Champions League: No respite for Reds, lose 1-4

Geneva, September 8

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A long-time criticism of the Champions League group stage? Too many lopsided mismatches as the wealth gap between clubs fuels competitive imbalance on the field.

Tell that to favoured Liverpool and Eintracht Frankfurt after their heavy losses on Wednesday.

Or to coaches Thomas Tuchel and Domenico Tedesco who lost their jobs on the morning after shocking losses of their teams, Chelsea and Leipzig, respectively.

Liverpool slumped to a stunning 4-1 defeat at Napoli, where the hosts were four goals up in just 47 minutes at the stadium named after club icon Diego Maradona.

Eintracht, whoo won the Europa title in May, were surprisingly beaten 3-0 at home by Sporting Lisbon just four days after their four-goal rout of Leipzig in the Bundesliga sped up Tedesco’s exit.

Rangers were swept aside in the first half at Ajax before falling to a 4-0 loss. Robert Lewandowski already tops the scoring chart after his Champions League debut for Barcelona, who beat Viktoria Plzen 5-1. Tottenham beat Marseille 2-0 with Richarlison scoring twice. — AP