Jurgen Klopp's departure from Anfield's dugout was always going to be a watershed moment for Liverpool, but the Reds deserve praise for the seamless transition to life under Arne Slot, who is very much off to a flyer in the Premier League.

Many early questions have been answered, but there's a conundrum yet to be solved in the mould of Darwin Nunez, who joined Liverpool in a deal rising to a club-record £85m in 2022.

The 25-year-old is one of the most influential and electric strikers in the world, but he's also an enigma, raising questions for his employers as a lack of temperament in pivotal moments. To put it another way, he's pretty wasteful, routinely missing from a glorious opening, having expertly woven his way into a promising position.

It's annoying, a blemish on an otherwise intoxicating skillset that has left him waiting for his first start under Slot's leadership. Nunez was actually an unused substitute during the opening-day victory over Ipswich Town, before earning cameos against Brentford and Manchester United.

He's been kept out by Diogo Jota at number nine. On the flank, Mohamed Salah has been as undroppable as ever on the right, posting three goals and three assists across three matches, while Luis Diaz looks like a man reborn on the left.

Luis Diaz is reborn under Arne Slot

Diaz being here at this stage, playing for Slot, was not a certainty as Liverpool's transfer window trundled on through. Barcelona have been interested in the Colombian menace but were put off by FSG's transfer demands, putting a €75m (£63m) price tag on the winger.

He notched 13 goals and five assists across all competitions which wasn't the greatest return, but Diaz is a tireless performer with crackling dribbling and intelligence and ease in his movements, economical yet effusive in his expression.

Slot's arrival has taken Diaz to another level. It's early days yet but he's fast and furious and, importantly, prolific. Three goals and an assist across the opening three matches of the season bear testament to his energy and newfound clinical edge.

Could Diaz finally rise to a position that was envisaged upon his arrival, back in January 2022? He was welcomed before the sale of Sadio Mane but welcomed with the expectation that he would succeed the Senegal international.

Sadio Mane's record at Liverpool

Mane is one of the most iconic forwards in modern Premier League history. He might be gone now, but his legacy lives on.

Liverpool signed the wide forward from Southampton in June 2016, in a deal worth £34m. It was Klopp's first summer at the helm and it was one of the Reds' most transformative signings across the duration of the German's tenure, for Mane proved to be one of the deadliest forwards in all of Europe in the years that followed.

Across 269 fixtures, Mane clinched 120 goals and supplied 42 assists for Liverpool, notably starring during victorious campaigns in the Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup, among further major honours.

The 32-year-old's electric movements and deadly finishing saw him form a crucial part of Klopp's historic frontline: partnering Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah.

Klopp had called the winger a "world-class" player, but then that's quite the understatement. Diaz is seeking to emulate his predecessor, and though he's an excellent player, he has a way to go before surpassing him.

But at the start of the 2021/22 season, Liverpool had a problem. Mane and his strikeforce partners had all entered the penultimate years of their contracts, and it was tacitly acknowledged that extending all three deals was implausible.

Firmino would see how the duration of his deal, leaving in 2023, whereas Salah extended and could extend once again – though let's leave that one for another day, eh?

The "machine" that was Mane – as said Klopp – was sold, and so ended his Premier League career.

Sadio Mane's career since leaving Liverpool

Bayern Munich snapped the ace up for a £35m fee, though it was an initial £27m figure for the Merseysiders' bank. This meant that Liverpool cashed for around the same figure as was once paid, having reaped all the rewards in the vast interim.

Mane's Bundesliga experience was not an auspicious thing. He scored 12 times for the German giants but was at the epicentre of a high-profile bust-up with teammate Leroy Sane. It wasn't a surprise when he left after his one and only year in Germany, joining Cristiano Ronaldo's Al Nassr in the Saudi Pro League.

Since joining Al Nassr, Mane has scored 19 goals and 13 assists across 50 fixtures, meaning he has netted 31 strikes since leaving Liverpool two years ago.

That 19-goal haul last year means that he outscored both Diaz and Nunez. Heck, you could chuck Jota in there as well, although the Portuguese striker was knocked by injuries and still managed to bag 15 goals from 19 starting appearances.

Diaz, as documented earlier, only scored 13 goals across his 53 outings, whereas Nunez was more potent with 18 goals but he still missed a thick catalogue of chances.

Klopp once described Mane as "one of Liverpool’s greatest ever players", and he wasn't wide of the mark. The Senegalese might not reclaim the lofty heights of his Redman days, but he will take solace in the fact that he's one of the Premier League's finest-ever forwards.

His weekly earnings of about £650k per week can't hurt either, to be fair. He'll take solace in that. And anyway, given that he's still outscoring the likes of Diaz and Nunez, he's enjoying his football too.

Liverpool struck gold selling Anfield sensation for stunning 1570% profit

He’s never quite recaptured his Merseyside magic…

By
Angus Sinclair

Sep 10, 2024

أعلنت رابطة البريميرليج عن الفائز بجائزة رجل مباراة ليفربول ونيوكاسل، في الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز.

والتقى ليفربول ونيوكاسل اليوم الأربعاء ضمن مباريات الجولة السابعة والعشرين للدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز.

وحقق ليفربول الفوز بهدفين دون مقابل، ليرفع رصيده للنقطة 67 في صدارة ترتيب الدوري الإنجليزي.

اقرأ أيضًا | تقييم محمد صلاح في مباراة ليفربول ونيوكاسل بـ الدوري الإنجليزي

وتوج دومينيك سوبوسلاي لاعب ليفربول، بجائزة رجل المباراة أمام نيوكاسل، بعد أدائه في المواجهة.

وساهم سوبوسلاي في فوز ليفربول، حيث سجل هدف فريقه الأول، في الفوز بثنائية دون مقابل.

وحصل سوبوسلاي على أعلى نسبة تصويت (55.6%) ليحصد الجائزة، وجاء زميله ترينت ألكسندر أرنولد في المركز الثاني بالتصويت بنسبة (24.1%).

MatériaMais Notícias

O dia começou animado depois da notícia de que, na noite da última terça-feira, o Flamengo não só se reuniu com Jorge Jesus, mas também ouviu do treinador o desejo de retornar ao Brasil. Assim, nesta manhã, o diretor executivo do clube, Bruno Spindel, concedeu entrevista à CNN Portugal para tratar do assunto.

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>Retrospectiva L!: Arão é unânime e Arrascaeta segue como cérebro do Fla

A repórter da emissora fez exatamente a seguinte pergunta: “a CNN Portugal tem informações de que o Flamengo já apresentou as suas condições a Jorge Jesus, e que Jorge Jesus, inclusive, já aceitou essas condições e fez o negócio depender de um acordo entre o Flamengo e o Benfica. Confirma?”. Spindel, por sua vez, negou que tenha ocorrido proposta, mas disse que é natural que o Flamengo tenha desejo em ter o Mister.

-Não, não confirmo. O Flamengo não fez qualquer tipo de proposta. O que eu posso dizer, e a gente já afirmou desde que chegou a Portugal, é que o Flamengo está em busca de um treinador europeu, com uma comissão técnica qualificada, completa. O Jorge Jesus é um profissional de primeiro nível, foi vencedor no Flamengo, fez um trabalho maravilhoso, tem amizade comigo, tem amizade com o Marcos Braz, tem amizade com o presidente Landim.

-É natural que a gente tenha o desejo de que o Jorge seja o treinador do Flamengo, e é natural que seja uma alternativa. Não preciso nem dizer que ele preenche todos os requisitos, todos os nossos desejos e foi multicampeão no Flamengo.

Na sequência, a repórter foi direta e perguntou especificamente: “vocês já estão em Portugal há algum tempo. Não me diga que ainda não conseguiu falar com Jorge Jesus. Não estiveram com ele, na casa do Jorge?”. Dessa vez, Spindel trocou o “não, não confirmo” por “não vou confirmar”:

-Não vou confirmar. O que posso dizer, novamente, é que ele é um desejo do Flamengo. E eu afirmo que a gente não fez nenhuma proposta para ele. Isso eu posso lhe dizer – disse Spindel, à CNN.

O diretor também falou sobre as demais conversas que o Flamengo tem tido em Portugal e ratificou o perfil de treinador que o clube procura. De acordo com Spindel, é fundamental que o Rubro-Negro tenha um técnico “à altura dos sonhos e dos desejos” do Fla.

-A gente tem o desejo de que o Jorge seja treinador, tem uma série de outras conversas que a gente está tendo aqui em Portugal e, eventualmente, em outros locais aqui da Europa. O que a gente tem como missão é levar um treinador com esse perfil para o Flamengo, e o tempo que for necessário, o trabalho que for necessário para a gente realizar o que se propôs a realizar aqui na Europa, a gente vai fazer.

– É uma liderança fundamental no departamento de futebol, talvez a principal liderança no departamento de futebol, e é fundamental que tenhamos um treinador e uma comissão técnica à altura dos sonhos e dos desejos do Flamengo para 2022.O Flamengo sempre entra em todas as competições para vencer. Nosso desejo, nosso sonho é que a gente vença todas as competições.

Liverpool have displayed no real teething issues transitioning into the brand new Arne Slot regime away from the old familiar ways of club legend Jurgen Klopp.

There is one loss next to their name from seven Premier League encounters, as Nottingham Forest stunned Anfield in a surprise 1-0 win for the away team back in September, but every other game has been a win as Slot’s well-oiled machine sit at the very top of the top-flight pile.

Liverpool’s last win in the league away at Crystal Palace even saw the Dutchman tinker with his line-up, despite his side’s faultless streak of victories, with Dominik Szobozslai dropped to the substitutes bench alongside Luis Diaz and Darwin Nunez.

Szoboszlai has had a mixed time in the Reds first-team fold as of late, with top-drawer displays against the likes of Manchester United this season standing out, whilst a flat showing against a relegation-threatened Wolverhampton Wanderers outfit left a lot to be desired on the contrary.

Szoboszlai's season so far

The former RB Salzburg midfielder would impress in patches during this debut season in England, after making the move over from Austria to play for Jurgen Klopp’s Reds last summer.

Szoboszlai would pick up three goals and two assists from 33 Premier League games under the German’s guidance, with the new methods of Slot really working in his favour during the infancy of this campaign too.

Under the ex-Feyenoord manager, the 23-year-old has often been deployed in a more attacking role, with one goal and three assists coming his way from nine games so far.

But, unlike Ryan Gravenberch who continues to put in stellar displays week in week out in the middle of the park, the Hungarian midfielder’s form has dropped somewhat, leading to his exclusion from the main team against the Eagles.

Away at Molineux to close out September, Szoboszlai visibly struggled in his side’s narrow 2-1 win, with only 26 accurate passes registered and one shot tallied up before Curtis Jones was launched into the game in his place.

The Reds will be keeping their fingers crossed that the ex-Salzburg star can shine bright again as Slot’s men strive to pick up more league victories, with some regret on their end now that they didn’t persist more in a deal to snap up one outrageous talent around the same time the 23-year-old’s signature was won.

When Liverpool tried to sign Bellingham

In April last year, the Reds reportedly dropped out of the race to sign Jude Bellingham after Liverpool had held a long-standing interest in the England star’s services.

The £135m price tag that had been placed above the Borussia Dortmund man’s head was deemed too much to cough up on the Premier League side’s end, with Szoboszlai then acquired for a lesser £60m.

Bellingham’s numbers for Real Madrid

Season

Games

Goals

Assists

24/25

8

0

2

23/24

42

23

13

Sourced by Transfermarkt

Whilst Bellingham has experienced a slow start to this season donning a Real Madrid jersey, last season saw the 21-year-old become a man-possessed for the La Liga giants after his bumper switch from Germany, with a ridiculous 23 goals scored from midfield across 42 clashes.

Slot would love to have the superstar at his disposal in attacking midfield in the here and now, having bemoaned Szoboszlai’s low goalscoring numbers as one reason why he was dropped for the trip to Selhurst Park, with the exceptional talent also a hero in front of goal for his nation.

Bellingham would score an audacious overhead kick at the death during this summer’s Euro 2024 tournament to keep the Three Lions in the competition against Slovakia, with his top displays even helping Gareth Southgate’s Three Lions reach the final, only to then come unstuck versus Spain.

The former Birmingham City youth product turned world-class star would have been content with his trophy haul back at the Santiago Bernabeu anyway, lifting the La Liga trophy alongside the Champions League in his debut season, with his value – as per CIES Football Observatory’s player value tool – now up to a staggering £235m off the back of his heroics in Madrid.

Slot will just have to persist with Szoboszlai moving forward, away from any past blunders Liverpool have made in the transfer market, as the table-toppers pray that they can stay perched at the top of the Premier League pile for the foreseeable.

Related Liverpool wanted to sign £50m star for Klopp but ended up with Szoboszlai

Would he have been the better fit for Arne Slot’s side?

Posts ByAngus Sinclair Oct 2, 2024

Where would Everton be without Dwight McNeil this season? At the nadir of Sean Dyche’s tenure, most likely – if they aren’t already.

It’s been doom, gloom and no room for positivity at Goodison Park this season, although The Friedkin Group are on the cusp of purchasing Farhad Moshiri’s majority stake and the aforementioned McNeil played his defining part in winning for the first time in 2024/25.

Loss, loss, loss, loss, draw. Win? Win. It happened, and the rot has been stopped. The grotty flow stemmed. Everton have been a day late and a dollar short throughout the first phase of the season but now they have claimed victory and risen above the dreaded dotted line, with four points from six Premier League matches.

McNeil has been excellent, prolific, potent and influential. Without him, Dyche might be toast already.

Dwight McNeil is keeping Dyche in a job

He’s the flavour of the month (McNeil, not Dyche), with his brilliant brace against Crystal Palace last weekend indeed giving Everton their first league victory of the season. Previously, he’d scored and assisted against Aston Villa, putting his team 2-0 up, and had also claimed an assist against Everton, before the shocking capitulation.

Premier League

6

3

2

Carabao Cup

1

1

0

He’s already equalled his three-goal return in the top flight last season, having played 29 fewer games. Dyche, the man who cut his teeth while a youngster at Burnley, is now reaping the rewards of nurturing his protege at a different club.

There’s something poetic about that, to be sure. Without his contributions, Everton may well have lost all six matches without any inspiration at all. As per Sofascore, the winger turned number ten has complemented his direct return with 3.5 key passes, 4.2 ball recoveries and an average of one tackle per game, underscoring his completeness.

There’s a technical quality in there that’s reserved for the very best of English football, and though he doesn’t always harness it in the most prolific of ways, the 24-year-old is starting to come out of his shell, spread his wings and step up like a talisman.

Now let’s talk about how to make him even better. It involves Dyche’s dismissal.

Who could replace Sean Dyche at Everton?

Links have been tenuous and that’s understandable. Dyche has the Merseysiders’ backing so active rumours are going to stem from hearsay and snippets of information. But there are some pointers.

Last month, before Everton scored their opening win of the campaign, Football Insider reported that Graham Potter would be interested in taking on the Blues’ manager position, should it become available.

Linked with the England job after Gareth Southgate stepped down, Potter is an experienced Premier League manager who worked wonders at Brighton & Hove Albion, though did fail to succeed during his eight-month stint at Chelsea.

The 49-year-old implements a smooth and complex-designed system, with interchanging parts and convoluted passing passages. When it works, though, it works a treat.

Potter would be a good choice – he’s Prem-proven and enforces a possession-heavy approach. But the transmutation might be too much of a shift, a diametrically opposite plan for the players to absorb while looking to stave off the ever-looming threat of relegation.

The appointment of West Bromwich Albion’s Carlos Corberan might be more apt.

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Carlos Corberan would make McNeil even more unplayable

Will Dyche see out his second full campaign as Toffees boss? Right now, it looks unlikely. Everton chiefs have expressed their full backing of Dyche and his direct and defensive approach, but this endorsement might only prove to be a stay of execution, with sections of the fanbase turning against him.

Everton, should they dismiss Dyche, would be wise to turn the tactical style on its head and appoint a manager with a more fluid and expressive approach, and Corberan might be the perfect option.

According to The Times, Everton wanted to approach former Leeds United boss Marcelo Bielsa after Frank Lampard’s sacking and Dyche’s appointment, but, obviously, it didn’t work out. Corberan served as Bielsa’s understudy at the time and has since shaped his own style, but it would clearly strike a chord at Goodison.

McNeil would rise to a level yet unseen with the Spanish tactician at the helm, for he is already demonstrating immense creative capacities within a system that does not promote playmaking to the nth degree.

Corberan has been described as a tactical “genius” by former Leeds star Romario Vieira. The 41-year-old has thus incorporated elements of Bielsa’s style into his own game, and it’s working a treat for West Brom, who perch atop the Championship table after seven matches.

Principally issuing a 4-2-3-1 formation, McNeil would find that he has a natural place in the side, playing behind striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin and allowing the electric Iliman Ndiaye to occupy the left flank. There’s something there, we’ve all seen it in flashes, but it needs gripping and harnessing and shaping into something coherent. A manager of Corberan’s ilk could have the means to achieve that.

With a confident and aggressive strategy that breeds exciting and attractive play, West Brom are flying, but the temptation of joining Everton and heading a new project could convince him to jump ship.

Sky Sports commentator Dom Goodman has remarked that the Baggies are “horrible to play against” due to Corberan’s strategy, and now this must be brought over to Everton, releasing the Toffees from the shackles of recent years and lifting them back to lofty heights.

For now, Dyche continues to lead from the dugout, but he needs to do something drastic to turn the tide completely. It might be better for Everton to just bite the bullet and move for Corberan, who can lead them forward after years of strife.

Everton wanted to sign "special" £30m star but are stuck with Lindstrom

Sean Dyche could have signed a talented Championship sensation this summer…

ByRoss Kilvington Oct 1, 2024

Endrick made it in to an exclusive Real Madrid club, which also features Cristiano Ronaldo, after his brilliant brace in the Copa del Rey win.

Article continues below

Article continues below

Article continues below

• Real Madrid beat Celta Vigo 5-2
• Endrick scored twice in extra-time
• Brazilian joins an elite list of Los Blancos legends

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Real Madrid squandered a two-goal lead after Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Jr. scored in each half, thanks to a late defensive collapse. Carlo Ancelotti had to shuffle his pack to inject fresh impetus and Endrick was brought into action. After being introduced as a substitute, the 18-year-old delivered a game-changing brace that secured Los Blancos’ place in the quarter-finals of the domestic cup competition.

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Endrick's first goal was a stunning strike from the edge of the box in the 108th minute which helped Real Madrid regain the lead. The teenager then followed it up with an audacious backheeled finish in the 119th minute to seal a hard-fought victory for Los Blancos.

• DID YOU KNOW?

  Endrick’s extraordinary contribution not only kept Real Madrid’s Copa del Rey hopes alive but also earned him a spot on an elite list of players in the club’s history. According to renowned statistician MisterChip, Endrick became just the fifth player to score twice for Real Madrid in extra time.

  The list includes legendary figures such as Santiago Bernabéu, Sotero Aranguren, Santillana, and Cristiano Ronaldo. Bernabéu and Aranguren achieved the feat in 1916, Santillana followed in the same year, while Ronaldo accomplished it in 2016 and 2017.

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• WHAT ENDRICK SAID

  Speaking to Real Madrid TV after the match, Endrick said: "[The first] was a very important goal for me. This is my job. I have to do well for the team, scoring goals, doing whatever. Scoring a goal for Madrid, for these fans, the players, the staff, is really good. In the last Copa game, I missed the chances I had. Today, I had two chances and scored."