Champions League: Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp angered by Neymar and PSG antics

Paris Saint-Germain 2 Liverpool 1

Liverpool lost in Paris last night and now last season’s beaten finalists face a nervous 90 minutes in next month’s final Champions League group game.

The Reds are now third in group C, three points behind leaders Napoli and two shy of Paris Saint-Germain.

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What that means is they must not only win when they host Napoli at Anfield on 11 December but do so by two goals or more.

Even a 1-0 victory would suffice courtesy of their head-to-head record (Napoli won 1-0 in the corresponding fixture), but should Liverpool win 2-1 or 3-2 they would be eliminated because of Napoli’s away goals.

Pointless on the road

That Liverpool find themselves in such a predicament is entirely of their own making, a result of an inconsistent Champions League campaign in which they have failed to pick up a point on the road.

Defeat in the French capital followed losses in Naples and Belgrade and last night they never looked capable of beating PSG.

The hosts were two up in 37 minutes, Juan Bernat capitalising on sloppy defending to fire home on 13 minutes and then Neymar finishing a lightning counter-attack.

James Milner pulled a goal back from the penalty spot for the Reds on the stroke of half-time, but the visitors failed to register a shot on target after the break as PSG bossed the game.

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Unmellow yellow

Liverpool’s frustration was evident in the number of fouls they committed - 20 to PSG’s 12 - and Polish referee Szymon Marciniak dished out eight yellow cards, six of which were shown to Liverpool players.

“We looked like butchers with the number of yellow cards,” said Jurgen Klopp, who accused the hosts of hamming it up for the benefit of the official.

“It was clever of PSG, especially Neymar, but a lot of other players went down like there was something serious. We were not that calm any more, rather frustrated and negative frustration does not help. That is a job for us to deal with.”

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Klopp remains confident

Asked if he believed his side can qualify for the last 16, Klopp replied: “Yes, of course. We need Anfield again, we need to create an atmosphere which is pretty special… we have to make a special night of it, 100%, if we want to go through. If we do that and win it then we deserve it, if we don’t then we don’t deserve it, that’s how it is.”

Results and fixtures

Matchday five results

• Group A: Atletico Madrid 2 Monaco 0; Borussia Dortmund 0 Club Brugge 0
• Group B: PSV Eindhoven 1 Barcelona 2; Tottenham Hotspur 1 Inter Milan 0
• Group C: Napoli 3 Red Star Belgrade 1; Paris Saint-Germain 2 Liverpool 1
• Group D: Lokomotiv Moscow 2 Galatasaray 0; Porto 3 Schalke 04 1
• Group E: AEK Athens 0 Ajax 2; Bayern Munich 5 Benfica 1
• Group F: Lyon 2 Manchester City 2; Hoffenheim 2 Shakhtar Donetsk 3
• Group G: CSKA Moscow 1 Viktoria Plzen 2; Roma 0 Real Madrid 2
• Group H: Juventus 1 Valencia 0; Manchester United 1 Young Boys 0

Matchday six fixtures Tuesday 11 December

• Group A: Club Brugge vs. Atletico Madrid; Monaco vs. Borussia Dortmund
• Group B: Barcelona vs. Tottenham Hotspur; Inter Milan vs. PSV Eindhoven
• Group C: Red Star Belgrade vs. Paris Saint-Germain; Liverpool vs. Napoli
• Group D: Schalke 04 vs. Lokomotiv Moscow; Galatasaray vs. Porto

Wednesday 12 December

• Group E: Ajax vs. Bayern Munich; Benfica vs. AEK Athens
• Group F: Manchester City vs. Hoffenheim; Shakhtar Donetsk vs. Lyon
• Group G: Real Madrid vs. CSKA Moscow; Viktoria Plzen vs. Roma
• Group H: Valencia vs. Manchester United; Young Boys vs. Juventus