There is an argument to be made that Napoli is the worst team Liverpool could have been paired with in Group A.
The Neapolitan side has undergone wholesale changes in the summer with five starters moved on in David Ospina, Dries Mertens, Kalidou Koulibaly, Fabian Ruiz and Lorenzo Insigne.
And yet Napoli have emerged from it as solid and reliable as ever.
Credit must go to coach Luciano Spalletti - who has found himself in the wars after fracturing his shoulder this week - for the heart he has instilled into this team that can be a real player domestically and in Europe.