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This article is part of Football FanCast's In Numbers series, which takes a statistical look at performances, season-long form and reported transfer targets... 

Liverpool suffered their second defeat of the season against Napoli and though individual mistakes cost them victory, there were some positives to take from their latest trip to the San Paolo.

This time around, they looked more comfortable in possession and provided a greater goal threat than last season, which remains the only game out of 75 in which the Reds failed to have a shot on target.

It was not only in attack where they improved, either, as they had the majority share of possession and stifled a Napoli attack, which had scored nine goals in three games, for large spells.

They didn't meet their usual high standards, however. Adrian impressed in goal but Sadio Mane was the only attacker who showcased his flair throughout, and he barely put a foot wrong in everything he did.

He was reliable on the ball and when finding teammates, with the only criticism that he perhaps lacked that cutting edge needed to put his team in front in a game which was decided by fine margins.

The Senegal international was heavily involved in what the Reds did going forward, as evidenced by his statistics from WhoScored.

His 66 touches were the most of any forward player on the pitch and that made him a danger for the Napoli defence, who did well to prevent his influence having an impact on the game.

As usual, Mane was key to everything Liverpool did in the opposition half. The forward was constantly looking at ways to test the backline and put his side ahead, and his teammates perhaps let him down as nothing materialised from the three key passes he managed.

That aspect of his game impressed all night, achieving a pass success rate of 90% which was once again the best of any forward, but ultimately he had nothing to show for his efforts.

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The 27-year-old has been impressive in front of goal this season with excellently taken goals against Southampton and Newcastle in particular, but he couldn't quite find the corners of the goal against Napoli despite his two shots on target from two attempts.

His display showed he will be important to the Reds' success in Europe once again this campaign, as he has been for the previous two. His trickery makes him a handful at the highest level and he can often be too much for defenders to cope with, as shown through his three successful dribbles.