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Napoli boss Carlo Ancelotti admits that he's "surprised" by Viktor Kassai's appointment to referee his side's Champions League clash with Liverpool.

The 43-year-old Hungarian official will oversee the clash in the Stadio San Paolo on Wednesday night, 18 months after Ancelotti said he "wasn't up to the task" of refereeing in the Champions League.

Kassai was selected for the World Cup in 2010 and oversaw the Champions League final between Barcelona and Manchester United the following year, but Ancelotti took exception to his decisions when Real Madrid knocked his Bayern Munich side out of the Champions League at the quarter-final stage in 2017.

(Image: AFP) (Image: Getty) (Image: REUTERS)

The official sent off Bayern's Arturo Vidal for two bookable offences at the Bernabeu, where a Cristiano Ronaldo goal was allowed to stand despite being clearly offside.

Real won the tie 6-3 on aggregate after the second leg had gone to extra-time.

"We had thought of everything going into this game - except the referee," Ancelotti said at the time.

"You can't decide a semi-final spot like this. It shouldn't happen at this level. The referee probably wasn't up to the task."

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When asked about the referee at Tuesday's press conference before facing the Reds, he admitted that the decisions still felt raw.

"Kassai reminds me of a bad memory for my former team and I am surprised by this appointment," he said. "Not a long time has passed. Time usually heals things, but does not cancel them."

Ancelotti joked he learned how NOT to play against Jurgen Klopp’s Reds during a 5-0 pre-season hammering in Dublin.

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The former Chelsea manager says that game "was an experience – it taught us many things, for example, how not to play against Liverpool.

"The test this time will be very difficult – but we have a lot of confidence for the match.Liverpool have now become one of the strongest teams in Europe.”

And striker Lorenzo Insigne added: “Roberto Firmino is the most decisive player. He plays between the lines and opens the spaces for team-mates.”