Tag: Liverpool

Dynamic positional play, breathtaking counter-attacks and ruthless finishing have been the standard of Liverpool’s deadly attack.

Jurgen Klopp expects nothing less than workmen like displays from his team, week in and week out.

With the lightning-quick attack consisting of Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane, a sturdy midfield and a rock-solid defence, this Liverpool side already appears to be top-notch in its current shape.

However, the club’s scouts are always on the lookout for the best of talents around the globe in order to reinforce the squad.

Having already procured the signing of midfielder Naby Keita from RB Leipzig, Klopp might once again be eyeing the Bundesliga club to bolster up his squad.

Liverpool fans are hot on the heels of the new rumour as the reliable German news reporter, Christian Falk from SportBild reported today about Liverpool’s interest in Timo Werner.

Our story: Jürgen Klopp is interested in @TimoWerner for @LFC. The striker can leave @DieRotenBullen because of a clause for about 60 Million Euros in summer @SPORTBILD

— Christian Falk (@cfbayern) February 12, 2020

According to the report, the Leipzig striker has a release clause of about 60m euros, a fee that would certainly feel like a bargain for a player of his calibre, especially considering today’s inflated market.

Werner has amassed a staggering 20 goals in the current Bundesliga season, lagging only two goals behind Bayern’s Robert Lewandowski for the Torjägerkanone (top-scorers trophy).

Thanks to his contribution, Leipzig are just one point behind Bayern in a fiercely contested title race. With quite a bit of pace and top-notch finishing in his locker, Werner seems to tick all the boxes for Liverpool.

His understanding with Naby Keita can also be something which might have attracted Klopp’s interest as a clip of the dynamic duo ripping apart Bundesliga defences for fun back in their Leipzig days has been making rounds on the internet –

Naby Keita 🇬🇳 : x : 🇩🇪 Timo Werner #LFC #LiverpoolFC

pic.twitter.com/UlxVHAWMsA

— Liverpool Videos (@LFCVideos6) February 11, 2020

However, Liverpool need to be wary as they are not alone in the race to sign the German ace with interests from European giants like Bayern and other Premier League clubs as well.

The Reds faithful would hope that the club’s sporting director, Michael Edwards can strike the deal to bring Timo Werner at Anfield as early as the upcoming summer transfer window.

Liverpool seems to be the name on everyone’s lips lately, with the club going on an incredible twenty five matches unbeaten in the Premier League this season.

One of the main reasons for this, apart from possessing a defence that just refuses to budge, is a lethal, almost otherworldly front trio comprised of Mo Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino.

Of the three, Salah might possess the most flair, and Mane might have vision fit for gods, but it is Bobby Firmino who impresses the footballing world most, with his technical brilliance and tireless consistency day in and day out.

And the results speak for themselves; he’s scored eight goals and provided seven assists in the league already this season, with an immeasurable presence on the pitch to boot.

It is no secret, therefore, that all the top clubs would part with an arm and a limb to acquire the services of any of these three, Firmino in particular.

And what do you know: news has come trickling in from the BBC that none other than Bayern Munich are preparing a £75 million bid for the Brazilian centre forward.

While acquiring Firmino is just one step of the Bavarians’ grand plans, which include having Leroy Sane up front, it might turn out that they will get neither of the two.

Firmino, especially, has expressed his love for the Merseyside club over and over again, and the fans believe that there is no chance of a transfer happening.

Now, even professional footballers have chimed in with their opinion, concurring completely with what the fans have to say. Charlie Austin, in particular, is one to have tweeted about the issue. The West Bromwich Albion player believes that there is no chance of that bid ever being allowed.

Echoing his sentiments was former Liverpool man and current Reading midfielder Charlie Adam. Austin’s namesake was of the opinion that Bayern would need to breach the 100 million pounds mark to even have a credible bid. Charile Austin replied to this, agreeing wholeheartedly and contending that he rated Firmino even more highly than Salah and Mane.

There could be nothing but praise for Bobby Firmino!

Underrated for large swathes of his career, the Liverpool forward finally seems to be finding the respect – and price tag – that he has more than earned now. His supporters could not be more delighted.

It’s no secret that the FA is on a crusade when it comes to what it perceives as an abysmal lack of interest from the top tier clubs.

Yes, with a gradual decline in viewership of it’s once premier event, the FA Cup, one understands its grouse. However, this ain’t the sixties anymore.

Modern football requires clubs to be on their toes, throwing a jam-packed schedule at them, sometimes consisting of two or three European competitions.

To be frank, it was nearly inevitable for the FA to slide down the pecking order the way it did, having made no effort to better itself, and it shouldn’t be harbouring any resentment for that.

But does the archaic association understand this? Not quite.

The association has now trained its guns on the current darling of the football world, Liverpool FC.

For everyone else, the Red juggernaut can do absolutely no wrong, but the FA considers itself being treated with disdain by a team that keeps sending second, even third string players to the cup.

And how does it respond to this, you may ask. Very childishly is the answer.

The FA thought it was being rather smart when, for Liverpool’s tie yesterday against Shrewsbury (which they won 1-0, by the way), it apparently decided to pull out all the networks from covering the match.

UPDATE: The FA have refused to allow any broadcasters to broadcast tonight’s replay against Shrewsbury. If you aren’t there tonight, it’s the Radio or nothing.

But Liverpool are disrespecting the cup? Disgraceful.

— Anfield Edition (@AnfieldEdition) February 4, 2020

You either had to listen to it on the radio, be there, or be square.

This, of course, did not sit well with Adrian, who decided to indulge in some shithousery of his own on his Instagram account.

The second-choice goalkeeper put out a story openly asking fans to check out a link where they could stream the match illegally, for free.

This, when governing bodies are cracking down severely on pirates and illegal streamers around the world, some even being handed life sentences.

And we haven’t gotten to the good bit: in another story, he showed himself actually watching the match.

What’s more, he tagged the FA Cup’s official handle.

Lord above, talk about not giving a damn about repercussions, which are undoubtedly going to be there.

Andrea Pirlo famously said: “Football is played with the head. Your feet are just tools.”

As modern football becomes more and more tactical, the expectations from a player have become immense.

With the game, the number ‘9’ position has also evolved.

A complete striker in the modern game requires finesse, technique, power, good hold-up play, as well as tactical awareness.

Although the first names on the lips of most people, when asked about the most complete striker in the world, would be the likes of Robert Lewandowski, Luis Suarez or Sergio Aguero, a strong contender in shape of Roberto Firmino often goes under the radar.

Firmino might not be able to boast numbers as the likes of strikers at other top clubs do, yet his function is integral for Liverpool as the Brazilian is one of the main weapons in Jurgen Klopp’s armoury.

What he did for Liverpool’s 3rd goal against Southampton stands exemplary.

“Bobby” Firmino showed his expert awareness and played an intelligent dummy on Alisson’s pass with Southampton’s midfield and the defence completely dissolved as Henderson played the ball to Salah and the chance was duly finished to get Liverpool 3 goals up.

This is the best angle I’ve seen of it.. (From ‘Inside Anfield’ 👌🏼 @LFC pic.twitter.com/LLIsPAdLn7

— Jamie Robinson (@JamieRobinsonNi) February 4, 2020

The move has people wondering if it was rehearsed in the training ground sessions. However, Firmino’s genius is not to be questioned.

The Liverpool number nine was signed from Bundesliga club Hoffenheim back in 2015 and has been a resurgent figure ever since the arrival of Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool.

With Firmino supporting the frontline, the menacing pace of Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mané makes the Liverpool attack one of the most feared in Europe.

If the Reds go on to lift the Premier League title, which seems increasingly likely with every matchday, the Kop certainly has Roberto “Bobby” Firmino to thank for his share of the work.

Every beautiful effort might not catch the attention of the onlookers. One such breathtaking moment that most match reports missed was the Liverpool team goal against Southampton last Saturday.

It was disallowed as Mohamed Salah, who found the net, was clearly offside. However the Reds sweeped the match by a 4 to 0 margin with second half goals from Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Jordan Henderson and a brace from the Egyptian.

The spectacular team goal unfolded after the 51st minute when Robertson cleared one of Southampton’s efforts for a goal.

The ball went straight to the Reds keeper Alisson, who passed it to defender Alexander-Arnold.

The ball was received by Wijnaldum, who did a negative pass to Fabinho. Fabinho did a long pass above the head to Chamberlain, who slid it to Firmino at the centre mark.

Firmino did a magnificent run towards the net, and the ball reached Salah near the box. Salah found the target, defeating Saints’ goalkeeper Alex McCarthy; however the goal was not counted as the Egyptian was offside while receiving the ball from Firmino.

Had that goal been allowed, it would have been considered as one of the most beautiful team goals in the history of the league.

Just like a spider weaves its net, the goal was woven from the other box right to the target, gliding past many legs on the way.

Check it out below –

I've not seen this on any extended highlights or any analysis. It's like it never happened. pic.twitter.com/C5JbgihCpo

— Dominic Campbell (@dom_campbell) February 3, 2020

It was a scintillating display by Liverpool as the Reds imposed a 2-0 defeat on their arch-rivals Manchester United at Anfield.

Virgil van Dijk scored a brilliant header following TAA’s cross, and from then on, there was pressure on the Red Devils for the entirety of the match.

Salah’s last-minute goal, following an assist from Alisson, twisted the dagger deeper into United, as Klopp and his team showed why they are the best team in the world.

Liverpool extended their unbeaten run at home to 51 games and Reds fans excited by the result would have loved how a TV presenter in Egypt responded to the win as he repeatedly yelled “Who’s your daddy” at Man United during a feature after the match.

Egyptian TV to Man Utd.. I can’t breathe 😭 pic.twitter.com/0o3Cbzk6Se

— Nees (@Nees_MM) January 20, 2020

One of the standout performers in that famous FA Cup win against Everton few days ago, Pedro Chirivella was right on the money again as the Spaniard provided a delightful assist in the Liverpool U23s 5-0 thrashing of Southampton in the Premier League 2 fixture last night.

Besides his pin-point long range pass before Harvey Elliot’s goal, Liverpool fans seem to be absolutely in love with another clip of the Spaniard from the game.

The footage shows Chirivella chasing the ball like a man possessed and it simply sums up the effort the Spaniard is putting in making a name for himself at Liverpool.

Jurgen Klopp’s influence at Liverpool Football Club all too clear for everyone to see here –

Chirivella 👀 “Like a man possessed” pic.twitter.com/MthBz9ri2y

— KierownikWodopoju (@BoyBetterKnown_) January 13, 2020

Liverpool U23s starting lineup: Winterbottom, Williams, Van den Berg, Boyes, Larouci, Chirivella, Clarkson, Cain, Elliott, Jones, Hardy

Graphic designers (especially with Liverpool affiliations) had their work cut out for them as soon as Liverpool announced their much-awaited multi-year partnership with Nike on Tuesday.

Taking over from New Balance, Nike will act as the official kit supplier for the Anfield side from 2020-21 season and it is fair to say that fans would expect big things from the sportswear giants next season.

Jurgen Klopp’s side have been on fire for quite a while now and their supreme form seems to have influenced the fans as well with graphic designer and LFC fan Hasan banging out an absolute peach of a concept kit for the Reds next season.

The home kit which features the Air Jordan logo instead of the traditional Nike swoosh has become an instant hit with the fans.

Check it out below –

While Reds supporters are now surely beyond a point where they are surprised by Trent Alexander-Arnold’s abilities anymore, the youngster still manages to shock fans with his skill from time to time and whipped up another such magical moment against Sheffield United yesterday.

The defender put in another impressive performance at Anfield as Liverpool continued their match towards the Premier League crown with a 2-0 win which took their total tally to a whopping 58 points out of a possible 60.

The 21-year-old already caused a stir recently by closing in on the assists tally of Manchester United legend Paul Scholes and reminded everyone that he’s more than capable of getting his side out of a tricky situation at the other end of the field as well with a mind-boggling cross to switch the play.

After taking a throw-in in his own half the right-back probably stunned everyone on the pitch with a tremendous swirling cross to find Andy Robertson on the other flank as Sheffield players were closing in on him.

A clip of the moment soon made its way to Twitter and Reds have been singing praises about their defender’s ability on the social media platform since.

Out of this world! Check out a clip of Trent Alexander-Arnold’s crazy pass here:

My right back is better than your whole midfield pic.twitter.com/GxS7vxsEdr

— MB (@MrBoywunder) January 3, 2020

Liverpool will be hoping that they can start 2020 the same way they ended 2019 when they take on Sheffield United in the Premier League later today.

The Reds are the firm favourites to win the English crown come May after a breathtaking first half of the campaign during which they have blown away all those who came before them.

Liverpool’s form this year has been no fluke either with Jurgen Klopp known to be working his stars day and night to ensure optimum fitness levels ahead of matches.

The intensity of the training sessions at Melwood is also evident from a recent video that was posted by James Milner on Twitter which shows a group of Reds stars taking part in one of the most high-octane rondo drills you will ever see.

Some of the touches and quick passing from the players have left fans stunned and fans seemed convinced that it’s high intensity training drills like these that have enabled the Reds to remain unbeaten in the league so far.

Frighteningly good from Reds this! Check out the clip below:

Let’s leave these bicycles back in 2019 Robbo 🚲 ❌#maybeitwastheirnbru#Howtoruinagreatrondo#haveit pic.twitter.com/cKn20Yblac

— James Milner (@JamesMilner) January 1, 2020

With huge contracts and endorsement deals worth millions of pounds it’s safe to say that professional footballers earn considerably more than your average Joe.

Most footballers aren’t very modest about their exuberant wages either and with the advent of social media fans have often been left stunned by the extravagant lifestyles of their favourite stars.

But despite playing for one of the biggest clubs in Europe Sadio Mane seems to be made from a different mould and was spotted carrying around an iPhone with a broken screen guard before Liverpool dismantled Leicester City 4-0 yesterday.

The Senegalese international was absolutely pivotal to Liverpool’s success in the Champions League last year and has already notched up 11 goals and 10 assists this term as the Reds march towards their first league title since 1990.

Fans seemed utterly shocked to see Mane walk into the King Power stadium with a broken screen after a photo made its way to Twitter and the incident should serve as a true testament to the attacker’s modest nature.

Check out the photo below:

Source

It’s safe to say that on his day Roberto Firmino is easily one of the most lethal forwards in the game.

Even though the Brazilian forward has had a lackluster season so far he will be hoping that his performances during the Club World Cup will help spark a revival of form in 2020.

The 28-year-old was absolutely pivotal to Liverpool‘s success in Qatar and managed to score late winners in both the semi-final as well as the final of the tournament.

While surges in fan following are bound to happen after impressing in international tournaments, Firmino has now seemingly scored himself a celebrity fan in Daisy Ridley during his trip to the middle East.

While the Star Wars star isn’t exactly known to be a football fan she sure seems to like the Liverpool striker and was spotted chanting the famous ‘Bobby Firmino’ song during a recent interview.

The popular actress seems to have learnt the song from a friend on the set of the sci-fi franchise according to the user who posted the clip on Twitter and the footage of ‘Rey’ singing the popular Liverpool chant should be absolute gold for Reds supporters.

Check out a clip of Star Wars actress Daisy Ridley signing the ‘Bobby Firmino’ song here :

Daisy Ridley singing "bobby firmino" was the greatest gift i didn't know i'd get, this woman is too powerful pic.twitter.com/63BdmAvAu2

— Lord iNabber (@iNabber69) December 25, 2019

It’s pretty safe to say that Jurgen Klopp has built a beast of a team since taking over the reigns at Anfield in 2015.

Aside from building one of the most formidable sides in Europe, the German manager has forged a real team spirit amongst the Liverpool players with many stars enjoying strong relations on and off the pitch.

Mo Salah has been Klopp’s ideal talisman on all fronts with the Egyptian also enjoying a close bond with most of his teammates off club duty.

While the winger’s bromance with Dejan Lovren is well documented, it seems he’s pretty close with fellow attacker Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain as well judging by a recent interview.

In a footage grabbed from an LFCTV feature, both Ox and Salah can be heard pulling each others’ legs quite a few times and Reds fans are bound to love the light-hearted banter on display.

ox and mo scrapping i love them so much pic.twitter.com/v9SmHX8CkV

— ari (@lfcxari) December 24, 2019

Liverpool fans will be eagerly waiting to see a shiny new golden badge on their club’s kit next season after the Reds defeated Brazilian side Flamengo 1-0 to be crowned the new Club World Champions.

Jurgen Klopp’s men didn’t let their long and tiring trip to Qatar be for nothing and came back to Anfield with a new trophy in hand to show for their troubles.

Winning silverware is always important for big clubs and after scoring an international accolade Andy Robertson certainly wasn’t too modest about his club’s newest achievement.

Fans supporting rival clubs seemed pretty rattled after the left-back updated his status on Twitter shortly after lifting the trophy and fans of clubs like United, Real and City all fielded a united front as they immediately responded to his status.

Check out some of the replies from fans to Robertson’s latest status on Twitter here:

After leaving for Qatar with his first team for the club World Cup, Jurgen Klopp was forced to dig into his reserves and named Liverpool‘s youngest ever starting XI for the Carabao Cup quarter final clash with Aston Villa.

While the German manager would be a bit disappointed with the 5-0 thrashing, he should still be taking away more positives than negatives from Villa Park.

In a game which put the greatest emphasis on giving young players an opportunity to make an impression it was befitting to see the youngest player on the pitch making the biggest impression for the Reds.

After making a name for himself as the youngest player to play in the Premier League, 16-year-old Harvey Elliott has been tipped for big things at Anfield and further strengthened his claims for regular game time with a classy display against the Villans.

The teenage wizard was a constant menace for the home side to deal with, showing great work rate off the ball and created 5 good chances for his teammates from the right wing.

The magnificent display from the youngster got the Sky Sports studio buzzing with pundits running out of words to describe his performance during their post match analysis.

Jamie Redknapp seemed to be especially impressed with Elliot’s talents and the struggle is evident on his face as he restrained himself from comparing his passing talent with that of Lionel Messi.

The moment comes around the 54 second mark in the video below –

Analysis of Harvey Elliott’s performance against Villa tonight. He was exceptional once again…pic.twitter.com/zzlTc7RYfJ

— Kloppholic (@Kloppholic) December 17, 2019

Sadio Mane appears to be full of confidence ahead of Liverpool‘s clash with Mexican side Monterrey in the Club World Cup tomorrow.

The Senegalese international has plenty of reasons to be confident as well with his club absolutely flying in every single competition that they are competing in this year.

Mane has played no small part in the Reds’ successes himself with the pacey striker finding the net on 13 occasions and has provided a further 9 assists in his 23 appearances as Klopp’s men march towards England’s crown.

After winning the Champions League last year, Liverpool look bent on lifting the Premier League trophy this time around and have already built up an impressive 10 point lead at the summit.

As they look to win their illusive 19th league title, Mane has urged Reds supporters to stay positive and had a fantastic message for them before leaving for Qatar.

Check out Mane’s message here:

“We’re going to win the league together, inshallah.” – Sadio Mane.

I love him. pic.twitter.com/nJ53KnHnTz

— Nasir (@LFCNasir) December 16, 2019

While he hasn’t gotten off to the greatest of starts this season by his own lofty standards, Roberto Firmino reminded everyone of his outrageous talents with an absolutely crazy bit of skill during the 2-0 win over Watford on Saturday.

Firmino put in another resolute display for the club and played a crucial part in securing the 3 points which extended Liverpool’s lead at the top of the Premier League to 10 points.

While his workrate and dedication remains world class, the robust Brazilian hasn’t quite hit the heights of previous campaigns as far as numbers are concerned and has just 4 goals and 4 assists to his name so far.

Regardless of whether he finds the net or not, the 28-year-old is still considered an instrumental part of Jurgen Klopp’s plans for the club and was one of the few players who dazzled the home fans in an otherwise quiet first-half against the Hornets.

The Brazilian played a huge role in the build-up to Mo Salah’s opener by producing an absolutely jaw dropping no-look acrobatic pass to find Mane which left the Anfield crowd roaring for more.

Pure Brazilian flair!