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Jürgen Klopp knew he had something special on his hands from the moment he saw Trent Alexander-Arnold.The youngster from West Derby edges ever closer to a major milestone on Sunday when he steps onto Anfield for his 99th appearance for the Reds.It says a lot for the natural talent of Trent that he has made more appearances for Liverpool at the age of 21 than club legends Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher.In the modern day reality of big money signings, it is somewhat of a throwback to the past, as well as a feel good factor to see a academy graduate to achieve such a feat.Speaking ahead of the clash with Tottenham, the Echo reported Klopp saying that there was a mixture of elements which made the right-back the player that he is.“ He has a mix of personal education, football education, character, skills, attitude, mentality, and he is on top of all that.“He is an absolute Scouser in the best understanding. It's a big task and a big job to be a Scouser as a Liverpool player because you are responsible for pretty much everythingg. So he has all the good things."On the outside, when you are a Scouser in the Liverpool team it makes the game away at Manchester United even more difficult because everyone is talking to you the whole week about that and we will see the same again next year when we play them away. The manager said Alexander-Arnold's determination to turn himself into the best player he can be is one of his standout attributes.“When I first saw him, I saw that this is something special but he had to work hard to make that really obvious.“He is good, it's really a pleasure to work with him to be honest. He is very aggressive in a positive way. It really is a pleasure to work with him, great."Klopp expects Alexander-Arnold to be fighting fit for the big clash against Spurs after missing the midweek clash with Genk with a virus.“ He was ill - ill enough to not travel with us, which is not a good sign, but yesterday (Thursday) he had a clearing session and if it is as it was yesterday then he should be fine."The German is not buying into any talk about Tottenham being in crisis despite the North London outfit sitting seventh on the table heading into this clash.“I cannot say anything about what happened at Tottenham in the summer, I have no idea. “If I would read newspapers, I could only use the information in there, but I don't even read them, so I don't know why it is not going like Tottenham want it to go, I have no idea.“The important thing for us is to set a sign for yourself. “I am not sure if it was last year or two years ago against Maribor that we won (7-0) and then played Tottenham in the next game and lost pretty clearly (4-1). "I am not saying that will happen again, it just can.” View full article

Dejan Lovren has hailed the mentality that Jurgen Klopp has instilled in the club. When the German arrived in October of 2015, the Reds were at the crossroads, seemingly still in a malaise after the heartbreak of the title collapse in the 2013/4 season.The Reds needed a spark, someone to improve the squad and enlighten the fan base.One line which stood out in Klopp’s initial press conference was when he said he would turn ‘doubters into believers.’Words can be seen as just that if you cannot back them up with actions.It initially was a slow build with plenty of bumps along the way, however bit by bit Klopp’s methods were taking shape.Fast forward to the modern day and Klopp’s unshakable belief in his squad has proven complete dividends.Lovren who has had his fair share of critics in his Liverpool career, but is one of those players who Klopp has full faith in.He was thought to be out the door in the summer, but a move did not materialise and he has worked his way into the starting lineup on occasions, including against Genk on Wednesday night.The Croatian gave an insight into the workings of the German via Sky SportsFour years already? I'm getting old. Yes, we started to believe when he said 'from doubters to believers.“He changed things in the club, from small details like saying 'good morning' to everyone, to cleaning your table.“ We are, I think, raised at my age that when you see an older person you will say 'Good morning'. It is about respect.“When you have this outside of the pitch you will feel it also on the pitch. It is the simple things.“It is about things like the food; he brought in people who are the best in these positions, and he knows what he is doing.“ I think some part of these details are missing in some clubs."On Sunday, Klopp will face the team he did in his first game as Liverpool manager, that being Tottenham.Lovren is one of the few Liverpool squad members who remain from that fixture along with James Milner, Divock Origi. and Nathaniel Clyne.Spurs have had a less than desirable start to the new campaign, currently sitting in seventh position on 12 points. But speaking from personal experience, Lovren said that the 2019 Champions League runners-up can still bounce back this season.“ Three or four years ago we didn't have the best start.“With the improvement, the belief, with the work of the team you can achieve anything. This is what Klopp told us.“The most difficult part is when you are on top to stay on the top. “When you sometimes drop it is about showing your inner strength, it is about the character of the team to jump back.“I think we learned about all our mistakes from previous years. I think we are on the right path."He (Klopp) said to us it is exceptional that we lost the final against Real Madrid and we came this year and won it, it says a lot about the team. View full article

Jurgen Klopp was pleased but not entirely satisfied with his team after a 4-1 Champions League victory against Genk on Wednesday evening.After a searching test from Red Bull Salzburg on Matchday two, Klopp was certainly taking nothing for granted especially as the visitors were looking for consistent away form in the competition.If there has been one thing missing from Liverpool’s body of work of the past 12 months, it has been the attacking drive from midfield, and the absence due to injury of Alex-Oxlade Chamberlain was a main reason for that.This season it has been a steady build for the 26 year-old, and those minutes culminated in a terrific individual performance scoring a double which displayed his all-round quality that he brings to the Reds.Sadio Mane and Mo Salah also were on the scoresheet with goals which illustrated the telepathic connection and individual brilliance of the front three.Speaking after the contest, The Liverpool Echo reported a measured Klopp as saying:“ The goals were sensational and very important for us. Wonderful.“It was absolutely a great moment for Ox, but I would say his performance was exactly the same as the performance of the team – the goals were great but all the rest could have been better.”“ That's how it is, but it's no problem.“ On Sunday, Adam scored the goal, and now Ox has scored two goals. It's really nice. Absolutely great, a great story.” Liverpool sit second on the Group E table, one point behind Napoli who defeated Red Bull Salzburg 3-2.Klopp said that the home team produced some challenges that his side had to work their way through.“They set up in a 4-4-2 so they had a midfield press we had to play around, we had to be flexible and did that well.“We didn't create too much but we kept them busy pretty much, we looked to find the gaps and pass the ball through. “That was the plan and it worked okay, then not anymore because we lost completely unexpected balls we were not ready for, which in the formation was not possible.“Sometimes we took in the wrong moments a risk, passing a one-two in a very tight situation makes not too much sense.“We had to defend their balls with legs and had to run for it. They got a bit of momentum which after our start was completely unnecessary but that's what happened.”The German said that the second half opened up a bit which allowed the attacking qualities of the European Champions to be displayed.“We scored the second goal, by the way the first goal was very brilliant and the second goal even nicer, and all our goals were unbelievably beautiful.“After the second it was a proper knock for Genk it looked like and we scored the third and fourth. “We conceded one which wasn't cool but it's not the biggest problem in the world.” View full article

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has spoken of his joy of being a part of European action again after playing a major role in Liverpool’s 4-1 victory against Genk.The Champions League was where his Reds career was put on hold 18 months ago after sustaining a serious knee ligament injury against Roma.So began a gruelling rehabilitation process and the frustration of spending time in the sidelines while his teammates were making major progress on the pitch.To the midfielder’s great credit, his attitude was first class throughout and got his due rewards on Wednesday evening when he scored two goals in Liverpool’s first away group stage victory in two seasons.The Official site (via BT Sport) reported Ox as saying:“It’s nice to be back out there. it’s a special tournament to play in, a competition we all grew up wanting to play in one day.“It was nice to be back out there [after] seeing the boys do so well in it last year. “I was fortunate enough to get back involved on the bench for the big day in the final and watch the boys bring it home.The two goals were the England international’s first since his strike against Man City in the first leg of the Champions League Quarter-final in April of last year.While the 26 year-old was just happy to be of the action again, Oxlade-Chamberlain admitted it was nice to be back on the scoresheet, with his second strike displaying his all-round technical skill. “ It’s inspirational, it’s something I’ve wanted to get back to do. “It’s just nice to be back in the starting line-up and try to put in a performance to help the team. “To get a few goals was a bonus."The fan favourite said the team while happy with the three points, were not truly satisfied with the overall performance.“The first half, we got a bit sloppy and we’ve got to do a lot better than that if we want to go further in this competition,” said the midfielder.“Second half, it was quite mature and we controlled the game. We’re disappointed to concede but it was a good night all round really.“We had a lot to improve on from the game at the weekend, same again tonight. But at the minute we’re getting results which are good and we can still improve. “We’ll take a lot from this game.” View full article

The evergreen James Milner is hoping that his future at Liverpool will be resolved in the upcoming period of timeThe versatile veteran is out of contract come the end of the season, and will be able to sign a pre-contract with overseas clubs in January. Milner was asked in the pre-match press conference for the Champions League clash with Genk on Wednesday evening about whether there had been any progress on a new deal. Sitting next to his manager who is a unabashed fan of his, Milner gave a none-too subtle hint that that he wants a quick resolution.The Echo reported the midfielder as saying:“There have been talks so hopefully it gets resolved sooner rather than later. “But at this moment I will just keep playing football as well as I can.” Ever the professional, Milner is controlling what he can and is more interested in playing the kind of football which helps the side get results. ‘I think as a player you want to play as many games as you can.“Every time you get that chance to go out there and perform, you need to do it to the best of your ability and make it difficult for the manager to leave you out.“ We have a strong squad of players and the competition is strong in every position and that is what we need to push each other to perform.“Having that amount of games is what happens when you’re successful, we are lucky enough to have been that (successful) and we are still in all the trophies.“ We go out there to win every game that we can so we will try to do that. Milner said having the big game experience in the Champions League over the past the two years bodes well for this campaign.“All the players are used to it, it doesn’t make it any easier, the boys with the internationals and travelling and that but we have gone the distance in this competition for a couple of years so we know what it is all about.“We need to carry on doing that, we need to keep looking after ourselves, have the luck with the injuries and things like that as well.” View full article

Jurgen Klopp has implored his players to get over their dose of travel sickness in the Champions League.The Reds were anything but convincing in the group stages last season, losing all their three away games and needed their strong Anfield form to progress to the knockout stages.In 2017/8, the story was similar with Liverpool winning just one of their away trips in the group stage (Maribor 7-0)This season the Reds continued the trend on the back foot losing 2-0 to Napoli and they are on their travels this evening to play Belgian club Genk.Speaking ahead of the clash, Klopp said his team cannot play with fire again this season or they will suffer the consequences. The Echo reported Klopp as saying: “Last year we were lucky with how tight the group was that we could lose three times away and still have a chance to make it through the group."That will not happen this year. It's completely different.“ We don't rely on home games or whatever. Obviously we like to say European nights at Anfield are really special but other teams can make a special atmosphere as well.“They are not all the same, we could have won away games to be honest performance-wise which we didn't win for some reason. While the Belgian side are widely seen as the weakest team in Group E, they held Napoli to a scoreless draw in their first home game at the Luminius Arena. Klopp knows that the only way to recifity this issue is to keep working hard and the results will show.“We know it's not historically good what we have done (in the away group games) in the last few years, but in general the Champions League was obviously really good.“ We did the right things in the right moment but we don't rely on these things. “We know we have to improve and we try again and again and again until it works out." View full article

Liverpool may have lost their perfect record to start the new season but they left Old Trafford with a deal of satisfaction after a late equaliser by Adam Lallana saw them claim a point on Sunday evening.The Reds were far from their best during the majority of the contest, and it seemed like they were heading to a rather limp defeat at the home of their fierce rivals after Marcus Rashford had put the Red Devils ahead in the 36th minute.However as Liverpool have shown many times over the past 18 months, they don’t need to play well to get the end result and again that was on show when Lallana popped up at the right time to convert a Andy Robertson crosss at the far post five minutes from time.The visitors saved their best football for the final 10 minutes as Trent Alexander-Arnold and the impressive Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain went close with long range attempts.Speaking after the contest, Lallana admitted the team were not firing on all cylinders, but it was an example that every player needs to play their role. Few would have used their bet365 app to take a punt on Lallana getting on the scoresheet, but the former Southampton man delivered when it was needed.The Official site (via Sky Sports) reported Lallana as saying:“If we're going to win the league and we're going to compete to take the title then we're not just going to need 11, we're going to need a squad. "The boss said just to make an impact, there were 25 minutes left. I thought Ox did extremely well when he came on." Despite the contrasting ladder positions of our two teams coming into this fixture, Lallana was never expecting a walk in the park."I think it is a point gained, we weren't at our best. People were saying it's probably going to be an easy three points for us, it shows it's never the case.“Form goes out of the window in this type of game. It would be better to get the three points, but to come to Old Trafford and get a point in that manner, then we probably leave happier than United.“We'd have probably taken that at the beginning of the season. We're still unbeaten this season, so huge positives considering we didn't play our best.“We learn, we move on and we've got Genk in midweek now and then Spurs at Anfield on the weekend." On a personal level, the goal meant a lot to the 31 year-old who has gone through plenty of emotions after dealing with a catalogue of injuries over the past few seasons.While his value to the team has been questioned by some supporters, the manager still has full faith in the veteran and he went some way in repaying that with his first goal since May 2017.“It’s been tough tough couple of years for me, so it’s pleasing. “I know my boy at home would have been watching and been delighted when that went in, so it’s a big moment."The Rashford strike was tinged with controversy when a foul on Divock Origi was overlooked by referee Martin Atkinson and VAR followed suite.Liverpool players were understandably seething and Lallana said the whole video replay system is still a work in progress."VAR? I’ve not seen it back, it just seems a bit messy at the minute, I laugh and joke with the lads and say it’s similar to cricket in that they just stay with the umpires’ call.“They just back the referee no matter what the margin of the foul. “The refs visited us, and said to us its a work in progress, it’s not perfect it’s going to take time, and that seems to be the case at the moment.” View full article

Jürgen Klopp has achieved many things in his time at Liverpool, but a win at Old Trafford is one box that he is yet to tick.Under the German’s tenure, the Reds have registered at least one league away victory against Man City, Tottenham, Chelsea and Arsenal. Currently the away record against Man United sits at two draws and one defeat. The two teams also met in the Europa League in Klopp’s first season where Liverpool ran out 3-1 winners on aggregate with the second leg locked at 1-1. Liverpool’s last victory on the red side of Manchester came five and a half years ago (3-0).Liverpool head back to the home of their arch-rivals in fine form, having not dropped a point all season from their eight league games.In contrast, Man United are in somewhat of no-mans-land currently sitting in 14th position with just nine points on the board.But as we have seen many times in this fixture, ladder positions doesn’t mean a lot when it comes to deciding the end result. Liverpool is favourite to win against Manchester United. The current odds for a Liverpool win are 1.72, and if you want to place a bet there’s a special promotion in bet credits which is covered in details here.While some managers will try to downplay the record, Klopp has embraced it, seeing it as another challenge for his highly ambitious squad.The Mirror reported Jürgen as saying:“Winning there would be a big next step. It’s not a step we have to make otherwise we cannot develop, no. “But, of course, for our own history with me it is obviously something we have not achieved yet.“This team wrote their own story and made their own history and this would be another step. "But we cannot make it by simply talking about it.“ We have to go there and play the best football we can play, with the biggest balls, being ready for each challenge, fighting for every ball, all that stuff. That is what we have to do.” One player who will also be looking to break a drought against this opposition is Mo Salah with the Egyptian yet to score a goal or register a assist in four games.Klopp believes it is not a major worry for his star, and just like the team, he would see it as a challenge to embrace with all he has.“It is difficult to know what he’s thinking. If someone had told me he’d never scored against United I would have said, ‘Really?’ "I suppose the more you go without scoring against an opponent there may be one moment when you start scoring against them.“All these games are big tests. I don’t see it as a specific test for him, but, yes, it is a big test. "And sometimes there will be ‘old-school challenges’ and you have to be ready for them.“That is how it is. But there is a reason for these stories, just like our history against United away, such as the stadium or the intensity of the game.”Three points for the Reds and a brace for Mo would certainly equate to a pretty special Sunday. View full article

Jürgen Klopp was beaming from ear to ear after Joel Matip signed a long term deal at the Reds on Friday.Matip was one of signings from early in Klopp's early days at Liverpool and therefore there is a extra level of pride to see his development at the club.That was clearly evident as the German spoke to the Official site.“Joel’s journey at Liverpool is one I love and I am absolutely delighted he has shown his commitment to us by signing this new long-term contract.“As the team has evolved and become better, so too has Joel.“I said earlier this year that signing a player of his quality is one of the best, incredible pieces of business we’ve done since I started here – and I think now that’s something everyone can see.Despite not being a household name in England, Klopp was certain that the Cameroon defender would be up to the task of playing for a club like Liverpool after seeing him at close quarters in Germany. “ I knew what he was capable of from seeing him up close in the Bundesliga and we were certain he could bring that performance level to us.“Of course, it is not easy for any player coming to the Premier League, let alone coming to a club the size of Liverpool, so maybe in the beginning there were some questions externally about his consistency. But not anymore.“Joel has been operating as a world-class centre-half throughout this year and long may it continue.“I haven’t seen many in his position performing with the consistency and quality he has.“ Off the pitch, Joel is one of the nicest, most humble guys you could wish to meet, but on it he is a fighter, someone who gives everything to try to help the team get the victory. “He has a winner’s mentality.“He loves what he is doing and for us to have him here for even longer is perfect for us all.”Klopp is someone who has spoken openly about the squad depth at his disposal and the mentality that runs through it.He feels very lucky to have such a strong defensive collective.“Obviously here at Liverpool, we’re very lucky to have not only him, but also Virg, Dejan and Joe in the position. I’m fortunate to be able to pick from such outstanding talent.” View full article

Another piece of the Liverpool long-term future was locked away on Friday when central defender Joel Matip committed to the club for the long term.The future of the Cameroon defender has been one of much speculation in the past few months especially with a number of his teammates signing long term deals.Matip had always shown potential after signing from Schalke on a free transfer in the summer of 2016, but what he lacked was continuity after falling victim to a number of niggling injuries.Finally, things started to fall the way of the 28 year-old at the start of 2019 and he has not looked back since, combining with Virgil Van Dijk to arguably be the best central defensive pairing in Europe.Matip ended any doubt on his future yesterday when he signed on the dotted line and discussed his Liverpool journey to this point along with what he hopes to achieve in the future with the Official site.“ It’s a great feeling to be a longer part of the club. It’s really just a great feeling.“ It is an honour to be a part of the club. It makes me happy that people think I’ve done a good job and they want to keep me.Matip, who is likely to return to the starting lineup for the clash against Man United tomorrow said that it was a challenge to adapt to a new league, but he had plenty of teammates to assist him.“It is more physical in the Premier League and it is often quite quick – quicker than the Bundesliga, I would say. " The individual quality you have to face from week to week here is really impressive, but my teammates are top and so we can play.“ It was the whole club; all of my teammates (who helped me)”“All of them were directly friendly and I had never a feeling that I was the new guy. They made me feel at home.Reflecting on the Champions League success of last season, the humble defender sai that it is a moment that he will never forget.“This is one of the dreams that every young footballer or young kid has, but normally you know it probably won’t come true. “Now I am part of this club and we won the Champions League, that’s something nobody can ever take away from you. Not one to be content with past glory, Matip says he and the rest of the squad have the hunger to build on that success.“Of course. You don’t want it to be the end. “We have a young and talented team and I think every one of us is hungry. "Now we’ve seen how it is to win something and we want to have that feeling again.“Sometimes you need a little bit of luck and a lot of work to have this success. "We’ve had it now, but we are focused to repeat it and repeat it. Matip knows full well how hard it is to earn a spot in the starting 11 and now he has that in his grasp, he is not looking to give it up in a hurry.However, he knows that there is still room for improvement in his overall game.“ It is always good if you play. I had some problems with injuries, but this belongs to a player’s life. "I hope that I am getting better and better, that’s my only target.“As a centre-back you maybe need some more time to learn. “I have had now enough time to learn, but I still can learn – I want to improve, even when I am 30 or something like this. I always want to improve, I always want to learn. “It is the only way it works – if you want to get better, you have to learn.Matip says that his Centre Back partner in Van Dijk is the consummate professional who makes everyone in the squad a better player.“He is a complete centre-back – strong at the back and also in attack, at every set-piece he is a threat for every team and everybody is looking to him. “He is helping his teammates, it doesn’t matter if you’re a midfielder, or me or the left-back, he makes everybody better. “That’s a great help for the team and every teammate.In keeping with the hard working ethos of Matip, he is just going to keep doing his job for the next few seasons and the end result will look after themselves.“You never know how it will end, you just have to work hard and do the best you can do. Then we will see.” View full article

Trent Alexander-Arnold has achieved his own slice of history after entering the Guinness Book of Records for 2020 by setting a new assist mark by a defender in the Premier League.The fine achievement by the Right-back where he registered 12 assists during the 2018/9 Premier League season saw him surpass the previous mark of 11 set by two Evertonians in Andy Hinchcliffe (1994/5) and Leighton Baines more recently in 2010/11.Speaking at the unveiling of the iconic publication, Alexander Arnold said he was humbled by the honour but he was also quick to recognise his teammates.The Mirror reported Trent as saying:"It’s an unbelievably proud moment for me and my family, and something I hope will stand for a few years.”"I’ve always wanted to go forward and help the team to create as many chances as possible.“It’s obviously down to the lads to put the ball into the back of the net, because football is a team game and without them this record wouldn’t be possible. Alexander-Arnold gave particular praise to two of his defensive colleagues in Andy Robertson who finished one assist behind Trent and Virgil Van Dijk."Andy probably thought he had the (assist) competition wrapped up! “Near the end of the season we both hit really good form, we were both getting lots of assists and it was good to help the team in those games that we needed to win.”“Virgil is a world-class player and the best I have played with. "We benefited a lot last season knowing we have players like Virgil giving us the protection behind us."Of all the 16 assists that the 21 year-old tallied in all competitions during the last campaign, there is one that holds great personal memories.That fateful corner against Barcelona in the second leg of their Champions League semi-final clash.Alexander-Arnold talked everyone through about what he was thinking at the point of his pin-point delivery.“I looked over into the box and saw that all the Barcelona players had switched off. I saw Divock in there and thought ‘why not?’“It was a really special goal - everything fell into place so perfectly. "Hopefully it will stay in the memories of everyone who was there or watching that night.” View full article

Trent Alexander-Arnold said that resilience is the key element that has made Liverpool reach the next level.When you are looking to achieve the ultimate prize as a team and developing your game on a personal level, there are bound to be some bumps along the way.The Reds have certainly suffered their share of heartbreak in the past few years, firstly in the Champions League final to Real Madrid in 2018, and then falling agonisingly close to ending the long title drought last season.But the old adage that what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger would be something that Alexander-Arnold abides to.The Official site (via Premier League Productions) reported the Right-back as saying:“The players that we have in our side have all had failures before, we’ve all had setbacks and knockbacks.“We’ve really bounced back from there and got to where we are now and where we are as a team.“The biggest example of that is probably the fact that we lost the Champions League final the season before and were able to use that as motivation to get back there and win it the next season.“It’s something a lot of teams aren’t capable of, but we’ve showed that we are and we’re able to get better from disappointment.” The evergreen James Milner also related a story in the lead-up to the unforgettable Champions League semi-final triumph against Barcelona that speaks along the same lines."I think the first game wasn't a fair result of the game but football isn't fair at times and when you've got that guy [Messi] on the other team it's very hard to run as fast as you can as well with your legs closed as I found out. He can make you look stupid.“We had to pick ourselves up from that first leg - we had Newcastle away at the weekend going for the league, it was a tough game, they fought all the way and we scored late, hoping Manchester City would drop points in the next game then Vinnie [Vincent Kompany] scores a once in a lifetime slice into the top corner so we have to pick ourselves up again against all the odds really."It was one of those special nights at Anfield, the atmosphere was unbelievable and set the tone at the kick-off.“Put all that together with what had happened a few days before, the Newcastle game, the defeat and having to pick ourselves up within six days says a lot about the club and the fans as well but the team and the character within it."Another prime example of the resilience is how they have begun the new league season.It has been a common trait of previous Liverpool sides in the last 10-15 years to have a big dip in form after coming so close and you only have to look at 2009/10 and 2014/5 for proof of that.But this squad is on a mission, it is certainly not satisfied with what has achieved so far and wants to be the best it can be.While there is a awful lot of water to go under the bridge, as a fan you just have to be awfully proud about what we have become, and what we aspire to be. View full article