Liverpool have been bad in Europe all season, but can redeem themselves

Despite struggling in the Champions League all season, Liverpool can advance to the knockout rounds if they beat Napoli on Tuesday.

Liverpool have been bad in the Champions League this season. Very bad. So bad that even when they’ve been good they’ve been a little bit bad, like when they dominated PSG in the group opener and still needed a last-minute Roberto Firmino winner to steal three points.

Away from home, they’ve been even worse than very bad, managing only five shots on target in their three away matches, four of which came against Red Star Belgrade and the other of which was a penalty against PSG.

Nor are these struggles simply a product of the more defensive tactical approach Jurgen Klopp has adopted this season. For all the talk about the Reds’ attacking problems, they have the third most prolific attack in the Premier League, and they rank second in expected goals behind Manchester City. They’re on pace to score 80 league goals this season — not an eye-watering total but hardly cause for concern.

Whatever has ailed them in the Champions League — and the sample size is too small to draw any real conclusions — it has been far worse than the occasionally workmanlike character of some of their league wins. That part of the problem might be that they care more about the league than the Champions League won’t be much of a comfort if they get knocked out at the group stage.

And to make matters worse, to make it through to the round of 16 they need to beat Napoli, who restricted them to zero shots on target in the reverse fixture at the Stadio San Paolo and are led by one of Europe’s savviest, most successful managers. Carlo Ancelotti of course has history with Liverpool, for good and bad, and is uniquely positioned to prepare his players for the magnitude of the emotional task that awaits them.

The good news is that the match will be played at Anfield, the sort of stadium that must be treated as a character all its own on nights such as this, living, breathing, howling, seething. The Reds were dominant at home in their run to the final last season, when they also faced elimination on the final matchday of the group stage in their own stadium. They ran out 7-0 winners on that occasion.

The catch, of course, is that Liverpool don’t need just any old win. They need to win either 1-0 or by at least two clear goals. Against a team with Napoli’s attacking talent, that will demand a level of control that has mostly been lacking on big European nights under Klopp.

The German has instilled a newfound defensive focus this campaign, and a solidity that has seen his side compile their best start to a league season in club history, but they have yet to face a test like this. They haven’t even really come close.