The manager utilised his talent-packed bench to snuff out a rampant Inter and the Champions League tie in eight minutesJürgen Klopp had seen enough. With almost an hour played at San Siro, Internazionale cutting his team to ribbons and the home crowd buoyant, the Liverpool manager retreated to his bench in dim spirits. There were a few seconds of discussion with his coaches. Training tops were peeled off, tactical instructions issued, last-minute warm-ups executed. And then, the flourish: a triple substitution in the 59th minute.Off came Sadio Mané, Fabinho and Harvey Elliott. Diogo Jota had already gone off injured at half‑time. It was Klopp’s inimitable way of telling his players that he wasn’t angry, just disappointed. Continue reading...
VAR controversy around Liverpool’s penalty at Crystal Palace swamped the mesmerising swing of the boot that led to itAfter 84 minutes and 39 seconds of Liverpool’s win at Crystal Palace on Sunday, Diogo Jota ran on to the ball, chested it, miskicked it, planted his leg into the path of Vicente Guaita and went down. Three seconds of action which Kevin Friend apparently watched 17 times before deciding to give a penalty.Those three seconds were of course repeated and analysed by Sky Sports, and by Sky Sports News, by Match of the Day and all over social media – the moment has been viewed almost 400,000 times on Sky Sports’ Twitter from just after the game. If you add all...
Liverpool manager’s commitment to domestic cups has been questioned but his delight at semi-final win was clearTo become a “true legend” at Liverpool, Pepijn Lijnders had claimed on the eve of the rearranged Carabao Cup semi-final, “you need to go for the national cups as well.” Jürgen Klopp’s assistant was not downplaying past glories but talking up the future of a Liverpool team that has evolved to the extent he expected it to punish Arsenal even without the cutting edge of Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mané. Lijnders was talking of Liverpool’s hunger too, and it appeared he had written the script.A 2022 Carabao Cup winner’s medal will not define the Liverpool legacy of Trent Alexander-Arnold, Virgil van Dijk, Jordan Henderson...
Arsenal should stay positive, Potter shows Benítez a trick and VAR makes refereeing harderOn the first Sunday of 2021, a first-half Chelsea capitulation against Manchester City hastened Frank Lampard’s exit and deepened a despondent mood. Twelve months on, Liverpool’s two early goals at Stamford Bridge could have induced Groundhog Day feelings. Instead, Thomas Tuchel’s side roared back and showed that, whatever other problems have recently beset the Chelsea manager on and off the field, this is a team that plays for him. Though they did so in a rather un-Tuchel-like manner. The intense atmosphere generated by the Premier League debut of safe standing was met with the kind of front-foot, high-tempo performance more associated with a Jürgen Klopp side. Chelsea...
Chelsea and Liverpool’s wild, moreish draw demonstrated why they both trail Pep Guardiola’s flawless side by so many pointsWell, there goes the league title. Happy new year everyone! But hey, what a way to go. For the second time in two and half weeks Liverpool came to London and played out a wild, impossibly moreish 2-2 draw against occasionally brilliant, occasionally flawed opponents.This was no doubt an agonising watch for Jürgen Klopp in self‑isolation; just as it was 90 minutes of full-body torture for Thomas Tuchel, who spent the afternoon leaping up like a furious clockwork woodpecker, combination-punching invisible demons, and at one point hurling a bottle of orange energy drink thrillingly into an advertisement hoarding. Continue reading...