Liverpool 2-0 Napoli LIVE! Champions League result, match stream and latest updates today

Mohamed Salah equalled Steven Gerrard’s Liverpool European goals record as his 85th-minute strike paved the way for a 2-0 win over previously undefeated Napoli in the Champions League at Anfield.

When the Serie A leaders’ goalkeeper Alex Meret barely kept substitute Darwin Nunez’s header from crossing the line, the Egypt international followed up to force the ball home.

It was his 41st European goal - all coming in 64 Champions League appearances - and his 12th in all competitions this season.

Salah also matched Gerrard’s record of 18 Champions League goals at Anfield in his 29th outing.

Midfielder Gerrard’s European goals came over 129 games in the Champions League, Europa League and UEFA Cup including qualifying rounds.

Nunez then scored for a third successive European game with the last kick when Meret spilled Virgil van Dijk’s header, although it required VAR to overturn an errant offside flag.

The victory ensured a Champions League group stage which had begun with a 4-1 humbling in Naples, offering a portent of the difficulties to come, finished on a high even though Jurgen Klopp’s side had already qualified for the knockout stage going into this game.

That this match passed with little alarm - with the second-half goal they conceded to Leo Ostigard eventually ruled out by VAR - was a positive.

And while that may be a low bar to set after back-to-back defeats to the Premier League’s bottom two sides, Liverpool will take any confidence boost they can - although the loss of James Milner to injury was the downside.

Napoli, off the back of 13 successive victories, did not need to win the game to top Group A and Liverpool’s chances of effecting a four-goal margin of victory seemed unlikely considering their current travails.

They also have a far more important meeting with Tottenham in London on Sunday where they will hope to get their Premier League season back on track, with captain Jordan Henderson rested for this game with that in mind.

As a result the first half was largely unremarkable, with Curtis Jones chipping over the onrushing Meret and the crossbar from a tight angle and later placing his header too high from Roberto Firmino’s backheel flick.

Liverpool’s best move came after Tanguy Ndombele’s shot was comfortably saved by Alisson Becker and immediately from Thiago Alcantara’s sumptuous pass out to Salah, the ball was in the other penalty area with Thiago charging forward to force a better save out of Meret.

Napoli’s exciting winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia posed a threat with a driving run from deep but Ibrahima Konate leant heavily enough on the Georgia international to force him off the ball in the penalty area.

Konate’s return to the team, replacing the out-of-sorts Joe Gomez for only his second start of the season after injury, was one of the positives and his partnership with Van Dijk offers some hope of greater defensive stability.

Thiago continues to be Liverpool’s best midfielder, although considering Klopp’s limited options he is not facing much competition, and he dominated the ball without quite finding the killer pass.

Resources in the centre were depleted further early in second half when Milner went off and was replaced by Harvey Elliott.

Napoli did eventually breach the Van Dijk-Konate partnership - all too easily in truth - but their set-piece goal fell foul of a three-minute VAR review.

Kvaratskhelia’s 53rd-minute free-kick was an inviting one but apparently not so much so for Liverpool’s centre-backs, who allowed Ostigard to ghost in between them and plant a free header from six yards past Alisson only to be ruled fractionally offside.

Salah should have scored with an instinctive close-range volley late on but steered it into the hands of Meret, but he did not pass up a second chance when it fell to him five minutes from time and Nunez then added an almost carbon-copy second.

Liverpool vs Napoli latest news

• GOAL! Salah bundles hosts ahead

• GOAL! Nunez adds a second late on

• Full match report

Liverpool FC 2 - 0 SSC Napoli

Full match report

22:10 , Jonathan Gorrie

Late goals from Mohamed Salah and Darwin Nunez saw Liverpool beat Napoli in their final Champions League group game, though the win was not enough to claim top spot.

Both teams had already sealed a knockout stage place, but top spot in the group, and a potentially more favourable last-16 opponent, was still up for grabs, with Liverpool needing to beat Napoli by four goals or more to sneak to the summit.

Read our match report in full here!

FT: Liverpool 2-0 Napoli

22:00 , Jonathan Gorrie

Not enough for Liverpool to top the group, but not enough to top the group.

GOAL! Liverpool 2-0 Napoli | Darwin Nunez ‘90

21:56 , Jonathan Gorrie

90:00 - Nunez finishes on the line after van Dijk’s header.

Seven minutes added on

21:49 , Jonathan Gorrie

A reminder, Liverpool need three more goals to win the group.

Liverpool changes

21:46 , Jonathan Gorrie

GOAL! Liverpool 1-0 Napoli | Mohamed Salah ‘84

21:43 , Jonathan Gorrie

84:00 - Salah bundles it over the line from close range afer Nunez’s header is saved on the line!

Liverpool look the more likely

21:36 , Jonathan Gorrie

78:00 - Some of Alexander-Arnold’s fizzing balls up to the strikers have caused major problems, albeit in the Napoli defence rather than at their goal.

Liverpool change

21:29 , Jonathan Gorrie

Some really frantic play now

21:29 , Jonathan Gorrie

71:00 - Looks like both teams are fighting for their lives in this competition, rather than having secured safe passage into the knockout rounds already.

Not a huge amount of quality but plenty of heart and desire.

Really nice tempo to the game now

21:21 , Jonathan Gorrie

62:00 - Looks far from what is effectively a dead rubber, with both sides going hell for leather.

CHANCE FOR NAPOLI!

21:18 , Jonathan Gorrie

59:00 - Kvaratskhelia loses Alexander-Arnold at the back post but sees his volley deflect off the Liverpool defender and into Alisson’s grasp.

RULED OUT!

21:13 , Jonathan Gorrie

Offside given!

Longest VAR check possible

21:13 , Jonathan Gorrie

Coming up to 3 minutes now.

It’s gone to VAR

21:11 , Jonathan Gorrie

Looks very tight...

GOAL! Liverpool 0-1 Napoli |

21:10 , Jonathan Gorrie

52:00 - Östigard heads in from Kvaratskhelia’s free-kick, cheaply given away by Fabinho!

Not worked for the attackers so far

21:09 , Jonathan Gorrie

51:00 - Kvaratskhelia and Salah having off-nights so far. Not much is working.

Half-chance for Napoli

21:06 , Jonathan Gorrie

48:00 - Snap shot from Kvaratskhelia at the back post, but the Napoli star drags it wide.

James Milner coming off

21:04 , Jonathan Gorrie

46:00 - Looks to have pulled up with a muscle problem, with Harvey Elliott set to come on.

Back underway!

21:03 , Jonathan Gorrie

Liverpool attacking The Kop in the second-half.

What an assist this would have been

20:59 , Jonathan Gorrie

HT: Liverpool 0-0 Napoli

20:49 , Jonathan Gorrie

An entertaining game but a goalless one so far.

Liverpool will need four second-half goals to top the group.

Foul throw alert!

20:45 , Jonathan Gorrie

44:00 - Not a good look for Alexander-Arnold!

CHANCE FOR LIVERPOOL!

20:43 , Jonathan Gorrie

42:00 - Meret pulls off a great save to deny Salah one v one!

The flag, as ever, then goes up very late.

This game has sprung into life

20:36 , Jonathan Gorrie

35:00 - All getting a bit ragged now, with the midfield battle much more intense.

CHANCE FOR LIVERPOOL!

20:31 , Jonathan Gorrie

29:00 - STUNNING backheel-volley assist from Firmino finds Jones, who heads just over.

END TO END!

20:30 , Jonathan Gorrie

28:00 - Ndombele’s shot inside the box is saved by Alisson, who punts it long to Salah.

The Liverpool forward then plays in Thiago, who forces a good save from Meret with a sidefooted shot.

Brilliant from Konate

20:25 , Jonathan Gorrie

24:00 - The Frenchman strolls forward, bursting through the lines and draws a foul from Osimhen. The resulting free-kick, however, is wasted.

Much tighter from Liverpool

20:22 , Jonathan Gorrie

21;00 - Not a huge amount coming up front, however.

Not much luck for Osimhen

20:18 , Jonathan Gorrie

17:00 - Often linked with a big move to the Premier League, the Napoli forward hasn’t had much a look in thus far.

Napoli can’t get out

20:14 , Jonathan Gorrie

12:00 - Maybe not quite as intense as in years gone by, but Liverpool’s press is keeping Napoli to play risky pass between defence and mifield. Only one realy sight of Kvaratskhelia so far, which Konate dealt with easily.

Great play from Konate

20:09 , Jonathan Gorrie

08:00 - What a boost it is having him back.

Kvaratskhelia, one of the best players in Europe at the moment, runs at hom one v one but the Frenchman outmuscles him with ease.

His return to fitness could be huge.

Fabinho involved early on

20:07 , Jonathan Gorrie

05:00 - Liverpool fans will be aware of his struggles of late, but the Brazilian is breaking up attacks fairly well in the opening stages.

CHANCE FOR LIVERPOOL!

20:05 , Jonathan Gorrie

04:00 - Incisive play from Liverpool, with Alexander-Arnold rapsing one into Salah’s feet from close quarters. The forward then feeds Curtis Jones over to the left and the 21-year-old gets there before Meret, though the shot lifts over the net.

Thiago pulling strings

20:03 , Jonathan Gorrie

02:00 - Some the passes the former Bayern man has already played have been brilliant.

Fast start from Liverpool

20:02 , Jonathan Gorrie

01:00 - Early stages of course but the feeling inside Anfield is somewha similar to their recent win over Manchester City. While the stakes are not as high, this feels like a big night.

KICK-OFF

20:01 , Jonathan Gorrie

Away we go! The home support certainly sound up for it tonight.

Teams in the tunnel!

19:57 , Jonathan Gorrie

Here we go!

Can Liverpool get back on track?

Here come the Liverpool players!

19:40 , Jonathan Gorrie

The warm-ups are well underway

19:32 , Jonathan Gorrie

Jurgen Klopp’s agent speaks out on Liverpool future

19:22 , Jonathan Gorrie

Klopp’s agent Kosicke: “I can assure that Jürgen Klopp has no intention of resigning.

“Jürgen enjoys the full backing of the people in charge, they are in contact. He loves Liverpool, he didn’t extend his contract until 2026 for nothing”.

19:14 , Jonathan Gorrie

Klopp: We can turn this around

19:08 , Jonathan Gorrie

“We can turn things around. We can make the situation better. We can get better results and we can play better more consistently. This is our responsibility right now so we should embrace it like we have every other challenge that we have faced over the past seven years.”

Confirmed Napoli lineup

19:01 , Jonathan Gorrie

Napoli XI: Meret, Di Lorenzo, Ostigard, Kim, Olivera, Ndombele, Lobotka, Zambo, Politano, Osimhen, Kvaratskhelia

Subs: Juan Jesus, Mario Rui, Elmas, Lozano, Idasiak, Simeone, Zielinski, Zerbin, Sirigu, Zanoli, Gaetano, Raspadori

Latest odds

18:52 , Jonathan Gorrie

Betfair: Champions League winner

Man City: 9/5

Bayern Munich: 5/1

PSG: 6/1

Liverpool: 13/2

Real Madrid: 9/1

Napoli: 12/1

Chelsea: 12/1

Tottenham: 20/1

Betfair: Liverpool v Napoli match odds

Liverpool: 10/11

Draw: 3/1

Napoli: 27/10

18:48 , Jonathan Gorrie

Klopp’s pre-match message

18:43 , Jonathan Gorrie

“I’m ready to play against Napoli, but I didn’t play against Leeds physically, so that’s it. Now we have to make sure we find 11 to start that we can give them a proper fight in the situation.”

Confirmed Liverpool lineup

18:37 , Jonathan Gorrie

Jordan Henderson’s pre-match message

18:27 , Jonathan Gorrie

“Every single time we pull on a red shirt we have an obligation to the standards that have been set over the years. To put it bluntly, we don’t get to pick and choose the occasions when we perform for Liverpool FC.”

Trent Alexander-Arnold: Tottenham can end Liverpool’s season next weekend

18:16 , Jonathan Gorrie

Trent Alexander-Arnold says Tottenham can end Liverpool‘s season with victory in north London next weekend.

Liverpool on Saturday were beaten 2-1 by Leeds, their successive loss in the Premier League to a struggling side after going down 1-0 at Nottingham Forest a week earlier.

That left Jurgen Klopp’s men, who have lost four, won four and drawn four league games this term, ninth in the table, eight points outside the Champions League places. After hosting Napoli in the Champions League on Tuesday, they are next in league action at third-placed Tottenham on Sunday.

Read his comments in full here!

When is the Champions League last-16 draw? Date, time, TV channel and seeded teams

17:54 , Jonathan Gorrie

The Champions League draw takes place on Monday November 7, 2022 at 11am GMT.

UEFA’s headerquarters in Nyon, Switzerland will host the ceremony.

Champions League draw seedings

The group winners will be seeded for the draw. Teams from the same nation and group cannot be drawn against each other.

Seeded: Bayern Munich, Chelsea, Manchester City.

Unseeded: Inter Milan, Borussia Dortmund.

To be determined: Liverpool, Napoli, Club Brugge, Porto, Real Madrid, PSG, Benfica.

Champions League permutations: What Liverpool need vs Napoli to win Group A today

17:51 , Jonathan Gorrie

Should Liverpool beat Napoli by four goals or more, they will win the group. If Liverpool win by fewer than four goals, draw or lose the game, Napoli will win the group.

If two or more clubs are level on points at the end of the group stage, a number of criteria will be taken into consideration to decide the next round qualifiers, starting with the head-to-head record among the teams in question.

It then goes to superior goal difference and then goals scored in those matches.

Jurgen Klopp: Champions League qualification not my main worry

17:43 , Jonathan Gorrie

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp says his side’s inconsistency could cost them Champions League qualification following the Reds 2-1 defeat to Leeds.

Klopp said: “You cannot qualify for the Champions League if you play as inconsistently as we do at the moment. We have to fix that, and then we will see where we end up.

“We all know a lot of things are possible, but for that we have to win football games, and we didn’t do that often enough yet.”

Prediction: 2-2 draw

17:33 , Jonathan Gorrie

Liverpool could not ask for a tougher test as they seek to bounce back from that last-gasp Leeds loss at Anfield.

Napoli are breaking records as Europe’s in-form team and scoring for fun, with the likes of Victor Osimhen and Georgian sensation Khvicha Kvaratskhelia consistently among the goals.

They will be lucky to escape this contest with a hard-earned draw, let alone the four-goal winning margin they need to take top spot in the group.

A 2-2 draw.

Napoli team news: Sirigu and Rrahmani ruled out

17:33 , Jonathan Gorrie

Napoli, meanwhile, are definitely without Salvatore Sirigu and Amir Rrahmani.

Liverpool team news: Konate and Ramsay in contention

17:32 , Jonathan Gorrie

Liverpool remain without long-term absentees Luis Diaz, Diogo Jota and Arthur Melo, while the likes of Joel Matip and Naby Keita are also still out.

Ibrahima Konate could make his first competitive appearance of the season after coming onto the bench for the last two games, while summer signing Calvin Ramsay is likely to be an option for his senior debut as a substitute after building up his fitness after injury with the Under-21s.

Where to watch Liverpool vs Napoli

17:31 , Jonathan Gorrie

TV channel: In the UK, the match will be televised live on BT Sport 3, with coverage beginning at 7:15pm.

Live stream: BT Sport subscribers will also be able to watch the action online via the BT Sport website or app.

Live blog: You can follow all the action via Standard Sport’s live blog.

Welcome

17:24 , Jonathan Gorrie

Good afternoon and welcome to Standard Sport’s LIVE coverage of Liverpool’s Champions League clash with Napoli.

Kick-off inside Anfield is at 8pm GMT.