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Liverpool suffered their second loss of the Champions League group stages with a 2-0 defeat to Red Star Belgrade on Wednesday evening. The loss sees the Reds fall to second place in Group C behind Napoli on a head to head basis due to the fact that the Italian side defeated them on Matchday Two. After qualification looked to be a strong possibility after Matchday three, there is little doubt that the Reds have a real fight on their hands with all four teams in the group now separated by two points. Understandably Jurgen Klopp was not a happy man after the game, which saw Red Star take a commanding 2-0 lead before the half hour courtesy of two goals from Milan Pavkov. The German has been concerned at times this season by the way that Liverpool have failed to get into their stride during games and it proved a major issue once again in Belgrade. The Independent reported Klopp as saying: “I saw a few games like this already and it is really difficult to find your mojo back. You don’t find solutions on the pitch, you solve problems. We made life a bit too easy tonight. "We had a lot of moments when we could get in control of the game and we didn’t do it, we just made the wrong decision. Daniel Sturridge who started in place of Roberto Firmino missed a gilt-edged chance to put the Reds in front in the 15th minute, while Mo Salah had a number of chances in the second half but the Egyptian could not find a way past Milan Borjan in the Red Star goal. Klopp knew that the Sturridge miss would be a big moment. "The first big chance to Daniel was a very big one. We gave them too many set-pieces and they scored with a header after the corner and the second goal was out of the blue. “We tried to change in the second half, we had some situations. "Very dominant, didn’t give a lot of counter-attacks away but we had moments we had ‘nearly’ chances but the biggest chances were in the last two or three minutes. "If we had scored early the game would have changed but we didn’t.” After falling to a third consecutive away defeat in the competition for the first time in the club’s history, Liverpool face a daunting challenge in three weeks when they head to Paris to play PSG. The French champions currently sit third in the group after playing out their second draw with Napoli in as many games, this time it was a 1-1 draw in Naples. It was widely speculated once the draw was released that group C would be one of the tightest in the competition and that is exactly the way how things have played out. In all probability, it will come down to the last round of games and while Napoli are certainly a formidable opponent, we know there is nothing like a special European night at Anfield to get the best out of the squad

Liverpool midfielder James Milner has rued the amount of missed goalscoring opportunities in the Reds 2-0 defeat against Red Star Belgrade on Wednesday evening. Two goals from striker Milan Pavkov inside the first 30 minutes saw Red Star take control and sent an already fired up crowd of over 51,000 into total euphoria. It could have been a totally different game had Daniel Sturridge taken his opportunity in the 15th minute, but the England international fired well over from close range and it was those kind of missed chances which had Milner frustrated. Four Four Two reported Milner as saying: "That's the thing, not taking the chances when we're creating them. "Last season we were scoring a lot of goals and they were going in and now they're not. If we take those chances tonight the game looks a lot different. We can't be letting teams get a start. With his experience in big games, the veteran knows how important it is to start on the front foot away from home, especially in front of such a passionate home crowd. It was something that didn't occur against Red Star. "From the first whistle, we didn't start well enough, and that showed with them getting the two goals. "We knew [about the atmosphere]. The crowd was big for them and it's been a long time since they've been in the Champions League, it was always going to be a big game." It certainly doesn't get any easier for the Reds on the road as French Champions Paris Saint Germain are their next challenge in three weeks time. Jurgen Klopp will be hoping the likes of Naby Keita and Jordan Henderson are fit and available for selection for that clash to give him more options in midfield, while Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane and Mo Salah will want to find their scoring touch in front of goal on a more regular basis than they have done to start their 2018/9 campaign.

I’m not going to complain about a point at Arsenal. I don’t think we played well and it’s frustrating not to have been able to hold on having got our noses in front, but so far this season we’ve drawn with City, Chelsea and Arsenal and we’ve beaten everyone else. Can’t really ask for more than that, surely? It’s hard to be completely objective about these things because of how much Man City have completely skewed everything, the financial doping cheating twats. They’ve artificially set the bar so high that any point dropped feels like it might be catastrophic in terms of the title. I mean, since when is a draw at Arsenal a bad result? The answer is never, yet it almost feels that way, especially because City have already won there. They played Arsenal at the right time, before they’d fully adjusted to what Emery wants from them. The Gunners look much stronger now. They’re certainly much better without the ball than we’ve become used to. I still feel as though we’d have battered them if we’d been anywhere near our best but it’s hard to beat anyone when the front three perform like this. I had hoped that the two easy wins we’d had prior to this would have been enough to get them going again, but sadly not. The goal we scored came from Milner and the rest of our best chances all fell to Virgil. Where were the front three? Aside from Firmino’s clever lob that hit the post in the first half, they barely threatened. Mane followed that one up and tucked the rebound away but he was ruled offside. Apparently under the current rules that was an incorrect decision and the goal should have stood, but fucking hell, I don’t think I want to live in a world where that is considered to be onside. I mean come on. He runs in behind the defence and is a yard offside when the initial ball comes in. He even goes towards the ball but Firmino beats him to it. When Bobby takes the shot Mane is obviously onside at that point, but the only reason he is first to get to the loose ball is because he gained a huge advantage over the defenders by running offside in the first place. If the rules now state that this is ok, then the rules are a fucking joke. But then we knew that anyway. Look at Cardiff’s goal at Anfield last week, if that’s a legit goal then Mane’s should be too. The inconsistency bothers me, but other than that I can’t get worked up about it when to me that should always be given as offside. The real problem is that nobody knows anymore, not even the linesmen. It’s not their fault either, the whole thing is just a farce now. Maybe if the goal had stood the forwards would have grown in confidence and made more of the space that Arsenal were allowing them. We’ll never know. What we do know is that it didn’t stand and that was pretty much as good as it got for the forwards. Salah always looked like he was on the brink of doing something but he never did. Firmino never really looked on the brink of anything other than being substituted, which he eventually was, while Mane was just really hot and cold. Mostly cold. That Arsenal back four was tailor made for us and there was loads of space in behind them, but we didn’t control the midfield well enough and the forwards weren’t threatening enough. The mad thing is, despite rarely looking like being the better side we still had the better of the chances. Arsenal had a few good moments but mostly they were kept at arms length by our defence. Robbo was great and the two centre backs were pretty much flawless. I thought Trent was shite though and Alisson looked ropey. Had Lovren been fit we may have seen Gomez at right back, but unless Trent sorts himself out quickly it might even be worth bring Clyne back in. Alisson could have conceded a penalty when he came for a cross, was beaten to it by Mkhitaryan and ended up cleaning him out. Keepers usually get away with those to be fair, and at least the ref was consistent as he later waved away an identical claim we had at the other end when Van Dijk was belted in the face by Leno after beating him to the ball. Big Virg also put one into the keeper’s chest from close range. Should have scored really, and it’s bizarre that he hasn’t scored since that debut goal against the Blues. He seems to have a chance every week. I suspect once he ends his dry spell they’ll start to come regularly. We eventually broke the deadlock when Mane escaped down the left and his cross was parried by Leno straight into the path of Milner. It’s easy to blaze those over the bar but he made sure he got right over the top of the ball and kept it down. He doesn’t get many from open play and he probably should chip in with more than he does really. It wasn’t his best game but he was better than the other two midfielders. Wijnaldum was neat and tidy in the first half and then pulled his disappearing Gini act in the second. I keep saying it, but as a number six he’s brilliant. As an eight, very hit and miss, especially away from home. Fabinho never got to grips with he speed of the game at all. He was late into challenges and always looked on the verge of being caught in possession. Playing against Red Star and Cardiff isn’t the greatest preparation for a high tempo game like this, and he was found out. Still some work to do with him, but having experienced this he’ll be better prepared next time. We missed Henderson though. Klopp’s midfield options were restricted with the skipper and Keita, but the way the game was going it looked like a fairly obvious call to get Fabinho off and either Lallana or Shaqiri on in midfield. Instead Klopp seemed to tweak the formation. It looked to me that we went 4-4-1-1 in the second half, with Milner right midfield and Bobby playing in behind Mo. Not sure what the thinking was there, but it didn’t really work. Personally I’d have gone like for like and matched what Arsenal were doing, and just backed our lads to do it better. In other words, get Fabinho off, switch to 4-2-3-1 and get Shaq on to supply the front three. Instead we got Shaq on for Bobby. It didn’t help much, but I did think we’d probably be able to hold onto the lead as the defence were doing well for the most part. It’s not like Alisson had many shots to save, but then Arsenal produced one moment of real quality and were level. It was brilliant from Lacazatte. We were unlucky because nine times out of ten that doesn’t end up in our net. Alisson did well not to bring him down and having been forced wide it looked like the chance had gone. Lacazette checked back onto his right foot and lashed it right in the corner. He had a window of about one foot otherwise that wasn’t going in. Sadly for us he lashed it right through that window. The worry then was that we might blow it and end up with nothing. It’s happened before. Not this time though. We rallied quite well and had a couple of promising breaks. One saw Shaqiri pick out Sadio for a rasping shot just over the bar, and the other should have seen Salah roll the ball to Mane who was clean through. Unfortunately he did exactly what he did at Huddersfield the other week and passed it straight to the last defender. It was unspeakably shit and it took me about an hour to calm down. The draw is a decent result and it’s not as though we deserved more than a point based on how we played, but that one moment really stayed with me for a while because I can’t get my head around Salah doing something that shit twice in as many away games. Sort your shit out Mo. Maybe Klopp was as pissed off as me, as that’s the only explanation I can think of for the fucking pointless change he made with a minute left. Matip for Salah? Why? Just why? Salah had made a mess of that counter attack but the fact Arsenal were so wide open for it meant we might get another chance. Instead we got fucking Joel Matip. Depressing. Nothing against big Joel but the message it sent out was just all kinds of wrong, and besides, that’s a change you make when a) you’re winning, and b) the other team is desperate and pumping long balls into the box. Neither of those applied, so again I ask, what was the fucking point? Kloppo was pissed off at that pass I tell you! So anyway, we didn’t lose but we slipped two points behind City. Not a huge deal at this stage, but it reduces our margin for error because you can probably count on one hand the number of games City won’t win. We’re now relying on Mourinho and United to do us a favour next week. As if that’s gonna fucking happen. We need to disregard what City are doing and view our season based on what we do. If we finish with 90 odd points and it’s not enough, there’ll be people complaining and scapegoating certain players. It’s understandable but it’s just fucking wrong isn’t it? This is the City effect though, they’re ruining the game the fucking twats. Star man is Van Dijk. Just a shame his finishing isn’t as good as his defending. Team: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Gomez, Van Dijk, Robertson; Fabinho, Milner, Wijnaldum; Salah (Matip), Firmino (Shaqiri), Mane:

Sadie Mane has no plans to let any off-field distractions get in the way of playing good football for the Reds this season. The Senegalese forward has had a hot and cold start to his 2018/9 campaign, scoring four goals from as many league games to start the season, before going seven games without putting the ball in the back of the net in all competitions. After missing the game against Huddersfield with a hand injury sustained on international duty, Mane has scored three goals in his last three games. Contract negotiations are clearly a necessary part of Football and depending on the individual concerned and his agent, can be conducted in a professional fashion or become a dragged out affair which causes a great deal of friction for all parties. For his part, Mane is looking to have a clear mindset as the Reds look to maintain their strong start in the league and Europe. The Mirror (via the Echo) reported Mane as saying: "I am more focused on the games, things like contracts I leave with my agent. "I am happy and concentrating on giving my best for my team-mates, my manager and the fans." The 26-year-old's current deal runs out in 2021 so there isn't any immediate concern in terms of the timeframe. However clubs normally like to lock away their stars well in advance as the Reds have done with Mo Salah and Roberto Firmino in the past few months. In Mane's case, negotiations between the parties began at the end of last season which is why questions have been raised about the delay. What is certain is that adding the signature of the star forward in the near future will complete another fine piece of work by the club's negotiating team.

Liverpool maintained their unbeaten start to Premier League campaign after sharing the points with Arsenal in a captivating 1-1 draw at Emirates Stadium on Saturday evening. The Reds had faced a number of searching tests of their title credentials in their first ten games of the Premier League season and the clash against the Gunners loomed as another stern challenge. Arsenal came into this fixture with a 12 game unbeaten streak across all competitions, although there was a widely held view that their record that had been inflated by defeating what can only be described as 'second tier' opponents. This was an opportunity for the North London club to put that right and they gave the Reds all they could handle in a game that could have gone either way. A piece of individual brilliance by Alexandre Lacazette piece cancelled out James Milner's strike on the hour mark which was his 50th goal in the Premier League. Milner is renowned as a straight talker and the veteran midfielder saw the result as an opportunity wasted. Speaking to the Official site after the game Milner said: "We are disappointed really, which is a good thing I suppose, playing away at Arsenal. "To be 1-0 up in the second half and not see it out, we are disappointed; with the chances we created we should have scored a few more goals. "It’s pleasing we are creating those chances, but we could have been a bit more ruthless and maybe not put as much pressure on ourselves not to concede to win the game.” The main stats of the game showed how tight a contest it was with Liverpool edging the shots on goal (13-12) and each team had four shots on target. Liverpool only had 38% of possession so you have to say they did quite well to carve out as many chances as they did. The central defence pairing of Virgil Van Dijk and Joe Gomez were reunited after three league games apart and continued their excellent partnership. Milner continued to discuss the bittersweet feeling he had about the result. “This draw is different to Chelsea, for example, so there are ups and downs and things that we can learn. But you can see we are moving forward as a team and we are defending well together. "Again, that’s another learning curve for us – to see those sorts of games out.” There was probably a time not too long ago where a point away at Arsenal would have been hailed as a step forward by this team, so it is a positive sign that the likes of Milner are not satisfied with this result. We can only hope that feeling of disappointment will spur the team on when they find themselves in a similar position throughout the season.

A point at Arsenal is a more than acceptable result, particularly when it extends the unbeaten start to the season, but having taken the lead the Reds will be kicking themselves they were unable to hold on. In truth though, they didn't play that well and a draw was a fair reflection of the game. With better finishing and a little more luck, however, one point would have been three. The good: The defence performed well, or at least three quarters of it did. The two centre backs were outstanding, while Andy Robertson was solid. The bad: Having looked like they were back on track after a couple of good showings against inferior opposition, the front three were poor and their final ball was back to being crap again. There were chances to exploit the space left behind the Arsenal defence but very rarely did we do it. Player ratings out of 10: GK Alisson Becker, 5 - Flapped at a cross and was fortunate that Mkhitaryan’s header sailed just wide. Then he parried another cross back into the danger area but again escaped punishment. He looked uncharacteristically shaky throughout, although there wasn’t a great deal he could have done about the goal, which was a hell of a finish. DF Trent Alexander-Arnold, 4 - Started shakily when he was caught in possession in the opening minute, and that set the tone for a below par showing. Had Lovren been fit he probably wouldn’t have started, and it’s not difficult to see why. DF Joe Gomez, 8 - Cool, calm, collected. Made a vital boock early on to deny Aubamayeng and was pretty much faultless once again. DF Virgil Van Dijk, 8.5 - Would have graded much higher had he taken one of the three great chances he had to score. Defensively imperious and a massive threat at the other end. Colossus. DF Andy Robertson, 7.5 - Effective at both ends. Strong in defence where he made several timely interventions and blocks. Going forward he brought a save out of the keeper and delivered some good crosses. MF Fabinho, 5 - He’s looked good in the slower paced games against Red Star and Cardiff, but this was a real baptism of fire for him. Never got to grips with the pace of the game. Committed several fouls and made little impression with the ball. MF Georginio Wijnaldum, 6 - I actually forgot he was on the field at one point in the second half. He did pretty well in the first half, being typically neat and tidy and using his body to shield the ball. MF James Milner, 7 - More influential in the second half than the first and bagged a rare goal from open play when he arrived late in the box and drilled in a low shot after the keeper palmed Mane’s cross into his path. FW Robert Firmino, 5.5 - Unlucky not to score with a deft chip that hit the post in the first half, but that was about as good as it got for Bobby, who ended up dropping deeper and deeper to try and get involved. No surprise when he was subbed for Shaqiri with 20 minutes left. FW Sadio Mane, 6 - Did very little in the first half aside from having a goal ruled out for offside. Involved a bit more after the break and played his part in Milner’s goal, but didn’t really go at the full back at all, which was disappointing. FW Mohamed Salah, 6 - Looked sharp early doors and gave Arsenal plenty to think about down their left, but it rarely led to anything. It always felt as though he was about to do something significant, but it just never materialised. Had a chance to play Mane clean through late on, but inexplicably passed the ball straight to the covering defender, in what was almost an exact replica of what he did at Huddersfield two weeks ago. Substitutes: FW Xherdan Shaqiri, NR -- Had one good run in behind the defence and managed to cut the ball back to Mane who shot just over, but otherwise made little impact. DF Joel Matip, NR - Replaced Salah with a minute left in stoppage time. What was the point? One of the more bizarre changes we’ve seen in years. Manager Rating: Jurgen Klopp, 6 - Went with the most sensible starting line up he could, but in hindsight either Lallana or (ideally) Shaqiri should have played instead of Fabinho, which would have allowed Wijnaldum to play in the number six role he has thrived in this season. Made a tactical switch at half time that looked like 4-4-1-1, but when the forwards aren’t on their game it doesn’t really matter what the system is.

It was a horrific weekend for the BT Sport presenters. First Glen Hoddle almost died on set and had to be rushed to hospital and then there was the tragic helicopter disaster at Leicester after the Saturday evening game. Horrible for everyone concerned. Don’t really know what else to say, other than to offer condolences to the friends and families of those who died, and best wishes to Hoddle. The game at the KingPower had ended in a 1-1 draw after Leicester had grabbed a last minute deflected equaliser against West Ham. No more than they deserved as they battered West Ham but just couldn’t score. Mark Noble was sent off for an over the ball lunge. Not intentional but pretty clumsy. Mark Noble in a nutshell that. "Not intentional but pretty clumsy" could be used to describe a goal or a tackle where he’s concerned. Amartey suffered a brutal leg break late on in that game too. I haven’t seen it because it was so bad that BBC didn’t want to even show it, which is fair enough I think. It has always puzzled me why people feel the need to seek out replays of these gruesome injuries. I’m squeamish and always look away anyway, but I don’t see what purpose is served by showing them. My squeamishness probably goes back to when Jim Beglin broke his leg at Goodison. That was my first away game and I was stood at the front of the old enclosure, only about 20 yards away from the incident. I didn’t realise what had happened on the initial challenge, but then my mate spots Beglin lying on the floor and yells “Eeeeeeee lookarriz leg!!” I looked over and saw Beglin writhing around the turf like a fish on the deck of a boat, with his leg bent completely the wrong way. Completely shook me up and I barely even watched the rest of the game. Ever since I’ve avoided any kind of replays of that stuff, yet there are people who not only watch them, they’ll actively search for them online. Fuckin’ sickos. Anyway, hopefully Amartey can make a full recovery, but breaks that bad are often tough to come back from and careers have often been ended by them. Elsewhere on Saturday, Fulham got tonked again. Their defending really is beyond a joke. They’re on course to shatter the record for goals conceded and they’re just so wide open. They play good football and have some talented players, but defensively it’s a horror show back there. They’ve got a centre back who makes Per Mertesacker look like a greyhound. He’s caught my eye on MOTD a few times this year and I find myself wondering how it’s possible for someone like that to be earning a living in the top flight of English football. It’s an admittedly small sample size I’m basing it on, but he might be the worst defender I’ve ever seen. *googles* Ok, so his name is Tim Ream, he’s American and he’s 31. He used to play for Red Bull Leipzig but it clearly didn’t give him wings as he’s so slow that he leaves a glossy trail behind him when he moves. Fosu-Mensah is there on loan too and he’s not developed at all since he had a few games in United’s first team and looked decent. Bang average loan spells where he’s been shifted around in different positions, he’s got “Andre Wisdom” written all over him. He conceded a needless penalty early on which Callum Wilson converted to put Bournemouth ahead. Brooks added a second on the break and then Wilson wrapped it up late on with his second of the game. Fulham should thank their lucky stars Josh King wasn’t playing or Bournemouth might have completely destroyed them, they had so much space to run into. Ok here’s something that is bothering me and has for a while. I may have referenced it last season too, but since the first couple of months of last year when they struggled, it feels as though Bournemouth win virtually every week. So how come they never seem to rise above 9th? It’s weird. *checks table* Oh, they’re actually 6th and they’re on 20 points. I feel as though that should be getting a lot more attention than it is though. For a club of their size to be doing what they’re doing, and doing it the way they are doing it (they play really good football), is pretty fucking remarkable. They’ve got some good players. Ake is quality, my boy Fraser is the assist king, Lewis Cook looks a tidy little player and Brooks seems to be developing nicely. I’ve always liked Adam Smith too, even though he’s got a bit of snide about him. The chances of them remaining sixth are pretty remote, but it would be great if they could hang around up there and give the Mancs, Arsenal and Spurs a real run for their money. Final one on this game. Who the hell is that Kamara loser for Fulham? He was booked for one of the worst dives we’ll see all season and then later should have been sent off for kicking the ball away after conceding a daft free-kick. Andre Marriner took pity on him because he’d already sent off a Fulham player, but he deserved to go just for stupidity. I mean come on, who kicks the ball away like that when they’re already on a yellow card? This is why I could never be a manager. I’d have subbed him on the spot, told him to get changed and to make sure he’d left the stadium by the time I got back to the dressing room. No way would I ever pick him again either. What a tit. Watford’s good form continued with an easy win over sorry Huddersfield. Pereyra is having a great start to the season and he broke the deadlock with a fine solo effort. Nice run and all that, but the defending was so bad it looked like Fulham playing in blue and white stripes. Hideous. Deulefeu then produced that one trademark goal he manages every season. Dribbling down the right and then lashing one in from a tight angle. Honestly, he does this every year and everyone goes on about how boss he is and wonders why he’s playing for some deadbeat team like Everton or Watford. I can answer that. It’s because he only does it once a year. Isaac Success tapped in to make it 3-0 and Watford have 19 points already. Give it a couple of weeks and Everton will be getting in hot water for tapping up their manager. I like Gracia though, he’s far less full of himself than Silva. Seems like a good guy, always smiling. Huddersfield are fucked though. And is it me, or does David Wagner seem like a bit of a wrong ‘un? I feel like we all overlook this because he’s Jurgen’s best mate and we figure he must be sound because Jurgen isn’t going to hang around with weirdos, but there’s just something a bit off about him. Can’t put my finger on it exactly, I just see him as probably being a bit of an oddball. Meanwhile, Brighton beat Wolves in what has to be seen as a slightly surprising result given how impressed most people have been by Wolves. The name of the goalscorer was no surprise though, as wily old pro Glenn Murray hit his 100th goal for Brighton. It wasn’t so long ago I couldn’t stand him based on 1) him playing for Palace (it’s easy to dislike Palace players for some reason), and 2) him diving against us, but he’s won me over. He’s an old school poacher, reminds me a little of myself only with a higher work ethic and less flair. That Wolves right back Doherty has forced me into a rethink too. He’s decent. The first time I saw him earlier in the season I instantly made my mind up that he was shite, if I’m being honest it was purely on the basis that he was Irish and that Ireland are proper shit these days. I was wrong about Doherty though, he’s caught my eye the last few times I’ve seen Wolves. Maybe he is to Ireland what Andy Robbo is to the Scots? Brighton might just be the most under-rated team in the league. On paper they look as though they should be down there with Huddersfield and Cardiff, but they’re miles better than that and I can’t see them even being in the relegation discussion when we get to February / March time. Not something I can say about Newcastle, who at least managed to not lose this week. Since the last round up I wrote things have changed somewhat up there, and the Geordies are finally beginning to tire of Rafa’s defensive outlook and the penny may have dropped that not everything can be pinned on Mike Ashley (massive turd that he undoubtedly is). A few of Rafa’s substitutions have been greeted with boos, which brought back memories of his last few years here when his solution when we needed a goal was to switch one right back for another. He’s the undisputed king of the like for like substitution is Rafa. Newcastle have had three goalless draws and lost every other game. The very epitome of shithouse tactics that. Play for a clean sheet and hope for the best. Southampton created plenty of chances but couldn’t take any of them. They should be one of the ‘best of the rest’ based on some of the players they have, but they’re a bit crap too. The Mark Hughes effect. He’s like the reverse Chris Hughton. Onto Sunday now. It wasn’t so long ago that Chelsea having to go to Burnley would have me thinking “tough one that”. Now, even without Eden Hazard, there was never even a thought in my head that Chelsea might drop points. Burnley stink and Chelsea have a lot more about them this season. I don’t like to admit it as he’s a twat, but Barkley is starting to look like a player now. He set up the first for Morata and he scored the second himself. Willian added a third, Loftus-Cheek made it four and it was basically a stroll for Chelsea. Joe Hart was ace again though, the poor bastard. One save he made from Giroud was incredible but he must be wondering what the point is. They’ve conceded 12 more goals than they had this time last season, and he’s the only real change to that line up. Yet from what I’ve seen he’s been their player of the season by miles. Also on Sunday, the Mancs edged out sorry Everton at Old Trafford. Since the Premier League started United have won more games against them than any other opponent. About as surprising as a penalty to Palace that. It almost goes without saying really, considering the affection the Blues have always had for United. Mind you, it’s the same with Arsenal too. The Gunners have more wins against Everton than any other Premier League side. It’ll be the same with Man City soon enough as well. Basically they roll over for anyone who they think might stop us winning anything. The Blues were predictably shite on Saturday but had every reason to feel hard done by as they fell behind to a joke penalty when Gueye won the ball and Martial took a theatrical tumble in the box. Pogba missed the pen after the most ridiculous run up in the history of football, but unfortunately scored from the rebound. The Thai lads who had been trapped in the cave were in the crowd. As if those poor little feckers haven’t been through enough, they were dragged halfway across the world to watch Mourinho's turgid turd of a team play fucking Everton??? Nine days they were in that bastard cave and I bet you it went by quicker than watching that silly preening gobshite and his "hey everybody, look at me" run up. Martial made it 2-0 with a brilliant curling finish but Everton had their chances. Bernard missed an open goal and then Richarlison was brought down by Smalling after Pogba had lost the ball showboating in midfield. He’s a fucking joke him. Absolute fraud of a player, I wouldn’t even take him on a free. Sigurdsson buried the pen but United held on. Ironic that Martial is the man saving Mourinho’s bacon now, because Mourinho is the reason he won’t sign that new deal. Hopefully they don’t sack him before Martial agrees to a Bosman somewhere. The other game on Sunday saw Arsenals winning run finally come to an end at Wilfried Palace. Ozil is Arsenal’s captain now? I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, because if any one player sums up modern day Arsenal it’s that flaky wastrel. Never mind the captaincy, they should have his face on the club badge. Palace took the lead from the penalty spot (of course) but Arsenal levelled with an incredible hit by Xhaka from the corner of the box. I loved that goal. Firstly, the fact he opted to shoot from there in the first place, and secondly that he was able to pull it off. Great strike, although if you wanted to nit pick you could say that Henessey should have saved it. Aubameyeng then prodded Arsenal ahead after the officials had failed to spot a clear handball by Lacazette. Palace levelled from the spot (of course they did) after Zaha went over the outstretched leg of Xhaka a little too easily. Zaha has been getting all sorts of grief from Arsenal fans for diving, even though Xhaka said afterwards “It was a clear penalty. I left my leg out and caught him on the knee”. Palace with penalties though is mental. We haven’t had a pen at Anfield for over a year, but these cunts get them every fucking week. Explain that? You can’t. It’s bizarre. As for Arsenal, if they play that Holding bum in defence against us this weekend then we have no excuse for not winning the game. Actually Mustafi is probably worse so hopefully they both play. Finally, City edged out Spurs on Monday night. I didn’t watch it but it went pretty much as I would have expected, with Spurs turning in a fucking wet lettuce performance on a cabbage patch pitch. What a ridiculous situation that is, them having to play on a fucked up pitch that had hosted an NFL game 24 hours earlier. Not the NFL or Wembley’s fault, it’s Spurs fault for hiring cowboy builders who were coked off their tits when they were meant to be working. Gary Neville was fucking scathing of Spurs and he's ruffled a few feathers with his comments. You can maybe argue that he shouldn't have said it, at least not as strongly as he did, but he nailed it as far as I'm concerned. For most of our lives Spurs have been soft as shite. They've got more about them these days than they had before, but when it's all said and done and it comes right down to crunch time, they're still Spurs. It’s a bit demoralising for our title hopes when we’re relying on others to take points off City, and it’s even more demoralising when Spurs were one of those who were seen to have the greatest chance. Never rely on Spurs to do anything, because they’re Spurs and always will be. It's in their DNA.

Joe Gomez has certainly been one of most consistent performers for Liverpool during the first couple of months of the 2018/9 season. The 21-year-old took important steps to establish himself in the back four during the last campaign playing at right-back and has taken his performances to a new level since moving to his preferred position of centre-back alongside Virgil Van Dijk at the start of this season. The Gomez/Van Dijk combination is the sort of rock-solid central defence pairing that Reds fans (and we dare say Liverpool managers) have desperately wanted to see for many years. The kind of form that Gomez has displayed has led to Liverpool chiefs wanting to secure his long-term future to the club. The Mirror reports that although Gomez has over three years left on his existing deal and there is no urgency to recommit on that front, they want to reward him with substantially increased financial terms. Klopp has described Gomez as the 'future of Liverpool' and wants to reward his growing brand of young talent accordingly. It is hoped that the improved contract will be agreed within months and possibly sooner. Klopp admitted that it hasn't always been the smoothest journey for Gomez at the club with his first two years written off by long-term injuries, but internally expectations were always high for the English international. " I remember when I came in and everybody told me about him. I knew him, but not really well, and everybody told me how good he was when he came to Liverpool. Then he got the injury and he has had to fight back. It took a while, but he has shown so much determination.” You want to see every player that pulls on a red shirt do well, and every fan will certainly to have their favourite. However, there is bound to be a special place in your heart for someone who has been through their fair share of adversity and come out the other side a much better player. Gomez certainly fits that description to a tee and the sky is certainly the limit for the young defender.

While the transfer window for all of Europe’s five big leagues is closed, rumours are rife within the betting circles as to who will be moving where when January comes around and the Premier League is in full swing. A strategic transfer in January can make a huge difference for Liverpool who are locked in a fierce battle with Manchester City for the coveted premier league title. In this context, it is being reported that Liverpool are exploring the possibility of offering Ousmane Dembele an escape route from his Barcelona limbo in January. Klopp keen on Dembele Reports say that Jurgen Klopp is personally monitoring the 21-year-old French national, who currently plays as a forward for Barcelona, and has apparently been told to find himself a new club upon the re-opening of the transfer market. The decision by Barcelona’s management is rather surprising, considering Dembele’s performances at the recent world cup where France emerged as winners, in addition to his satisfactory performance at Camp Nou. It has been little over a year since Dembele joined Barca from Borussia Dortmund for an initial fee of around 100 million pounds, however the young striker has not been successful in settling into the culture of Spanish football, and has been reprimanded several times for his punctuality. Consequently, Dembele’s run-ins with the club’s administration have had a bearing on his time on the pitch, and first-team action has not come easily for the French national. Despite having paid a hefty sum for his transfer, Barcelona are now prepared to cut their losses and allow Dembele to move on from the club, with Klopp eagerly looking to sign a player he first attempted to bring on board last summer. Dembele news improves betting odds News that the Reds are moving in for the kill with Dembele has had a significant impact on betting odds for the club’s performance at the Premier League. The club’s pragmatic performance at the domestic level, as well as news about Dembele’s prospective arrival at Anfield has made Klopp’s side a dangerous threat for Arsenal and Fulham. The weekend match is expected to be a close tussle. There is going to be a host of attacking action for the Saturday showdown, as well as for Liverpool’s upcoming match against Fulham on 11th November. Both clubs have been scoring prolific goals in recent games, and history suggests that this could well be the case in London as well. All eyes are on Liverpool’s attacking trio, with lucrative free bets available at 4/1 for Salah to open the scoring in upcoming matches. Ramsey shunned In stark contrast to the Reds’ inclination towards Dembele, they have precisely zero interest in signing Aaron Ramsey despite being heavily linked to the Arsenal midfielder over the past few months. Ramsey is all set to leave the Emirates on a free transfer upon the expiration of his contract in the summer, and several big European clubs are already lining up to battle for his services. As per Sky Sports, however, Anfield is not in the queue for the 27 year old Wales national, as they believe that their midfield is already well stocked, since they have spent well over 96 million pounds on the likes of Fabinho and Naby Keita during the course of the last transfer window.

It is a story which has bubbled along in the background for months, but speculation has intensified in the past few days that Aaron Ramsey will depart Arsenal at the end of the 2018/19 season. Sky Sports reported that the Welsh midfielder will not be offered a new deal and will be allowed to leave on a free transfer. Ramsey has had his fair share of injuries throughout his career, but in particular his shocking broken leg suffered against Stoke in 2010 which naturally shook his confidence. After a period of time on loan at former club Cardiff and Nottingham Forrest, Ramsey finally adjusted to life in North London and honed his game alongside the likes of Mikel Arteta, Mesut Ozil and current Red Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. Ramsey has made close to 350 appearances for the club and is highly regarded by the Gunners' fanbase having been voted as their player of the year on two occasions in 2013/14 and again last season along with winning the FA Cup on three occasions (2014/15 and 17). The news over his likely departure his sparked a level of conversation over which clubs should show some interest in his services. Former Reds midfielder Steve McMahon is a big fan of the 27 year-old and told Sky Sports he believes Ramsey can add an extra element to Liverpool. "Liverpool would do well to get him. He's a midfield player who goes beyond the strikers and Liverpool haven't got that. "Liverpool have got good midfield players that play in front, they've got top strikers who score goals and have got pace, good defenders. "But when it's a bit of a stalemate, they haven't got someone to go ahead, the third man running, not just to try and get a goal but to take the players away and open the space up. "Ramsey is one of those players and is a goalscoring midfield player with great technique". Despite Liverpool having a true attacking identity, McMahon believes Ramsey offers something that the team is missing. "We always look at the high intensity now for Liverpool. I've seen them play in every game this year and they still need a very offensive midfield player and somebody who can take that chance, to get over the top to get away and leave that space for everyone else. They haven't got that at this moment in time". Naturally when a player like Ramsey chooses to sign for a club like Liverpool, the next challenge is finding a place for him in the starting lineup. McMahon suggested some possible openings for the midfielder. "It all depends who's starting. They have been switching it around between Jordan Henderson and Naby Keita so either of those. Fabinho is not the right person for me, I think he's like-for-like with Henderson. "There's something to be said that Ramsey is better than Adam Lallana and Xherdan Shaqiri knew when he went to Liverpool that he would be a squad player. "I think Ramsey would fight for his place and I would be interested in him." A number of interesting discussion points were raised in McMahon's comments. It remains to be seen whether Jurgen Klopp thinks along the same lines and feels that Ramsey suits his game style and add value to the squad. It will also be interesting to gauge the opinion of the Liverpool fanbase on this. Is Ramsey a player that can help take us to the next level or are there other areas in the that we should focus on?

For a player who has made less than 30 appearances for Liverpool, Loris Karius sparks no end of discussion among the Reds fanbase. After an unconvincing first campaign in 2016/7, the German goalkeeper looked like he was making some steady progress last season but it was also clear that he had the odd howler in his game. Never was this more noticeable than in the Champions League final where Karius gifted two goals to Real Madrid that sealed a 3-1 win for the Spanish side. The aftermath caused mass ridicule and humiliation for the 25-year-old which led him to offer a tearful apology to the fans and while that was an honourable thing to do, for many it did not erase the nature of the defeat. While Jurgen Klopp staunchly stood by his man, more errors were seen in pre- season and it became clear that a decision had to be made about his immediate future at the club. The German goalkeeper is currently on a two-year loan at Turkish club Besiktas after been deemed surplus to requirements with the signing of Brazilian keeper Alisson from Roma in the summer. It has not been a smooth entry into Turkish football for the German as he made a couple of notable mistakes in Europe and also in league action. Multiple reports emerged yesterday that Besiktas were looking to cut short the loan in January and instead sign striker Divock Origi. However all parties have subsequently denied that talk with Four Four Two reporting Karius' agent Florian Goll as saying: "Complete nonsense, I wonder where such things come from. This news is absolutely untrue. "Loris is on loan to Besiktas for two years – that's the situation. The club has no intention of ending this loan contract prematurely. "It's fact that Loris is the clear number one at Besiktas, he played every game and showed good performances." Karius who is not shy in sharing his thoughts on social media also produced this not too subtle message. " Coffee first. Media's bullshit second," Joe.co.uk reported. With the growing pedigree and consistent performances of Alisson, it is highly unlikely that we will see Karius play a substantial role for the club in the future. But just like any player who has spent time at the club, there will be some passing interest to how his career progresses from here.