“‘A fantastic win,’ declared Virgil van Dijk deadpan to the waiting written media. Then a big grin crept across his face. The pretence wasn’t maintained. Liverpool could afford to see the funny side after a fourth straight Premier League victory lifted them to within two points of the Champions League places after 16 games. Christmas is a time for giving, and how grateful Van Dijk and company were for the generosity shown by the hapless Wout Faes, who became the first Premier League player to score two own goals in one top-flight game since Stoke City’s Jonathan Walters managed it against Chelsea in 2013. …”
The Athletic (Video)

“Liverpool’s outgoing sporting director Julian Ward worked through Christmas Eve and Christmas Day to get the basis of a transfer agreement for Cody Gakpo in place with the player’s club, PSV Eindhoven. His counterpart in the Netherlands was PSV’s sporting director Marcel Brands, formerly of Everton. …”
The Athletic (Video)

“It’s five minutes in. Aston Villa half-clear a corner to around 40 yards from goal, dead centre. How many right-backs will shun the easy back-in-the-mixer option to ping an outside-of-the-foot pass and find a teammate on the flank? And how many left-backs will make a surging run down the right-hand side, then meet the pass with a perfect first-time touch with the outside of the boot for your striker to slot home? They’re an extraordinary pair, are Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson. …”
The Sportsman

“Filming restrictions were in place at Liverpool’s training base in Dubai earlier this month but as well as concealing anything potentially secretive, the decision prompted gossip about who was entering and leaving, even inside the club. Certainly, at the team’s hotel, there were visitors from the Middle East. And in position, for a few days at least, was Billy Hogan, the club’s chief executive, who flew in following a short stay in Qatar during the World Cup there. Liverpool, of course, are open to investment and up for sale — it would therefore make sense for Doha or Dubai to become a Constantinople or Beirut: an exchange point of thoughts, the setting for quiet conversation and perhaps some loose agreement. …”
The Athletic (Video)

“A few words of reassurance in a week of uncertainty. Two days after The Athletic broke the story that Fenway Sports Group were willing to sell either part or all of their shares in Liverpool, Jurgen Klopp suggested that no matter what happens from here, he is ‘committed to the club.’ Listening to his answer in full while reading between the lines, it is clear that he thinks it is more likely that Liverpool will be subject to new investment rather than a takeover, a move which according to him, would ‘actually… make sense’. …”
The Athletic

“It was about time Liverpool remembered how to dig in. Even if Jürgen Klopp more or less admitted that the red machine is not back to full working order just yet, at least he saw glimpses of the old fighting spirit. It took plenty of guts to see off another late comeback from Tottenham, not to mention plenty of clearances from Ibrahima Konaté and brave punches from Alisson, and while this was not a complete display from Liverpool it was easy to see why Klopp celebrated at full time by marching across the pitch to celebrate with the travelling support. …”
Guardian

“It was about halfway through the first half of Liverpool’s defeat to Leeds at Anfield last Saturday that Fabinho made his feelings known to the crowd. The hosts had once again failed to string some passes together and as the ball drifted out of play there came groans from the Kop. Hearing this, Fabinho turned to the stand and began waving his arms in a call for support, doing so aggressively and with a snarl on his face. He clearly was not happy and neither were those watching on, with a fair few making that clear to him. …”
Guardian

“Darren Burgess was an Australian fitness and conditioning specialist whose appointment at Liverpool in 2010, during a period of unprecedented upheaval across all levels of the club, was attached to that of their head of sports medicine and science Peter Brukner. Roy Hodgson was drowning as manager and, two weeks before Fenway Sports Group’s takeover, striker Fernando Torres was left out of a Europa League game because of concerns from the new staff about his physical state. …”
The Athletic

“A crestfallen Jurgen Klopp walked across to the travelling Kop inside Stadio Diego Armando Maradona after the final whistle and held his hands up apologetically. … Liverpool have given their supporters so many memories to cherish with their European exploits during Klopp’s reign. Last season, they became the first club in Champions League history to win all six away matches en route to the final in Paris. Yet the contrast between the team that dug deep to fight for glory on all fronts and the one that was humiliated by the rampant Serie A side on Wednesday could hardly be greater. Rarely has a team fallen so far, so quickly. …”
The Athletic

“When Olivia Pratt-Korbel’s mum heard a commotion outside her home last week, she went to investigate. Suddenly, a man was running for his life towards her. In pursuit was another man who was wearing a balaclava and carrying two guns. As she tried to close the door, the gunman shot four times. One of the bullets went through Cheryl’s hand before entering Olivia’s chest. Police believe the intended target escaped by leaving the nine-year-old to die, just in front of the stairs. …”
The Athletic

“… It came just a couple of months on from last season’s exploits, when they came agonisingly close to football immortality, winning the Carabao Cup and FA Cup but then finishing runners-up in the Premier League by a point and losing the Champions League final against Real Madrid. Manager Jurgen Klopp has set high standards during his time at Anfield and his side failed to meet them so far this term, but promoted Bournemouth’s arrival on Merseyside gave the Reds a chance to remind their rivals of their credentials. …”
BBC (Video)

“When it was all getting a little too much for Jürgen Klopp at Mainz, when the defeats began to accumulate and the negative thoughts began to spiral, he would clear the schedule, jump in the car and take his squad on an adventure holiday. Long walks in the Hunsrück. Mountain biking in the Black Forest. Two or three days spent knocking back beers, sleeping in tiny huts, having the sort of honest conversations you couldn’t really have in an office. This was Klopp’s terrain, the land where he grew up, and in times of crisis it also became his sanctuary. …”
Guardian