Matchday 1 in the Champions League did not go down well for Liverpool and Chelsea. These two English giants kicked off their European campaign on Tuesday, with both teams coming away with an unexpected defeat.
The Reds traveled to Napoli, which was always going to be tricky. However, being the reigning champions and boasting a perfect record so far in the Premier League, they were the favorites to win. Unfortunately for them, they suffered a 2-0 loss.
As for Chelsea, they hosted Spanish outfit Valencia at Stamford Bridge. Everything seemed to click for Lampard’s men before this game, beating Wolves 5-2 in their previous game, with young striker Tammy Abraham bagging a hat-trick. However, they too succumbed to defeat.
As a result, both English sides made history on Tuesday, but for all the wrong reasons. For Klopp’s men, they achieved an unwanted 25-year feat, becoming the first reigning champions to lose the first game in their title defense since AC Milan in 1994/95.
This Chelsea side, meanwhile, became the first Blues side to lose a game to Valencia. The London giants had gone six games unbeaten until Tuesday, losing this run in the 1-0 home defeat.
As for Lampard, he became the first Stamford Bridge manager in history to lose his opening Champions League game. From the previous 11, 10 had won while Gianluca Vialli managed a draw.
1 - Frank Lampard is the first Chelsea manager to lose his first Champions League match in charge – 10 of the previous 11 had won, while Gianluca Vialli drew with Milan in 1999. Process. pic.twitter.com/g6JMOTAeA5
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) September 17, 2019
Nonetheless, it’s not game over for any of the two sides. While both Liverpool and Chelsea were expected to win, there are five group-stage games remaining for them to turn things around.
