ocq
— Khel Now World Football (@KhelNowWF) September 8, 2022
Sorry Karim,there’s a new king in town.🇵🇱👑#fcbarcelona #RobertLewandowski #rl9 #Lewandowski #fcb #Barcelona #BarcaSevilla pic.twitter.com/IbDdL3qnu9
— LewaRole (@LewaRole) September 3, 2022
He’s been with all mastermind Coaches why won’t he be great?? 🐐⚽❤️ #RobertLewandowski has been with #Klopp and #Guardiola and made em all smile.. Now continuing the same Legacy for #Xavi #Barcelona pic.twitter.com/3tNlpecYrX
— Free Blax💙🌎 (@denameis) September 8, 2022
Best in the business 🔥#RobertLewandowski #lewandoski #Barca #UCL pic.twitter.com/bv2VRcAYm1
— Mahfuj Bin Alauddin Rizon (@mahfujrizon1) September 7, 2022
You just can’t stop Robert Lewandowski from scoring! 🥵
Inch perfect cross by Dembele!#RobertLewandowski #Barcelona #UCL pic.twitter.com/EwVJcuRu8I
— Sportskeeda Football (@skworldfootball) September 7, 2022
The one and only #RobertLewandowski is the first player in #ChampionsLeague history to score a hat-trick for three different clubs. #borussiadortmund, @FCBayern, @FCBarcelona⚽️⚽️⚽️@PawlowskiMario #iMario | #Lewy #Lewandowski #UCL #football #rl9 #GOAT𓃵
V/@FootballJOE pic.twitter.com/GV4ZHyYrdD
— Mario Pawlowski #iMario🇺🇦🇵🇱🇪🇺🇺🇸 (@PawlowskiMario) September 7, 2022