Liverpool vs Napoli: Did Dries Mertens really say the Anfield atmosphere was vanilla?

Did Dries Mertens really say that the atmosphere generated by Liverpool fans inside Anfield was vanilla?

The Napoli star was talking ahead of the crunch Champions League game on Tuesday night when he was asked his opinion on the famous atmosphere inside the Reds’ cathedral.

And the Echo reported that he wasn’t impressed by the noise generated by supporters, nor could he understand the fuss about the This Is Anfield sign. “I’m looking at this small thing and asking, ‘Is this so special?'”, the Belgian winger said.

Jurgen Klopp has called for the stadium to be turned into a seething, boiling mass of excitement and encouragement and patience. Klopp knows that Anfield could be Liverpool’s trump card, and that for Merseyside to be a fortress the home crowd need to play their part.

Napoli are currently unbeaten in the Champions League this season and have been playing excellent football. It should never have come to this for Klopp’s side, but consecutive defeats to Red Star Belgrade and PSG mean that it has.

Liverpool did manage to beat the French outfit at home and that’ll give them a high level of confidence going into this game.

Premier League form has been near faultless, and while that doesn’t automatically translate into success in Europe, it will give the players added confidence.

A 4-0 victory against Bournemouth provided goals for Mohamed Salah and an excellent showing from Roberto Firmino. Sadio Mane was also given a rest and is fit to face Napoli – all good things that indicate the forward line coming together nicely.

At its best, the Reds have got a front four that can make life difficult for any defence. Salah, in particular, is the GOAT – but Mane, Firmino and Xherdan Shaqiri all posses the skill and ability to create something from nothing.