Liverpool can use the Champions League to snap out of their funk, while Rangers return to the top table and Mikel Arteta has no choice but to shuffle his Arsenal pack.
Game to watch – Napoli v Liverpool
The Champions League is a safe space for Liverpool. Like a bath or a pint in the pub at the end of a long day, no matter the sh*t being hurled your way, you’ve always got it to look forward to.
Jurgen Klopp’s side cruised through arguably the toughest group last season with a 100% record, scoring 17 goals in six games. They were a different team then though: hovering around their peak rather than scrambling to keep out of a trough.
It’s not easy to put your finger on exactly what’s wrong with Liverpool at the start of this season. The midfield is unsettled due to injury and Sadio Mane’s departure has had an impact, but that doesn’t really explain why the levels of everyone – except perhaps Roberto Firmino and Harvey Elliott – have dropped below par.
A big Champions League game could be just what Klopp and his side need to snap out of a lethargy that’s clouding their judgement and football in the Premier League. They will need to wake up against Serie A leaders Napoli, and Trent Alexander-Arnold may need a particularly hefty shot of adrenaline ahead of a battle with new signing Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, who’s got four goals and an assist from left wing already following his £9m move from Dinamo Batumi.
Team to watch – Rangers
It’s been over a decade since Rangers last played a Champions League group game and a lot has happened since.
Around ten months after Wayne Rooney’s 87th-minute penalty knocked them out of Europe’s showcase competition in November 2010, Rangers were losing 1-0 to Stirling Albion in the fourth tier of Scottish football. They’ve since returned to the Premiership, winning it in 2020-21 under Steven Gerrard, and lost on penalties in the Europa League final last year.
This is a club and a fanbase more than ready for those big European nights at Ibrox.
But they will have to wait for that and instead endure an away day in Amsterdam, the poor souls, as they take on Manchester United feeder club Ajax.
The Dutch side, as is so often the case, have had their core ripped out in the summer transfer window. Erik ten Hag has taken Lisandro Martinez and Antony with him to Old Trafford, Bayern have poached Ryan Gravenberch and Noussair Mazraoui, while Sebastian Haller’s gone to Borussia Dortmund. They made…
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