Jurgen Klopp hopes he gets lucky for a fourth time as the Liverpool manager looks to finally win at Napoli when last season’s Champions League finalists begin their quest for continental glory on Wednesday.
It was just over three months ago that the Reds suffered a heartbreaking 1-0 final loss to Real Madrid on a night marked by chaotic scenes outside the Stade de France.
Liverpool have been drawn alongside Ajax, Rangers and Napoli this time around and kick off Group A at the cavernous Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on Wednesday night against the latter.
But Klopp has not enjoyed the best of times in his previous visits to Napoli, losing 2-1 to Borussia Dortmund in 2013 before losing 1-0 to the Reds in 2018 and 2-0 the following year.
“I have never won here,” the German said of his previous three visits to the Champions League group stage. “Not with Liverpool. Not with Dortmund.
“But often we have qualified for another final after Napoli were with us in the group stage. I’m not sure all the time… but who cares.
“I am, as we say in Germany, a latecomer. I always need a little more time to accomplish my things.
“That means sometimes I have to try twice, sometimes three times, sometimes four times and Napoli obviously four times.
“What do we have to do? Play better than in the previous three games? That would be very useful because we didn’t play particularly well when we got here. Another reason why Napoli are quite strong.”
Klopp heads to Italy with several key players missing from his 21-person travel party.
Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson is among the sidelined, but Thiago Alcantara may make his first appearance since suffering a hamstring strain a month ago.
“Thiago is back in training,” Klopp said. “Second day today. It means that he is ready. How long will we see?
“Hendo, we had the results of the exploration and it will be after the international break, I think it will come back.”
Injuries have left the Reds particularly light in midfield, prompting them to sign Arthur from Juventus on deadline day.
The 26-year-old has not played a competitive game since appearing as a substitute in May’s Coppa Italia final and could make his Napoli debut.
“Arthur just needs football now, especially training, that’s the way it is,” Klopp said.
“He wasn’t training with the team for a while at Juve, so he needs proper team training and that’s what we’re doing with him.
“Can he play minutes? Yes. Should I play a full game? No, because you need to get used to the intensity in each competition.
“It’s not like the Champions League is like you have to work less than the Premier League. Not at all and especially not here.
“But he’s doing well, he’s really giving it his all in training. We also have to be careful with it and then we will see when we can use it.”
Arthur has a point to prove after a frustrating spell at Juventus and his Brazil team-mate Alisson Becker is excited about what he can bring to the Anfield club.
“Everything happened so fast that I only spoke to him the day he came to Liverpool and then at the training ground,” the former Roma goalkeeper said.
“He’s an amazing guy. We will see more about him when you see him in the field. He is a fantastic player.
“I hope that he is really fit and that he settles in as soon as possible.
“We know that it is not easy to change from one country to another. He made the same move as him, coming from Italian football. I know there are some differences but in the end football is the same.
“With his qualities and with his attitude and his desire, he can overcome any of these small problems.
“I really think he can bring a lot of quality to the team and he’s going to do well.”
