To improve his rickety defence and demonstrate Liverpool’s determination to win the Premier League, there is no better signing Jürgen Klopp could makeOnly three players in the Premier League have the ability, when at their awesome best, to make everyone else on the pitch look like immature creatures, toddlers trying and failing to compete with giants. Two of those players are on the wane – Yaya Touré and Zlatan Ibrahimovic – but the other should be approaching his prime. If Liverpool sign Virgil van Dijk they will be making the ultimate upgrade to their team.On one level it could be argued that to splurge £60m or thereabouts on any player is to blare a huge scouting or coaching failure, since a...
Anfield manager asks players for final surge to finishing line and they race home once Georginio Wijnaldum breaches Middlesbrough’s defence in 3-0 win‘When you see a finish line you should sprint,” was Jürgen Klopp’s final exhortation to his players before this potentially season-defining final game.Liverpool were willing to take him at his word – Roberto Firmino landed the first shot on target in a little under 30 seconds – though more than half an hour later they were still shooting and acceleration was beginning to be replaced by apprehension. News from the other games had already filtered through. Arsenal and Manchester City had taken early leads, but though the first half had been a procession towards Brad Guzan’s goal, with...
Jürgen Klopp’s side have paid for their failure to beat lesser teams and even in winning 1-0 at Vicarage Road defensive frailties were again on displayMost supporters fear their team is always on the brink of a mishap but not every team’s fans feel nervous about visiting a side they have destroyed 6-1 earlier in the season. But the trepidation among many Liverpool fans before their visit to Watford was understandable, even after a weekend in which their rivals for a top-four finish had fallen over themselves to drop points.The sense of anguish was palpable right up to the final whistle, with even Jürgen Klopp admitting his heart missed a beat when Watford’s Sebastian Prödl smashed a shot against the...
Liverpool manager insists he feels no pressure as he looks to extend winning run against Everton in a match for which both sides’ preparations have been joltedJürgen Klopp has said Liverpool do not feel under pressure against Everton despite describing Saturday’s Merseyside derby as the most important of his Anfield reign.Klopp is the only manager in Liverpool’s history to win his first two derbies having overseen a 4-0 destruction of Roberto Martínez’s side last season and a 94th-minute victory at Goodison Park in December. “Maybe I’m a genius at understanding derbies because I didn’t need a second to understand the importance of this game,” he said. Since Sadio Mané’s stoppage-time goal at Goodison, however, Everton have closed the gap on...
Five things to look out for including how Liverpool will replace Lallana and Lukaku’s pursuit of the golden boot when the two old rivals meet at AnfieldJürgen Klopp’s side triumphed without their influential No10 at Goodison Park in December but he remains pivotal to their prospects of breaking any defence and one of the few talents capable of elevating a derby with a touch of class. Since returning from an ankle ligament injury in January, Coutinho has recaptured his early-season form only sporadically and scored once in 13 outings for his club. However, his goal and performance for Brazil against Paraguay in midweek, when he helped his country to qualify for the World Cup in Russia before flying back to...