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Teams Who Mock Anfield’s ‘Overrated’ Atmosphere Always End Up Regretting It

Teams Who Mock Anfield’s ‘Overrated’ Atmosphere Always End Up Regretting It

It's come back to bite them...

Josh Lawless

Josh Lawless

If you're playing a European away game at Anfield, it's probably not the best idea to mock the atmosphere at the ground as it tends to come back to bite you.

Going into last night's crucial Champions League group stage clash, Napoli's Dries Mertens told of how he didn't get caught up in the hype of the famous 'This is Anfield' sign when he came across it.

Having previously turned out in a Europa League game away at Liverpool for Utrecht eight years ago, he said he wasn't impressed after hearing a lot about it.

"My strongest memory is that they have a sign saying 'This is Anfield' and everyone was talking about it, so I was thinking it's very big, you know," Mertens told The Times in an interview.

"I came through the tunnel and I asked, 'Where is the thing?' and they said you missed it and I hadn't noticed it.

"So, in the second half, I'm looking at this small thing and asking, 'Is this so special?'"

Mertens, however, has been the latest visitor to rue his words after Napoli lost 1-0 and fell into the Europa League for the second consecutive year.

He joins the likes of Thomas Tuchel, Julian Nagelsmann, Massimo Carrera and Kevin De Bruyne in playing down the atmosphere Liverpool fans create but then ending up losing.

Thanks to a first-half strike from talisman Mo Salah, and a crucial 92nd minute save from Alisson to deny Arkadiusz Milik from point-blank range, last year's finalists have sealed their qualification to the last 16 and will find out which group winner they will play when the draw is made on Monday morning.

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Topics: Football News, Anfield, Football, Napoli, Champions League, Liverpool FC