Liverpool's Champions League campaign got off to a nightmare start in hot and humid Naples on Wednesday as sensational Napoli ran out comprehensive 4-1 winners
Victor Osimhen set the precedent early on, hitting the post inside the opening 60 seconds before James Milner clumsily conceded a fifth-minute penalty, which Piotr Zielinski kept his cool to convert
Liverpool, stunned into submission, then presented Osimhen with his own chance to test Alisson from 12 yards after an ill-timed challenge from Virgil van Dijk was penalised by VAR review
Alisson denied the Napoli striker's spot-kick attempt, but Liverpool's reprieve only lasted 13 minutes
 Khvicha Kvaratskhelia outmuscled Joe Gomez, who endured a torrid 45 minutes before being hauled off, to present Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa with an opportunity to slot the ball low past Liverpool's helpless 'keeper
Things went from bad to worse shortly before the interval as substitute Giovanni Simeone - on in place of the injured Osimhen - was found unmarked in the six yard box to turn home Kvaratskhelia's pinpoint cross
Zielinski rounded off the scoring for Luciano Spalletti's new-look side two minutes into the second period to compound Liverpool's misery, before Luis Diaz temporarily quietened the deafening home crowd when cutting inside to bend a low right-footed shot beyond Alex Meret
Diaz, Liverpool's only saviour on an otherwise sultry evening, also saw a thumping header saved while concerns in midfield personnel were slightly assuaged by the reemergence of Thiago and debut of Juventus loanee Arthur - both second-half substitutes
Liverpool have started their Premier League campaign with a stuttering two wins from six games and carried that languid form into their Group A opener against Serie A's second-placed side
In contrast, Napoli are unbeaten in five domestic matches and are scoring goals for fun, so it was no surprise when Liverpool's leaky defence opened the door to both Osimhen and Zielinski inside the first quarter of a particularly one-sided game
Osimhen's surge to beat Liverpool's offside trap and dribble around Alisson before striking a shot off the outside of the post set the tone as the visitors were humiliated 102 days on from losing the European final to Real Madrid in France
The celebrations are guaranteed to continue long into the night in southern Italy, while Liverpool will hope their weak start to this season has bottomed out following an embarrassing defeat
Liverpool have lost all three of the games they have played at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona under Klopp - this being their joint-heaviest defeat in Champions League competition
"It was really tough to take but I would say not that difficult to explain
"Firstly, Napoli played really well and we didn't
 That is the first explanation for the defeat
 The two penalties we concede, they were both a little unlucky
"The next two goals we concede are handed to them on a plate
 That is not cool and we should have defended better in the first place and, of course, in the last moment as well
"We were not compact defensively or offensively
 Until Thiago entered the pitch I cannot remember one counter-pressing situation
 The reason for that is that we are just too wide
"You could see it on the pitch
 We were not working as a team
 That is why we lose games
 We play in the strongest league in the world and have a tough Champions League group too
"We have to play in three days against Wolves
 If Wolves saw that game tonight they would not stop laughing and would say it is the perfect moment
""We were miles too open
 You cannot come to a place like this and not be compact
"They were the miles better team
 When you are a team that presses and someone misses a challenge, you need someone to follow it up
"Too many times, they got turned and had open space to run at, causing our centre-backs problems, whether it was two versus two or three versus two
"In a Champions League game, you cannot be wide open like that, you have to be compact
 We deserved this result
 It felt like they had an extra man
" would have been hoping to catch Gareth Southgate's eye against Napoli having regained his place at the heart of Liverpool's defence at the start of the season, but must now be worried about a potential England call-up for September's Nations League double header after getting hooked at half-time in Naples
The 25-year-old, like many of his team-mates, endured a torrid first half in southern Italy, almost costing his side a goal after slackly getting caught in possession near the lefthand touchline, only to be rescued by fellow centre-back Virgil van Dijk's goal-line clearance, before repeating the same mistake minutes later
This time, though, Gomez was not so lucky as Napoli went on to double their lead, with the defender being replaced by the fit-again Joel Matip at the interval following an error-strewn display that will have done little to boost his hopes of making it to Qatar 2022 this winter
The deadline for Southgate to name his squad is October 19
 The World Cup begins on November 20, with England's first game against Iran on November 21
September 13:  (H) - kick-off 8pmOctober 4:  (H) - kick-off 8pmOctober 12: (A) - kick-off 8pmOctober 26:  (A) - kick-off 8pmNovember 1:  (H) - kick-off 8pmreturn to Premier League action on Saturday as they host at 3pm, while will look to maintain their unbeaten start in Serie A as they host  on Saturday in a 2pm kick-off
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