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Jurgen Klopp has given summer signing Naby Keita his full support despite a frustrating first few months for the midfielder at Anfield.The Guinea international was signed in summer of 2017 from RB Leipzig for around £50million, but it was agreed by both parties to keep the 23 year-old in Germany for another season.The reports on Keita were glowing, as he looked to have the kind of energy and all-round ability that Liverpool's midfield quite often lacked in the critical moments.Naturally, the expectation levels were very high when he finally arrived on Merseyside for the current season.However as we have seen time and time again, adjusting to the Premier League does not happen overnight.Keita started four of the first five league games and was solid in his performance.Since then, niggling injuries and consistent performances from other midfielders, has seen Keita confined to a bit-part role, therefore lacking the kind of continuity he would have liked to start his Liverpool career.Keita had to bide his time on the substitutes bench during the busy festive period, but Klopp said there was nothing sinister behind that decision.He also had no doubt that the best of Keita is not far away.Sky Sports reported Klopp as saying:"No. That is sometimes how it is. I spoke to him. [With] Naby everything is fine. I am completely happy with him."Could he be a bit more confident in the games? Yes."Is he exactly the player in his best time at Leipzig? No, but he is still adapting - that is how it is"Despite the slowish start, Keita has had his games where his potential has shone through, most recently against Burnley in early December where he was one of the standout players on the pitch. Klopp said the injuries and a tactical change has not helped the midfielder."Everybody saw, not only at the beginning of the season, how brilliantly he played in the first part. Tottenham [away] was a fantastic game from him without thinking too much."Then we made a change around pre-[Manchester] City game. The boys have to deal with it and then a little injury here, little injury there."There was no reason - just because other boys were in good shape as well. It was a bit about positioning and system - that is how football decisions are"It was kind of a little setback but he is a fantastic player and I am really happy to have him here. I am really looking forward to our common future."You see every day, wow, there is so much to come and so much influence he can have on each game. That's all good."There is really no doubt about the boy, he is an outstanding player."The spotlight on Keita has shone a bit brighter of late due to the impressive recent form from fellow new signings Fabinho and Xherdan Shaqiri.What Keita needs more than anything is minutes under his belt, and that is why the FA Cup has come round at the perfect time for a player in his position.While it has been a difficult beginning to his Liverpool career, there is little doubt Keita will become a valuable player in the years ahead and as fans, we can look forward to seeing him grow.

Seventeen “Title Deciders” Remain: In the days leading up to the match at the Etihad, many pundits billed it as a “title decider” between the league’s top two teams. Liverpool’s lead has in fact shrunk to four points, even with Guardiola’s men on goal difference, and there’s no arguing a Liverpool victory – and a resulting ten point gap - wouldn’t paint a dramatically different picture at this stage in the season. Judging from recent history, however, it’s not this result between the holders and the leaders that will decide the title. As Andy Robertson reflected to LiverpoolFC.com after the match “they’ve closed the gap but it is all about how we react.” Liverpool entered last Thursday’s match as the favourite to win the league in large part because of the consistency they’ve shown throughout the first twenty matches of the season, and despite this loss, Liverpool remain a damn good football team. They remain a side that have won all fourteen matches against teams outside of the Top Six and they have earned three wins, three draws and a single loss against those Top Six, having played one more match away than at home and with both Manchester City matches in the rearview mirror. They’ve lost once in twenty-one matches - and have yet to be beaten at Anfield – and they’ve conceded less than a goal every other game. Liverpool’s mission must now be to maintain their form over the next seventeen matches. If they do that, they’ll be champions. Defensive Acquisitions Prove their Worth yet Again: Crucial to Liverpool’s mission will be the efforts of its league-leading defence, which again showed its quality in Manchester. The visitors were undone by two world-class finishes (as well as a few defensive mistakes – more on that below), but City’s goal tally could easily have been doubled if not for the interventions of Liverpool’s two defensive bedrocks, Virgil van Dijk and Alisson Becker. The Dutchman was everywhere Liverpool needed him to be in the first half, smartly tracking Sane’s central run to cut out David Silva’s cross inside the opening half hour, blocking the Spaniard’s close-range effort after Sterling’s layoff moments later and heading away Sterling’s chipped ball through towards David Silva shortly before the break. There was nothing the Dutchman could do about Aguero’s opener and while he might have done well to step to Sterling and prompt a defensive shift to account for Sane on the game-winner, there was hardly a blemish on another sparkling performance from the Reds’ defensive lynchpin. Nearly every time City threatened, Van Dijk’s positioning and execution thwarted the attack to prevent the home side from testing Alisson. Of course, test the Brazilian they did and he repeatedly rose to the challenge. While one might quibble that the keeper could have done more to get a piece of Aguero’s rocket inside the near post, there are few – if any – keepers in the world who could have done so, and many of the world’s finest would struggle to produce the pair of saves Alisson provided in the second half. First, he was quick off his line to force Aguero wide after a through ball from Sterling, denying the Argentine’s low-angle show with a sprawling save. Then, he reacted brilliantly to deny Bernardo Silva’s close-range effort to keep Liverpool in the game in the 90th minute. While he was unable to influence the attack as directly as he has done in recent matches, Alisson’s distribution was once again sharp, as he sought to set Liverpool on the front foot more often than not. Robertson deserves a mention as well, as the Scotsman once again kept Sterling mostly quiet, stepping up to be counted on a number of one-on-one duels with the former Red. After conceding a paltry seven goals in the first half of the season, Liverpool’s defence will remain key to its title challenge, and on the basis of this performance, the key defensive acquisitions will be equal to the task, even against the most challenging opponents. Depth Issues Remain: In addition to the strength of Liverpool’s defence, many supporters – including yours truly – have cited our side’s increased depth as a key factor in our impressive start to the season. To be sure, the acquisitions of Fabinho, Shaqiri and Keita, the emergence of Joe Gomez and the improved consistency of Daniel Sturridge have all played a meaningful role in the Reds’ ascension. However, the City match highlighted the gulf in depth that remains between Liverpool and Europe’s best. The home side coped with the long-term absence of Benjamin Mendy and Fabian Delph’s recent suspension by shifting the classy Aymeric Laporte to left-back, brought Danilo off the bench to spell the out-of-form Kyle Walker and was able to call upon Vincent Kompany and Jon Stones at centre back in Laporte’s absence. Meanwhile, Guardiola was able to protect Kevin De Bruyne as he continues to recover from a long layoff, relying instead on David Silva, Bernardo Silva and Fernandinho, while Ilkay Gundogan came in off the bench, as did speedy striker Gabriel Jesus. Liverpool, on the other hand cannot boast the same embarrassment of riches. Weakened at centre back by injuries to Joe Gomez and Joel Matip, Liverpool have relied heavily on Lovren next to Virgil van Dijk. While the Croatian has been generally solid when called upon this season, he had a night to forget in Manchester, to add to a startling collection of poor performances in red. He could have stuck more tightly to Aguero for the opener - which would admittedly have been difficult to stop – played Sterling onside and then failed to shift onto Aguero for the game-winner, headed the ball straight to Sterling to send the winger away on the break in the second half, played Aguero onside for his late breakaway, served up a potential insurance goal on a plate to Sterling late in the game and tossed away Liverpool’s last attacking chance with a woeful straight ball into the box. Hopefully Gomez and Matip will soon return to the fold, but until then, Liverpool appear forced to rely on Lovren. Similarly, options are few and far between behind Lovren’s right-sided defensive partner Alexander-Arnold. The youngster had several bright moments – effectively quieting Sane for much of the match and setting up the equaliser with an incredible cross on his weaker left foot – and was given little help on the right, but he struggled at times against a flurry of City attackers and gave away the ball too cheaply at times. Like a few others in this Liverpool side, however, he can’t count on much of a rest, particularly given the fact that his top “backup” is both out injured and our second-best centre back, while his only true like-for-like deputy was just sent on loan for the season. While there’s plenty of depth in midfield (more on that later), Klopp risks running a handful of key players – most notably Van Dijk, the fullbacks and the front three – into the ground, and an injury to any one of them could prove very costly. While we don’t appear likely to dip into the January transfer market – and have little need for upgrades to the First XI – backup options at fullback, centre back and/or a versatile attacker to deputise for the front three should be considered. Too Conservative in Midfield: To a chorus of groans from Reds supporters, Klopp selected a midfield three of Henderson, Milner and Wijnaldum, opting for experience and solidity and leaving Fabinho, Keita and Shaqiri on the bench. Wijnaldum was a no-brainer after he built on an impressive run of form with a masterclass against Arsenal, and Henderson – in addition to offering leadership in a crucial away match – has shown improvement of late (often when played alongside Fabinho) and played Salah through against City for what would have been a late equaliser. But the exclusion of the Brazilian was a surprising one, and he showed why he might have deserved the start, helping Liverpool gain control almost immediately upon his introduction. It’s clear Klopp trusts the veteran trio in the most challenging away matches, but defeats in Kiev, at PSG and City have revealed a lack of both control and dynamism in that unit. Liverpool have been at their most devastating with players breaking the lines between midfield and attack – as Salah himself notably did on to set up Mane’s early chance – and while Wijnaldum has the ability to do so, there’s no one in Thursday’s trio who truly thrives in that role. It seems likely Klopp will revert to the 4-2-3-1 for many of the remaining matches, and while I won’t go as far as Jamie Carragher in suggesting the German completely ditch the 4-3-3 (which we may well see in Munich), a change in personnel is needed. Fabinho and Wijnaldum appear the most natural – and in-form – partnership, and while I trust Klopp has his reasons for keeping Keita out of the starting lineup, I hope the Guinean will soon earn his manager’s trust. Keita made a name for himself in the Bundesliga making attacking runs from midfield and he could offer Liverpool an element they’ve lacked since Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s injury, whether on the outside of a three-man midfield or as the more adventurous of a pair. While necessity and Father Time may consign Milner to a role offering crucial cover at fullback, Henderson should continue to factor into the midfield rotation – albeit hopefully with different partners. Moments of Brilliance – even in Defeat All supporters – from Huddersfield to Madrid – know all too well the feeling of losing an important match to a rival, particularly when the match is decided on such fine margins. That this particular match ended an historic unbeaten run only adds to the harsh disappointment felt at the final whistle. However, even in such a bitter defeat, our Reds gave us plenty to sing about, no least in this brilliant sequence for the equalising goal. An ocean away from the action, a now-familiar tune rang out from my favourite Liverpool pub in New York, the volume rising with each pass: We’ve conquered all of Europe - Trent flicks forward to Mane, who slides the ball to Gini. We’re never gonna stop - Gini and Fabinho take a single touch each, switching the ball wide to Robbo. From Paris down to Turkey - Robbo back to Fabinho, who shifts inside and sprays the ball wide to Firmino. We’ve won the fuckin’ lot – Bobby collects the pass, dribbles inside and lays off to Trent. Bob Paisley and Bill Shankly – A pinpoint Crossfield pass from Trent to Robbo, who takes a touch, looks up and plays back to Fabinho. The fields of Anfield Road – Fabinho shifts to Henderson, who sprays it back out to Trent. We are loyal supporters – Trent fakes a cross on his right, takes a touch inside and lifts an inch-perfect ball to Robertson, waving his arm as he darts towards the far post. And we come from Liverpool – Robbo chips the ball just over the head of Stones, to Bobby who finishes at the back post with a sprawling header. Allez Allez Allez – Our players converge on Bobby and Robbo – then all together – to celebrate the goal, while our mad Jurgen reaches wildly for a water bottle on the bench before trying to explode it with all his strength. And at a basement bar in the Financial District of Manhattan, a host of grown men and women jump, shout and sing wildly, filled with love for our Redmen and drunk on possibility, and filled with love for a side who, for the second time in a week had erased a 1-0 deficit against a fellow Top Six side. To be sure, the atmosphere was quite different eight minutes later, and then at the final whistle. Losing will do that, of course. But in a season full of brilliant moments, Liverpool managed to produce a few more – albeit in defeat. We may no longer be Invincible, but we’re a damn good football team – and we’re going to be a lot of fun to watch over the next four months. Joel Tracy

Dejan Lovren has struck a defiant tone in the aftermath of Liverpool's first league defeat this season.The Croatian defender is certainly not one to keep his opinions to himself and speaking after the 2-1 loss against Manchester City, said that there was no cause for any alarm.ESPN reported Lovren as saying:"This is Liverpool, we will always come back when it's tough."And you know it is tough after the last whistle, but it is over, finished, we can't change it, so we will accept that, congratulate Manchester City. "But the season is quite long and I believe in this team."The message [in the dressing room afterwards] was to stay calm. There are many games in front of us, and we knew it was a big season and we are still first."We need to stay calm, keep our focus game by game and do not look back. "When we win or we lose, we will not look back." Lovren was supported in his rallying cry by fellow central defender Virgil Van Dijk."You can't look at this situation in a negative way."We are still top of the league with a four-point lead. It is still looking fine for us." Our next game in the Premier League is Brighton and we are already looking forward to that. There is the FA Cup in between, of course."The only thing we can do now is bounce back. 'We can go on another unbeaten run, but we take it game by game, we know it is going to be tough."We have a great mentality. We have shown that all season. "We just have to keep on doing what we have been doing There is no reason to change anything or panic." Captain Jordan Henderson continued the same theme in keeping with a positive mindset."It is normal to be disappointed by a defeat. Now it is about reaction and I am sure the lads will react in the right way. "Why would you lose confidence after a game like tonight? It could have been different."The Premier League is a tough league, the games keep coming. We need to be ready and we will be. "In terms of the result we are disappointed. We were beaten by a very good City team, but there were still moments in the game where we could have scored one or two more. "We just have to accept the defeat."Focus and belief seem to be the two keywords the players are using whenever speaking to the mainstream press.A level headed approach is a very smart way to go about things.Don't get too high after a win, or too low after a loss after a defeat.While Lovren maybe not everyone's cup of tea as a player, you certainly cannot criticise his true passion for the club which is first class.If everyone keeps to the script that this trio has outlined, the rewards will come for all the hard work that has gone before it.

Liverpool midfielder Adam Lallana will not be leaving the club during the January transfer window. There has been speculation over the last few days that the English international would be allowed to explore some loan options during this month with Turkish giant Fenerbache just one team of many said to be interested.However Sky Sports reports that Jurgen Klopp has plans to reintegrate the injury plagued 30 year-old into the first team during the second half of the season.Lallana is a player with undoubted creative talent, but has turned into a somewhat maligned figure due to his inability to consistently stay on the park.A series of recurring hamstring and groin strains have restricted Lallana to just 24 appearances over the past 18 months.This season Lallana has made two league starts against Huddersfield and Cardiff along with a starting berth in the away clash away against Red Star Belgrade in the Champions League. Players in the current predicament as Lallana have been known to be dispatched by many a manager in the past.However, despite his injury woes, what we know for certain is like James Milner, Gini Wijnaldum and Roberto Firmino, (to name just three), Lallana is someone that Klopp has full trust in to play a role when called upon.A lot of that stems back to when Klopp first arrived at the club, where Lallana was a real dependable figure for the German, quickly adapting to his 'high octane' brand of football and scoring and creating goals in the process.Presently, there is significant doubt whether after all his setbacks, if Lallana can play a role in the current Liverpool starting lineup on a consistent basis. However, keeping him at the club for at least the next few months is smart policy.As we have seen countless times in the past, depth is an all-important factor when vying for a title. Lallana coming on for the last 20-25 minutes to provide a creative spark in games when it is required, could make all the difference at the end of the season.

I wanted to wait and let the dust settle a little before writing this, as much like my boy Dejan Lovren, this game had me all over the place. My head says we’re in great shape, with a four point lead having only lost once all season, and even that defeat was in a game of such tiny margins where we went toe to toe with the defending Champions and lost mainly due to not getting the rub of the green. There’s so much to feel great about, I know that, and it won’t be long before I feel that way again. It's just that this one hurts. Right now I’m still gutted and pissed off. Not pissed off at Klopp or any of the players (not even Lovren, which probably puts me in a minority), just pissed off that we lost to THEM and generally irked about certain things that contributed to it. I was confident going into the game but that was as much to do with how vulnerable City had looked of late than it was about how we have been playing. We’ve looked like we’re easing back into the blistering form of last spring, while City have been shipping goals and losing games. Why wouldn’t we feel confident? The problem for us, as it turned out, is that City were desperate. They couldn’t afford to lose the game and there’s also the personal aspect to it; they’re utterly obsessed with us these days. From Guardiola to their press officer to their sad as fuck shitty fans, they're utterly, completely, consumed with us. It started with us ending their unbeaten run and then knocking them out of the Champions League, and it's only gotten worse since we emerged as the biggest threat to their crown. As a result of all that, we ran into a buzz saw. I’ve never seen City that fired up and frenetic before. Even their fans were into it for a change. All things considered, it was a hell of an effort by our lads to make the game as close as they did, especially as I don’t think we played particularly well. We were too sloppy in possession for a start. We gave the ball away cheaply so many times and you just can’t do that against a side as good as City. In a way that can almost be viewed as a positive. Had we been at our best we’d probably have won, even with City as hyped up as they were. Basically the game turned on a few key moments that didn’t go our way. On another day they go in our favour and we win. They didn't though, and we lost. I kind of knew it wasn’t going to be our night after that crazy incident when Mané hit the post and the rebound somehow didn’t end up going in. It sounds stupid I know, as really there’s no logical reason why that should have any impact on the outcome of what happened afterwards, but when something like that goes against a team, how often do they overcome it? It was fucking unbelievable. Firstly, what a stunning move. The front three sliced right through City and Sadio was really unlucky that his shot didn’t go in off the post. Secondly, when Stones shit himself and lashed the ball into his own keeper's ugly fucking face, how did that ball not cross the line? Actually it did in my view. I’ve said several times before that the ‘whole of the ball crossing the whole of the line’ is a bullshit rule. As soon as more than half of the ball has crossed the line, that should be a goal. You can’t tell me that when virtually the entire ball has crossed the line that isn’t a goal. It’s a shit rule and should be changed, and not just because of this incident as I’ve always said it. That being said, the rules are the rules and it wasn’t a goal for the sake of 11 poxy fucking millimetres. How unlucky though? Almost as unlucky as the second clearance from Stones somehow not hitting Salah and going in. He mis-hit that clearance and kicked it into the ground, which is the only reason it somehow squirmed under Mo’s foot. Spawny cunts. There was so much bad luck crammed into those couple of seconds it was hard to shake the feeling that we were in trouble. And if that wasn’t enough reason to feel that it wasn’t our night, we then saw Manchester’s own Anthony Taylor intervene on City’s behalf by somehow not sending Vincent Kompany off. Here’s the thing. Not only was that tackle a red card, it was TWO FUCKING RED CARDS. The challenge itself was two footed and off the ground. It was out of control, which nowadays is a sending off. And guess what else? No-one really seems to be mentioning this, but he was the last man and Mo would have been clean through. It’s the clearest red card offense I’ve seen all fucking season and that baldy manc cunt should be struck off for failing to do his duty. In the immediate aftermath of the game I was annoyed by it but I didn’t believe that Taylor was the reason we lost. There were other factors. Some poor individual performances from our lads and a general collective sloppiness. City were the better side and deserved to win. Now, almost 24 hours later, I feel a little differently. City were the better side and on the overall balance of play just about deserved the win, but I find it hard not to see Taylor as the reason we lost because if he’d done his job the outcome of that game would have been hugely different. Going down to ten men in a game like this is fatal. Look what happened to us when Mané was sent off there last season. So yeah, I’m fucking steaming about this the more I think about it. Taylor bottled it because there is absolutely no way he can look at that and not think it’s a red card. Absolute bottle job of the highest order. Did he do it because he’s from Manchester? I wouldn’t go that far, but frankly it’s outrageous that he’s even in that position. How can you let someone from Manchester referee a game between a team from Manchester and one from Liverpool given the historic rivalry between the cities? It’s fucking insane and I’ll never know how this shit is allowed. Mike Dean isn’t allowed anywhere near Liverpool or Everton games even though he’s from the Wirral. What’s the difference? I don’t get it. And don’t give me this “he supports Altrincham” fucking bollocks either. Virtually anyone from a major city that follows a non-league team also has a ‘big club’ they support. Go to Marine and virtually everyone there will be a Liverpool or Everton fan too. Bottom line is Anthony Taylor, from Manchester, fucked up massively to the benefit of a team from Manchester. Dress it up however you like, but thems the facts. I don’t care if it seems like cryarsing, and I know there’ll be those of you reading this who will say we should look to our performance and what we did wrong and worry about that, rather than blaming the referee. I get that, but this was a game that was so tight, so close to call, and so fucking difficult for both sides that a decision like that would make all the difference. I even said to a few mates prior to the game that the only thing I was worried about was the fucking ref. Not Aguero. Not Silva. Not Guardiola. Not De Bruyne. Not Sane. Well ok, maybe a little about Sane as I think he’s their best player, but mostly Anthony fucking Taylor. And so it proved. Fucking twat. Jurgen should kick up such a stink and make sure he’s never allowed any games involving City or United ever again. We really needed him to do his job because I thought we were struggling in that first half. We had some dangerous moments in attack but they were mostly fleeting. Too often we were giving the ball straight back to City. That’s when we could even get hold of thing in the first place. I didn’t like how we started the game. In the opening couple of minutes we were passing it around at the back and taking unnecessary chances. Yes, that’s how we play, but sometimes the situation really calls for something else. I don’t want to see Lovren and Alisson playing one twos while a frothing at the mouth Aguero is waiting to pounce. In the opening twenty minutes just get them turned around and play the game in their half, not ours, until it settles down a bit. We love it when teams try to play it around in their own half in those games when we’re flying around like wasps at a picnic, so of course City were loving it too. They wanted to do to us what we have done to them, and I felt as though we helped them do it at times. Much has been made of Klopp getting his team selection wrong, specifically with his midfield. I don’t see it myself. That midfield trio has had success in big games, especially when what is required from them is to play at a hundred miles an hour and win the ball to start quick counters. It didn’t work though, partly because of how well City passed the ball and partly because it looked to me like Milner was a tiny bit off in his match sharpness. Understandable as he’s missed quite a few sessions over the last couple of weeks. He was fit to play, and against virtually anyone else then 95% would have been fine. But it’s a desperate, fired up Man City and we needed everyone operating at 100%. We didn’t get that. Milner was a little off due to fitness, and Lovren was way off because…. I don’t know, probably because he was due one having performed so well for the most part since his last horror show at Wembley against Spurs. He was nowhere near as bad in this game, but he was bad. I’m one of his biggest supporters and I’m certainly not going to jump on the “see, he’s fucking shit” bandwagon. This performance doesn’t make me think we need to get rid of him, but it does make me wish that Gomez had been fit. I don’t blame Lovren for the goal but I do think he should have done better. It was mostly about the quality of Aguero, but Lovren needs to be tighter to him and not let him turn like that. Perhaps the problem was that seconds earlier Aguero had threw himself to the turf looking for a penalty. The defence pushed out and left him lying on the floor, so Lovren kind of lost him. Aguero jumped back up, got himself onside and Dejan wasn’t tight enough to him when he picked up the ball and lashed it in before Alisson could react. Aguero does my fucking head in you know. The fact he scores in this fixture every year pisses me off, but it’s also that he’s even playing for City that bothers me. I feel like he’s wasted his career by playing for them. I don’t care that he’s won a couple of titles, he’s won them playing for fucking Manchester City. A great player like that, spending the majority of his best years playing for that club, just seems like a waste to me. He’s been well paid though so presumably he’s happy. Maybe one day further down the line, long after he’s retired, and he's sat around with Messi, Mascherano and Di Maria, he’ll have an epiphany and blurt out “what the fuck?? I spent most of my career playing for that shitty little club? What was I thinking?” Back to Lovren though. Even prior to that goal I thought he looked unsettled. He’d been booked for hacking down Aguero after Salah had given the ball away cheaply and put us under pressure. I didn’t think he needed to make that challenge as Virgil was right there alongside him and it was a long way from goal. You don’t want to have to play such a long time on a yellow card against forwards as dangerous as City’s. I don’t think the yellow card was the reason for some of his erratic play though, I just think he was too amped up, which can happen with him from time to time. When City got in front they could smell blood in the water and we were right under the cosh for a while and desperately needing the half time whistle. I was relieved to get in at 1-0 as I knew Jurgen would sort them out and we could regroup. We did. Sort of. It wasn’t really until Fabinho came on that we eventually settled into any kind of a rhythm though. Maybe he should have started, but I’ll be honest, I wouldn’t have picked him. The pace of the game will have been nothing like anything he’s experienced before, and as well as he’s done recently he does seem to have a sloppy pass in him. I didn’t blame Klopp for going with the tried and trusted, players who have experience of beating City and know what it takes. We looked much better when Fabinho was in there though. Still, I was struggling to see where a goal was going to come from, but then there it was, 1-1, and what a fucking goal it was. Brilliant football. Trent’s ball to Robbo was glorious, Robbo’s knock back for Bobby even more so. Dreamland. It was anyone’s game now, as the advantage City had was gone as was the momentum. Maybe their heads would go down and we could capitalise? If we’d scored again then I think they’d have folded. We were now forcing the issue and we had them on the back foot, but from one of our attacks that broke down they sprung a counter attack and we were undone. Sterling found space and drove through the middle before rolling it left to Sane. I knew he was going to score before he’d even got his shot away. He’s ridiculously good and we’ve done a phenomenal job of ensuring he’s not really been much of a factor in previous games. As I said, he’s probably their best player (other than a fully fit De Bruyne). It was a real kick in the balls. We’d overcome all that first half adversity to get ourselves level, and then just like that we were behind again. Could we come back again? On another day yeah, but this was just not meant to be. We had a few moments, a couple of scrambles where the ball didn’t break in our favour and Ederson made a terrific save to deny Salah. At the other end City were dangerous on the break and we needed Alisson to prevent Aguero scoring again after Lovren cheaply gave away possession. It’s been lost somewhat in the discussion about everything else that happened and the implications of what the result means, but that was fucking incredible goalkeeping. I don’t know how he managed to save that, it was remarkable. Aguero went round him but Alisson kept his feet moving as he went down and he was able to smother the shot. As I say, incredible. I don’t like how the final few minutes unfolded at all though and once again I’m pointing the finger squarely at Manchester’s own Anthony Taylor. With around five minutes to go City started making substitutions to waste time and break up play. That’s fine, part of the game, everyone does it and it’s smart. No problem with that, but I have a big fucking problem with Baldiola throwing a massive hissy fit and causing such a scene with the fourth official that play had to be stopped again because of it. Not only did it waste time, but it completely interrupted the flow of the game again. It’s hard to build pressure when the game is stop start stop start, and my question is why did Taylor feel the need to go over and talk to him if he wasn’t sending him to the stands? All he did was help City out there, the cunt. I saw Keith Hackett saying on Twitter that when a fourth official calls the referee over to deal with a manager, he has to then send him off. Makes sense. If he’s not sending him off, he shouldn’t stop the game. So that pissed me off. Taylor then booked Ederson for time wasting, but he didn’t add the time on. Seriously, this is basic stuff. City had a goal kick and Ederson took around 45 seconds to get the ball back into play. We also had two occasions when the crowd wouldn’t give the ball back to Trent to take a throw in. All told it wasted at least a minute and a half, probably closer to two, but it didn’t get added on. I’m not saying we’d have scored in that time, but it would have been nice to at least have the opportunity wouldn’t it? What also pissed me off was right at the end when Lovren played a stupid straight ball into the box that gave Van Dijk no chance of doing anything. That ball has to go wide first, which gives us a more favourable angle to launch the ball at big Virgil. Lovren’s composure always goes in these situations. Remember his 40 yard shot against Villa in the FA Cup semi a few years ago? It was just a big kick in the balls and it’s going to take a while for me to shake this one off. Of course a few weeks ago I’d have snapped your hands off to be four points clear after this fixture. I’m grateful for the position we’re in. The result hasn’t shaken my belief or trust in the team one jot either. I’m not thinking that we’re going to choke and start losing games just because we were beaten by City. We’re made of sterner stuff than that these days and the game was decided by such tiny details there's no reason to lose confidence. They're the best team we'll have to play and we don't play them again, so they're now relying on other teams to take points off us because they are powerless to do so. The fact remains though that a seven point gap is now four, and City have got their tails up again and will believe they can make up that gap. I’m not worried about Spurs, I never was worried about Spurs because if anybody is to overhaul us I feel as though they’ll have to win virtually every game. Tottenham can’t do that. City might though. They won something like 18 of 19 to start last season, so we know it’s possible, especially if we give them even the slightest bit of encouragement. We can’t let four points become two or even one. That would increase the pressure on us massively and give everyone the jitters. We need to go on another winning run immediately and show them we aren’t going to let them back in. You look at the games we have coming up and there’s no reason we can’t reel off five on the spin before we have to go to Old Trafford. If we do that, who knows, maybe City will slip up somewhere and we’ll have a bit of a cushion again. I’m less confident of us winning it now after this result, but it’s purely about the numbers and nothing to do with how we're playing. A ten point lead and for me it would have virtually been in the bag already. A seven point lead would have been tough for City to claw back, but four points really isn’t much. What is bothering me the most though is that losing to them sticks in the throat because I seriously fucking hate them. I hate Guardiola. I hate the financial doping and how the authorities have done NOTHING about it. I hate their shitty fans and it’s reached the point where I even fucking hate the Gallagher brothers now just because of who they support. Fuck Little and Large too, the pricks. Even players who’ve never really bothered me in the past are now bringing out the fume in me. Fuck Vincent Kompany and his fake nice guy act. He’s a cunt. A dirty, bulb headed injury prone cunt. Calling Mo “a pussy” after he hit him with that potential leg breaker. I hope Mo remembers that, because I fucking will. Fuck Bernardo Silva too. Little snide cunt. Where did that come from? He’s normally a nice little playmaking ball player who doesn’t get involved in anything. In this game he was like a Portuguese Joey Barton. Absolute cunt, wish someone would have fucking planted him. I could go on and on about City but this isn’t making me feel any better. Sometimes it does. Sometimes having a rant is cathartic. This isn’t though, it’s just making me more and more angry. If we lose the league to these cunts again I might well just pack this whole thing in for good as I don't think I could get over it. Don’t make me have to get a proper job, Reds. Put this one behind us and let’s keep spanking everyone and bring home number 19. Star man is Robbo. What a man. Team: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Lovren, Van Dijk, Robertson; Henderson, Wijnaldum (Sturridge), Milner (Fabinho); Salah, Firmino, Mané (Shaqiri):

The unbeaten start to Liverpool's league campaign is over courtesy of a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Manchester City at Etihad Stadium on Thursday evening.After leading 1-0 at the break through a Sergio Aguero strike, City were pegged back midway through the second half when Roberto Firmino was on the end of a fine piece of work from Andy Robertson.Leroy Sane then made the most of some rare space in front of him to score the winner 18 minutes from time.The game was also a tale of fortune, with luck seemingly on the side of the home team with the Sane strike hitting the inside of the post and going in, and escaping unscathed from a number of scrambles in Liverpool's penalty box.Speaking to Sky Sports after the match, Jurgen Klopp spoke about a few of those key moments."There was big pressure on the game, it was a very intense game."We were very unlucky in our finishing moments, a bit unluckier than City."If you compare the goals when [Leroy] Sane scores and the situation we had when [Sadio] Mane hit the post. We are talking about an inch or so. That was the main difference."Of course, they had periods where they dominated the game but we came back in the game and had big chances. You have to score in those moments."I think everybody can see why we have the points we have. It wasn't our best game and it wasn't City's best game because we made life difficult for each other. We were in the game.The German was also not happy with a big moment that did not go Liverpool's way.The decision by referee Anthony Taylor to not send City captain Vincent Kompany off after a high challenge on Mo Salah."I really like Vincent Kompany but how on Earth is that not a red card?" "He is [the] last man and he goes in. If he hits Mo more, he is out for the season. It is not easy for the ref and he may not see it how I see it."Everybody knows that I like him [Kompany], he is such a fantastic player, outstanding. I loved him when he was at Hamburg."But situations like this happen. A player makes a decision, goes on the ground, makes a sliding tackle and wants to defend the situation." Klopp and the rest of the squad have been adamant they are focusing on the next game and have dismissed all talk of the title.Now after tasting defeat the first time in the league this season, attention has switched to what this loss means in the context of things and if Liverpool can indeed stay the course until May.Klopp expects a immediate response from his team."What kind of reaction do we want to see? We strike back. "We lost at Manchester City but we have to show constantly that we are on top of our game."Now in four days it's FA Cup and a few days later it's Brighton so we will be ready for that, 100 per cent."For tonight, the boys tried everything, and we got nothing for it. "That's sometimes how it is in life but if you do everything all the time you will get a lot for it. We need to keep going and everything will be fine for us."It has been shown over time that you learn more from defeat than from victory and on a plus note, you can best rest assured there will be no complacency creep into the ranks between now until May. We have a terrific opportunity to bounce back and show our title winning credentials once again.

Liverpool midfielder Gini Wijnaldum says that the team should not lose any heart despite tasting defeat at the hands of their main title rivals Manchester City on Thursday evening.A goal by Leroy Sane was the key moment in a closely contested affair as Man City narrowed the gap to the league leaders to just four points after defeating the Reds 2-1 at the Etihad Stadium.Sergio Aguero had opened the scoring before half time producing a piece of trademark class in a big moment once again, before Roberto Firmino made it 1-1 scoring his fourth goal in two games after some fine work from Andy Robertson.It was a game of small margins with Liverpool twice going close to taking the lead in the same passage of play when Sadio Mane hit the post after a perfect through-ball from Mo Salah.Then when the Man City defence tried to clear their lines, a deflection from goalkeeper Edison nearly went into his own net.Only the quick reflexes of John Stones stopped the visitors from taking the lead.There were also a view that City captain Vincent Kompany should have seen red for a high challenge on Mo Salah.Overall, while naturally disappointed, Wijnaldum was not overly downhearted and urged his teammates to put this first league defeat behind them and get back to winning ways.The Dutchman told the Official site:“We were quite unlucky with the chances but we also could lose it – like we have now. We just have to keep the confidence and try to win the next game.They cleared well and we hit the post. They also had two or three chances so it could have gone either way; we could have won, drawn or lost. "At the end, we were unlucky and they won the game." Wijnaldum graciously admitted that Liverpool have been on the other side of the coin when it comes to 'lucky breaks' but the experienced midfielder is well aware it is the nature of Football."A few games this season we were lucky we have scored goals, and tonight we were quite unlucky with the chances that we had. That’s football."Sometimes you have games where you score a lot and score with every chance that you get – and sometimes you don’t. What we have to do now is to keep our confidence and win the next game.”While the topic of the title race was the main talking point heading into this contest, Wijnaldum became the latest Reds player to say that it is far from being in the front of their mind."We are only concentrating on our own thing; try to win our games, try to give everything and then we will look at the end of the season where we stand."We weren’t busy looking at the table before and we are not going to do it this time.”For all the 'would haves' and 'could have been' moments, it is fair to say that we were second best on the night and Man City deserved their victory.That is no slight on us whatsoever, more than a credit that it took arguably City's best all-round performance of the season to claim the three points.Liverpool are next in action on Monday night in the 3rd round of the FA Cup against Wolves at Molineux.After a month in December which was a emotional rollercoaster both in the league and in Europe, this clash gives Jurgen Klopp a chance to rest some tired bodies, with plenty of challenges ahead in the upcoming months.

So Tottenham’s title challenge lasted all of three days then. Having somehow, inexplicably, gotten themselves within six points of us (four defeats and they’re only six behind??) they blew the chance to close the gap to three by shitting the bed against Wolves at Wembley. Spurs gonna Spurs I guess. They had the lead at half time too, before completely imploding after the break. Harry Kane put them in front with a brilliant goal. Fair play to him, we know what he can do with his right peg and from penalties and tap ins, but when he’s banging them in with his left from 25 yards it shows what a great all round striker he is. He’s also a massive twat of course, which he showed in the second half when he was booked for diving. It’s not the dive that makes him a massive twat, its the way he covered his mouth while he was abusing the ref. That annoyed me far more than it probably should. My displeasure was twofold. Firstly, don’t cover your mouth when you’re talking to an official as it just tells us all that you’re saying stuff you shouldn’t and it’s also ignorant as fuck. If you’ve got something to say, don’t hide it. Secondly, why is he doing it anyway? The gormless bastard talks like he brushes his teeth with superglue. Ain’t no busy lip reading bastard getting any joy trying to decipher what that big chinned slobbering goon is saying. He’s now Harry Kane MBE of course. He’s always been that in my eyes. The MBE standing for Massive Bell End. Seriously though, I’m struggling with this as I have no idea what it’s for. Presumably it’s for the World Cup, as Southgate got an OBE. England beat a few shit teams and found themselves in a semi final, which they lost. Yet they’re being lauded like the boys of 1966. This country are proper losers. Oh you beat Sweden and Colombia? You’re supposed to beat Sweden and Colombia you low expectation having muthafuckers!! Credit to Wolves though, they were boss. I’ve said before that they’re perfectly equipped to play against the better sides and the results they’ve had have against the big boys are remarkable for a newly promoted side. They’ve beaten Chelsea and Spurs and drawn with United, Arsenal and City. They’ll probably beat our fringe players in the FA Cup next week too. That Jiminez is a good player. I like him. He’s not lightning quick and he’s not prolific, but he’s clever. He was interviewed on MOTD immediately after Kane, and all joking aside, it was easier to understand the Mexican lad than the England captain. Conor Coady was loving it and was the first one in on all the goal celebrations. He’s the captain of course so no doubt he was delighted for his team, but I bet the Reds being top put a bit of extra oomph in his celebrations. Probably singing Allez Allez Allez too. Fuck you, Spurs. Having won at Chelsea and then followed it up by beating City, Leicester lost at home to Cardiff. It’s mad how that can happen. How annoying must that have been for their fans. This is an occupational hazard for counter attacking teams though. Leicester are good when they’ve got space to break into, but when they’re up against a defensive opponent and they have to make the play themselves it’s tough for them. Cardiff had drawn 0-0 at Palace so were more than happy to try and do the same again, but they went one better this time. They rode their luck and left it late though. Puel had subbed Vardy (again, he seems to do it every week, unless he leaves him out completely) when Madison won a penalty. With Vardy no longer on the pitch, Madison took it, Etheridge saved it but Madison looked certain to score the rebound before Sol Bamba came out of nowhere with a thunderous challenge. He had a hell of a game. He’s no Virgil Van Dijk but he’s probably just as important to Cardiff as Big Virg is for us. Camerasa won it two minutes into stoppage time with a beautiful strike from 25 yards. Great result for Cardiff and a kick in the balls for Leicester, who with the players they have really ought to be clear in 7th instead of slugging it out with Wolves, Watford, Everton and the Mancs. Their fans don’t like Puel and I can see why, but be careful what you wish for. Moving on, and there was drama at the Cottage as Fulham beat Huddersfield in stoppage time. Mitrovic got the winner with a shot that went through the legs of the Huddersfield keeper Lossl. Awful that, but he’s a bit shit isn’t he, that Lossl? Mitrovic is such a good player these days though, and as I’ve mentioned a couple of times this season he’s no longer the absolute head the ball he was back in his Newcastle days when he was rivalling Shelvey for ‘thickest man in the Toon’. Back then he was fucking nuts and had no self control whatsoever, but he’s grown up at Fulham and it’s been a long time since he’s been in trouble. That new found restraint was tested to it’s limit on Saturday though when Kamara took a penalty off him even though Mitrovic was the designated taker. There was a time not to long ago when ‘Mitro’ would have ripped Kamara’s head off for that, but as soon as he realised Kamara wasn’t going to back down he not only accepted it, but he went over and gave him a kiss for luck. It didn’t work, as the pen was shite and was easily saved by Lossl. The fans were booing and you could see the disgust in some of the Fulham players. Not cool that at all. You can see on the replay that as soon as the pen was awarded Kamara went running off to go and grab the ball. Selfish fuck. The normally affable Ranieri was fuming afterwards and in hi post match interview it sounded like he said “I wanted to kill him, that’s normal”. I rewound it back and played it three or four times and I’m sure that’s what he said. He also said that Kamara disrespected him, his team-mates, the club and the crowd. Ouch. Meanwhile, Everton lost again. This time at Brighton. Locadia got the only goal and Brighton’s back up keeper made a couple of important saves. Everton are proper shite though. Rondon put Newcastle ahead against the run of play at Watford but Doucoure came off the bench to equalise. He’s been heavily linked with PSG recently. We were linked with him over the summer too. I like him, but I’m not sure he’s that good is he? City got back to winning ways on Sunday with a win at St Marys. It wasn’t entirely convincing and they have a lot to thank that new Southampton manager for. Why the fuck didn’t he start Danny Ings? When I saw he’d left him on the bench I was fucking livid. I said last week that until I could remember his name I’d just call him “not Useless”. I take it back. Not even ‘Useless” himself would have made a bonehead move like that. He’s your best player, so pick him, you cunt. I genuinely fancied Southampton to get something from that game but that was based on the fair assumption that they wouldn’t leave their best player and top goalscorer on the bench. City went ahead, Southampton equalised and for a while we had a game on our hands. Then City went ahead with a fluke in first half stoppage time and then added a third almost immediately. Game over. Annoying as fuck. Onto 2019 and Everton wasted no time in picking up exactly where they’d left off. Jamie Vardy bagged the only goal of the game after capitalising on an elephant like touch from Keane. As I said, Leicester are much better when they can counter attack, and Everton are shite. The best bit came afterwards though when Marco Silva referred to ‘the Old Lady’ as “Woodison”. Hahaha quality freudian slip there. There were empty seats all over the place, which I’m not going to judge as footy is an expensive business and it’s Christmas and that. It is funny though because the Blues are convinced they need a 60k stadium and they’ll fill it. Seriously, they wouldn’t fill it if they were giving tickets away for free. Wednesday night’s games now. The Mancs won at Newcastle. I forwarded that on MOTD. Sick of this nonsense about their ‘revival’ already. Solksjaer couldn’t have hand picked four better opponents than he’s had so far, unless they let him play Everton four times. In short, nobody’s arsed about United, they’re irrelevant right now. The game of the night came at Bournemouth where my boy Troy headed Watford into an early lead. It was a wild first half as both teams just went at each other like two drunks at 2am on Matthew Street. Deeney made it 2-0 when he followed up on a loose ball after Deulefeu had driven at Ake. Poor defending but he made amends by heading Bournemouth back into it after Foster had made a stunning save. Bad luck for the keeper, might have even cost him save of the season, as no-one is arsed how good the save is when someone scores from the follow up. Wilson’s looping header got Bournemouth level but some fella called Sema fired Watford ahead. Who’s he? Where’s he been all season? Soon after it was 3-3 as my other boy Ryan Fraser finished off a lovely move that had more dummies than a Trump rally. All of this was in the first half, but as so often happens the second half calmed down massively and was far less eventful. Ben Foster made some brilliant saves though. After the game, both my boys were interviewed together. It was boss. Deeney was being Deeney, going off on one about how Gosling tried to 'do' one of the Watford players and that Doucoure also could have been sent off, but the ref “completely bottled it a few times”. Fraser just stood there clearly thinking “he’s talking bollocks here, but he’s much bigger than me so I’m keeping schtum”. Huddersfield are so hopeless now that they’re even losing at home to fucking Burnley. At least they got a goal from a striker though, which might be the first time all season I think. Of course it was Steve Mounie, as there’s no way that Depoitre bum was scoring. The lead didn’t last long as Chris Wood fired in from close range. Schindler was then given his walking papers for two quick yellows. Funny thing is, he didn't even know he'd been booked the first time so he was baffled when he got a second. Might be a good idea to write these things down in future. Possibly on some sort of list? What? Oh come on, that's gold that is. Not even Burnley could fail to take advantage of being a man up against Huddersfield, and Ashley Barnes got the winner. Best shit player in the league? He’s defo up there. Very good at what he does. Robbie Brady was sent off late on for a deliberate and slightly wild foul to stop a Huddersfield break. Not sure it was worth a straight red. I mean, in theory it probably was because he just cynically hacked the lad down with no intent of playing the ball, but usually it’s only a yellow when that happens. Mike Dean though. Loves his red card. Disappointing result as I don’t want Sean Dyche somehow ‘worming’ his way out of this (see what I did there), not unless it means Newcastle go in their place anyway. Wolves lost at home to Palace. They’re suffering from Leicester syndrome. They look good against better sides but when they have to make the play while coming up against inferior opposition mimicking their own tactics, they find it really difficult. A marginally offside Ayew broke the deadlock with seven minutes left (and started crying for some reason) and then the second arrived from the penalty spot (of course it did, it’s Palace) after Zaha had been brought down (of course it was Zaha, although this was a stonewaller). Down in the East End, West Ham were all over Brighton and had chance after chance but somehow found themselves 2-0 down. Dale Stephens fired in from a corner (wonderful technique that) and then Shane Duffy did likewise almost immediately. Fair play to West Ham for fighting back. Arnautovic is back from injury and they’re always a much more dangerous side with him around, as he’s fucking boss. He held off Dunk to make it 1-2 and then a minute later prodded in the equaliser. Neither side are in any trouble and neither are going to trouble the Europa League places, so a point apiece doesn’t help or hurt either. Across London, Chelsea were held to a goalless draw at the Bridge by Southampton. They have so many good players but Hazard is the only one who really scares you. They’re almost as reliant on him as Palace are on Zaha. It seems like every move they put together goes through him these days. Alvaro Morientes, sorry, Morata, did have the ball in the net but was just offside. Then he missed a good chance soon after. It’s not gonna happen for him, he should just move back to Spain or Italy. Alonso thought he should have had a pen when he was bundled over by Long, but the ref thought he dived. Looked a pen to me. That Southampton manager basically admitted afterwards he wrote off the Man City game and that’s why he rested players. “I don’t want to say I threw that game, but I knew we had more chance against Chelsea so I wanted my players fresh”. Fucking twat. Where’s your integrity to the spirit of competition? Now I know how my main man Neil Warnock felt all those years ago when Rafa screwed him over by resting players at Fulham. There is one ever so slight difference here though, as Rafa didn’t actually do anything wrong and Warnock was talking absolute Zlatan (and has been ever since), but still, fuck that Southampton manager, the City enabling cunt. Sarri revealed afterwards that he didn’t know they were signing Pulisic. He says he was asked a month ago what he thought of him, he told them he thought he was good, and then he heard nothing more until the deal was done. That’s a fucked up way to run a club, but it’s what Chelsea have done for years and they’ve had success doing it. Can’t see any manager being happy about it though, and Sarri may go the way of Conte soon if this continues. Arsenal bounced back from their bumming at Anfield by smashing sorry Fulham all over the Emirates. It was 4-1 but could have been double. Sessegnon should have put Fulham ahead early though but shot wide when clean through. He did the exact same thing at Anfield too. He then completely missed his kick from a few yards out when the goal was gaping. As much as I like him and would happily have him at Anfield, he’s an attacking left back rather than a forward for me, as his finishing is pretty shit. He can deliver a cross though, that’s for damn sure. He got down the left and put one on a plate for Kamara to score. Only one player celebrated with Kamara, which shows how pissed off they all are after the penalty shenanigans at the weekend. Fulham were two down by that point though and they conceded another two after it. They’re doing my head in as I feel as though they shouldn’t be this shit considering the talent they have. I mean fucking hell, they spent £100m last summer!! How can you be this bad? Moving on, and Spurs had a 3-0 stroll against Cardiff in a game that was over after 25 minutes. Eriksen and Son scored nice goals, while Kane got incredibly lucky when a defender’s clearance hit him and rebounded past the keeper. Of course he celebrated it as though he meant it, the absolute goon. Not that we should expect anything better from a man who is prepared to shamelessly accept an MBE while standing alongside genuine heroes. "What did you do to get an MBE then?" "Nothing much, just flew halfway around the world and risked my life diving into an underground cave to rescue some kids who'd got stuck. You?" "Scored a couple of penalties, three tap ins and a complete fluke in the World Cup" "Oh, ok. Against anyone good?" "Yeah, Tunisia, Panama and Colombia" What a shameless dribble chinned cunt.

Daniel Sturridge has learnt a lot over his football career, however his most valuable lesson would have been in the last 12 months when he realised that the grass is not always greener on the other side. In a football sense, the striker was in no-mans-land at this point of the season last year.As a player who had a great deal of confidence in his ability, Sturridge felt a change of scenery would help kickstart a career well and truly at the crossroads.The English international still had ambitions of being named in Gareth Southgate's World Cup squad, and with starting opportunities very limited at the Reds, felt the time was right to venture out on loan to West Brom.It is fair to say that the move turned into a nightmare.The 29 year-old who has had a catalogue of injuries in recent years, struggled to make it out onto the pitch for the Baggies, only making six appearances and failing to find the back of the net for the relegated Midlands side.Widely seen as a certainty to be sold in the summer, Jurgen Klopp had other ideas, giving him another chance to prove himself.Sturridge is someone whose body language is a tell tale sign of where his game is at.The smiling, happy dancing figure constantly seen in his early days at the Reds, was replaced by a rather sad figure who it seemed did not enjoy being at the club.However, knowing that he was still part of the managers' plans despite all what had transpired, Sturridge's change of attitude was evident from the pre-season. He looked like he'd gotten a full house playing Legs11 Bingo. A fitter, leaner Sturridge was desperate to prove the doubters wrong.The smile and mojo was back, and so it proved on the pitch, scoring a goal in the first league game of the season against West Ham.He has added three since including one of the goals of the season against Chelsea which preserved Liverpool's unbeaten record and could yet prove to be a vital point come May.While he hasn't scored since that cracker at Stanford Bridge at the end of September, Sturridge has maintained a presence around the squad and importantly played a role when called upon.For that reason, it is believed that the club are thinking about offering Sturridge a new deal when his current one ends at the end of the season.The Mail reports that Sturridge has attracted interest from some top clubs in Europe including Sevilla and AC Milan along with big spending clubs in the Chinese Super League.However both parties have no thoughts of parting during the January transfer window with Sturridge determined to play his role in helping the Reds claim a long awaited league title.Barring a spate of injuries to the front three, the days of Sturridge being a consistent starter at the club are over.However, a key element of having a strong and successful squad is making sure everyone is on the same page and willing to play a role.If he can be happy in that role and continue to contribute valuable minutes while managing to stay fit, then a new deal is a smart bit of business for all concerned.

Well that easier than I thought. Foolishly, I’d convinced myself that Arsenal could give us real problems. I’d described them as being “like us before we signed Virgil”. I take it back, that’s massively insulting to our lads. Arsenal are as flaky as ever and this was a stroll in the park. In my defence, the reason Arsenal concerned me is because they do have firepower and are dangerous going forward. My reasoning was that unlike most opponents we’ve faced this season, they have the players to hurt us and they won’t come here to try and keep the score down. Emery left Lacazette on the bench though and that played into our hands. He needed to fight fire with fire, and he didn’t. He was caught between having a go and being careful. The end result was a hammering and Aubameyang only touching the ball 14 times, six of them from kick offs. Arsenal should have gone for it and hoped to turn it into a shoot out, because their defence is a fucking joke. As concerned as I’d been all week, that changed when I saw Arsenal’s team. Talking to the lads before the game, my outlook immediately flipped when I saw that defensive unit they were putting out there. I believe my exact words were: “Look at that defence, none of them can run. Our forwards will fucking destroy them”. And they did. Five goals for the front three and Arsenal actually got off lightly. It could easily have been worse for them, but much of the second half was a case of our lads conserving a bit of energy and Klopp looking to rest a few players. If we’d needed more goals we’d have gotten them pretty easily. Arsenal did show why I was right to be concerned about them at the other end though. They carried a real menace early on before the game eventually got away from them. I’ve always thought that Iwobi was shite but he was their best player by some distance. Trent had the most difficult job of any of our lads in trying to keep him quiet. Everyone else won their battles comfortably. Trent won his too, eventually, but at least Iwobi made him work for it. It was a stroll for everybody else. Especially the midfielders. I like that Torreira but he looked like a little kid against the magnificent Wijnaldum. What a performance from him. Bobby is the star man because of his hat-trick, but Gini was top class. Arsenal were on the front foot early on and played with belief that they could do something. They pressed high up the pitch and had some joy with it, in part due to some sloppy passing from us. Fabinho gave the ball away carelessly with a reckless cross field pass. He seems to have one of those moments in him every game. So far he hasn’t been punished but he needs to clean it up. Poor old Dejan isn’t so lucky. Anything he does wrong usually ends up being costly. Blaming him for the goal is harsh though and Klopp even said afterwards the problem was that no-one was showing for the ball so he just hit it long. I’d give Arsenal credit for it. They were closing us down well and we had a few uncomfortable moments passing it around in our own defensive third with a lot of Arsenal players hunting the ball. Lovren’s pass forward wasn’t the greatest but for it to result in a goal then other things need to go wrong as well. We had players back but Arsenal worked it very well. Iwobi’s cross was brilliant and Robertson couldn’t get back in time to stop Maitland-Niles finishing at the back post. Initially I thought Robbo must have switched off and let him run off the back of him, but it wasn’t that. He sprinted to try and get back in but he was just too far up the field when we lost the ball to get back in time. If that had been Moreno he’d have been slaughtered for it, but my view on it is that it’s simply a consequence of how we play. The full backs are asked to push right up and play as wingers as well as defenders. To do that you need to be high up the pitch when the team has the ball. If possession is lost then it’s a problem. Maybe Robbo shouldn’t have been that far forward but none of us really know because it all depends on where Klopp wants him to be. It felt like the end of the world though. Not because I didn’t think we’d come back, but because we conceded a goal and it put a dent in our wonderful record. Any goal conceded now puts me on a massive downer because I love how miserly we’ve become. Imagine beating the record for fewest goals conceded! It could happen. For so many years it’s been our big weakness and if I’m being honest I’d gotten used to winning 4-3 rather than 1-0 and was actually quite happy with that. "Clean sheets are boring, we’re the fucking entertainers!!" Actually no, clean sheets are fucking boss as long as they aren’t achieved through shithouse footy. I don’t want to watch a defensive side. Been there, done that, and it’s only palatable when it delivers trophies. Take the trophies away and it’s fucking shit. I want to watch an attacking side who are also boss at defending. That’s what we have now and this season has been a fucking ball so far. You can tell the players are obsessed with clean sheets too, and when Arsenal scored they were fuming. They couldn’t wait to get the game started again and within five minutes they had the lead. Score against us? The fuck do you think you are? Bing, bang, bosh, pow. 4-1 before we’d even reached half time. Ian Wright in the BT studio was screaming “WHY DID WE HAVE TO UPSET THEM!?!?|” Love Ian Wright me you know. Funny guy, wears his heart on his sleeve. Probably my favourite Gunner now. It used to be Club Shop Ty, but he was a bit of a knob in his post match with Arsenal Fan TV so he’s slipped down the pecking order now and Wrighty is number one. The response to going behind was great though wasn’t it? You can say Arsenal let us back in with their terrible defending and naive play in midfield, but I’d prefer to take the view that we forced them into those errors. Pressure causes mistakes, and after going behind our lads just intensified the pressure they were putting them under and Arsenal cracked. There was a big slice of luck about the equaliser, as one Arsenal defender smashed the ball against another, leaving Bobby with a tap in. I didn’t know at the time how the ball ended up at his feet, but I saw it at half time on the TV screens under the Main Stand. Every goal that was shown was greeted with a cheer, but the angle that showed the ‘no look’ finish got the loudest one. The ‘no look’ thing bothered me initially as it’s unnecessary showboating and there’s a risk (however small) that it could backfire. I generally don’t like that sort of thing. As a comparison, in the NFL last year one my Bears players had a clear run to the end zone but he slowed right down with a few yards to go as he wanted to look cool by walking in. He got caught from behind and the ball was knocked out of his hands. Bobby hasn’t been caught out yet, but what if he misses by doing this? It’s probably a thousand to one chance that he does, but why risk it? That’s been my view of it, but he’s always going to do it and clearly Klopp has never told him not to, so fuck it. No point me worrying, may as well just buzz off it like everyone else. A minute later he was zig zagging his way through the defence and leaving a trail of Arsenal bodies in his wake. What a great goal. It was also the exact type of goal I expect to see us scoring against Arsenal. Rob them in midfield and then BANG! Arsenal will never learn. That’s how we used to do them when we had Suarez, Sturridge and Sterling too. I’m made up for Bobby. He’s not been scoring many but it never gets him down as he’s all about the good of the team over personal glory. That’s why Klopp loves him so much and why his team-mates feel the same. Soon after it was 3-1. Arsenal cleared a corner but didn’t mark up properly as they pushed out. Robbo’s cross field ball picked out Mo in space and he intelligently squared it for Sadio to bury. Game over. No way were we allowing Arsenal to score two more. It was all about how many we’d score now. The fourth was fantastic. Ok, it was a penalty, but I’m taking about the play to lead up to it. Alisson’s pass to pick out Bobby on the right wing was stunning. The reaction around the ground when he hit that said it all. It felt as though there was a collective “whoa!” from fifty odd thousand people. Bobby fed Mo and he did that thing he’s so good at. Not going down a pen, I’m talking about how he’s happy to dribble the ball into the tiniest space to go around the defender. They’ll always show him the line to keep him off his left foot and to narrow the angle, but he’s happy to just go outside and he’s scored from that position loads of times. This time he didn’t get a shot away because Sokratis had two nibbles at the back of his calf. Was it enough for him to go down naturally or he did he dive? Who knows. It was a foul though and were it not for what happened against Newcastle a few days before I don’t think there’d even be any discussion about this one. There was a long delay before he got to take the pen, and at one stage I saw an Arsenal player (Ramsay I think) in his face trying to put him off. It didn’t work. The penalty went up the middle and just about went in. Arsenal weren’t happy about it but they only have themselves to blame for their schoolboy like defending. Arsenal’s players acted like dicks for most of the game I thought. Actually I take that back, most of them were fine, it was the defenders who were all acting up. The old timer at right back spent virtually the entire game slaughtering the officials and being a snide. Sokratis was just as bad too. He had a real hard done about Mo winning that penalty against him and tried to start something in the tunnel at half time. Big Virgil just stepped in and put a stop to any of that nonsense though. Even after the game Klopp went over to Sokratis (his former player at Dortmund) and he was still fucking bitching about it. You kicked at his ankles, twice, stop blaming Salah for you being shite and slow. I suppose it was Mo’s fault that you and Mustafi both ended up flat on your arses watching Bobby slalom through to make it 2-1? Dick. The second half was a procession. We only scored one more but that often seems to happen in these games that are over by half time. It was another soft pen, as Kolasinic needlessly shoved Lovren in the back. Did he go down easily? Possibly, but if you get firmly shoved in the back then it’s a foul. It wasn’t one of those when a defender puts his hands on a player’s back to stop him from backing in and the player feels it and hits the deck (otherwise known as “doing an Ashley Barnes”). It was a push in the back. End of. Mo insisting Bobby took the pen to get his hat-trick was nice. Look how delighted he was for him when he scored too. The front three are looking like they’re back in last season’s groove now. All scoring, all creating for each other and all just generally loving it. We all know how obsessed Mo has become with scoring goals but he gave that up so Firmino could get his hat-trick. Could you imagine Kane doing that for Son or Alli? Bobby is the most selfless player in the league and his team-mates all know it. Mo owes him than anybody and it’s great to see him recognise that. Klopp was blown away by the gesture. I doubt he’d have felt the same had the scoreline been closer, but at 4-1 you can afford a liberty or two. I don’t actually think there’s much between them when it comes to pens anyway, as frankly I don’t trust either of them, and I wouldn’t have much confidence in Sadio either. I don’t mind them taking them when Milner isn’t on the field but all three of them have a miss in them. Mo’s scored from the spot in consecutive games but I didn’t particularly like either pen. The first one he telegraphed big time. His whole body shape screamed out where the ball was going. The keeper went the right way but didn’t get there. This one went down the middle but was almost saved. If Milner isn’t there then I’m happy enough for Mo to be the taker but I don’t have a great deal of faith in him. Bobby has missed a few as well, but they’ve been a bit unlucky (hitting the post and the bar if I remember rightly) and at least he looks like he’s confident when taking them. Klopp suggested afterwards though that he hardly ever scores them in training, so that’s a little bit of a concern. Still, worrying about who’s taking penalties makes a welcome change from wondering why we aren’t getting any. Love how everyone is fuming about it like we’ve been getting pens every week. Keep clutching those straws, you bitter bastards. The best thing about this victory is that we were brilliant without ever really hitting top form. Actually I might be being a little harsh there. Had we finished off some of the absolutely stunning moves we put together than we might be talking about one of the all time great performances, but because we didn’t I’m left thinking that we can play significantly better than this. Off the top of my head I can think of a few moments that would have put a completely different spin on the performance. There was Fabinho hitting the keeper after Mo’s exquisite drag back and flick put him in. Also, Mo not going round the keeper after Shaqiri’s fucking delicious ball with the outside of his foot. Then there was that Harlem Globetrotters move when Hendo hit a cross field volley to Bobby as everyone piled forward. If we’d scored there that would have been replayed for decades, like Terry Mac’s header against Spurs. There were others too. Some of the football was unreal but we didn’t finish those moves off. We still scored five though. I’m running out of words to describe this team. I still think there’s another gear for them to go to if they need it too. This is something genuinely special we’re living through right now. I was saying to my Dad afterwards, imagine being an opposing manager facing this Liverpool side. What do you do? Where do you target? It used to be a case of hanging on in there and waiting for set-pieces, because we were shite in the air. Now Virgil just heads away everything. Failing that, they knew they could get at Moreno because eventually he’d do something stupid. Now the best left back in the world has that flank locked down. Ok, so maybe target the teenager on the other flank. Nope, Trent ain’t having that and he’s not a teenager anymore. Ah well, there’s always the keeper, he’s a weak link. Newsflash, Mig is on the bench and Karius has been banished to Turkey. No weakness there. The only way anyone (other than maybe Spurs, Man City or possibly Chelsea) is beating us if we have an off day and the opposition have a considerable amount of luck. That can happen, and it might happen, but what I’m saying is that you can’t really plan on how to beat this team because they’re too good. To beat us, 95% of the league need us to play badly or they have no chance. City are the only ones who could beat us when we’re playing well, and even then they’d probably need the rub of the green. That game later this week is going to be fucking epic. If we were to play Thursday’s game ten times, I’d expect to win five, draw a few and maybe lose a couple. So I’m confident we’ll win but certainly not complacent about it. City could beat us, no question about it. If they play as they can and we’re even a little bit off, we won’t win. The magnitude of the game tells me our lads will be right at it though. They usually are in these big games. We’ve come a long way in that regard. We’ve come a long way in every regard actually. The game isn’t a title decider because if we lose we’ve still got a nice cushion. If we win though I do believe it’s virtually over, because with a ten point lead it’s hard to see this team of ours letting that slip. We could easily drop 10 points between now and May, but City and/or Spurs would have to win every game and neither look capable of doing that. There’s far more pressure on City in this game so let’s go there and turn the screw on the fuckers. Come on you mighty Redmen!!! Team: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Lovren, Van Dijk, Robertson (Clyne); Fabinho, Wijnaldum (Lallana); Shaqiri, Firmino, Mané (Henderson); Salah:

With the mid-season transfer window about to open in the next 24 hours, there will be plenty of speculation about who may be arriving or departing the club during the month of January. While top clubs tend to shy away from purchases during this time as transfer fees are greatly inflated, for teams who have purely got survival on their minds, a signing or two could make all the difference.Cardiff manager Neil Warnock is one manager who has made his interest known in one of our players, that being Nathaniel Clyne.Once seen as ' Mr Consistent' the English international has become one of the forgotten men of the Liverpool line-up in the last two seasons for a number of reasons. The emergence of Joe Gomez and Trent-Alexander-Arnold as regulars in the back four, combined with a number of long term injuries to Clyne which in turn led to a lack of confidence on his return, has seen the 27 year-old on the outside looking in.To his great credit and undoubted professionalism when called upon in a time of need, the right-back performed to a high standard in the clash against Man United with both Alexander-Arnold and Gomez sidelined by injury.The wily Warnock had sensed a real possibility to sign Clyne, but speaking to Sky Sports says that he doesn't know where things currently stand. "We spoke about Clyne months ago, but then he got back into the Liverpool team against Manchester United, then they had a few injuries, so things change."But honestly, we've got nothing set for any position at the moment, I'm hoping that changes this week.""We've got nine or 10 concrete enquiries in at the moment, obviously we're not going to sign them all."People might think, 'I don't want to go to a team at the bottom of the table' but it's difficult to bring players in"A player like Clyne who has made just 10 senior appearances in the last 18 months would naturally be desperate to get some sustained senior football under his belt.But as we had recently seen, a couple of injuries can happen in a instant and change the whole scenario.As a team who is on a quest to win the Premier League, you normally would only let players go at this time of the season who need more senior experience (e.g. Dom Solanke).A seasoned pro like Clyne can certainly play a role, and unless he knocks on Jurgen Klopp's door desperate to leave the club, it would be doubtful that the German would let him go during this window.

The topic of diving is one of the age old debates that surrounds Football. The press at large love the headlines it provides, and some losing managers often use it as a deflection tactic to cover up their side's overall poor performance. The fans also dislike a opposition player falling all over the place, and aren't too thrilled when one of their own partake in the practice.While everyone will have their own opinion, being called a diver or by extension a cheat, is never a accusation that you want to have over your head.Every great player has a moment where they are publicly questioned about this part of the game, and it appears it is now Mo Salah's time under the spotlight.The conversation started on Boxing Day when after over a year of the referee failing to point to the spot in a league game at Anfield despite countless appeals over that time, Graham Scott adjudged Newcastle defender Paul Dummett had held back Salah in the box.Some pundits thought 'The Egyptian King' had made the most of the contact, but former referee Dermot Gallagher believed the right call was made.Speaking to Sky Sports, Gallagher said.I thought it was a penalty - he [Dummett] caught him by the arm and there was enough there. At the speed people move, you do not need much… (to go over). "His reaction is that he almost gives upon the decision, like 'why have I done that?'" Then in the game against Arsenal on Saturday, the debate sprung to life once again when Michael Oliver gave his first of two penalties to the Reds when he adjudged that Salah was fouled by Greek defender Sokratis before the half time interval.It led to a on-field dispute between the parties concerned and led to on field leader Virgil Van Dijk standing up for his teammate as both teams went into the tunnel.While it looked like a flashpoint, Van Dijk said the issue looked worse than it was."Obviously everyone came around us and it looked like we were fighting or something, but we weren’t. "I just wanted to talk to him. But that happens in football and we move on. "I’m protecting my team-mates and that’s normal, that’s how everyone should react and that’s what we all need to do, to back each other. That’s what I definitely do." When questioned on the topic Jurgen Klopp was adamant that his team are in the clear in this regard. The Mirror reported Klopp as saying:"I haven’t seen it back [with Sokratis] and I have no clue about what happened around it, but the ref really was close to it."We don’t have divers and that was not a dive. The other one is not a dive. The ref decides it. In the three and a half years, we have had more penalties not given when they were penalties and you think, ‘Hmph, hmph, hmph!"“Dermot Gallagher said [after Newcastle], ‘Penalty.’ His [Dummett's] arm was there. Do we need blood for a proper penalty? I think no."In that moment, if you don’t touch Mo and he makes the next step and shoots – and we know he’s pretty good at that… these are the situations."This discussion will no doubt raise its head again the next time Salah is fouled in the box.But just like all the outside noise, the best thing to do is focus on the things we can control as a side.

Liverpool continued to turn on the style during the festive period, this time dispatching Arsenal 5-1 in front of a jubilant Anfield crowd on Saturday evening.A hat-trick by Roberto Firmino along with a Sadio Mane goal and a Mo Salah penalty saw the Reds increase their lead atop the Premier League table to ten points with Man City a chance to narrow that gap to seven points against Southampton today.Liverpool haven't fallen behind often in the league this season, in fact it has only happened on two occasions against Burnley and Chelsea.Trailing at home has been even more of a rarity with their last deficit coming almost a year to the day against Leicester (30th Dec 2017).However, Liverpool fell behind on this occasion courtesy of a goal to Arsenal youngster Ashley Maitland-Niles.It was a sign that the Gunners meant business while also helping out some of Liverpool's title rivals in the process.However if we have learnt anything this year it is that the Reds are made of real substance this season.They responded in kind courtesy of a quick fire double to Roberto Firmino. Remarkably they were the first league goals Firmino had scored at home since his goal against Bournemouth in April.It was also the first time Firmino had put the ball in the back of the net since the clash against Burnley on the fifth of this month.However if there is one team who brings the goal scoring best out of Bobby, it is the team from North London.Counting his third goal which came from the penalty spot, the tireless workhorse has now scored eight goals against the Gunners at his time with the Reds and has also been directly involved in three others.Xherdan Shaqiri who once again made things happen whenever he was on the ball against the Gunners, spoke in glowing terms about Firmino's performance.Speaking to the Official site, Shaqiri said:“It was fully deserved. He had a very good game."It’s always good to have people who can score in the team, he scored the second one very nicely. "He fully deserved to score a hat-trick and I’m happy for him. I hope he can keep going like this.The Swiss midfielder admitted that the early goal from the visitors jolted them into action."It was a top game, obviously Arsenal have their quality and you can see that with the first goal they scored."It was a little wake-up call for us, we were straight on after we conceded and scored for 1-1 – that was the big point for us to change the game and to win in the end.”Next up for the Reds is the ultimate test for a side wanting to claim their first league title for near on 30 years, a trip to the reigning champions.The fixture against Man City has the football world talking, but Shaqiri like the rest of his teammates is keeping a level head and keeping everything in perspective.“Expectations are always high."But we want to stay focused, we have to stay focused and work hard every day. "There’s a long way to go. At the moment we’re really happy and I hope we can keep going like this."Momentum is crucial and while there is plenty more football to be played between now and May, striking a psychological blow against our main rivals on Thursday evening could prove pivotal to the outcome.