Carabao Cup: Gakpo’s double takes Liverpool into QF; Arsenal move past Preston North
After a goalless first half at Amex Stadium, Cody Gakpo broke the deadlock just seconds after the restart when he found the top corner with an unstoppable effort.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp insisted that the penalty call against the Reds on Wednesday was a “clear and obvious” mistake. Meanwhile, the German coach admitted that his side was not up to the mark to register a win against team like Napoli.
Notably, Napoli outplayed Liverpool 2-0 at the San Paolo Stadium. Dries Mertens in the 82nd minute drew the first blood for the hosts after converting a penalty, a call which left Klopp frustrated.
“What can I say? For me, it’s clear and obvious not a penalty because Callejon jumps before there’s any contact. But we can’t change that. We have to be critical with ourselves. We could have done better,” Klopp was quoted by Goal as saying to BT Sport.
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“They did well in a lot of moments, we played a lot of good football that we didn’t finish off. We had our chances. There were moments when we wanted a free-kick. I don’t understand why there was no free-kick when Sadio [Mane] goes down up and down, up and down. You think ‘what’s happening here?’
“It kept the intensity of the game, but what I said, we controlled moments but didn’t have a lot of chances at the end. You saw a lot of respect from both sides where we both defended well, but each ball we lost or they lost was immediately a threat.
“In these situations, you have to finish it off. I think one situation, Sadio was running, if he makes two more steps and shot, but from the beginning he wanted to pass the ball, in the end you’re like make another step and you can do it yourself.
“We made these decisions that were not right tonight and we have to accept the result,” said the 52-year-old veteran.
After the goal from Mertens, Fernando Llorente scored another for Napoli in the 92nd minute, helping his side outplay Liverpool.
It is to note that Liverpool tasted their first loss of the season, having won the first five Premier League matches of the new campaign.
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