Category Archives: FC Liverpool

Fear and loathing in Premier League academy football: Scouts in a pen, no team sheets and denying access

“At a Manchester City Under-16s game last month, 21 academy scouts were corralled into a tight square next to one of the corner flags, far from the rest of the spectators. They had not congregated together out of choice. This was the designated area, outlined by bright cones, other clubs’ talent spotters were frogmarched to before kick-off. A few years ago, it would have been a peculiar sight. Today, it is a scene recreated every weekend across most of the Premier League academy landscape. The motive? To keep rival scouts isolated from parents, so they cannot lure away your top players. …”
NY Times/The Athletic

Is Premier League title race already down to two teams?

“Has the Premier League title race been whittled down to two teams after just 11 games of the season? Leaders Liverpool had the dream weekend after victory over Aston Villa coupled with defeat for Manchester City against Brighton – and Sunday’s 1-1 draw between Arsenal and Chelsea. They now lead City by five points – and the rest of the pack by nine points or more. Opta’s ‘supercomputer’ gives Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal just a 3.5% chance of the title, with Chelsea down on 0.2% and anybody else on 0%. …”
BBC

How Liverpool turned the underlap into a potent weapon under Arne Slot

“Different season, same Mohamed Salah. Nine goals and nine assists in 16 games in all competitions show how the 32-year-old is in white-hot form. Questions will continue to swirl around the club until there is greater clarity over Salah’s future — his contract is up in the summer and he is free to negotiate a pre-contract move with a foreign club from January 1 — but there is little doubt his dual-threat from a creative and goalscoring perspective. As The Athletic has recently analysed, much of Salah’s creativity has been directed towards the back post, with last week’s assists for Cody Gakpo and Luis Diaz against Bayer Leverkusen adding to his suite of services provided to his team-mates from his switched crosses. …”
NY Times/The Athletic

The Briefing: Are we set for a thrilling title race and can Forest’s form continue?

“Welcome to The Briefing, where every Monday this season The Athletic will discuss three of the biggest questions to arise from the weekend’s Premier League football. This was the round of games where Tottenham produced a brilliant second half to thrash Aston Villa, Southampton finally got their first win of the season — and Ipswich came so close to theirs — while Chris Wood’s amazing form continued. We will ask whether the flaws of the contenders will give us a thrilling title race over the coming months, what Ruben Amorim will think after watching Manchester United’s draw against Chelsea and whether Nottingham Forest are the most impressive team in the 2024-25 Premier League so far. …”
NY Times/The Athletic (Video)

Why the Premier League table after 10 games is a reliable guide to how the season will end

“There is an understanding that a league table does not truly “take shape” until clubs have played 10 of their allotted matches in that season’s competition. It is an ancient and arbitrary threshold we have created for ourselves, but it has merit. First, it is a nice round number. Second, it’s… double figures. …”
NY Times/The Athletic

RB Leipzig 0 Liverpool 1: Rampaging Nunez, Liverpool go three from three and Leipzig stutter

“Darwin Nunez’s poacher’s finish fired Liverpool to victory at RB Leipzigand maintained their flawless start to life in this season’s Champions League. Arne Slot’s side made it three wins from three in the competition with a 1-0 win in Germany, with former Leipzig players Ibrahima Konate and Dominik Szoboszlai tasting victory against their old team thanks to Nunez’s first-half goal. …”
NY Times/The Athletic

Liverpool’s patience out of possession under Slot is working – but Chelsea showed the approach isn’t flawless

“For long periods of their 2-1 victory over Chelsea on Sunday afternoon, Liverpool didn’t feel quite like Liverpool. It’s been two months since Arne Slot’s first competitive game in charge, but this was something new: his first Premier League match at Anfield against genuinely strong opposition. Previous home games were against Brentford, Nottingham Forest and Bournemouth — sides you expect Liverpool to dominate. There was no guarantee of that against Chelsea, who wanted to play out from the back and enjoy long spells of possession. Liverpool, for most of the last decade, would try to deny opponents that luxury. …”
NY Times/The Athletic

Premier League: 10 talking points from the weekend’s action

Wolves 1-2 Manchester City
“… 2 – Tight margins go against O’Neil again: The obvious topic of debate at Molineux centred on whether Bernardo Silva impeded José Sá’s ability to save John Stones’s 95th-minute header. The officials concluded Silva had no impact on the goal and, while hugely disappointed, the first thing Gary O’Neil did when he got into his manager’s office was to study how Stones was able to register an effort on goal. O’Neil acknowledged the minutiae make the difference in tight games, leading him to bemoan having to substitute the 6ft 4in Wolves goalscorer Jørgen Strand Larsen, owing to fatigue. …”
Guardian

Liverpool have the best defence in the Premier League – can they maintain it?

“Liverpool are the early leaders for the best defence in the league competition. Yet while there has been plenty of talk about the impact of Arne Slot’s possession-based philosophy, less remarked upon is that his side have conceded just two league goals in their opening seven games — four fewer than the joint-second lowest, Arsenal and Nottingham Forest. In their 10 matches in all competitions, they have conceded just four goals and kept six clean sheets. That is a significant improvement from last season when they kept the same amount of clean sheets in their final 27 games. …”
NY Times/The Athletic

How the best Premier League managers stay one step ahead: New ideas, adaptation, evolution

“In the future, looking back on current tactical innovations and unique styles of play will not provide a dopamine hit. By then, they will be normalised. What seemed novel 20 years ago is the minimum requirement to excel in football nowadays — just ask Jose Mourinho and Rafa Benitez. Their meticulous planning before Chelsea and Liverpool faced opponents was on another level by Premier League standards and helped them create defensive structures that opposition players hated. Mourinho also worked on attacking and defensive transitions in his first period at Chelsea — when he won the Premier League in 2005 and 2006 — which was not conventional at the time. ‘Mourinho placed more emphasis upon the transition than any previous Premier League coach,’ writes The Athletic’s Michael Cox in his book, The Mixer: The Story of Premier League Tactics. …”
NY Times/The Athletic

The Biggest Question Facing Every Premier League Team

“The most popular soccer league in the world returns on Friday at the Theatre of Dreams as Fulham visits Manchester United. If it feels like the soccer season is never-ending after the European Championships, Copa América, and Olympicinternational tournaments all summer, you’re correct. Just 89 days after Manchester City won a fourth straight Premier League title, the English top flight is back for the first of 38 matchweeks. While many in England remain on summer holiday, the clubs have been busy with preseason tours and final preparations for the grueling marathon season that will go into late May 2025. To preview the 2024-25 Premier League season, I ranked all 20 teams by posing the biggest question facing each club. …”
The Ringer
BBC: Who will finish in the Premier League’s top four?

Why Liverpool want Giorgi Mamardashvili – the ‘Georgian Wall’ goalkeeper coveted across Europe

“Before an unforgettable footballing adventure had even begun, a nation had one man to thank. Such was the magnitude of Georgia’s penalty shootout win over Greece in March — a victory clinched by Giorgi Mamardashvili, and which ensured the country reached their first major international tournament — that every player, coach and member of the football federation received the Order of Honour from the national president. Mamardashvili’s reputation has rocketed after a shot-stopping clinic at that tournament, the European Championship in Germany this summer, with onlookers incredulous as the saves stacked up. It’s no surprise the man known as the ‘Georgian Wall’ has admirers — although Liverpool might not have been the first team on everyone’s lips to be among them. …”
NY Times/The Athletic
W – Giorgi Mamardashvili

2024-25 Premier League – Location-map, with 3 charts

“The map is a basic location-map, with an inset map of Greater London. Also shown are small labels which point out both the three promoted clubs (Leicester City, Ipswich Town, Southampton), and the three relegated clubs (Luton Town, Burnley, Sheffield United). And there are three charts… The Attendance chart, at top-centre of the map page, shows 4 things for each of the 20 current Premier League clubs…A) 2023-24 finish (with promotions noted). B) 2023-24 average attendance [from home league matches]. C) Stadium capacity [2023-24]. D) Percent-capacity [2023-24]. At the right-hand side of the map page are two more charts. The chart at the top-right shows Seasons-in-1st-Division for the 20 current Premier League clubs. …”
billsportsmaps
W – 2024–25 Premier League

The Transfer DealSheet: Latest on Man Utd, Arsenal, Liverpool, Real Madrid, Barcelona and more

“Welcome to the latest edition of the Transfer DealSheet, your weekly guide to what is happening in the summer window. Our team of dedicated writers, including Adam Leventhal and David Ornstein, will take you inside the market to explain the deals being worked on, the players who could arrive and the ones who are on their way out across the Premier League and beyond. In last week’s edition, we looked at Liverpool’s pursuit of a No 6 and the situation with Chelsea’s Englandmidfielder Conor Gallagher. The information found within this article has been gathered according to The Athletic’s sourcing guidelines. Unless stated, our reporters have spoken to more than one person briefed on each deal before offering the clubs involved the opportunity to comment. Those responses, where they were given, have been included in the Transfer DealSheet. …”
NY Times/The Athletic

Is the cult of the manager over? How English football’s power structure changed

“There is no escaping the cult of the manager in English football. From Busby to Ferguson, from Chapman to Wenger, from Shankly to Klopp, from Revie to Clough, from Mourinho to Guardiola, it sometimes feels like one of the last bastions of the 19th-century ‘great man theory’ — as if, to bastardise the words of Thomas Carlyle, the history of English football is but the biography of great men. Some of the greatest are commemorated with statues outside their clubs’ stadiums: Herbert Chapman and Arsene Wenger at Arsenal, Bill Shankly and Bob Paisley at Liverpool, Sir Matt Busby and Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United, Sir Alf Ramsey and Sir Bobby Robson at Ipswich Town, Don Revie at Leeds United, Stan Cullis at Wolverhampton Wanderers. These men did not just win hearts, minds and trophies. They shaped eras. …”
NY Times/The Athletic

2023–24 Premier League

“The 2023–24 Premier League was the 32nd season of the Premier League and the 125th season of top-flight English football overall. The season began on 11 August 2023, and concluded on 19 May 2024. Manchester City, the defending champions, won their fourth consecutive title, the first men’s team to do so. … All three of the newly promoted teams were relegated (Luton Town, Burnley, and Sheffield United), the first time this happened since the 1997–98 season; those three teams had a combined total of 66 points. Nottingham Forestavoided relegation with 32 points (including a 4 point deduction), a record low for a team to do so. …The new stoppage time rule was used in the league for the first time this season. In an effort to improve clamping down on time-wasting and to improve the accuracy of time added on, stoppage times were longer across matches. The new rule accounted for stoppages due to injuries, goal celebrations, yellow and red cards, and VAR reviews. …”
W – 2023–24 Premier League
Watch: How 2023/24’s FINAL DAY unfolded (Video)

The Real Jurgen Klopp, part 1: The ‘normal guy from the Black Forest’

“After almost nine years in charge and seven major trophies, Jurgen Klopp is leaving Liverpool. He has been one of the most transformative managers in the club’s history and in English football’s modern era. To mark his departure, The Athletic is bringing you The Real Jurgen Klopp, a series of pieces building the definitive portrait of one of football’s most famous figures. …”
NY Times/The Athletic (Video)

How to win a Premier League penalty: A deep dive into the best masters of the dark arts

“Arsenal are still level with Bournemouth after 41 minutes and are getting frustrated. They need a win to keep the pressure on Manchester City, who play Wolverhampton Wanderers later that day, in the battle for the Premier League title. Kai Havertz has made a career of finding pockets of space and does so again, gliding into the penalty area to meet Martin Odegaard’s through ball. He uses the outside of his left boot to flick the ball away from onrushing goalkeeper Mark Travers — before keeping that foot down on the turf, elongating it towards the floor like a ballerina performing an axel turn. Travers cannot avoid it and makes contact. …”
The Athletic (Video)

Why progressive actions are football’s most important metrics

“Every sport needs a currency, some basic stat to keep track of the important stuff that happens along the way to scoring and winning. A good currency should be easy to count and have an obvious relationship to the point of the game. … Progressive actions are not advanced metrics. You can see them with your eyes instead of a statistical model. If you got bored enough, you could sit in the stadium and tally them up with a Sharpie on some accommodating seat-mate’s bald head. But simple as they are, progressive actions are fundamental to how the game works and can give you a pretty good idea of which teams and players are good at it. …”
The Athletic

Echoes of errors: why has VAR sparked so much fury this season?

“Seven months ago Englandthe country came the closest yet to entering thermonuclear war over a refereeing decision. When the referee Simon Hooper mistakenly ruled out a Luis Díaz goal at Tottenham for offside and the video assistant referee Darren England failed to correct him, the initial response was heated and only bubbled up from there. … The next morning, Liverpool released a statement arguing ‘sporting integrity had been undermined’ the supporters’ group Spirit of Shankly said that ‘VAR and PGMOL are not fit for purpose’ and the club’s former striker John Aldridge alleged corruption. …”
Guardian

Liverpool have run out of steam. But Klopp’s legacy is already cemented

“And so there will be no glorious farewell for Jürgen Klopp. Saturday’s 2-2 draw with West Ham, coupled with victories for Manchester City and Arsenal, means any realistic hope of a second Premier League title is effectively over. Klopp is exhausted, his team is exhausted and the manic emotional energy that gripped the side during the League Cup final and immediately after has dissipated. …”
Guardian – Jonathan Wilson
The Athletic – Liverpool squad audit: Who could be the winners and losers under Slot?

Tottenham 2 Arsenal 3: Quick start key again? What is Havertz? How unlucky were Spurs?

“The title race remains on. Arsenal made sure of that at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. For Spurs, though, the race for a top-four spot looks less likely to be won after a chastening defeat to their north London rivals. This derby victory put Mikel Arteta’s side four points clear at the top of the Premier League before second-placed Manchester City’s match against Nottingham Forest. City’s victory means there is now one point between the top two, with City having a game in hand. …”
The Athletic
The Athletic: Nottingham Forest 0 Man City 2: Haaland’s impact? Champions League exit benefit? – The Briefing

How Arne Slot plays football – and can it work at Liverpool?

“Arne Slot is set to become the next man in charge at Anfield. On Friday night, Liverpool agreed a compensation package with Feyenoord that will allow the 45-year-old to become Jurgen Klopp’s successor following the conclusion of the current season. Slot’s pedigree has grown across European football in the past 18 months after he led Feyenoord to only their second Eredivisie title in 20 years last season, losing just two games in the process. …”
The Athletic

West Ham 2 Liverpool 2 – Quansah lesson? Soft goal problem? Diaz the trusted forward?

“Liverpool were held to a 2-2 draw by West Ham United on Saturday afternoon. West Ham took the lead when Jarrod Bowen rose highest from a corner and headed past Alisson in the Liverpool net. Shortly after the break, though, Andrew Robertson curled the ball in to level the game. Liverpool went ahead in the 65th minute courtesy of a fortunate goal, which saw the ball ricochet off Alphonse Areola and into the back of the net. But Michail Antonio levelled the game for the hosts with 77 minutes on the clock. …”
The Athlete

Everton 2 Liverpool 0: Klopp’s first-ever Goodison defeat all but ends title dream – The Briefing

“Wednesday evening’s Merseyside derby was as intense as so many of its predecessors. As they have so often in recent weeks, Jurgen Klopp’s team began the game sloppily, handing Everton the advantage in a crucial game for both sides. VAR ruled out an early penalty for the home side for offside but one of the most slapdash goals of the entire Premier League season put Everton into the lead midway through the first half. Liverpool fought back, but their other constant current issue — wayward finishing — ensured Sean Dyche’s team led at half-time. …”
The Athletic (Video)

Slot, Amorim, Lopetegui; Liverpool, Bayern – which managers are going where?

“The transfer window for players will open when the season ends but the movement of managers has no deadline — anyone can switch roles at any point. Jurgen Klopp’s announcement in January that he would be leaving Liverpool at the end of this season after nine years at Anfield kicked off speculation over who would replace him. Soon after, Xavi said he would be stepping down as Barcelona head coach this summer before Bayern Munich joined the party in February by confirming they would be parting ways with Thomas Tuchel, leaving three of the biggest jobs in European football open for applications. However, Xavi has now reversed his decision and will stay on at Barca. A disappointing season for Manchester United, meanwhile, has also led to questions over Erik ten Hag’s future and a potential vacancy at Old Trafford. So who are the managers expected to be on the move in the coming months and who is staying put? …”
The Athletic

Many Premier League champions have ‘choked’ – the true test is can you recover in time

“Fred Done had been a bookmaker for more than three decades, with more than 100 betting shops across the north west of England, before he unwittingly stumbled upon a brilliant but expensive way to make more people aware of his brand. In March 1998 he announced he was paying out early on the Premier Leaguetitle race. Manchester United were 11 points clear of second-placed Blackburn Rovers and 12 points clear of third-placed Arsenal. Both of the chasers had games in hand — three in Arsenal’s case — but, as far as the bookie was concerned, it was all over. …”
The Athletic (Video)

Liverpool’s failure to keep clean sheets is proving deeply damaging

“Liverpool’s defending was indefensible against Atalanta. Conceding three times left hopes of winning the Europa League dangling by the thinnest of threads and also brought to the forefront bigger problems that could derail their Premier League title challenge too. European comebacks are a Liverpool speciality, including incredible nights under Jurgen Klopp. Yet, if his side have a chance of turning around the 3-0 deficit, they will probably need to keep a clean sheet. After the 3-0 defeat to Barcelona in the 2019 Champions League semi-final first leg, Liverpool famously won the second leg 4-0 to go through. Despite being ridiculed after the game, the Spanish side’s tweet below was valid. …”
The Athletic
Guardian – ‘This must feel bad and it does’: Jürgen Klopp rues Liverpool’s mental fatigue

Liverpool’s threat from corners has increased and could help turn their season around

“As Kostas Tsimikas placed the ball on the edge of the corner arc, the Anfield crowd held their breath. With 88 minutes on the clock and the scores level against Ajax in their second Champions League group match, having lost the opener badly, Liverpool needed a winner from their 10th corner of the night. The delivery was excellent, as it was all game, and Joel Matip rose highest to head the ball home. Cue bedlam. To coin a Football Cliches classic, it had been coming. Jurgen Klopp’s side were a constant threat from corners and had already forced a number of saves from Remko Pasveer. …”
The Athletic

Manchester United 2 Liverpool 2: More Mainoo, more chaos, Klopp’s side made to pay

“Three weeks on from their seven-goal FA Cup classic, Liverpool and Manchester United met again — and again, we were entertained. Though this contest resulted in only four goals, Liverpool could have had significantly more in the first half alone, missing several chances while United failed to take any sort of attempt at Caoimhin Kelleher’s goal. …”
The Athletic
Guardian: Ongoing sense of shambles at Manchester United is unsustainable – Jonathan Wilson
The Athletic – Virgil van Dijk criticises ‘wasteful’ Liverpool: ‘It’s our fault again’

Football’s elite are tightening up – and Arsenal lead the pack

“Tho said football was supposed to be fun? Sunday’s meeting between Manchester City and Arsenal was billed as an epic showdown between sorcerer and apprentice that might decide the league title. It produced a total of three shots on target – which is to say as many as Brentford had against Manchester United between the 53rd and 55th minutes. Admire the tactical machinations if you like, the levels of concentration and the planning that went into it, the obviously refined level of the lack of action, but this was shit on a stick for the TikTok generation. ….”
Guardian – Jonathan Wilson

Why Mac Allister and Bradley are integral to Liverpool’s reimagined right-sided triangle

“Liverpool’s right-sided triangle was synonymous with their 2019-20 Premier League title win. Mohamed Salah coming inside from the wing, Trent Alexander-Arnold pushing on from full-back and Jordan Henderson rotating wide to cover — Liverpool won 21 of the 22 league games the trio started together. Among the 21 was a 2-1 defeat of visitors Brighton & Hove Albion in November 2019. But since then, Brighton have been a bogey team for Jurgen Klopp’s side — with three Brighton wins and four draws in the nine matches before the two sides met at Anfield again on Sunday. …”
The Athletic
The Athletic: Immense Mac Allister is providing the calm and control that Liverpool need right now

Manchester City 0 Arsenal 0: Defences on top as title rivals cancel each other out – The Briefing

“Manchester City versus Arsenal was one of the most anticipated games of the Premier League season but its sheer importance in the title race — and how equally matched the two sides are — resulted in a cautious and goalless first half. The energy and aggression were dialled up after the break but chances remained at a premium. After we witnessed 99 touches in the penalty area in Brentford’s game with Manchester United yesterday, this was a very different sort of game. Technical, tactical, tense. …”
The Athletic

Appointing a Liverpool manager: A guide to the dos and don’ts

“To understand how Liverpool are going about hiring their next manager, it’s worth reviewing how they appointed the current one almost nine years ago. Ian Ayre, who was the club’s chief executive, made first contact with targets. Two of those conversations produced interviews, the first with Carlo Ancelotti and the second with Jurgen Klopp. Both men flew to the United States, where Liverpool’s owners Fenway Sports Group (FSG) are based, following dialogue instigated by Ayre. …”
The Athletic

The Premier League, where scoring first doesn’t matter anymore

“It takes commitment to support Norwich City. There’s the flitting between the Premier League and the Championship. There’s your arch-rivals becoming very good at football. There’s competing in a financial world that feels increasingly distant from Carrow Road. And speaking of distance — the travel distances from East Anglia make every away day an odyssey. …”
The Athletic

Ten Hag’s job is not safe, but Liverpool win will resonate for decades

“And in the next round, Mark Robins. Football has found itself assailed in recent years by states, oligarchs and private equity, the concentration of resources at a handful of clubs in a tiny number of western European countries destroying the balance that once sustained it, the potential of its soft power meaning that it has been preyed upon by regimes desperate to launder their image and secure influence. But, despite all that, the sport has retained its mischievous sense of humour. …”
Guardian – Jonathan Wilson
The Athletic: Angry Klopp, a ‘dumb’ question and when managers lose their cool (Video)

Champions League quarter-final draw: Predictions, tactics and players to watch

“The Champions League quarter-final draw is complete — and there is no shortage of intrigue. From the winners of the last two seasons (Manchester City and Real Madrid) being paired against each other to Harry Kane returning to north London to face Arsenal, or one-half of the draw opening up for one of the less-fancied teams in the last eight (something unlikely to ever happen again given the format changes from next season), the sub-plots are fascinating. The Athletic assembled an expert panel to cast their eyes over the four ties to explain where they will be decided, who they are tipping to go through and which team they are expecting to lift the trophy at Wembley on June 1. …”
The Athletic (Video)

Liverpool vs Manchester City: This is what a Premier League classic looks like

“Jurgen Klopp summed it up perfectly: ‘What a game, what an atmosphere, what an afternoon.’ Even his wife enjoyed it. ‘She was completely buzzing,’ the Liverpool manager said — and just about everyone inside Anfield must have felt the same. It ended with the points shared: Liverpool 1-1 Manchester City. In that respect, perhaps the biggest beneficiaries were Arsenal, who remain top of the Premier League with 10 games left, ahead of Liverpool on goal difference. But it was one of those afternoons when it feels legitimate rather than trite to suggest football was the winner — another epic battle between these two teams who, in terms of speed and imagination, can give you the feeling you are watching 4D chess. …”
The Athletic (Video)
The Athletic: How Guardiola’s double substitution helped save Manchester City against Liverpool
The Athletic: Breaking down four minutes of chaos that could change course of Premier League title (Video)
The Athletic: Liverpool’s ‘exceptional’ display against Man City should fuel belief this team can go the distance (Video)

The Premier League Title Race Hasn’t Been This Thrilling in Years

“… And, of course, there’s the three-way ongoing slugfest in the English Premier League. Ahead of Man City and Liverpool’s consequential matchup on Sunday, the Reds are top of the table with 63 points, while City, the reigning champions, are on 62 points and third-place Arsenal have 61 points—each with 11 games left to determine who will lift the Premier League trophy in May. …”
The Ringer

Inside Liverpool’s commercial strategy: Blue-chip deals, U.S. focus and closing Man City gap

“The battle off the field in the Premier League is as keenly contested as the one on it. Liverpool’s recently published accounts for the 2022-23 season showed that commercial income had risen by £25million to £272m ($345.5m at the current exchange rate) – moving above broadcast and other media revenue to become the club’s biggest source of cash. That figure has almost doubled in the space of five years but they are still playing catch-up on two of their domestic rivals. Manchester City lead the way with annual commercial revenue of £341million, followed by Manchester United on £303m. …”
The Athletic

Goal kicks: How does each Premier League club take them?

“An outfield player taking a goal kick used to be a rare treat, a sign that the goalkeeper had pulled a muscle and needed a willing team-mate to launch the ball towards the centre circle. But since a tweak of football’s laws in 2019, the once-humble goal kick has become an increasingly integral part of how a club chooses to build up play. Some teams choose to have a defender pass the ball laterally to the goalkeeper, some ask the goalkeeper to play short to team-mates in the box, while some still prefer to go long and direct. …”
The Athletic

Nottingham Forest 0 Liverpool 1: Was this the kind of win champions deliver? – The Briefing

“Somehow, Liverpool keep finding a way. An afternoon which looked certain to finish in frustration ended in frantic, joyous celebrations as Darwin Nunez’s header in the last minute of stoppage time secured a 1-0 win at Nottingham Forest. It extends Liverpool’s lead at the top of the table to four points ahead of Manchester City’s game against Manchester United tomorrow and Arsenal’s at Sheffield United on Monday. We dissect the main talking points of another remarkable day. …”
The Athletic
The Athletic – Explained: Liverpool’s winner, a drop ball, angry Marinakis and a vocal Clattenburg cameo

Erik ten Hag is imagining bad faith from Jamie Carragher. Perhaps he senses the ground shaking

“As Erik ten Hag addressed reporters in a media suite at the club’s Carrington training ground, he opted for the oldest trick in the book of any Manchester United manager: go after a man from Liverpool. Sir Alex Ferguson was never shy in reminding the BBC how many former Liverpool pundits the national broadcaster had on its books. In 2012, Ferguson accused the ex-Liverpool defender Alan Hansen of criticising United publicly as a favour to his friend and then Liverpool boss Kenny Dalglish in a bid to rile United before a cup tie between the two clubs. …”
The Athletic

Introducing the 8.5, the hybrid role that is shaping the Premier League title race

“This season’s battle for the Premier League title is now unquestionably a three-horse race. In May, Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City will become the first side in English football history to win four titles in a row. Or Jurgen Klopp will win his second Premier League title before departing Liverpool. Or Mikel Arteta will lead Arsenal to their first league title in two decades. Whichever outcome transpires, the victorious side will have depended on a player who has fulfilled an unusual role this season. …”
The Athletic – Michael Cox

Liverpool could face 26 games in 99 days – can they cope?

“… His Liverpool side played 63 games in pursuit of perfection across four competitions during that campaign and now there is the possibility of doing it all over again. That edge is where Klopp and his players want to return before parting ways this summer and last weekend marked the point when the long stretch towards the season’s conclusion began. …”
The Athletic

Arsenal, Manchester City or Liverpool? The Premier League’s title race analysed

“The maths are pretty simple. Only two points separate the top three with one-third of the season remaining — three points, if Manchester City win their game in hand against Brentford on Tuesday. For the first time in a long time, it looks like we have a proper three-horse race on our hands. There is just a small snag that someone might want to share with Messrs Guardiola, Klopp and Arteta — three does not go into one. So who are the favourites to win the title? …”
The Athletic

Jurgen Klopp knew exactly what Mikel Arteta had planned, but had little solution

“A month ago, Jurgen Klopp complimented Mikel Arteta’s tactical approach, even as Arsenal were eventually eliminated by Liverpool in the FA Cup third round. ‘It is difficult to prepare for what Arsenal did tonight, especially in the first half,’ Klopp said. ‘Kai Havertz and Martin Odegaard, more or less as ‘double 10s’ in a 4-2-2-2.’ So, for Sunday’s league fixture, Arteta did the same again. …”
The Athletic

Arsenal 3 Liverpool 1: A twist in the title race? – The Briefing

“The wry smiles from Jurgen Klopp perhaps summed it up best. Arsenal pounced on two defensive errors to beat visitors Liverpool 3-1 and move to within two points of them at the top of the Premier League table. The home side went ahead through Bukayo Saka and dominated the first 45 minutes. Yet a mix-up between William Saliba — under pressure from Luis Diaz — and David Raya meant Liverpool were level by half-time without having had a shot on target after Gabriel Magalhaes had the final touch on their equaliser. …”
The Athletic
Guardian: Gabriel Martinelli runs Arsenal show by mastering moments of chaos

How Football Works: Diagonals

“If you’re a football team who would like to get the ball past the other team and into the net, you have three basic routes to pick from: over, around or through their defence. Each has its drawbacks. Lobs over the top might as well be gift-wrapped for the goalkeeper. Sneaking around the sides sounds clever until you get trapped against the touchline. And zig-zagging through the middle is just plain hard, what with all those mean people trying to snatch the ball away. …”
The Athletic (Video)

Jürgen Klopp and Liverpool ready to buckle up for high-stakes title fight

“Some unscrupulous chancers are hitting the jackpot thanks to Jürgen Klopp’s leaving of Liverpool. Lower main stand tickets for his final game at Anfield are priced at £12,000 on one resale site (well, they are right behind the dugout) and a seat on the Kop is going for £4,250. They will get it too, and possibly more nearer the time, should the price of a ticket for Wolves on 19 May include the presentation of the Premier League trophy to a departing idol. Klopp was asked on Friday whether he had contemplated the perfect Premier League send-off. …”
Guardian

Jurgen Klopp turned doubters into believers – but now the day Liverpool dreaded has come

“As football news bombshells go, Jurgen Klopp’s announcement on Friday morning was right up there. It is one of those stories that initially left you wondering whether someone was having you on. Your eyes narrowed and you took a closer look to check whether that really was Liverpool’s official social media handle and whether that really was an interview with Klopp, rather than some kind of AI creation. But no, that really was Klopp furrowing his brow, exhaling, taking a moment to compose himself, looking straight into the camera and saying: ‘I will leave the club at the end of the season.’ …”
The Athletic (Video)

Bournemouth 0 Liverpool 4: How Jota and Nunez laid on a finishing masterclass

“Liverpool march on. Jurgen Klopp’s side moved five points clear at the top of the Premier League table after an emphatic win at Bournemouthextended their unbeaten run in the competition to 14 games. They have played a match more than second-placed Manchester City but this was another test impressively overcome by Liverpool as they prepare to try and book a trip to Wembley on Wednesday in the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup. We dissect the big talking points at the Vitality Stadium. …”
The Athletic

Why are Premier League forwards increasingly choosing one of football’s most difficult shots?

“… It’s a quirk we seem to be enjoying more regularly — the one where players shoot from a wide angle and, just when they look nailed on to whip an effort into the far corner, they swiftly reverse the shot to the near post — wrong-footing just about everyone in the stadium. … Let’s go straight into the tape. In this first instance, Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah comes inside against Arsenal’s Oleksandr Zinchenko, his body shape — and the large area of the goal uncovered — suggests he will shoot across David Raya (black arrow), but he swiftly pivots to close his body and strike through the ball towards the smaller area at Raya’s near post (white arrow). …”
The Athletic

Arsenal 0 Liverpool 2: Home side wasteful again as Alexander-Arnold impresses

“Two of the sides fighting for the Premier League title engaged in a very enjoyable FA Cup encounter on Sunday afternoon. Arsenal hosted Liverpool at the Emirates Stadium, with both sides signalling their intentions by naming strong XIs. Mikel Arteta’s side dominated the first half, hitting 13 shots, 11 more than their opponents, but — as so often recently — their finishing repeatedly let them down. …”
The Athletic
The Athletic: Why buying a new striker is not the answer to Arsenal’s scoring slump (Video)

Why Newcastle conceded a Premier League record xG against Liverpool

“Sometimes statistics can be misleading, but there was nothing deceptive about Liverpool’s record-breaking expected goals (xG) return of 7.27 from their New Year’s Day game against Newcastle United. Head coach Eddie Howe may refute that his side were “open” in the 4-2 defeat at Anfield, but when your opponents take 34 shots, including 15 on target, then it is indisputable that there are fundamental deficiencies in Newcastle’s defensive setup. …”
The Athletic
The Athletic – Liverpool 4-2 Newcastle reaction: How Salah left for AFCON in style with double
The Athletic – Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah now heads to AFCON – how on earth can they replace him?

Burnley 0 Liverpool 2: Can Nunez fill Salah void? And why was Jota return so crucial?

“Liverpool are back at the top of the Premier League. Jurgen Klopp’s side made the most of playing before Arsenal and Aston Villa in this round of fixtures, beating hosts Burnley 2-0 in a curious game which showcased their best and worst characteristics. Liverpool were far superior for long spells at Turf Moor but only led through Darwin Nunez’s sixth-minute goal for the vast majority of the evening, courtesy of a combination of poor finishing and some controversial refereeing decisions. Diogo Jota, back after injury, finally made certain of the points and ensured a two-point cushion over Arsenal, who play West Ham on Thursday. …”
The Athletic
The Athletic: A Liverpool matchday in The Albert – the pub next door to the Kop

Liverpool 0-0 Man Utd: 34 shots for Klopp’s team, Varane impresses, Onana passing key

“Liverpool were frustrated against Manchester United as they dropped two points at Anfield in a 0-0 draw. The home side dominated possession and had more chances but the visitors, arriving on the back of their midweek Champions League exit, showed resilience. Liverpool’s 34 shots are the most in a Premier League game by a team that failed to score since Manchester United’s 38 against Burnley in October 2016 and the fifth most in the competition’s history (since 2003-04 when Opta have the data). …”
The Athletic
Guardian – Erik ten Hag: from Ming the Merciless to circling the Old Trafford plughole – Jonathan Wilson
Guardian – United stoop to trench-digging for pragmatic draw at Liverpool

How often do Premier League champions score last-minute winners? Less than you might think

“Trent Alexander-Arnold smashing home a late winner against Fulham in front of the Kop. Declan Rice clambering above a defender to nod in against Luton Town. Or Rice, for that matter, striking late against Manchester United back in September. We see these goals and we think of Steve Bruce’s header against Sheffield Wednesday in 1993 or Federico Macheda’s curler against Aston Villa in 2009. We’re conditioned to think that late goals are a regular feature of title-winning champions. But is that really the case, or do we simply remember a few standout examples and exaggerate how frequently champions rely on late winners? Let’s look at the numbers… ”
The Athletic (Video)

Crystal Palace 1-2 Liverpool: Determined table toppers, penalty delays and Alisson’s return

“Substitute Harvey Elliott was the hero as Liverpool came from behind to beat Crystal Palace 2-1 at Selhurst Park. The 20-year-old hadn’t scored since January’s FA Cup tie against Brighton but he put that right with a brilliant stoppage-time winner. Jean-Philippe Mateta had fired Palace ahead from the penalty spot on a day when Jurgen Klopp’s side were far from their best, but after Jordan Ayew’s red card the visitors stepped up a gear late on. Mohamed Salah equalised before Elliott delivered the killer blow to spark wild celebrations. …”
The Athletic
The Numbers Behind Mohamed Salah’s 200 Liverpool Goals
YouTube: Mo Salah’s 200th Goal & Late Elliott Winner! Crystal Palace 1-2 Liverpool

Liverpool 4-3 Fulham: Was this the moment Anfield started to believe in a title bid?

“Liverpool are renowned for their comebacks, but even by their standards, this was special. Two goals in the last 10 minutes, scored by Wataru Endo and Trent Alexander-Arnold, turned a damaging 3-2 defeat against Fulham into a 4-3 win that kept Jurgen Klopp’s side firmly in contention near the top of the Premier League table. …”
The Athletic