Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp reckons that Sadio Mane is a world-class player and he believes that the player has finally understood this.
Klopp told the German media that ever since he took charge of the Liverpool side he knew that Mane was a world-class player, but it is only now that he believes the player has finally accepted this fact and is behaving like one. Read more
Arsenal legend-turned-pundit Ian Wright believes Liverpool could face the prospect of losing Mohamed Salah during the summer transfer window. The Egypt international has been in stupendous form for the Reds in his debut season, and he has already contributed 36 goals and a further 10 assists in all competitions.
Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel has stated that Chelsea is a fitter team under Antonio Conte than they were under Jose Mourinho.
John Obi Mikel said that Antonio Conte makes use of double training sessions in order to improve the fitness levels of the players and this is definitely helping the team. He said that Antonio Conte has brought many changes to the team and that he has also changed the way the players eat. John Obi Mikel believes that this will improve the way the team plays and that the benefit will be seen during the course of the season.
John Obi Mikel admitted that Chelsea was not fit enough last season and this was evident in the way the players perform on the pitch. He said that some players lack energy last season and this was one of the reasons why the team performs poorly. He believes that things have changed for the better this season and that the players have become fitter. Read more
The manager of newly crowned winners of the English Premier League, Leicester City, Claudio Ranieri was given the award of Barclays Premier League Manager of the Year and League Managers’ Association Manager of the Year awards on Monday.
Expected to battle relegation for much of the season, Leicester stormed out of the gate and challenged for the Premier League title all season, eventually beating out Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur for the first top-tier championship in their history. Ranieri’s appointment last summer was initially met with skepticism, as the Italian had been sacked from his previous job with Greece and had found limited success since his stint with Chelsea.
Ranieri’s humble, laid-back approach was exactly what Leicester needed. The 64-year-old soaked up the headlines and the media attention throughout the campaign, keeping the pressure off his players. Tactically, Ranieri opted against tinkering with his team too much and used the 4-4-2 for most of the campaign, relying on his squad’s defensive prowess and raw pace. The likes of Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez proved perfect fits for such an approach. Read more
Melbourne Victory beats Western Sydney Wanderers 2-0 thanks to a double by Oliver Bozanic. This boosted their chance to finish inside the top six.
Bozanic, who has been criticized time, and again this season, justifies his presence in the team not only with two wonderful goals but also with a great performance. His energetic display in the midfield allows him not only to score goals but also close down Sydney’s playmaker.
With Valeri available soon for Melbourne Victory, it would be interesting to see how both Bozanic and Valeri play together in the future.
Melbourne Victory was motivated from the start of the game and was determined to win this match. This was evident not only in attack but also in how the team defended together once they lose the ball. Victory’s form has been poor during recent weeks but in this game they were different. They were ready for a fight.
The first goal came when Oliver Bozanic fired a shot outside the box amidst the defenders. The outstretch keepers could not keep the ball out, and it was Melbourne that was leading.
Sydney Wanderers tried to equalize after having conceded the goals, but Lawrence Thomas denied them each time. Read more
Everton ended their run of three league matches without a win in the best manner possible.
They thrashed Sunderland 6-2 at Goodison Park in a result that provides a lot of confidence to the blues. Over the last few weeks, confidence has especially been around these parts after the club went through the whole month of October without a league victory. The previous success for the club in the Premier League game against West Brom when a narrow 3-2 victory gave them all three points. The result against Sunderland, though, is much more emphatic.
Everton were always going to be the favourites against a relegation threatened to Sunderland, who had not really shown much improvement since the arrival of Sam Allardyce. The former Newcastle United manager has a reputation for keeping poor teams in the division due to a combination of factors. Allardyce favours a physical style of football that is really hard to play against, but it seems that he will need more time and possibly new players in order to spark a revival at Sunderland. Aston Villa continue to remain rooted at the bottom of the table while Sunderland are only slightly better. The Black Cats now have the worst defence in the Premier League with 25 goals conceded already. Read more
Despite the arrival of Brendan Rodgers, Liverpool look set to miss out on the Champions League football for next season. The club are currently seventh in the Premier league table, and they need to make up several points in order to finish in the top four. Rodgers arrived as a replacement for Kenny Dalglish in the summer. He made several changes to the squad by loaning out Andy Carroll and bringing in players like Daniel Sturridge. There have also been other significant signings in the form of Joe Allen. Despite this, Liverpool are yet to finish in the top four after more than four years.
Recently, Liverpool midfielder Steven Gerrard spoke about the importance of bringing in new players in the summer in the hope of pushing for a top four spot. Rodgers is also of the same opinion, as he is looking at a couple of players to sign in the summer. The players who have been signed by Rodgers has so far turned out to be excellent buys for the club. The likes of Daniel Sturridge and Allen have been in great form for the club this season.
Liverpool also signed the Brazilian midfielder, Coutinho, who has also been in magical form for the club this season.
“We would have liked to bring in a few more players in the summer but we didn’t, and the group were admirable with how they coped in that period because we had a lot of games. We knew we had to bring in reinforcements in January and the board worked superbly to get those players. We are hopeful that come the summer we can make more additions that will take us on to the next level. The business we did in January however was excellent and that’s a great credit to the club,” said Rodgers.
Liverpool has defeated the Russian side Zenit Saint Petersburg in a Europa League match played at the Anfield on Thursday. Liverpool won the match by 3-1.
The first few minutes of the match were not that good for Liverpool. The Reds made some terrible mistakes in the initial moments and as a result of that, they got trailed by 0-1 in the 19th minute of the match. But, after conceding that goal, the Reds lifted the level of their game a bit and made a tremendous comeback to win the match by a profound margin.
For this match, Daniel Sturridge and Martin Skrtel were not included in the starting XI of Liverpool and on their places; Jamie Carragher and Daniel Agger came in.
On the other hand, there was only one change in the starting line up of Zenit. Aleksandr Kerzhakov went out and on his place, Sergey Semak came in.
The man who took the visitors ahead in the 19th minute was Hulk. This was an awful mistake by Jamie Carragher who tried to back pass the ball to the goal keeper Pepe Reina, but, he failed in placing his shot well. The ball went to Hulk who smashed the ball home.
Zenit’s lead didn’t last long. The Reds got a free kick in the 28th minute and the Uruguayan superstar Luis Suarez was asked to take that free kick. Suarez didn’t make any mistake in latching on that chance. With a flat drive, he sent the ball into the bottom corner of the net and made the score 1-1.
Liverpool took a lead of 2-1 when there were only a couple of minutes to go before the half time break. Enrique got the ball from Henderson and he gave Joe Allen a cross. Allen headed the ball towards the goal post, but, his shot was blocked by the Zenit goalie. Allen again got the ball on the rebound and this time, his shot was on target.
The Reds started the second half in an aggressive manner and it didn’t take them too long to enhance their lead. Luis Suarez took advantage of another free kick that Liverpool got in the 59th minute. The Reds got ahead by 3-1 with that goal and after that, it was a tall order for Zenit. They tried hard and created some chances, but, they failed in scoring any more goals.
Liverpool will lock horns with Wigan Athletic in its next match. That match will be played at the DW Stadium on 2nd of March.