LFC NEWS

Liverpool fan who missed out on transfer 'dream' could be about to do Jürgen Klopp a huge favor

Liverpool.com - 7 hours 33 min ago

Liverpool resumes its push for the Premier League title this weekend following the international break. The Reds will know that, as they long as they do the business against Brighton, there’s a good chance they’ll top the table on Sunday night.

While Jürgen Klopp will of course be focused on his own side’s game, once the full-time whistle blows at Anfield, his attention will surely turn to events at the Etihad Stadium. With Manchester City hosting Arsenal, it could be a pivotal weekend in the title race.

Mikel Arteta’s side currently leads the way, sitting above Liverpool only on goal difference, but City lies just a point further back. The ideal situation for the Reds would see the two sides draw when they meet, perhaps closely followed by a win for the hosts.

READ MORE: Bayer Leverkusen star makes Liverpool 'final' prediction during training with Virgil van Dijk

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Either scenario would send Liverpool top, as long as it picks up three points against Brighton. Seeing two City stars pick up injuries in the past few days then might not have been as welcome a sight as some might imagine.

Pep Guardiola is facing major doubts over both Kyle Walker and John Stones after they both limped off on England duty. Walker was forced off after just 20 minutes against Brazil, while Stones lasted just 10 against Belgium on Tuesday.

It’s not like Guardiola is short of options though. In fact, he spent $98m (£77m/€90m) on someone who should be a pretty handy backup.

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Joško Gvardiol could well come into the reckoning to face Arsenal if Walker and Stones can’t make it. The former RB Leipzig defender hasn’t quite found his feet in the Premier League yet, and it was telling that he remained sat on the bench when City visited Anfield earlier this month.

He might be needed against the Gunners though. If so, he has the chance to do a huge favor for the team he supports.

Gvardiol revealed his affinity for Liverpool last year while discussing a possible move away from Leipzig. Speaking to Croatian TV channel RTLDanas (via TNT Sports), he said: "My dream club? That would definitely be Liverpool.

“Since I was little, I watched a lot of their matches with my dad. We covered every season in detail. It is a club that has remained in my heart."

Of course, that dream wasn’t realized when City instead swooped for the Croatian international last summer. Against Arsenal though, he might well be able to help Liverpool go a step closer to the league title.

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The signature passing moves that explain why the Premier League title race is so close

the Athletic - 7 hours 47 min ago

What if the story of the Premier League title race could be told in two passes?

Not two particular passes. Any pair of passes. Every pair, in fact.

That’s impossible to do just by watching the games. Passes wash over you hundreds at a time, week in and week out, with the non-stop ping-ping-ping of an overcaffeinated groupchat. You skim past most of them, pay attention to a few, and probably don’t remember much later except a few zingers here and there. No offence to Pep Guardiola, Jurgen Klopp and Mikel Arteta, but if you got a notification for every Premier League pass you would have muted these guys years ago.

Over time, though, the passes acquire a shape. Players start to vibe with each other. Rapports develop. Patterns proliferate like inside jokes. Lines of attack become as familiar as well-worn arguments. The basic unit of exchange is the passing pair, like a call and response: receive here like this, pass there like that. Tactics are a conversation.

Thanks to mountains of football data, we can scroll through the pass log and take the measure of the entire season, one pair of passes at a time, until the personality of each team emerges from the deluge of details. Whoever wins this very tight Premier League race — and at this point, frankly, your bet is as good as anyone’s — it will go down as a contest not just of wills but of contrasting styles of play.

But we’re already getting ahead of ourselves. Let’s start with how Arsenal became boring — and scary good.

Arsenal

The last time we saw the current Premier League leaders in league play, they were slowly squashing Brentford like one of those hydraulic press videos.

For minutes on end, Arsenal would win the ball in the opposing half, swing it out to the wing, combine, attack, counter-press, repeat. In the rare moments they didn’t have possession, they weren’t so much defending as tapping their toes and checking their watches, waiting for the ball to fall out of the sky so they could run the whole thing back again.

Maybe this sort of football is fun for you. For the colour commentator on TV, it seemed to offend some sense of fairness, though he dressed it up as a tactical concern.

“Sometimes they’ve got to try and let Brentford out a little bit in order to find a bit of space,” he complained as Arsenal squeezed ever closer to Brentford’s goal. “When you pen a team in for long periods, there’s very little room to get behind them.”

Even as he spoke, Arsenal were doing their thing again. The ball swung from left to right around their high back line, making its way to Ben White in the right half-space. He shovelled a diagonal pass out to Bukayo Saka on the wing, jogged forward 10 yards or so, and got the ball back in space after Saka had drawn a double-team on the wing.

White didn’t launch it into the box right away. Instead he waited for Martin Odegaard and Kai Havertz to twist around each other, scrambling their markers, then slipped a short pass straight ahead to Havertz, who tapped it back to Odegaard a few yards away. Arsenal were bunched together in close quarters now, playing piggy-in-the-middle at the corner of the penalty area.

Still they refused to cross it. They played low and short and fast, always at the edge of the box. After a few more passes and rotations, Odegaard shook free and split the defence with a dagger to Havertz, whose first-time shot was blocked. No problem. All that combination play had shrunk Brentford down until Arsenal’s centre-backs had crept all the way up to the final third. They won the ball back again, combined on the wings again, and kept the routine up for several breathless minutes until, finally, White found Declan Rice for a goal.

This is who Arsenal are now. They’ll strangle the life out of you. Arteta likes to talk about “suffocating” opponents with one of the world’s best high presses. “More than control, I want dominance,” the manager said. “Dominance in the right area and not allowing the opponent to breathe. This is what we do.”

Weird as it sounds given their total of 33 goals in eight games this year, Arsenal are a defensive team these days. Their 0.64 non-penalty expected goals allowed per game are the best by any team other than Man City in Europe’s big five leagues in at least the last seven seasons. It’s stingier than even City themselves have been in the last two. But just like Pep Guardiola’s side, whose meticulous possession play is really about defensive structure, Arsenal’s stranglehold on the game starts with how they pass.

That innocuous one-two out to the winger and back? That tiny third-man pattern at the corner of the box? These are the subtle hallmarks of Arsenal’s suffocating new style.

This is the part of the story where pass pairs come in. By clustering every two consecutive passes in the same possession from the last six seasons — more than a million pairs in total — into 300 broadly similar types, we can break teams’ possession patterns down to tiny fragments to take their tactical fingerprint.

Out of the 300 types, Arsenal have done some version of the short up-and-back pattern near the right corner of the box 110 times this season, for 0.9 per cent of their total pass pairs. That’s not all that much in the grand scheme of things, only about four times a game, but it’s way, way more than most teams — over five standard deviations from the Premier League average.

If you had to forge Arsenal’s signature from pure passing data, it would look like a cramped little scribble on the right wing.

Arteta’s team didn’t play like this a couple years ago. As recently as 2021-22, Arsenal were pretty good at passing the ball but not so great at “dominance in the right area.” Their field tilt, or share of both teams’ attacking-third touches, was just 57 per cent back in those faster, looser days, far less than the 71 per cent now. They used to let you breathe.

The dominance that Arteta craved began on the wings. As Saka and Odegaard matured into one of the world’s best attacking partnerships, White started slinking up the sideline to support them. The trio aren’t just the heartbeat of Arsenal’s chance creation. While their patient combinations nibble away at the edge of the opposition, the centre-backs and Rice inch forward behind them to tighten the noose in rest defence. When they lose the ball, Arsenal are right on top of it, ready to recycle it to the wings. It’s a virtuous — and sometimes virtually endless — cycle.

For years, Arsenal’s scattered pass pairs betrayed a team in search of a style. This season, all those tight exchanges at the corner of the box look like nothing so much as fingers wrapped around a throat.

While Arsenal are busy slowing the game down, Liverpool are stomping on the gas.

Even though they’ve never been as patient as City, Jurgen Klopp’s team used to be England’s second-most circulating side. You may remember their glory days of 2019-20 for the flurry of long-range balls that took defences by storm — and they certainly did plenty of that, at least compared to Guardiola’s short-passing machine — but their signature pass pairs back then involved a lot of sideways play at the halfway line as they poked around for an opening to rain down fire.

Lately they’ve become something else entirely.

In 2021-22, when Thiago Alcantara shifted to his favoured left side and took over the team, Liverpool began passing through midfield much more than they had before. Last season the squad underwent an awkward, injury-riddled rebuild and sat deeper, sometimes struggling to get out of their half.

This season’s edition of Liverpool split the difference: they still play through the middle, but they go fast.

Why go through midfield? Because that’s where Trent Alexander-Arnold, who remains Liverpool’s most important ball progressor, hangs out these days.

Over the last couple of years, Alexander-Arnold and Mohamed Salah have swapped channels. Salah has moved from the right half-space out to the wing, where he can find more space to play facing goal, while Alexander-Arnold has tucked in to access more of the pitch as an inside full-back, or half-back.

To some extent they’ve even traded signature passing pairs. From 2018 to 2021, the narrower Salah loved to receive a short pass from left to right in the centre of the attacking third and stab a finishing ball into the left side of the box. That’s an Alexander-Arnold special now.

On the other hand, for each of the previous five seasons, one of Alexander-Arnold’s trademark patterns involved receiving a lateral pass out on the right wing and launching a diagonal cross into the box for a striker or box-crashing left winger to run onto. Now Salah does that exact same pass pair nearly as often as Alexander-Arnold used to. (Not coincidentally, his expected assists per 90 minutes are at an all-time high, more than double last season’s average.)

But Liverpool’s need for speed isn’t just about the players on the ball — it’s also about the runners.

In the old days, Roberto Firmino would drop into midfield from the centre-forward slot while Salah and Sadio Mane ran in behind from the wings, forming a sort of narrow V-shape up top.

This season, with human cannonball Darwin Nunez at striker and the snaky Luis Diaz out on the left, that V has flipped upside-down to become an arrow aimed straight at goal.

Unlike Firmino, Nunez is a tireless depth runner who loves to stretch the back line to its snapping point. Diaz plays wider than Mane used to and prefers the ball to his feet so he can dribble at defenders. Together they open space between the lines for Liverpool’s rotating cast of young attacking midfielders to push the tempo through the middle.

The result is a very good team that doesn’t play much like other elite sides. When algorithmically sorted by their passing pair preferences, teams tend to gather into six or so general styles of play: those that circulate in the attacking half like Arsenal or Manchester City, those that launch it up the wings like Brentford or Everton, and so on. Then there’s Liverpool, whose deep passing and fast attacks have more in common with Chelsea or even Burnley than the high-control group that usually wins titles — a group Liverpool themselves were in last time they won the league.

(Suhaimi Abdullah/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Not many teams can play direct and still dominate games, but that’s what the last, latest draft of Klopp’s Liverpool manage to do. By direct speed, a measure of vertical yards gained per second in open play, they’re the ninth-fastest team in the Premier League. That’s almost unheard of from a title contender in the era of positional play.

The glue that holds Liverpool’s game together is that they still find a way to press effectively — not a slow, compact, suffocating defence like Arsenal’s, but a high-speed barrage of bodies chasing after the ball, a sort of youthful tribute act to Klopp’s old heavy metal days.

This frantic Slinky-down-the-stairs style — stretching the game vertically, then squishing from behind — is exhausting and sometimes porous, but it works. This season’s defending, Klopp says, “is much clearer again. Offensive line, the way it starts, the high press, the midfield press, everywhere, it is clearer they are all in. That makes a difference.”

If Liverpool can keep having their cake and eating it — demolishing opponents with long balls to a line-stretching striker and spiky progressive passing pairs through their box midfield, all backed up by a relentless press — Klopp might just go out in one last blaze of glory.

Manchester City

Man City are still Man City. What’s left to say about a team that have been the best in the world for what feels like half a lifetime?

They still smother opponents high up the pitch. They still pass and move majestically, as if all eleven players are programmed in some secret mathematical language no mortal has managed to crack. They still have Erling Haaland stamping around the box like a cranky T. Rex with a man bun, gobbling up Premier League centre-backs for brunch.

Except, for some reason, it’s not working quite as well as it used to.

Compared to 2021-22, the last year Before the Haaland Era (BHE), City’s points per game rate has slipped from 2.45 to 2.25, their goal difference from +1.92 per game to +1.25, their expected goal difference from +1.68 per game to a downright pedestrian +1.04. It’s enough to make a perfectionist like Guardiola tear his hair out.

Along the way, City cast off old and unwanted players, signed a platoon of new talents and retooled to become bigger, faster, stronger and dribblier than ever. They’ve still become measurably worse.

The pass pair data doesn’t offer many hints as to where a screw or two may have wriggled loose. City’s signature patterns still show the same high circulation that’s always made Guardiola’s side a surefire winner. So why aren’t they — you know — winning quite as much as they used to?

One easy answer is that the players doing the circulating have changed.

City have spent most of this season without an injured Kevin De Bruyne — a massive loss, obviously — but he’s been capably backed up by Julian Alvarez and Phil Foden, who’s in the form of his life. Jack Grealish, a key figure in the treble run a year ago, has been injured a lot and often relegated to the bench, but only because Jeremy Doku hit the ground running past every defender in sight. John Stones has been in and out of the lineup, too, although this kind of thing happens all the time in Guardiola world without seeming to dent the team much.

(Alex Livesey/Getty Images)

There’s been no seismic shift in the stylistic data, no single easy explanation to make the decline make sense. A lot of piecemeal changes have left this team just a little bit creakier at both ends of the pitch — enough, in this season of small margins, to keep things very interesting.

And yet one key data point hasn’t changed: even now, one point behind two very good teams with 10 games to go, City remain comfortable favourites for the title, just as they’ve been all along.

Maybe pass pair data doesn’t hold all the secrets to football. But what else outside Pep Guardiola’s brain possibly could?

(Header photos: Getty Images)

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Categories: LFC NEWS

The signature passing moves that explain why the Premier League title race is so close

theAthletic.com - 7 hours 47 min ago
The 2023-24 title battle is contest not just of wills but of contrasting styles of play
Categories: LFC NEWS, More News

Liverpool were ridiculed after transfer saga but £60m snub has been blessing in disguise

LiverpoolEcho.co.uk - 8 hours 18 min ago
Liverpool did make a major summer play for Romeo Lavia, whose move to Chelsea has been wrecked by injury
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Liverpool were ridiculed after transfer saga but £60m snub has been blessing in disguise

icLiverpool.co.uk - 8 hours 18 min ago
Liverpool did make a major summer play for Romeo Lavia, whose move to Chelsea has been wrecked by injury
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Appointing a Liverpool manager: A guide to the dos and don’ts

the Athletic - 8 hours 48 min ago

To understand how Liverpool are going about hiring their next manager, it’s worth reviewing how they appointed the current one almost nine years ago. 

Ian Ayre, who was the club’s chief executive, made first contact with targets.

Two of those conversations produced interviews, the first with Carlo Ancelotti and the second with Jurgen Klopp. Both men flew to the United States, where Liverpool’s owners Fenway Sports Group (FSG) are based, following dialogue instigated by Ayre. 

Klopp’s agent Marc Kosicke was wary of pranksters, which resulted in a video call to ensure the person at the other end of the line was genuine. From there, the process of getting a deal done for Klopp was relatively straightforward. Kosicke told Ayre his client was interested and a meeting was arranged with FSG in New York City at the offices of law firm, Slaughter and May.

That setting sounded ideal to Klopp, believing it lowered the chances of him getting recognised — though things didn’t turn out that way.

In Munich at the start of his trip, he was stopped by flight attendants who wanted a photograph; when he got out of his car in Midtown Manhattan, he was spotted by a German exchange student who asked for a selfie; then, at his hotel, a tourist from Mainz — the German city where Klopp first entered management with Mainz 05 in 2001 after a decade playing for the club and spent a further seven years in the dugout — wanted to talk to him, as did as a group of holidaying Turkish football fans.

Still though, nobody made the link between Klopp and the decision-makers at FSG, who had travelled from the U.S. cities of Boston and Los Angeles to consider the options in front of them.

The opinion of Michael Edwards was considered, a person whose significance at the club had been marked by a promotion to technical director barely six weeks earlier, but the final call was ultimately made by the owners. From then on, FSG president Mike Gordon was largely the point of contact for Kosicke and Klopp. 

Klopp with Liverpool’s then managing director Ayre, left, and chairman Tom Werner on his appointment in 2015 (Paul Ellis/AFP via Getty Images)

The story is a reminder that Liverpool are entering new territory, as the club sources Klopp’s replacement.

Maybe football gets too hung up on job titles, but the role of sporting director didn’t exist when Klopp succeeded Brendan Rodgers at Anfield in October 2015. It is perhaps more significant, however, that any comparable position did not carry the same level of responsibilities.

Things are different at Liverpool now, as the club head into a new era with Edwards effectively replacing Gordon as the FSG man closest to ground level and Richard Hughes, the new sporting director arriving from fellow Premier League side Bournemouth, leading the managerial search.

FSG wants more decisions to be made on Merseyside and when each prospective candidate sits in front of Liverpool officials, it will be Edwards and Hughes especially they will need to impress – a departure from how things have been done in the past.

While many of the people involved in each of these decisions had served Liverpool for a number of years, thus gaining an understanding of the special demands imposed on any manager, Hughes’ very first call, operating in unfamiliar territory after nearly a decade at Bournemouth, could prove to be his biggest.

So what are some of the dos and don’ts of how to hire a Liverpool manager?

Don’t be blinded by process

If recent history teaches us anything, it is that there is no one ‘right’ way to appoint a Liverpool manager. 

Before Klopp, Rodgers was recruited ahead of the 2012-13 season on the strength of a presentation he gave to FSG, which involved a 180-page dossier.

Before Rodgers, FSG leaned on Kenny Dalglish to re-establish a sense of identity that had been lost under Roy Hodgson, who was hired in summer 2010 by a combination of Ayre, managing director Christian Purslow and temporary chairman Martin Broughton during a period where the club were up for sale and their owners, American businessmen Tom Hicks and George Gillett, were unable to agree on pretty much anything.

Before Hodgson, Rafa Benitez got the nod in 2004 because chief executive Rick Parry and owner David Moores believed he could do at Liverpool what he’d achieved at Spain’s Valencia, where he had steered a team on a much lower budget than Real Madrid and Barcelona to two domestic titles.

Before Benitez, in 1998, Gerard Houllier was recommended by secretary Peter Robinson, who thought Liverpool needed to embrace European methods to move forward, which seemed like a giant leap at the time, seeing each of the club’s previous five managers could be viewed in some way as an “in-house” choice, given already established associations.

Embrace Europe – but without breaking the bank

While Edwards has never recruited a manager, Hughes has experience from as recently as last summer, when he brought Andoni Iraola to Bournemouth after making the surprise decision to part with Gary O’Neil, who had stepped up from an assistant role following the August 2022 sacking of Scott Parker, less than four months after he’d delivered promotion, and kept them in the Premier League.

At Madrid’s Rayo Vallecano, Iraola had taken an unfashionable club into European competition — a feat those running Bournemouth might like to achieve too at some point. The same thought process should be applied to Liverpool, as it was under Klopp, when he arrived with a track record of winning titles at Borussia Dortmund ahead of rivals with much greater resources while also going far in Europe.

To a large degree, the remit for the Liverpool manager has never changed: show you are streetwise enough to balance ambitions domestically and abroad and you’ll be fine.

There was an exception to this rule – Hodgson, who arrived at Anfield fresh from reaching the Europa League final against the odds with Fulham. The west Londoners, however, finished 12th in that same 2009-10 season, after coming seventh under Hodgson the year before. Neither of those league positions would ever be received positively at Liverpool. 

Hodgson’s six months is the shortest reign of any manager in Liverpool’s history. Though he failed because of results, albeit at a difficult time as the club’s financial problems illustrated, he also failed because of what he said, and quite often, what he did not.

Hodgson took Fulham to the 2009-10 Europa League final (Christof Koepsel/Getty Images)Misfits are welcome

It would be tempting to conclude that Liverpool managers need to be great communicators but neither Benitez, nor Bob Paisley before him in the 1970s and 1980s, fall into that category. They were awkward, but such personality traits were overlooked because of their achievements.

It is often said – certainly since the days of Bill Shankly (1959-74) – that any Liverpool manager does not just represent the club but the city. It is a civic duty, and anyone taking the job must, at least, have some appreciation for what the place has been through.

Anyone who has spent time in Benitez’s company will tell you he falls to the right politically, but it is more accurate anyway to say Liverpool is a city in opposition to the establishment rather than left-leaning.

A misfit like Benitez, who was perceived as being a misunderstood character, managed to fit in.

Benitez was loved by Liverpool fans (Alex Livesey/Getty Images)Tactics

For Hughes, there are also tactics to consider. Or more accurately, the style of the team any managerial appointment would bring. 

Match-going Liverpool fans have rarely cared that much about this sort of thing, so long as the team won. It has become more of a talking point, however, over the last decade, with the voices of a global fanbase becoming more prominent.

Everyone wants to see gegenpressing and tiki-taka, preferably both at the same time. For Hughes, the only consideration should be this: can the incoming manager get a tune out of the majority of the players he is inheriting? 

Most are young enough, talented enough and smart enough to understand what it takes to transition from a Klopp demand, to say, a Xabi Alonso demand — which might involve more touches of the ball.

Sentiment doesn’t guarantee success

A decision to appoint Bayer Leverkusen coach Alonso might also involve sentiment, given that he was a part of the Benitez midfield that won the Champions League in 2005, which helped him become a hugely popular figure at Liverpool. 

That is not a bad thing, with fans probably more inclined to give a returning hero some leeway if results do not click immediately, but even at a club as conscious of their history as Liverpool, it should not be considered a guarantee of success.

Graeme Souness’ illustrious history as a player with Liverpool did not help him deliver the required amount of silverware as manager in the early 1990s and while Roy Evans engineered a revival, it was still not enough to win the title. Dalglish’s comeback after Hodgson departed in January 2011 lifted fans’ spirits, and he won the League Cup 13 months later, but Liverpool ended that 2011-12 season in eighth place, their lowest league finish since 1993-94.

Souness’ Liverpool return did not end well (Daniel Smith/Allsport/Getty Images/Hulton Archive)

Alonso would still seem an obvious choice, mainly because he has transformed an underachieving Leverkusen team into one that is likely to end Bayern Munich’s run of 11 straight titles in Germany’s Bundesliga, and one which has not suffered in Europe due to their domestic pursuit.

Even if it is not Alonso – whose sample size of work is small, as he has only managed at a senior level for 17 months – in the dugout come August, Hughes would be well advised to remember that the more things change, the more they stay the same.

go-deeper

GO DEEPER

If not Xabi Alonso then who? Analysing Liverpool's Plan B managerial options

(Top photos: Getty Images)

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Categories: LFC NEWS

Appointing a Liverpool manager: A guide to the dos and don’ts

theAthletic.com - 8 hours 48 min ago
Lessons from history in how to hire the perfect coach for Anfield (and why it's not straightforward)
Categories: LFC NEWS, More News

I played with Harvey Elliott and Fabio Carvalho at Fulham but now I'm at Bootle - I know I can get back to the top

LiverpoolEcho.co.uk - 9 hours 18 min ago
Interview with Fulham's former Liverpool-born starlet Sonny Hilton, who is aiming to work his way back up the football pyramid after a dazzling youth career
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I played with Harvey Elliott and Fabio Carvalho at Fulham but now I'm at Bootle - I know I can get back to the top

icLiverpool.co.uk - 9 hours 18 min ago
Interview with Fulham's former Liverpool-born starlet Sonny Hilton, who is aiming to work his way back up the football pyramid after a dazzling youth career
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Liverpool, Man City and Arsenal injuries that could have big say in Premier League title race

LiverpoolEcho.co.uk - 11 hours 18 min ago
The Premier League's top three return to action this weekend with more injury worries to contend with after a costly international break
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Liverpool, Man City and Arsenal injuries that could have big say in Premier League title race

icLiverpool.co.uk - 11 hours 18 min ago
The Premier League's top three return to action this weekend with more injury worries to contend with after a costly international break
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Virgil van Dijk reality becomes obvious as three Liverpool players being left behind

LiverpoolEcho.co.uk - 13 hours 18 min ago
How Liverpool's players have been rated by the ECHO so far this season with Virgil van Dijk, Harvey Elliott and Cody Gakpo all causing a stir
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Virgil van Dijk reality becomes obvious as three Liverpool players being left behind

icLiverpool.co.uk - 13 hours 18 min ago
How Liverpool's players have been rated by the ECHO so far this season with Virgil van Dijk, Harvey Elliott and Cody Gakpo all causing a stir
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LFC Globe

LFC Globe - Wed, 03/27/2024 - 23:51
LFC Globe http://www.lfcglobe.co.uk/ Liverpool FC News Wed, 27 Mar 2024 20:10:04 +0000 en-GB hourly 1 https://lfcglobe.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/cropped-LFC_globe_symbol_red-32x32.png LFC Globe http://www.lfcglobe.co.uk/ 32 32 Inside Anfield: A Closer Look at Liverpool FC Players https://lfcglobe.co.uk/inside-anfield-a-closer-look-at-liverpool-fc-players/ https://lfcglobe.co.uk/inside-anfield-a-closer-look-at-liverpool-fc-players/#disqus_thread Wed, 27 Mar 2024 20:10:01 +0000 https://lfcglobe.co.uk/?p=105248 The 2024 squad consists of experience­d stars and fresh faces. Their te­am's talent is varied and impressive­. This page provides details about the­ Liverpool players for the 2024 se­ason. You'll find information on their skills, roles, and strategie­s. Liverpool Fan's Love for Betting on Red Liverpool are not only a te­am - it's a passion […]

This article (Inside Anfield: A Closer Look at Liverpool FC Players) was originally published on LFC Globe. Follow us on Twitter for all the latest Liverpool FC news.

]]> https://lfcglobe.co.uk/inside-anfield-a-closer-look-at-liverpool-fc-players/feed/ 0 Who Would You Rather Want As Manager Of Liverpool: Steven Gerrard Or Xabi Alonso? https://lfcglobe.co.uk/who-would-you-rather-want-as-manager-of-liverpool-steven-gerrard-or-xabi-alonso/ https://lfcglobe.co.uk/who-would-you-rather-want-as-manager-of-liverpool-steven-gerrard-or-xabi-alonso/#disqus_thread Mon, 25 Mar 2024 12:50:10 +0000 https://lfcglobe.co.uk/?p=105241 Given both players are Liverpool legends, it's certainly a tough question to ask but nevertheless, it's one that is an interesting one to ask. Despite their almost identical ages with Steven Gerrard being 43 years old and Xabi Alonso 42 years of age, they are no doubt at different stages of their managerial careers. With […]

This article (Who Would You Rather Want As Manager Of Liverpool: Steven Gerrard Or Xabi Alonso?) was originally published on LFC Globe. Follow us on Twitter for all the latest Liverpool FC news.

]]> https://lfcglobe.co.uk/who-would-you-rather-want-as-manager-of-liverpool-steven-gerrard-or-xabi-alonso/feed/ 0 Are Liverpool In Danger Of Being Surpassed By Newcastle United? https://lfcglobe.co.uk/are-liverpool-in-danger-of-being-surpassed-by-newcastle-united/ https://lfcglobe.co.uk/are-liverpool-in-danger-of-being-surpassed-by-newcastle-united/#disqus_thread Sun, 24 Mar 2024 09:31:18 +0000 https://lfcglobe.co.uk/?p=105237 This is a question some fans may have an issue with considering Newcastle have not yet won any trophies since being taken over by Public Investment Fund - the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia. However, their quick ascent to the top four of the Premier League has occurred much faster than many thought it […]

This article (Are Liverpool In Danger Of Being Surpassed By Newcastle United?) was originally published on LFC Globe. Follow us on Twitter for all the latest Liverpool FC news.

]]> https://lfcglobe.co.uk/are-liverpool-in-danger-of-being-surpassed-by-newcastle-united/feed/ 0 Is Andy Robertson’s Time At Liverpool Numbered? https://lfcglobe.co.uk/is-andy-robertsons-time-at-liverpool-numbered/ https://lfcglobe.co.uk/is-andy-robertsons-time-at-liverpool-numbered/#disqus_thread Sat, 23 Mar 2024 17:29:42 +0000 https://lfcglobe.co.uk/?p=105230 Andy Robertson is a player that Liverpool fans have always been able to rely on. Since arriving at the club in 2017 from Hull City, he's played over 30 games in all competitions in every season he's sported a Liverpool kit. He's less than 25 games away from reaching 300 appearances for Liverpool in just […]

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]]> https://lfcglobe.co.uk/is-andy-robertsons-time-at-liverpool-numbered/feed/ 0 Reds Cup Run Dry: Liverpool Falls in Extra Time To United https://lfcglobe.co.uk/reds-cup-run-dry-liverpool-falls-in-extra-time-to-united/ https://lfcglobe.co.uk/reds-cup-run-dry-liverpool-falls-in-extra-time-to-united/#disqus_thread Wed, 20 Mar 2024 20:47:32 +0000 https://lfcglobe.co.uk/?p=105223 Manchester United scored in the final moments of extra time to defeat Liverpool in an agonizing fashion 4-3 and knock the Reds out of the FA Cup. Liverpool had the lead at two different points in the match and were just three minutes away from advancing, but they could not hold the lead as Amad […]

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]]> https://lfcglobe.co.uk/reds-cup-run-dry-liverpool-falls-in-extra-time-to-united/feed/ 0 Confirmed Lineups Manchester United vs Liverpool (FA Cup) https://lfcglobe.co.uk/confirmed-lineups-manchester-united-vs-liverpool-fa-cup/ https://lfcglobe.co.uk/confirmed-lineups-manchester-united-vs-liverpool-fa-cup/#disqus_thread Sun, 17 Mar 2024 15:04:32 +0000 https://lfcglobe.co.uk/?p=105216 Liverpool have made three changes in the Starting XI. Ryan Gravenberch is restored to the bench after an injury, while the captain Virgil van Djjk and Alexis MacAllister return to the starting lineup. Manchester United have plenty of firepower in their lineup as well with names like Rashford and McTominay on the pitch. Manchester United […]

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]]> https://lfcglobe.co.uk/confirmed-lineups-manchester-united-vs-liverpool-fa-cup/feed/ 0 Liverpool Look For Luck In Saint Patrick's Day Tie With United https://lfcglobe.co.uk/liverpool-look-for-luck-in-saint-patricks-day-tie-with-united/ https://lfcglobe.co.uk/liverpool-look-for-luck-in-saint-patricks-day-tie-with-united/#disqus_thread Sun, 17 Mar 2024 13:48:34 +0000 https://lfcglobe.co.uk/?p=105212 Premier League rivals Liverpool and Manchester United meet in the 5th Round of the FA Cup on Saint Patrick's Day (March 17th) at Old Trafford. A win would be the 300th of Jürgen Klopp's Liverpool career and take the boss one step closer to lifting another trophy in his Liverpool swansong. Quotable Klopp It doesn't […]

This article (Liverpool Look For Luck In Saint Patrick's Day Tie With United) was originally published on LFC Globe. Follow us on Twitter for all the latest Liverpool FC news.

]]> https://lfcglobe.co.uk/liverpool-look-for-luck-in-saint-patricks-day-tie-with-united/feed/ 0 Liverpool Put Six Past Sparta: Advance To Europa Quarter Finals https://lfcglobe.co.uk/liverpool-put-six-past-sparta-advance-to-europa-quarter-finals/ https://lfcglobe.co.uk/liverpool-put-six-past-sparta-advance-to-europa-quarter-finals/#disqus_thread Sat, 16 Mar 2024 19:22:25 +0000 https://lfcglobe.co.uk/?p=105207 Liverpool probably did not need to score past Sparta Prague to advance to the Europa League quarterfinals as they were already up 5-1 on aggregate, but they did anyway. By the time the referee blew his whistle for full-time, the Reds had scored six times in a 6-1 victory, which was more than enough to […]

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]]> https://lfcglobe.co.uk/liverpool-put-six-past-sparta-advance-to-europa-quarter-finals/feed/ 0 Confirmed Lineups: Liverpool vs Sparta Prague https://lfcglobe.co.uk/confirmed-lineups-liverpool-vs-sparta-prague/ https://lfcglobe.co.uk/confirmed-lineups-liverpool-vs-sparta-prague/#disqus_thread Thu, 14 Mar 2024 19:44:13 +0000 https://lfcglobe.co.uk/?p=105199 Liverpool aren't holding anything back with this lineup vs. Sparta Prague. Mohamed Salah gets the start alongside Darwin Núñez and Cody Gakpo. Andy Robertson returns to the defence, so the Reds should have little trouble building on a 5-1 aggregate lead. Liverpool Starters Kelleher, Gomez, Endo, Szoboszlai, Núñez, Salah, Gakpo, Robertson, Clark, Quansah, Bradley Substitutes: […]

This article (Confirmed Lineups: Liverpool vs Sparta Prague) was originally published on LFC Globe. Follow us on Twitter for all the latest Liverpool FC news.

]]> https://lfcglobe.co.uk/confirmed-lineups-liverpool-vs-sparta-prague/feed/ 0 Liverpool vs. Sparta Prague: The Reds Continue Their Europa League Journey in Prague https://lfcglobe.co.uk/liverpool-vs-sparta-prague-the-reds-continue-their-europa-league-journey-in-prague/ https://lfcglobe.co.uk/liverpool-vs-sparta-prague-the-reds-continue-their-europa-league-journey-in-prague/#disqus_thread Thu, 14 Mar 2024 19:18:57 +0000 https://lfcglobe.co.uk/?p=105195 Liverpool have one foot in the quarter-finals of the Europa League as they host Czech champions Sparta Prague in the second leg of their Round of 16 tie on Thursday (March 14). The Reds enjoyed a stunning 5-1 victory in the Czech Republic last week in the first leg in what was an impressive performance […]

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]]> https://lfcglobe.co.uk/liverpool-vs-sparta-prague-the-reds-continue-their-europa-league-journey-in-prague/feed/ 0

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Why Mohamed Salah and Darwin Núñez didn't play in international break amid Liverpool title boost

Liverpool.com - Wed, 03/27/2024 - 20:00

As Liverpool prepares to return to action this weekend, Jürgen Klopp will be hoping for some good news on the injury front. The German already looks as though he’ll have another name to add to his list of absentees following the international break.

The Reds will be back at Anfield on Sunday as they take on Brighton, with the Premier League title race nearing its conclusion. With just 10 games left, there will be little room for any slip-ups now.

Liverpool will know it has to make the most of its opportunity against Brighton, with Manchester City and Arsenal meeting straight after. If things go according to plan, the Reds could end the weekend back at the top of the table, and potentially with a two-point lead if it ends as a draw at the Etihad.

READ MORE: Liverpool transfer news as 'offer made' for Mohamed Salah heir and $87m star tipped for Anfield

READ MORE: 'I'll show up' - Kate Abdo's partner sends warning to Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher after joke

Klopp though looks as though he will be planning for that game against Roberto De Zerbi’s side without Andy Robertson, after he was forced off in Scotland’s game against Northern Ireland with an ankle problem. The left-back will undergo a scan, but it does look likely he could face another spell on the sidelines.

That aside, it was an encouraging international break for Liverpool, not least because two of its most important stars avoided any action. Mohamed Salah and Darwin Núñez were notable for their absence for Egypt and Uruguay respectively, something which Klopp will no doubt be pleased with.

Despite making his return from a hamstring injury just before the break, Salah was left out of Egypt’s squad following a request from Liverpool for the forward to continue his recovery on Merseyside. The Pharaohs, perhaps somewhat reluctantly, obliged.

Egypt’s Minister of Youth and Sports, Ashraf Sobhy, explained to ONSport Radio: "[Salah] is adhering to a rehabilitation regimen and gradually returning to match fitness. That is why there is no necessity to call him up while he is not fully fit.

"After discussions with [the national team's head coach], Hossam Hassan, we agreed that he should stay with his club, [Liverpool].”

The decision may have caused some friction in Salah’s homeland. The 31-year-old faced criticism after he returned to Liverpool from the Africa Cup of Nations following his injury at the tournament, although it should be noted that he had been planned to return but for Egypt’s exit at the last-16 stage.

"Salah is an irreplaceable asset to the national team, and his presence in the squad adds value to players. We had hoped for his participation," Hassan told reporters in Cairo earlier this month (via The New Arab).

"We cannot force a player to join the team… [And] we do not want to jeopardize his full performance following his injury," Hassan added.

As for Núñez, the 24-year-old was withdrawn from international duty with Uruguay after picking up a hamstring issue in the FA Cup defeat to Manchester United. Klopp though did add that he hoped the problem “was not too bad”, so he should hopefully be fit for the weekend.

Liverpool.com says: Fingers crossed there are no nasty surprises in store when Klopp speaks to the media on Friday. It was something of a bonus that Salah and Núñez weren’t involved for their countries during the international break — Liverpool certainly needs their goals as we approach the business end of the season.

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'I am aware' - Cody Gakpo responds to Liverpool criticism with firm message to doubters

LiverpoolEcho.co.uk - Wed, 03/27/2024 - 19:56
Cody Gakpo joined Liverpool from PSV during the 2023 January transfer window
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'I am aware' - Cody Gakpo responds to Liverpool criticism with firm message to doubters

icLiverpool.co.uk - Wed, 03/27/2024 - 19:56
Cody Gakpo joined Liverpool from PSV during the 2023 January transfer window
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Liverpool transfer news as 'offer made' for Mohamed Salah heir and $87m star tipped for Anfield

Liverpool.com - Wed, 03/27/2024 - 19:00

Liverpool is fast approaching a huge summer at the club, with fresh faces set to arrive in both the dugout and in the first-team squad. However, before any signings are made, the club must appoint Jürgen Klopp's successor as his nine-year reign at Anfield comes to an end.

While there are many options and no final decision has been made yet, the hierarchy at Liverpool has been busy behind the scenes after making two vital appointments ahead of next season. Former sporting director Michael Edwards has now been announced as the new CEO of Football for FSG, while Richard Hughes will occupy the sporting director role at Anfield after Jörg Schmadtke's exit in January.

Now these roles are filled, Liverpool can focus on who is the right candidate to succeed Klopp and what signings the new boss will need to continue the strong work the German boss has conducted at the club. Liverpool currently sits level on points with Arsenal at the top of the Premier League table, has already secured the Carabao Cup for 2023/24 and has progressed into the latter stages of the Europa League.

READ MORE: 'I'll show up' - Kate Abdo's partner sends warning to Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher after joke

READ MORE: Liverpool injury blow can’t hide major Liverpool boost Jürgen Klopp’s successor will enjoy too

Here is the Liverpool.com verdict on the transfer gossip to emerge around possible additions to the Reds today, including a Serie A star and an exciting striker.

Federico Chiesa (Juventus)

Liverpool has submitted an offer to sign Juventus winger Federico Chiesa this summer, according to Fabio Santini from TV Play. The 26-year-old has been heavily linked with a move to the Premier League in recent transfer windows, with the Reds now reportedly solidifying an interest in the Italian international.

Mohamed Salah, 31, is approaching the final year of his contract at Anfield and with his long-term future currently undecided, plans could be made for life without him. Chiesa is one of the options reportedly being considered by the club, given his ability to occupy Salah's position in the team.

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“There are offers on Chiesa from the big names in the Premier League," Santini said. "In particular from Liverpool. By selling Chiesa they take home around 40-45 million, with that figure Juventus can go knocking on [Mateo] Retegui’s door.”

Liverpool.com says: While Chiesa is capable of playing the same position as Salah, whether or not he can give the same output as the Egyptian remains to be seen. He has seven goals and two assists in the top flight of Italian football, which is some way off Salah's contribution of 15 goals and nine assists so far.

Joshua Zirkzee (Bologna)

Bologna forward Joshua Zirkzee has been backed to complete a stunning move to Liverpool in the future by a former coach. The 22-year-old has ten goals and three assists in 26 starts for the Serie A side and is now attracting the interest of top clubs across Europe.

Speaking in an interview with Sport Italia, former coach Ferry Verbeek said: “I think he (Zirkzee) would definitely have a bright future at Milan. At Liverpool or Barcelona. However, he would be better off in his element, with a lot of pressure up front and a lot of ball possession.”

According to La Gazzetta via The Faithful, the Italian side is set to demand a figure in the region of $87m (£69m/€80m) to part ways with Zirkzee in the future. The player is currently contracted until 2026 with the likes of Manchester United reportedly registering an interest in the Netherlands U21 international.

Liverpool.com says: While Zirkzee will be a coveted talent across world football, Liverpool is relatively well-prepped in the forward areas after investing in players such as Darwin Núñez, Cody Gakpo and Diogo Jota. Zirkzee is capable of playing on the right wing, although his favoured position is as a striker, meaning Liverpool should likely spend any cash on a genuine heir to Salah's throne in the coming transfer windows.

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Manchester United and Liverpool to launch programme to tackle tragedy chanting

the Athletic - Wed, 03/27/2024 - 18:39

Liverpool and Manchester United have announced that the club’s foundations have launched a joint programme to tackle tragedy chanting in football.

Tragedy-related abuse is an ongoing issue within the game — particularly with Liverpool and United supporters in recent weeks — with supporters referencing Hillsborough, the Heysel disaster, and the Munich air disaster in an attempt to taunt opposition fans.

The two Premier League clubs, who meet again at Old Trafford on April 7 following their FA Cup encounter at the same venue earlier this month, will hold a programme alongside the Premier League, aiming to teach school children and young fans about the impact of tragedy chanting.

“This is a hugely important event which both clubs are committed to making happen every year,” said Matt Parish, CEO of LFC Foundation.

“Education is key, alongside appropriate action, to eradicating vile tragedy chanting in all its forms forever, and we’re delighted to be able do our bit to help.”

John Shiels, CEO of Manchester United Foundation, added: “It is unacceptable to use the loss of life, in relation to any tragedy, to score points, and it is time for it to stop.

“We are proud to come together with LFC Foundation as we believe education will break the generational cycle on this issue and help thousands of young people across this region understand the impact tragedy-related abuse has.”

Greater Manchester Police (GMP) made an arrest following reports of alleged “tragedy chanting” in the FA Cup quarter-final clash between the two sides earlier this month.

It was also confirmed that Arsenal had handed three supporters three-year football banning orders after they pleaded guilty to tragedy chanting during the third-round FA Cup tie against Liverpool at the Emirates Stadium in January.

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Why victim chants hurt Liverpool so deeply: 'It makes tragedy seem acceptable'

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Manchester United and Liverpool to launch programme to tackle tragedy chanting

theAthletic.com - Wed, 03/27/2024 - 18:39
Liverpool and Manchester United have announced that the club’s foundations have launched a joint programme to tackle tragedy chanting in football. Tragedy-related abuse is an ongoing issue within the game — particularly with Liverpool and United supporters in recent weeks — with supporters...
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