Ben Doak continued the excellent start to his Liverpool career by inspiring a winning UEFA Youth League start in Italy.
Doak, the 16-year-old £600,000 summer signing from Celtic, opened the scoring and laid on the winner for Oakley Cannonier as the Reds earned a 2-1 triumph against Napoli at the Stadio Giuseppe Piccolo in Cercola on Wednesday afternoon.
The winger was impressive throughout as a Liverpool U19s side, helmed by Barry Lewtas, coped well with the baking conditions to join Ajax, who beat Rangers 2-1, as early leaders in Group A.
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With the exception of Doak on the right wing and Trent Kone-Doherty on the opposite flank, this was largely an U21 side which dominated the first half in terms of possession and territory with visiting goalkeeper Harvey Davies not having a save to make.
Liverpool fashioned the first chance on 11 minutes, when tenacious play by the impressive James McConnell in midfield allowed Dom Corness to burst forward. His pass into the area was touched by Cannonier into the path of Kone-Doherty, whose shot was saved by the leg of Napoli goalkeeper Claudio Turi.
Doak served notice of his intentions by twice getting past his marker and putting in dangerous low crosses that no Liverpool player could convert. And the young Scot took matters into his own hands on 28 minutes, another burst into the box ending with him dropping a shoulder to deceive Napoli defender Daniels Nosegbe-Susko and shoot low into the far corner.
Liverpool threatened a second shortly afterwards when Isaac Mabaya found space down the right and his cross was fired first time wide by Cannonier at the near post.
Napoli responded after the break and after Antonio Pesce drew a smart save from Davies at the near post, the same player got in behind and was brought down by Davies, with skipper Gennaro Iaccarino giving the goalkeeper no chance from the spot on 59 minutes.
But the young Reds instantly stepped up a level and a fine period of possession culminated with Doak jinking into the box and crossing low from the right for Cannonier to convert on 67 minutes just as he was about to be substituted for Lewis Koumas.
Napoli forward Dylan De Pasquale had a header saved by Davies from close range then somehow put the rebound wide from a yard, but Liverpool came closest to scoring again deep in injury time when the lively Melkamu Frauendorf shot at Turi.
They are next in UEFA Youth League action on Tuesday when they entertain Ajax at the Academy in Kirkby,
LIVERPOOL (4-3-3): Davies; Mabaya, Quansah, Jonas, Chambers; Corness, McConnell, Frauendorf; Doak (Miles 90+3), Cannonier (Koumas 70), Kone-Doherty (Young 88). Subs: Hewitson, Onanuga, Osborne, Pennington. BOOKINGS: Quansah, Davies., Young
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