Tag: liverpool

  • UCL: Origi in for Liverpool against Porto

    Divock Origi was named in Liverpool’s side to face Porto in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final.

    The 23-year-old Belgian, a substitute in the first leg which Liverpool won 2-0, got the nod up front ahead of Roberto Firmino who dropped to the bench as one of three changes made by Jurgen Klopp.

    There were also starts for James Milner and Georginio Wijnaldum as Naby Keita and Jordan Henderson took their places amongst the substitutes.

    Read Also: Liverpool denied top spot by Everton

    FC Porto XI: Casillas, Militao, Felipe, Pepe, Alex Telles, Corona, Danilo, Herrera, Brahimi, Otavio, Marega

    Subs: Vana, Maxi, Bruno Costa, Oliver, Andre Pereira, Soares, Fernando Andrade

    Liverpool XI: Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Matip, Van Dijk, Robertson, Fabinho, Milner, Wijnaldum, Mane, Salah, Origi

    Subs: Mignolet, Keita, Firmino, Gomez, Henderson, Sturridge, Shaqiri

     

  • Chelsea ban 3 fans, ‘hunt’ 3 more for abusive Salah chants

    Chelsea says they have banned three fans for their part in an abusive video directed at striker Mohamed Salah from Premier League rivals Liverpool, local media reported on Friday.

    Six men were seen on a video posted on social media on Thursday abusing Salah, calling the Egypt international a “bomber”.

    Both clubs roundly condemned the video, each issuing a statement in which they pledged to work together to find the people responsible.

    Chelsea said that they had stopped three fans at the gates for their Europa League clash with Slavia Prague in the Czech Republic.

    Read Also: Late Alonso header gives Chelsea win in Prague

    Chelsea striker Olivier Giroud said the whole Chelsea sides were disgusted at the video.

    “I think these people shouldn’t belong to Chelsea.

    “I think the club and everybody condemn these kinds of things, and we are 100 per cent behind Mo Salah. I think nowadays it shouldn’t happen,’’ Giroud said.

    Salah played 13 times for Chelsea before joining Roma, and eventually signing for Liverpool in the summer of 2017.

    Leaders Liverpool hosts Chelsea in the Premier League on Sunday.

  • Dramatic late win over Spurs puts Liverpool back on top

    Liverpool kept their title hopes alive as a 90th-minute Toby Alderweireld own goal gave them a 2-1 home win over Spurs and took them back to the top of the Premier League.

    The game looked to have been heading for a draw that would have handed a big advantage to Manchester City but, when Mohamed Salah’s header across was fumbled by Hugo Lloris, the ball rolled in off the unfortunate Alderweireld.

    Roberto Firmino had given Liverpool a perfect start, heading home early on but Lucas Moura levelled from close range after the break and Spurs missed a glorious opening to win it before the dramatic finale.

    Spurs started brightly and Harry Kane fed Lucas Moura, who was crowded out as he attempted to engineer the space to shoot.

    But Liverpool eased any nerves with the breakthrough after 16 minutes, striking in style when Andy Robertson curled in a wonderful cross that was headed home by Firmino.

    They could have doubled that lead soon afterwards, Trent Alexander-Arnold lashing just off target and Sadio Mane curling wide after slick build-up.

    The momentum was now firmly with Liverpool, who threatened again when Firmino played the ball through to Mohamed Salah, who was thwarted by a Davinson Sanchez challenge.

    Danny Rose came forward for Spurs and crossed dangerously, and at the other end Sanchez made another good intervention as Firmino threatened to wriggle clear.

    Dele Alli and Eriksen worked a neat one-two, the former firing over, before Mane was within a whisker of adding to the Liverpool lead with a curling effort that was fractionally wide.

    Virgil van Dijk made a key interception as Erikson looked to pick out Alli, Liverpool going in at the break with a narrow advantage as they looked to return to the top of the table.

    Eriksen shot over and Van Dijk sent a header too high in a lively start to the second half, with Spurs beginning to enjoy plenty of possession inside the Liverpool half.

    James Milner crossed for Firmino who could not keep his header down, but Spurs were close to of levelling when Kane’s shot was parried by Allison and Robertson’s superb block denied Eriksen.

    Salah raced onto a Firmino through ball but saw his strike blocked by Alderweireld, and soon afterwards the Egypt international tried his luck from the edge of the box only to send his fizzing effort too high.

    Spurs replaced Sanchez with Son Heung-Min, and within seconds they had a 70th-minute leveller, Moura firing in after Kane, Kieran Tripper and Eriksen had combined to steer the ball across the Liverpool box.

    As the hosts looked to regain the lead they needed to return to the top, Hugo Lloris tipped over a curling Alexander-Arnold effort and Jurgen Klopp brought Fabinho on for James Milner while Divock Origi replaced Jordan Henderson in a double change.

    That saw Liverpool adopt a 4-2-4 formation for the closing stages, and they almost regained the lead but Lloris grabbed the ball after a frantic scramble from a corner.

    Moura was booked for fouling Salah 30 yards out as the home side tried to counter, the free kick hit by Origi and deflected wide, and Spurs then replaced Moura with Ben Davies.

    But Spurs should have won it when, in a two-on-one break, Moussa Sissoko ran into the area but fired wildly over with Son waiting in support to his left.

    Rose got an attempted cross wrong in another break — but the final word went to Liverpool as Alderweireld’s own goal proved the crucial moment at the Kop end.

  • Respect Porto, Klopp warns Liverpool

    Jurgen Klopp insists Liverpool won’t underestimate Porto after being handed a Champions League quarter-final clash with the Portuguese underdogs in Friday’s draw.

    Klopp’s side will go into the Porto tie as heavy favourites to advance to a semi-final showdown against Barcelona or Manchester United.

    Liverpool crushed Porto 5-0 on aggregate in the Champions League last 16 just last season, scoring all five goals in the away leg before a goalless draw in the return at Anfield.

    “What can I say? It’s Porto and we’ve played there already and we know how good we had to be last year,” Klopp told Liverpool’s website.

    “The result, in the end, was a strange one; it was very good for us, of course, but it was a strange one. In the second leg, we saw the character of Porto and the quality they have.”

    With United taking on Barca and Tottenham facing Manchester City in the other quarter-finals, Liverpool got what looks the easiest draw of the four Premier League teams.

    But Reds boss Klopp is determined to ensure his side give Porto respect when they arrive on Merseyside for the first leg next month.

    “I could not be further away from thinking it’s the best draw because it isn’t,” he said.

    It is just the draw, it’s the opponent we have to prepare for and that’s all we will be thinking about from when we start preparing for the game.”

  • Liverpool place N6.1billion price tag on Taiwo Awoniyi

     

    Any club wishing to buy Taiwo Awoniyi will have to place N6.1billion (about £13m) on Liverpool’s table, it has been revealed.

    Awoniyi who is currently with his fifth club on loan since joining Liverpool in 2015, is yet to make a senior appearances for the Reds because he does not qualify for United Kingdom work permit.

    The former junior international is reportedly being monitored by a number of clubs including German Bundesliga side Schalke. Although Liverpool will be ready to let the 21 year old Centre forward go if as much as £13m is on the table. Awoniyi’s future at Liverpool could change again depending on the United Kingdom’s impending exit from the European Union.

    Sky Sports News understands that Liverpool are keen to retain Awoniyi but remain open to another loan deal if his work permit status is not resolved.

    Awoniyi has spent spells on loan with FSV Frankfurt, NEC Nijmegen and Gent, and is currently on his second loan stint in Belgium with Mouscron.

    He has scored six goals in seven games since returning to the club in January, having spent the first half of 2018-19 with their Jupiler Pro League rivals Gent.

    Awoniyi came to limelight in 2010 when he was voted the most valuable player a Coca-Cola football competition in London

    His performance at the competition was spotted by for Super Eagles midfielder Seyi Olofinjana who made him join Imperial Soccer Academy, to begin his gradual upward improvement.

    He subsequently joined Liverpool on 31st August 2015 for a fee put at £400,000 but was immediately loaned out to FSV Frankfurt.

     

     

     

     

  • Liverpool denied top spot by Everton

    Liverpool played out a goalless draw with Merseyside rivals Everton  yesterday to miss out on the chance to return to the top of the Premier League.

    The Reds required victory to move back above Manchester City following the Citizens’ 1-0 win over Bournemouth yesterday, but they fired another blank – their third stalemate in four matches in all competitions, two of those coming in their faltering top-flight run-in.

    Mohamed Salah wasted the best chance of the contest in the first half, being denied by Jordan Pickford when through on goal, meaning that Liverpool’s title hopes are no longer in their own hands.

    Liverpool enjoyed the better of the rare first-half opportunities, with Salah testing Pickford with a curler from the edge of the box before wasting his glorious opportunity just before the half-hour mark.

    The Egyptian forward was played through on goal by a long pass from Fabinho, but he was unable to open up his body and Pickford stuck out a strong hand to keep the ball out.

    The loose ball fell nicely for returning skipper Jordan Henderson to strike, but his shot was blocked in front of goal as two chances in the space of five seconds went begging.

    Everton’s attacking players were feeding off scraps for large parts of the first half, though they did create half a chance shortly before the interval when Theo Walcott, played onside by Joel Matip, burst through and fired a powerful shot over the crossbar.

    The previous two Merseyside derbies in the Premier League had also been goalless at half time, and memories of Liverpool’s late winner in the reverse meeting remained fresh in the memory.

    Both goalkeepers were tested in the opening 10 minutes of the second half as Alisson Becker shifted across to his right to keep out Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s downward header and Pickford got behind Trent Alexander-Arnold’s long-range free kick.

  • Liverpool go top of EPL with draw at Manchester United

    Liverpool took over at the top of the English Premier League (EPL) table in spite of being held to a 0-0 draw by Manchester United on Sunday.

    Juergen Klopp’s side now have 66 points from 27 games.

    Second-placed Manchester City, who play Chelsea in the League Cup final later on Sunday, have 65 points from the same number of games.

    The lone point gained means that Liverpool have the destiny of the title in their own hands now — with 11 games remaining.

    But they will also be disappointed not to have taken advantage of an injury-ravaged Manchester United.

    The hosts lost holding midfielder Nemanja Matic to injury before the game.

    Read Also: Manchester City end Liverpool’s unbeaten run, cut EPL lead to 4 points

    Spanish midfielder Ander Herrera went off in the 20th minute and Juan Mata was replaced by Jesse Lingard five minutes later.

    But Lingard didn’t even last until the break as he suffered what appeared to be a recurrence of his hamstring strain and limped off to be replaced by Alexis Sanchez.

    Amid those three Manchester United injuries, Liverpool also lost their Brazilian forward Roberto Firmino to a muscle strain.

    After such a messy first half, neither side were able to truly get into their stride in a disappointing game.

    NAN

     

  • Man Utd vs Liverpool: DSTV sets for Old trafford match

    Football hostilities will heat up on Sunday afternoon as Manchester United and Liverpool clash at Old Trafford in a match with profound implications for both clubs in their title chase and berth for the UEFA Champions League.

    In a statement, DStv and GOtv said actions for the Sunday afternoon football match will be aired Live.

    Recall that Jurgen Klopp’s team defeated the Red Devils 3-1 when the teams clashed at Anfield in December 2018. And that was Jose Mourinho’s last match in charge of United, but it has been a turnaround under caretaker manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer since then.

    The Norwegian has overseen eight wins from nine unbeaten Premier League matches, pushing United back up the table and making them perhaps the favourites to finish fourth ahead of Chelsea and Arsenal – something which seemed unthinkable in the final days of Mourinho’s tenure.

    Yet it is the battle at the top of the table between Liverpool and Manchester City which is even more important: The Reds come into the weekend trailing the Citizens on goal difference, and this clash gives them the chance to reclaim an outright lead (with Pep Guardiola’s team playing in the League Cup final against Chelsea).

    Solskjaer’s United would love nothing more than to stymie Liverpool’s title hopes – even if it proves to help out their hated cross-town rivals – and we should be in for a fiery clash between two of England’s greatest football clubs.

    DStv and GOtv viewers will also look forward a double-header of matches on Friday night, as Cardiff City aim to put some daylight between themselves and the relegation zone with a win at home to Javi Gracia’s impressive Watford, while West Ham United and Fulham will meet for a London derby which should be full of thrills and spills.

    Read Also: Substitute Shaqiri strikes twice as Liverpool see off Manchester United

    Saturday’s highlights include a relegation six-pointer between Newcastle United and Huddersfield Town, Tottenham trying to make up ground in the title race when they face an in-form Burnley away from home and the unpredictable pair of Leicester City and Crystal Palace will meet at the King Power Stadium for the late kick-off.

    On Sunday, DStv and GOtv viewers can choose between the United-Liverpool game or, kicking off at the same time, a clash which sees Arsenal looking to avenge their surprise 3-2 defeat at the hands of Southampton from December 2018.

    Key match stats

    Manchester United v Liverpool – Head-to-head, Premier League

    Matches played 53

    United wins 28

    Liverpool wins 14

    Draws 11

    Burnley v Tottenham Hotspur – Head-to-head, Premier League

    Matches played 9

    Burnley wins 1

    Spurs wins 6

    Draws 2

    Arsenal v Southampton – Head-to-head, Premier League

    Matches played 39

    Arsenal wins 21

    Southampton wins 7

    Draws 11

    Premier League fixtures, 22-24 February

    Friday 22 February

    8:45pm: Cardiff City v Watford – LIVE on SS5

    8:45pm: West Ham United v Fulham – LIVE on SS3

    Saturday 23 February

    1:30pm: Burnley v Tottenham Hotspur – LIVE on SS3

    4:00pm: Bournemouth v Wolverhampton Wanderers – LIVE on SS5/SS10 & SelGo2

    4:00pm: Newcastle United v Huddersfield Town – LIVE on SS3

    6:30pm: Leicester City v Crystal Palace – LIVE on SS3

    Sunday 24 February

    3:05pm: Arsenal v Southampton – LIVE on SS5/SS10 & SelGo2

    3:05pm: Manchester United v Liverpool – LIVE on SS3

  • SportingLife: Ade Ojeikere discusses on Liverpool chances at the EPL, Sala’s death

    Sports analyst and The Nationa Newspaper Sports Editor, Ade Ojeikere joined by Online Editor Sunday Oguntola, discuss on sports issues around the world.

  • Dancing not Mohamed Salah’s stock-in-trade -Firmino

     

    Brazil forward Roberto Firmino is happy with his Liverpool teammate Mohamed Salah for winning the African footballer of the year but insists the Egypt international does not have dancing as part of this hobby.

    Firmino was reacting after video of the award held in Dakar Senegal went viral with Salah barely trying to show a few dance steps.

    It was clear that Salah who has scored over 45 goals for Liverpool is not the dancing type as he merely rocked his award from side to side like a new born baby.

    Firmino told Liverpoolfc.com: ‘I saw it on the internet! I would like to congratulate him on winning the African Player of the Year award for the second consecutive year.

    ‘And yes, I saw that they tried to make him dance… he tried, but I don’t think it’s his forte!’

    Salah won the award for the second year running after a fine season for club and country.  The 26-year-old scored 32 goals in the Premier League to win the golden boot and 44 across all competitions last campaign.

    Salah, who has 13 league goals this season, is one goal behind Tottenham striker Harry Kane and Arsenal forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang for this year’s race for the golden boot.

    Egypt could be said to be gotten a double as the land of the pharaohs was interestingly given the hosting right for the 2019 African cup of Nations in June.  Salah reacting to the hosting right given to Egypt said it will further lift the image of the Egyptian league even as he dedicated his award to his country.

    Soccer fans who reacted to his winning the award on one hand and the hosting right given to Egypt on the other, said the next nations cup which will feature 24 teams will be full of fireworks with some predicting that Pharaohs will come out smoking with intent to make it to the final. Egypt remains the most successful team in the African Nations cup after winning the championship a record seven times.