Jurgen Klopp was left to rue an opening 15 minutes that killed our confidence and conceding completely unnecessary goals after Manchester City knocked Liverpool out of the EFL Cup.
City beat the holders 3-2 in a thrilling tie at the Etihad Stadium on Thursday to secure their place in the quarter-finals.
Erling Haaland put the Premier League champions in front by volleying in Kevin De Bruyne s pinpoint cross, but Fabio Carvalho equalised against the run of play 20 minutes into both sides first game after the World Cup break.
A sublime touch and finish from Riyad Mahrez restored City s lead right at the start of the second half, only for Mohamed Salah brought the Reds level again just 80 seconds later.
City were the better side, though, and Nathan Ake heade…
Market: France double chance
Odds: 4/9 @
In a battle between two European heavyweights, Germany and France will meet in Munich on Tuesday night for their opening Group F meeting.
Starting with France, managing to land themselves a pair of routine 3-0 victories against Wales and Bulgaria in preparation last week, The Blues open their European adventure tipped as one of the leading contenders. Manging to prove that their 1-1 draw against Ukraine in March s World Cup qualifying opener was just a minor blip, the defending world champions have also continued to shine while on foreign soil. Welcoming Real Madrid talisman Karim Benzema back into their squad after a free-scoring run with Los Blancos this season, Head Coach Didier Deschamps has seen his high-flying team …
While the Premier League might offer just a single fixture on Sunday afternoon, the rest of Europe’s elite have a string of intriguing showdowns.
Ahead of a stacked schedule from the likes of Germany, Spain and Italy, we have found a pair of contests that are worth keeping an eye out for.
14:30 Darmstadt vs Werder Bremen
After spending large spells of last season looking over their shoulder at a looming relegation scrap, Sunday’s guests are simply hoping for smoother sailing this time around. Although the River Islanders might have opened up the 2023/24 campaign with back-to-back defeats, Ole Werner’s men have claimed a recent boost on either side of September’s international break.
Putting in another eye-catching performance last weekend as th…
Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti insisted the ongoing Kylian Mbappe transfer saga is not on his mind as he focuses on the Champions League final against Liverpool.
Mbappe s contract with Paris Saint-Germain is due to expire at the end of the season as reports persist that the World Cup winner will move to the Spanish capital.
The France international has stated he will announce his decision before joining up with Les Bleus for international duty in June, with PSG still hopeful of keeping their talisman at the Parc des Princes.
Mbappe s 57 goal contributions in all competitions this season can only be bettered by Madrid forward and international team-mate Karim Benzema (59) among players in the top five European leagues.
Ancelotti could have the pair…
Manchester United were held to a 1-1 draw by Rostov in the first leg of their Europa League last-16 clash on Thursday, leaving the tie in the balance ahead of next week s return fixture at Old Trafford.
The fit-again Henrikh Mkhitaryan scored the opening goal with United s first real chance 10 minutes before half-time, the Armenian finishing off a cute cutback from Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Mkhitaryan s return was a timely boost for United, having not featured since the win over Saint-Etienne in the last round due to a hamstring problem, but his side could not hold on to their lead.
Aleksandr Bukharov equalised for Rostov eight minutes into the second half, getting between Chris Smalling and Phil Jones to take Timofei Kalachev s lofted pass on his chest and finish we…
Arsene Wenger praised Arsenal s attitude after they secured a last-gasp opening-day win over managerless Crystal Palace.
Debutant Brede Hangeland gave the south London side a surprise 35th-minute lead at the Emirates Stadium in their Premier League opener on Saturday, but Laurent Koscielny restored parity on the stroke of half-time.
Palace remained tough to breakdown, retaining many of the qualities installed by Tony Pulis before his shock departure as Selhurst Park boss on Friday.
Nevertheless, Arsenal stuck to their task and, following a second booking for Palace winger Jason Puncheon in the 89th minute, Aaron Ramsey followed his Wembley goals in the FA Cup final and Community Shield with a close-range winner deep into stoppage time.
I believe that our…
FC Zenit Saint Petersbourgh have revealed former academy player Denis Terentyev has returned to his boyhood club.
The 24-year-old Russian defender has signed a three-year deal with the possibility of extending the contract for another two campaigns.
Terentyev began his career with Zenit’s youth setup in his hometown of Saint Petersburg and was promoted to the senior side in 2010. During the five-year spell with Zenit, Denis Terentyev made only one league appearance.
His debut for the Zenitchiki came in 2012 in a match against FC Anzhi Makhackala. Terentyev was loaned out to FC Tom Tomsk the same year, but was ultimately sold to FC Rostov in 2015 where he spent two years.
Denis Terentyev won a league runners-up medal with FC Rostov.
News of his …
Atletico Madrid have bid farewell to Mario Suarez after they confirmed a deal had been agreed to sell him to Fiorentina.
Suarez rejoined Atletico from Mallorca in 2010 after exercising a buy-back clause in the deal to sell him to the Islanders back in 2008.
The midfielder went on to win La Liga, the Copa del Rey and the UEFA Europa League as well as the Supercopa de Espana and two UEFA Super Cup titles in his second stint with Atletico.
And he will now attempt to enjoy success with Fiorentina, with Atletico confirming that a deal between the two clubs would be be formalised in the next hours .
The announcement comes two days after Stefan Savic moved to Atletico from Fiorentina.
A statement on Atletico s official website read: The club wishes the…
Robert Lewandowski has equalled David Healy s record for most goals scored in a single European Championship qualifying campaign.
The Poland captain s powerful header just before half-time against Republic of Ireland on Sunday took him to 13 in Group D, level with the former Northern Ireland striker s tally set back in qualification for Euro 2008.
Lewandowski s goal proved decisive in the encounter in Warsaw as Poland went on to secure a 2-1 win and book their place at Euro 2016 in France.
The Bayern Munich star has enjoyed a remarkable run of form so far this season and had scored 14 times in just five appearances for club and country prior to Sunday s final qualifier.
That particular scoring streak began with a remarkable five-goal haul in just nine …
Newcastle United have confirmed the sales of youngsters Yankuba Minteh and Elliot Anderson to Brighton and Nottingham Forest respectively.
The Magpies needed sales by the end of their accounting year (June 30) in order to comply with the Premier League s Profit and Sustainability Regulations (PSR).
A breach of the PSR would likely have resulted in a points deduction in the 2024-25 campaign.
Numerous clubs were interested in Minteh, who thrived on loan at Feyenoord last season. A deal to Everton, which would have included Dominic Calvert-Lewin heading to St James Park, was mooted, but Brighton have sealed the signing of the 19-year-old on a five-year contract.
Minteh, who has cost the Seagulls a reported £33million, scored 10 goals and provided five assis…