We were not good enough: Klopp on Napoli defeat

Manager says Liverpool failed to play ‘good game’, praises Italian opponents

NAPLES/ LONDON/ PARIS: Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said his side could only blame themselves after the last year's Champions League runners-up were overrun by Napoli before Lorenzo Insigne's late winner gave the Italians a 1-0 win to go top of Group C on Wednesday.

"We were not good enough and if you are not good enough, you'll lose and that happened to us tonight. That's it," said Klopp. "Napoli made a really good game, we didn't, and that's why they deserve the three points."

Lorenzo Insigne scored after 90 minutes in a game Napoli dominated from the start with substitute Dries Mertens also rattling the crossbar.

The hosts had the better chances throughout as Insigne, Jose Callejon, Fabian Ruiz and Arkadiusz Milik all threatened under-pressure Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson.

Napoli owner Aurelio De Laurentiis — who hired three-time Champions League winning coach Carlo Ancelotti this season in place of Maurizio Sarri — hailed the success at their Stadio San Paolo.

"Big win against a great team! Ancelotti worthy of his fame," wrote De Laurentiis on Twitter.

Last season Napoli's style of football under Sarri impressed against Manchester City but the team lost 4-2 at home before exiting the competition in the group stage.

Insigne's winner ensures they are top of Group C with four points, one more than Liverpool and Paris Saint-Germain.

"I think we timed it well," said former Chelsea and Real Madrid coach Ancelotti. "If Mertens had scored a few minutes earlier, it would've been more time suffering. We interpreted the game well. We had an extra central defender and were able to build the game from the back. There was a perfect balance."



Napoli needed a win on Wednesday after their opening match ended 0-0 at Red Star Belgrade.

Liverpool, meanwhile, played as if they would settle for a point after they beat Paris Saint-Germain 3-2.

Pochettino calls Spurs’ chief destructor Messi ‘the best’

Mauricio Pochettino admitted Tottenham had only themselves to blame for Lionel Messi's mesmerising masterclass in Barcelona's 4-2 Champions League win at Wembley.

Pochettino's side found it impossible to subdue Messi as Barcelona ended their three-match winless streak in emphatic style.

The Spanish champions punished a howler from Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo Lloris to take a second minute lead through Philippe Coutinho.

Ivan Rakitic volleyed a stunning second goal for Barcelona before Harry Kane reduced the deficit after the break.

That set the stage for Messi to seize the spotlight once again as he netted twice either side of Erik Lamela's deflected effort for Tottenham.

Messi's brace was just reward for an irresistible display from the Argentina legend.

Messi already has five goals in the Champions League this season after hitting a hat-trick against PSV Eindhoven in Barcelona's group opener.

But Tottenham boss Pochettino claimed his side had made it easy on Messi with the error-prone start that forced them to throw players forward, leaving spaces at the back that the deadly Messi was able to exploit.

"Messi doesn't surprise me. We conceded the first goal and it is very difficult because that sets the game. We paid for that," Pochettino said. “He is the best in the world. With a lot of space it is unbelievable how he runs and dribbles. In the second half he was decisive. He's got that capacity and hunger for scoring."

Neymar scores hat-trick in 6-1 Belgrade thrashing

Paris Saint-Germain coach Thomas Tuchel described Neymar as "sensational" after the world's most expensive player scored a hat-trick in a sublime display to lead Paris Saint-Germain to a 6-1 rout of Red Star Belgrade in the Champions League on Wednesday.

The Brazilian admitted before this game that he still did not feel back to 100 per cent after the foot injury which required surgery and saw him miss the last three months of last season.

But he tore Red Star apart with two goals in the space of two first-half minutes at the Parc des Princes, the first a delightful curling free-kick, before completing his hat-trick from another stunning free-kick late on.

"I really liked the effort made by the whole team, but Neymar was sensational," said Tuchel. "You can feel that he is hungry in every match, that he wants to be decisive, win the ball back, be at the heart of the play. He is one of the best players in Europe and that is very, very important for us."