TheCable

Napoli scored three first-half goals to thrash Liverpool 4-1 in their opening UEFA Champions League (UCL) group A match at the Diego Armando Maradona stadium on Wednesday night.

The Italian Serie A side overpowered an out-of-sorts Liverpool, thanks to a blistering first-half performance that saw Luciano Spalletti’s side shred the visitors’ defense to bits with goals from Piotr Zielinski (brace), Andre-Franck Zambo Anguissa and Giovanni Simeone, while Luiz Diaz scored Liverpool’s consolation.

The defeat is Liverpool’s third at Napoli in four years.

Zielinski gave Napoli the lead through a fifth-minute penalty following James Milner’s handball before Victor Osimhen failed to double the advantage as Alisson Becker, Liverpool goalkeeper, kept out his poorly taken penalty kick.

Anguissa would later finish off a move that started with Liverpool losing the ball in their half to make it 2-0 before Simeone, a first-half substitute for the injured Osimhen, scored the third goal on his UCL debut.

Zielinski made it 4-0 two minutes into the second half, scoring the rebound off his short before Diaz gave the visitors their solitary consolation goal with a 20-yard strike two minutes later.

Elsewhere, Robert Lewandowski scored his first hat-trick for Barcelona as the Catalans eased past Viktoria Plzen 5-1 at Camp Nou, while Bayern Munich scored a goal in each half to overcome Inter Milan 2-0 in Italy.

RESULTS

• Ajax 4-0 Rangers
• Frankfurt 0-3 Sporting Lisbon
• Napoli 4-1 Liverpool
• Tottenham 2-0 Olympic Marseille
• Atletico Madrid 2-1 FC Porto
• Club Brugge 1-0 Bayer Leverkusen
• FC Barcelona 5-1 Viktoria Plzen
• Inter Milan 0-2 Bayern Munich