In the week that Timo Werner’s move to Chelsea was confirmed, the club legend wants a serious look at the attacking options open to Jurgen Klopp.

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Former Liverpool player Jamie Carragher has said that the Reds’ offensive weakness without Mohamed Salah is worrying.

The Egypt international missed Sunday’s derby encounter against Everton, left on the bench after recent hip problems, and without him the Premier League champions elect struggled to create opportunities against their Stanley Park rivals.

Although the Anfield side dominated the game, they were unable to create any clear opportunities and the last 10 minutes were controlled by their hosts, who went closest when Tom Davies hit the post, leaving manager Jurgen Klopp to reflect that his side were a little “lucky”.

The German also pointed out a lack of offensive efficiency in his side, and Carragher says that is a worrying trend when one of their regular front three of Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino is absent.

“The front three are as good as anyone in Europe but whenever one of them is out, there is a massive drop off,” he told Sky Sports. 

“When Liverpool dropped points at Manchester United, Salah wasn’t playing. That’s why Liverpool need to strengthen the front three. Divock Origi is a legend for Liverpool as he’s scored big goals at big moments but doesn’t have quite the quality.

“Is Takumi Minamino part of the front three? Not for me. The front three are very robust and don’t miss many games but if Liverpool were to lose one of them, especially the two wide players, for a lengthy amount of time they could have a real problem next season.”

Carragher’s warning is a timely one as it comes in the wake of

Chelsea completing a big-money move for RB Leipzig striker Timo Werner, who is a player Liverpool were long credited with having an interest in.

While Salah, Mane and Firmino have contributed a combined 49 goals this season, the rest of the squad have only that number between them, while they were also without Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in their ranks on Sunday, their next leading marksman with seven goals in all competitions.

Meanwhile, in terms of Premier League goals, centre-back Virgil van Dijk is next on the list behind the front three, having contributed four times this term.

Source – Goal.com

The centre-back is up to 68 goals in the Primera Division, overhauling Barcelona legend Ronald Koeman.

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Sergio Ramos’ effort to put Real Madrid 1-0 up away to Real Sociedad on Sunday was a historic strike as it pushed the centre-back to the top of La Liga’s all-time scoring charts for defenders.

Ramos, who converted from the penalty spot to break a scoreless stalemate at Anoeta, overtook former Barcelona man Ronald Koeman with the effort, taking him to 68 goals in his top-flight career.

The 34-year-old’s joy, however, proved to be short lived as he was forced off with a knee injury in the aftermath, following a challenge to deny the home side a scoring chance. He was later caught by television cameras with his knee heavily strapped and iced in the stands as he limped to his seat.

A Spain legend, having won both the European Championships (twice) and the World Cup with the national side, he began his professional career with Sevilla in 2004, scoring two goals in 39 top-flight outings with the Andalusian club.

He moved to Real Madrid in 2005 and has remained at Santiago Bernabeu ever since, playing a key role in the club winning four La Liga titles and the Champions League on as many occasions.

While his combativity has been one of his main assets throughout his career, he has also caught the eye with his ability to find the net, doing so nearly 100 times for the club.

His first La Liga goal for Los Blancos arrived back in 2005, when he scored away to Malaga in a 2-0 victory, but he had to wait until a 4-0 win over Deportivo La Coruna in 2006 before grabbing his first goal at Santiago Bernabeu.

He is currently in his most joint most prolific campaign in La Liga, having netted his seventh of the season against Sociedad. All of these goals have come since October, although he has been boosted by taking over penalty duties since the sale of Cristiano Ronaldo to Juventus in the summer of 2018.

His kick against Sociedad was the fourth time he had netted from the spot in La Liga this term (plus one more in the Champions League), while he has only ever missed one of 17 he has taken for the club.

Source – Goal.com

The veteran defender admitted after Friday’s dour 0-0 draw at Sevilla that it will be “difficult” for Quique Setien’s side to hold on to top spot.

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Say what you will about Gerard Pique but he’s never afraid to speak his mind.

The Barcelona defender is not one to shy away from the truth. It was he who memorably confessed after a Supercopa de Espana hammering at the hands of Real Madrid in 2017 that he felt the Catalans were “inferior” to their bitter rivals for the first time in his Camp Nou career.

So, it was no surprise to see him admit immediately after Friday night’s dismal 0-0 draw at Sevilla that Quique Setien’s side face an almighty battle with a resurgent Real to retain the Liga title.

“It doesn’t depend only on our results anymore,” Pique lamented, alluding to the fact that while Barca top the table, Madrid are just three points behind with a game in hand.

“It will be difficult to win this league. We will do everything we can. But from what I’ve seen in recent weeks, it would be a surprise if Real Madrid drop points.”

That kind of pessimism will upset Barca fans, of course. But then, the truth hurts sometimes.

And there is no getting away from the fact that while many supporters thought previous coach Ernesto Valverde was the main problem at Camp Nou, Setien hardly looks like the solution.

Indeed, it is worth remembering that after Pique spoke out in 2017, Barca went on to win La Liga; a repeat under Setien feels unlikely right now, given there has been no discernible improvement in their play since the former Betis boss took charge in January.

Of course, Barca’s problems extend far beyond the dugout. This a club blighted by boardroom incompetence, which has resulted in Lionel Messi, arguably the greatest player of all time, playing out the final stage of his career in a climate of chaos and uncertainty.

Messi can sometimes bail the Blaugrana out of trouble all by himself, of course, but not always. Against Sevilla, he struggled to deal with what was an aggressive defensive approach and he was left visibly furious with one challenge from Diego Carlos.

But then one could argue his frustration is rooted in the general disarray he now finds himself in.

This is a Barca side devoid of any real identity; a team of a few fine individuals but many fading stars and sub-standard signings because of the club’s total lack of a coherent transfer strategy.

Barca may have won their first two games after the break, against Mallorca and Leganes, but they were troubled at times by two relegation-threated adversaries. Sevilla were always going to provide a sterner test of the Blaugrana’s title credentials – and they failed it.

With Frenkie de Jong absent, they lacked dynamism and precision in midfield, while Luis Suarez unsurprisingly looked off the pace in his first start after a lengthy injury absence.

That Antoine Griezmann began on the bench and only saw 15 minutes at the end of a game that Barca were desperate to win tells you everything about how the Frenchman’s first season at Camp Nou is going.

Messi, as he so often does now, dropped deeper and deeper in his desperation to provide a creative spark in the engine room – but to no avail.

He has scored more times against Sevilla than any other side but, except for the odd free-kick, he never looked like registering his 700th career goal.

In truth, this was not one of his better games and, basically, if he doesn’t perform, neither do Barca anymore.

All is not lost, of course. This was arguably the toughest fixture the Catalans had left in La Liga. And Pique is probably wrong: Real might well drop points between now and the end of the season.

But he’s definitely right about one thing: it’s going to be difficult for this Barcelona side to win the title.

For the first time since that 5-1 aggregate loss back in 2017, they look very much inferior to Madrid.

Source – Goal.com

The Frenchman only came off the bench 60 minutes into Friday’s 1-1 draw with Tottenham but he made an instant impact by winning a penalty.

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Manchester United are back – and so too is Paul Pogba.

They say a week’s a long time in football, so 100 days is almost an infinity and, after over three months without competitive action, the Red Devils finally returned to Premier League action against Tottenham on Friday night.

Before the game, plenty of question marks hung over Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side. Could they pick up where they’d left off on their 11-game unbeaten run and, more importantly, could Bruno Fernandes and Pogba play together in the same side?

United fans didn’t get to see the pair in action from the first whistle – which was met by the players taking a knee to support Black Lives Matter – but they were treated to an exciting glimpse of a potentially brilliant partnership for half an hour, as the visitors came from behind to claim a deserved 1-1 draw at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

A midfield duo of Fred and Scott McTominay meant that the fit-again Pogba had to watch from the sidelines for the first hour as United enjoyed mixed fortunes against Jose Mourinho’s side.

At first, the visitors looked utterly unaffected by the break. The passing was confident and crisp, and man of the moment Marcus Rashford was only denied the opener by the feet of Hugo Lloris.

As one of the 300 people granted access to the stadium commented, “You wouldn’t know Spurs were the home side!”

It was difficult to disagree. United looked right at home, while Tottenham appeared rattled.

However, it was the hosts who took the lead 27 minutes in – and United only had themselves to blame.

Steven Bergwijn breezed past Harry Maguire with embarrassing ease before beating David de Gea with a shot that the goalkeeper really should have saved.

Indeed, former United captain Roy Keane slammed De Gea in his half-time analysis on Sky Sports and although Pogba stayed silent, the Frenchman cut a visibly frustrated figure as he sat on the bench.

“Penetrate and get runs in behind them” came a shout from the United bench as Solskjaer’s side tried to respond but, for all their possession, they struggled to find space with Spurs sitting so deep.

It was hardly surprising, then, to see Pogba sent out to warm up at half-time and he spent the opening minutes of the second half cheering his team-mates on.

“Faster, faster!” he shouted as he tried to inspire United from the sidelines.

On the mark though, he got his chance to make his mark on the game, and he took it.

The Frenchman hadn’t played since December 26 but any doubts over his sharpness were quickly dispelled.

His first touch was a shot that was blocked and, minutes later, he linked brilliantly up with Fernandes to set up Anthony Martial for an excellent chance.

The forward was thwarted by Eric Dier but United had been clearly lifted by Pogba’s arrival and they deservedly drew level when Pogba won a penalty with just nine minutes to go.

It was a moment of magic from the midfielder, who beat Dier with some fancy footwork close to the right touchline before being dragged down by the desperate defender.

Fernandes buried the resulting penalty, his third goal in the Premier League, and it looked like he might get another one in the dying seconds when referee Jonathon Moss pointed to the spot again when the Portuguese collapsed in the area under another challenge from Dier only for VAR to intervene.

As it was, United were forced to settle for a point but while Solskjaer was left with plenty to ponder regarding his defence, the question over whether Fernandes and Pogba can play together has already been put to bed.

Source – Goal.com

Birmingham City’s in-demand midfielder Jude Bellingham is focused ahead of the Championship restart, says head coach Pep Clotet, as speculation intensifies over his future.

Jude Bellingham is a target for Borussia Dortmund and Manchester United

Bellingham, 16, is one of the hottest prospects in Europe and has been the subject of interest from Manchester United and Borussia Dortmund.

Reports in Germany claim Dortmund have reached an agreement in principle for the teenager, but United are said to be holding out hope they can still strike a deal for Bellingham.

Clotet, who is leaving Birmingham at the end of the season, was unable to provide an update on Bellingham’s future but was full of praise for the 16-year-old’s maturity.

“I will not be able to tell you much because it is something that concerns the club and Jude Bellingham,” said Clotet, ahead of Saturday’s trip to West Brom. “I never wanted to get details from them.

“I think Jude has done a fantastic job during these months leading up to this situation we have now. He looks a stronger player in my opinion, he looks very focused.

“There has to be a simple decision between the club and Jude and whatever other clubs are involved, in the case that Jude leaves.

“But that is up to them and I cannot add anymore.”

Bellingham visited United’s Carrington training base with his parents in March. They were given a tour and introduced to Sir Alex Ferguson.

Source – BBC News

Premier League referees will review the goalline technology error that denied Sheffield United a goal in their draw at Aston Villa, BBC Sport understands.

Sheffield United would have moved up to fifth in the Premier League with a win at Aston Villa

The Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) said the video assistant referee did not intervene because of the “unique” circumstances.

PGMOL will now discuss how a similar incident in the future can be handled.

It comes as former top-flight referee Mark Clattenburg said the controversy had highlighted a “fundamental flaw”.

The situation occurred in the 42nd minute of Wednesday’s 0-0 draw – the first Premier League match for 100 days, after the competition was halted by the coronavirus pandemic in March.

Sheffield United – who would have moved above Manchester United into fifth place with a win – thought they had scored when Villa goalkeeper Orjan Nyland carried Oliver Norwood’s free-kick over the line. But referee Michael Oliver did not receive a signal to indicate a goal.

Hawk-Eye – the operator of the goalline technology – subsequently apologised but said the system “remained functional throughout”.

The company added it was the first time such an error had occurred in more than 9,000 matches using the system.

However, speaking to BBC Sport, Clattenburg, said it showed technology “can fail at any time”.

Clattenburg, who took charge of almost 300 Premier League games between 2004 and 2017, went on to apportion further blame for the failing to the video assistant referee system.

“I automatically expected the video assistant referee to come in,” he said.

“He’s probably thought: ‘We have the technology in place. Why do we need to make a decision?’ and that is the fundamental flaw. Technology is there to help, it is not there to make the final decision.

“The VAR has let the referee Michael Oliver down. If he had checked the goal, we would not be talking about it now. Referees can make mistakes; the VAR can’t, because he has all the evidence there.

“I have had situations in the Premier League, where the watch would go off and give a goal when the ball did not enter the goal. This can happen sometimes, where it just malfunctions and people would not notice that.

“Overall I think it [VAR] has been letting referees down in the Premier League. The Premier League spend a lot of money on technology but if it is not used correctly, people lose confidence in it and they get frustrated. That’s one of the biggest problems at the moment.

“Sheffield United could miss out on a European place because of two points they lost because of technology.

“It’s not like a [normal] refereeing decision. You can say they balance out over a season – but not when you’re talking about something that was so clearly wrong.”

Source – Goal.com

The Spanish midfielder has offered an insight into the Paris Saint-Germain squad’s raucous night out in honour of the Brazilian superstar in February.

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Ander Herrera has lifted the lid on Neymar’s lavish birthday 28th birthday party, admitting that his wife stopped him from going to the toilet on the “singles” floor of a nightclub in Paris.

Paris Saint-Germain‘s record signing hosted an all-star event at the YoYo club in the French capital at the start of February, inviting all of his team-mates to join him in celebrating.

Marco Verratti, Edinson Cavani, Angel Di Maria and Herrera were among those in attendance, with their girlfriends and wives also welcomed along to enjoy the party on two different floors.

Neymar has been injured on his birthday every year since completing his £200 million (£180m/$224m) move to PSG from Barcelona in 2017, and sure enough, he was unavailable for selection when Thomas Tuchel’s men faced Nantes on February 4 – two days after his annual bash took place.

The Brazilian was officially diagnosed with a rib injury, but the issue didn’t appear to bother him while he was enjoying the nightlife in the heart of the Paris city centre.

Herrera has now revealed that Neymar split the party up so that married couples remained on the top floor and singletons came together on the bottom floor, which caused some friction between him and his wife.

Pressed on the finer details of the lavish gathering, the PSG midfielder told La Resistencia: “What didn’t happen! He rented this studio and organised it so that guys with their wives would be on the top floor and single guys would be on the bottom floor.

“Of course, my wife wouldn’t let me go to the bathroom or go down [to the bottom floor]!

“The truth is that when Neymar organises something he does it to have fun, he did it to have a good time. The truth is that I congratulated him.”

Tuchel addressed the party during a pre-match press conference before PSG beat Nantes 2-1 at Stade de la Beaujoire, and refused to condemn his players for enjoying a night out in the middle of a crunch period in the season.

The PSG boss said: “I always protect my players, and I really love my team. With this party, I accept that it is a bit difficult to protect the players, but the context is not simply black or white.

“Is it the best way to prepare for a match? No, clearly not. Is it the worst thing in the world? No. It is a shame, because we are giving people the chance to speak badly of us.

“We need to adapt to the situation, but I am not going to leave a player on the bench or at home because they went out and celebrated.”

Source – Goal.com

The French striker has added to his legacy at the Santiago Bernabeu by bagging a brace in the Blancos’ second outing since the La Liga restart.

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Karim Benzema has surpassed Ferenc Puskas in Real Madrid‘s all-time scoring charts after scoring twice in a 3-0 victory over Valencia.

The Blancos made it two wins from two since the return of La Liga by putting Albert Celades’ side to the sword at an empty Santiago Bernabeu on Thursday night.

Zinedine Zidane’s men came into the contest high on confidence following Sunday’s 3-1 win against Eibar, during which Benzema failed to score despite playing the full 90 minutes.

The 32-year-old looked as though he might also be shut out by Valencia‘s defence for 60 minutes, before he produced an expert finish after being played through by Eden Hazard.

Marco Asensio doubled Madrid’s lead before Benzema grabbed his second of the night with just four minutes left on the clock, controlling the ball in mid-air before turning to fire in an unstoppable volley past Jasper Cillessen in the Valencia net.

The experienced striker’s latest double saw him move above the legendary Puskas as the fifth-highest scoring player in the club’s history with 243 goals.

Benzema is also now only the fourth player in Madrid’s history to have hit 20-plus goals in eight or more seasons, as he joins Cristiano Ronaldo, Alfredo Di Stefano and Raul in the Bernabeu’s hall of fame.

Asensio, meanwhile, became the fastest scoring substitute for the Blancos since 2005-06, with his second-half effort coming just 31 seconds after he was brought on for Federico Valverde.

The Spanish forward volleyed a pin-point Ferland Mendy cutback into the far corner of the net in the 74th minute, which marked his first goal of the season after making a full recovery from a cruciate ligament injury.

Speaking after the match, Asensio admitted it was emotional to return to the pitch in such stunning fashion.

“First of all, thank you, it’s really so emotional coming on to the pitch and scoring such a quick goal,” he said.

“I’m really happy and want to thank all those that have helped me in this process. The team, the medical staff, those who have supported me from afar who have helped me. This is for all of them.”

Zidane’s side moved back to within two points of La Liga leaders and arch-rivals Barcelona after securing another three points, with a tough trip to the Anoeta to face Real Sociedad up next on Sunday.

Source – Goal.com

UEFA has announced the remainder of the knockouts will be completed in a single-leg format, as well as confirming plans for the 2020-21 campaign.

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UEFA has announced that the Champions League quarter-finals, semi-finals and final will be held in Lisbon between August 12-23.

The competition is set to resume following an extended break due to the coronavirus pandemic with four of the eight Round of 16 second-leg ties still left to be played.

The remaining second-leg matches will be played on August 7-8, with a decision still to be made on whether they will take place at the home team’s stadiums or in Portugal.

Paris Saint-Germain, Atalanta, Atletico Madrid and RB Leipzig have already claimed their place in the quarter-final round, which will take place between August 12-15 at the Estadio da Luz and the Estadio Jose Alvalade.

The semi-final round will be held on August 18-19 with the Estadio da Luz hosting the final on August 23.

With the condensed schedule, all remaining rounds will be played as single-leg ties with extra time and penalty kicks to decide winners.

The draw for the quarter-final round will be held at UEFA headquarters on July 10 with the federation laying out the match schedule at that time.

Istanbul, which was originally selected to host this year’s final, will now host in 2021 with St Petersburg hosting in 2022, Munich in 2023 and Wembley in 2024 as host cities have seen their duties pushed back by one year.

The Europa League, meanwhile, will be played as a straight knock-out tournament in Germany, with Cologne, Duisburg, Dusseldorf and Gelsenkirchen serving as hosts.

In addition to the continuation of club competitions, UEFA confirmed that the 12 original host cities for Euro 2020 have been confirmed as venues for the rescheduled tournament in 2021.

“I am delighted that we are able to resume almost all of our competitions. I am confident that we will not have to endure the fans’ absence for long and that they will be allowed into stadiums sooner rather than later,” said UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin.

“UEFA took a bold decision when it decided to postpone Euro 2020. But in doing so, we created the space which has allowed domestic club competitions across the continent to resume, where possible, and play to a conclusion.

“While the game has suffered huge difficulties as a result of the pandemic, those blows would have landed much harder if we had not shown leadership in those early days.

“The football community has worked together and shown tremendous unity during this unprecedented crisis. I would like to thank FIFA, our sister confederations, national associations, clubs, leagues, players and the relevant authorities for their continuous support and commitment and I am convinced that we come out of this crisis stronger and with closer links than ever before.”

As a result of the new schedule, there will also be changes to the qualifying phase of the 2020-21 Champions League, which is set to begin on August 8.

Qualifying matches will be played in a single-leg format up until the play-off phase, which will be held over two legs in late September.

The group stage, meanwhile, will kick off on October 20-21 and wrap up on December 8-9.

Source – Goal.com

The Portugal hero could do little to seal another trophy for Maurizio Sarri’s side as Napoli won the Coppa Italia final on penalties.

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Cristiano Ronaldo lost a second consecutive final for the first time in his career when Juventus lost to Napoli in the Coppa Italia decider on Wednesday.

After a goalless draw in normal time, Napoli secured the trophy in a penalty shootout, beating the Bianconeri 4-2 after Paulo Dybala and Danilo missed their efforts.

While Ronaldo played the entire game – he had three shots and hit the target with one – he did not get the chance to take a spot-kick as Gennaro Gattuso’s men were declared winners before the Portugal star’s turn came around.

After losing the Supercoppa Italiana to Lazio at the end of last year, it is the second straight final defeat for Maurizio Sarri’s side.

While Ronaldo has contested many domestic and continental finals with every team he has represented so far in his illustrious career, the 35-year-old had never before lost two in a row.

This year’s Coppa Italia is the first in 11 years to be decided by a penalty shootout, while it is the sixth time Napoli have lifted the trophy in their history – only four teams have won it more often.

It is also the third time Napoli have triumphed over the Turin giants on a neutral field, adding to their 2011-12 Coppa Italia and 2014-15 Supercoppa victories.

With the Coppa Italia wrapped up, Serie A will return on Saturday, with Torino taking on Parma in the first game back from the coronavirus-enforced suspension.

Juve’s first game back will be against Bologna on June 22, with Napoli taking on Hellas Verona the following day.

Sarri’s team are one point ahead of Lazio at the top of the table after 26 matches, while Napoli sit sixth in the table.

They are already sure of a place in the Europa League group stage after Wednesday’s win, but are just nine points behind the Champions League places with 12 games left to play.

Meanwhile, Lazio striker Ciro Immobile is leading the race to be the league’s top scorer with 27 goals, while Ronaldo lingers behind him in second place having scored 21 times in his 22 appearances.

Source – Goal.com