Liverpool and Napoli will meet for the seventh time and manager Luciano Spalletti is set to face the Reds for the third time in his career.
Speaking to the media before the opening match of the Champions League group stage (via the Napoli club’s website), the 63-year-old was asked about facing Jurgen Klopp: “It’s an honor to be in sides opposite Klopp.
“There is no one like him and his philosophy of play distinguishes his team in world football. I will try to read what he tries to ask of his team.”
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It’s great to see the respect that clearly exists between the two managers and that the Italian is keen to share a touchline with our boss for the first time.
The former Roma manager has first-hand experience with both Mo Salah and Alisson Becker, as well as managing a team against us, when he was in charge of Zenit Saint Petersburg in the Europa League in 2013.
That last meeting saw us kicked out of Europe and while this is not on the line in the opening match of this year’s competition, we are hoping for a better result this time.
Following his broken shoulder, the Italian will wear a sling for the game, but let’s hope the last bit of pain is not inflicted on him as our aim is to secure a healthy win at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium.
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