LONDON • After 100 Uefa games, Europe holds few surprises for Jurgen Klopp and his latest encounter with Carlo Ancelotti's Napoli brought all-too familiar problems for Liverpool.
The old fox, as the Liverpool manager once called his Italian counterpart, thwarted the European champions' hopes of qualifying for the Champions League knockout phase with a Group E game to spare after a 1-1 home draw on Wednesday night.
The hosts had been gunning for their 18th straight home win in all competitions and when Dejan Lovren equalised Dries Mertens' opener, the stage looked set for another late comeback.
But it was not to be on this occasion and Klopp's team will head for Austria next month needing to avoid defeat by Red Bull Salzburg to maintain their designs on a third consecutive Champions League final appearance.
For the opening hour, the Napoli players must have been tempted to wonder, once again, what exactly all the fuss was around the Premier League front runners, who are on a 30-game unbeaten run in the English top flight.
The Serie A team have been a thorn in Liverpool's side in the past two years. In their last four meetings, the Reds have only won once - a 1-0 victory at Anfield last December and losing twice away.
With the exception of Georginio Wijnaldum and Trent Alexander-Arnold, who were on the bench, Klopp fielded an otherwise full-strength team, but it took Liverpool 35 minutes to muster their first effort on target.
Napoli left no space, no angles for the hosts to make their killer diagonal passes and there was no room in that low block for Liverpool's "Fab Three" of Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino to create the usual whirl of movement.
The loss of holding midfielder Fabinho with an injury after 20 minutes also disrupted the flow and the absence of Alexander-Arnold's thrusting runs from right-back made their midfield look flat.
Premier League teams could do a lot worse than study the tapes on how Napoli play against Liverpool.
They defend deep, break quickly, look for the long pass in behind the full-backs and above all, stay calm and compact.
After the game, Klopp lamented his team's failure to book a Champions League "holiday" in Salzburg, but insisted Liverpool would thrive on the pressure to reach the last 16.
He said: "I'm four years in - tell me when it was easy? I know how human beings are; people wished we could finish the group tonight.
"It was clear that we wanted to finish it tonight. We knew long before the game it would be difficult. It was difficult last year, it's always difficult. They're a good side."
Starting tomorrow, Liverpool must play six games in the league before the end of the year on top of their League Cup and Club World Cup commitments. So it remains to be seen if Klopp's men will rue the missed opportunity to rest players in what is now a winner-takes-all final group game.
Of greater concern is the loss of Fabinho, who left the ground in a protective boot and is set for further tests on his ankle.
Wijnaldum said yesterday: "It is a blow, a big blow for the whole team... we just have to show we can deal with the situation."
ASSOCIATED PRESS, THE GUARDIAN
