Liverpool held Napoli to a goalless stalemate in Italy to stay top of Europa League Group K.
Reds hold firm in Italy to stay two points clear of Group K
Liverpool held Napoli to a goalless stalemate in Italy to stay top of Europa League Group K.
Chances were few and far between in the first period, although Paul Konchesky had to clear a deflected Marek Hamsik effort off the line on the stroke of half-time.
The game became more open after the break and Edinson Cavani forced Pepe Reina into a save, while Ryan Babel's effort was saved by Morgan De Sanctis and David Ngog's shot was blocked by Salvatore Aronica at the other end.
Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson's gamble in leaving at home a handful of his senior players - including Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard - paid off at the Stadio San Paolo.
Many tipped the hopelessly out-of-form Reds for defeat after bringing a weakened side to Naples, but they withstood long spells of pressure to leave with a point.
Hodgson had admitted in his pre-match press conference that the Premier League had to take priority because of their woeful start to the season, with just one win in eight games leaving them 19th in the table, and that was why he had rested Torres, Gerrard, Raul Meireles and Lucas Leiva.
He said if they lost in Naples he would expect to receive criticism. He avoided the former but it is unlikely the latter will dissipate any time soon as even a win over Blackburn on Sunday will probably not end the growing murmurings of discontent among fans.
Grit
At least this performance showed some grit and determination, though, and keeps Liverpool on course for progression into the knockout phase as they have taken five points from their three group matches so far, and still have home games against Utrecht and Napoli to come.
After the previous night's attacks on fans and some limited patches of trouble prior to kick-off, the atmosphere inside the stadium was equally as daunting for the players as the streets of Naples had been for supporters.
However, the visitors did a good job of negating all that early fervour with a disciplined, solid start and the whistles which greeted any spell of Liverpool possession were deafening.
Ezequiel Lavezzi's corner saw Cristian Maggio divert the ball goalwards only for Cavani to head it away as he tried to get a decisive touch.
Napoli were starting to take control but Lavezzi's long-range strike flew well over Reina's crossbar.
In the 33rd minute, Jonjo Shelvey combined with Jay Spearing but the shot with his weaker left foot was straight at goalkeeper De Sanctis.
He was obviously not short of confidence as he tried to lob De Sanctis from the halfway line but hardly extended the goalkeeper let alone tested him.
Lucky escape
But they had a lucky escape in first-half stoppage-time when Maggio's corner fell to Cavani who beat Jamie Carragher and fired in a low cross which Hamsik hit goalwards, with the shot taking a deflection off Christian Poulsen before Konchesky cleared off the line.
Carragher was replaced for the second half by Sotirios Kyrgiakos as Napoli seized the initiative again.
Cavani wasted a good chance before Michele Pazienza was booked for a wild lunge which caught Spearing in the face as he stooped to head the ball and, after initial concerns about the midfielder, he was able to continue after treatment.
Napoli continued to press but Babel should have snatched the lead with the best chance of the night when he was played through by Jovanovic in acres of space on the left of the penalty area.
The Holland international opted to shoot right-footed across De Sanctis but placed his effort too close to the goalkeeper, who saved with his feet.
Ngog also went close when he turned in the area only for his shot to be charged down by Aronica as the Reds earned a valuable away point.
| Napoli |
Team Statistics |
Liverpool |
| 0 |
Goals |
0 |
| 0 |
1st Half Goals |
0 |
| 2 |
Shots on Target |
4 |
| 7 |
Shots off Target |
3 |
| 2 |
Blocked Shots |
2 |
| 6 |
Corners |
2 |
| 9 |
Fouls |
10 |
| 1 |
Offsides |
5 |
| 1 |
Yellow Cards |
1 |
| 0 |
Red Cards |
0 |
| 83.8 |
Passing Success |
85.2 |
| 24 |
Tackles |
22 |
| 70.8 |
Tackles Success |
86.4 |
| 54.2 |
Possession |
45.8 |
| 54.7 |
Territorial Advantage |
45.3 |
|
