Leicester can test City but Liverpool face a challenge of their own, it’s all or nothing for Cardiff and Watford need to regroupFollowing the disappointment of their reasonably heroic Champions League defeat at Barcelona, Liverpool must rouse themselves for what could be an extremely tricky Saturday evening appointment at Newcastle in which they simply cannot afford to slip up. With only two matches of the Premier League campaign remaining, anything less than a win for Liverpool would leave the door open for Manchester City to all but wrap up the title on Monday. One suspects this is a far tougher assignment than Jürgen Klopp would like so soon after a gruelling and dispiriting game at the Camp Nou and the...
Attacking Barcelona is not wrong given it can unsettle them but it leaves teams exposed and Liverpool found that can be fatalContemplating his side’s Champions League quarter-final against Manchester City last season, Jürgen Klopp said that to sit back and look to absorb pressure against such a side was in effect to try to “win the lottery”. Against the very best, he believes there is no point – at least for a team of Liverpool’s ability – in curling up like a hedgehog and hoping the threat somehow goes away. He vowed to attack, and did, and his reward was three goals in an extraordinary 20-minute spell that settled the tie before half-time in the first leg. Related: Incomparable Messi...
The Champions League semi-final against Barcelona will pit two generations of Anfield attackers against each otherLiverpool will cost themselves some money should they reach the Champions League final at Barcelona’s expense – one of the add-ons to Philippe Coutinho’s transfer fee of £105m just over a year ago was an extra £4.5m should the Catalans win the event this season.Financial considerations apart, it should be quite the reunion when Jürgen Klopp’s side arrive at the Camp Nou on Wednesday. Liverpool were not only responsible for showcasing Coutinho’s talents in a manner that made him irresistible to Barcelona, they did exactly the same with Luis Suárez four years earlier, again making an impressive profit on a player they signed relatively cheaply....
A chance for Shaqiri to shine, City may need to show their dark side and Cardiff can pile pressure on BrightonPep Guardiola is not usually short of post-match praise for his players, but he struck a different note after the Manchester derby win. “Tonight we can enjoy it, but tomorrow it’s over, so we have to be focused,” he said. “I know people are going to talk about how beautiful, how handsome we are, but now we have to go to Burnley”. Guardiola is rightly taking nothing for granted even after taking the necessary six points from Spurs and United. Burnley were one of six teams to take points off City last season and have routinely posed problems for the...
It could be now or never for Klopp’s side with Manchester City looking so strong and Spurs likely to challenge next seasonWe’ve all been celebrating at Juventus this week after both the men and the women sealed our respective Serie A titles on Sunday. We could not have timed it any better. We beat Verona 3-0 to win our second title in as many years while the guys made it eight consecutive scudetti. I came to Juventus inspired by the winning blood in the veins of the club and I am delighted to have achieved the title in my first season.It has been a really enjoyable few days before our final match, Sunday’s Coppa Italia final against Fiorentina, when we...