Jurgen Klopp said it will be impossible for Liverpool to complete their entire festive programme after the proper punch that coronavirus has given professional football.
Thiago Alcantara missed Liverpool s 2-2 Premier League draw with Tottenham on Sunday due to a suspected positive coronavirus test result, as Klopp was left without a raft of key players.
Fabinho, Curtis Jones and Virgil van Dijk were also sidelined after returning suspected positive results ahead of the midweek win over Newcastle United, and captain Jordan Henderson was another absentee due to illness at Tottenham, though he has tested negative for COVID-19.
Tyler Morton was handed a first Premier League start in midfield for the Spurs game, and he featured alongside James Milner and Naby Keit…
Real Madrid saw Raphael Varane and Sergio Ramos leave in the off-season.
The Spanish champions have fared well without them, leading LaLiga comfortably.
But Madrid head coach Carlo Ancelotti wants to add to their backline.
TOP STORY – MADRID CONSIDER GOMEZ MOVE
Madrid are lining up a potential move for Liverpool defender Joe Gomez, according to the Daily Mail.
Madrid will monitor the England international defender who has recently returned to fitness ahead of an off-season move.
Los Blancos priority after 2021-22 is their attack and landing Paris Saint-Germain s Kylian Mbappe, but they do want to bolster their defensive options.
ROUND-UP
Liverpool are genuine contenders to sign Borussia Dortmund…
Chris Greenacre has vowed Wellington Phoenix will not throw in the towel despite a 2-1 defeat to Newcastle Jets.
Chris Greenacre has vowed Wellington Phoenix will not throw in the towel despite a 2-1 defeat to Newcastle Jets.
The loss leaves the Phoenix rooted to the bottom of the table on 21 points with just four games remaining.
It also came only a day after Ricki Herbert, who had led the club since their inception in 2007, resigned as coach following a poor season which has seen them mired in and around the foot of the table.
Wednesday s match was Greenacre s first in charge and was brought forward from March because of a clash with New Zealand s World Cup qualifiers.
But the same old problems plagued Wellington and two defensive lapses resu…
AC Milan forward Stephan El Shaarawy has played down reports linking him with a summer move to Manchester City, .
Although El Shaarawy is flattered by the Citizens interest, the Italy international has made it clear he does not want to leave AC Milan this summer.
According to reports in the Italian media, City were preparing an audacious £30 million bid for the 20-year-old Italian ace.
I don t think I will leave Milan, El Shaarawy told La Repubblica.
If City really want me it flatters me, but I want to stay here. I have always felt total confidence from everyone – the club, coach [Massimiliano] Allegri and team-mates.
It s also thanks to them that I am in the Italian national team.
El Shaarawy bagged 19 goals and si…
Stoke City manager Mark Hughes
Stoke City were held to a goalless draw in Saturday’s Premier League clash with West Ham United – leaving them with just one win in their last nine and look on course for their lowest points total since 2012/13.
It’s been six years since the Potters lost more than 15 games in the Premier League, and the club appear to be sleep-walking in the second-half of the season which could see manager Mark Hughes under pressure this summer.
Lack of goals due to mismatched playing philosophy
Mark Hughes’ Stoke City side are 12th in the Premier League table with 40 points from 35 games this season, having failed to score in five of their last eight outings. Only four clubs have scored fewer goals than the Potters (37) this seaso…
that West Ham United are willing to sell Andy Carroll this month, with Newcastle United and Sunderland monitoring the situation.
The North East duo currently occupy two on the bottom three places in the Premier League, and will each be keen to strengthen now the transfer window has reopened.
The 6ft4in striker has proved his fitness over the Christmas period, scoring in his last two games to take his Hammers tally to seventeen strikes in sixty-nine appearances.
Prior to his move to the Boleyn Ground he had a less than successful spell with Liverpool while during his time with Newcastle – the club where he began his career – he had a goal ratio of better than one in three.
Internationally, he won nine caps for England between 2010 and 2012 scorin…
Getafe, who continue to be one of the most active clubs in Europe during this summer transfer window, are on the verge of completing another signing in the form of . The 23-year-old Serbian international has been on the books with since last year after his move from Astana, but it seems as if the transfer surge that Getafe seems to be on will bring him over to the club ahead of the new La Liga season.
Maksimovic is considered to be an attacking midfielder that s full of potential and has proven that he can handle himself at the highest level. He ll be leaving Valencia, who finished 4th last season with just nine losses in 38 league games, to sign for Getafe who finished down in 8th. Despite that they appear to be a club on the rise in the realms of Spanish football, setting th…
Javier Mascherano hopes Lionel Messi will be the best version of himself at the World Cup, while acknowledging that the Barcelona star sets a standard the rest of the squad must strive to match.
Messi will arrive at his fourth World Cup hoping to go one better than the runners-up medal he won in 2014 by inspiring Argentina to glory, and his former Camp Nou colleague Mascherano made no secret of the importance of the five-time Ballon d Or winner showing his best form.
Mascherano, who has 143 caps for Argentina and won five LaLiga titles alongside Messi at Barcelona before joining Hebei China Fortune, also underlined the strength of Jorge Sampaoli s defence.
One wishes for this coming World Cup that Leo can be the best version of himself, because the aspirations …
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer conceded Manchester United fell well short of the standards set against Manchester City at the weekend as Simon Kjaer s late header secured a 1-1 draw for Milan in their Europa League last-16 first leg.
United were in fine form on Sunday as they brushed aside Premier League leaders City on their own ground, yet the Red Devils were well off the pace against Stefano Pioli s side at Old Trafford on Thursday.
Amad Diallo became the youngest non-British player to score for United in major European competition (aged 18 years and 243 days), netting with his first ever attempt for the Red Devils in the 50th minute, but Kjaer scored a vital away goal for the Rossoneri deep into stoppage time.
It was the first Europa League goal United have conc…
Juventus have left Emre Can and Mario Mandzukic out of their Champions League squad.
Midfielder Can, who joined from Liverpool on a free transfer in 2018, has been overlooked in favour of Sami Khedira, Blaise Matuidi, Miralem Pjanic and new signings Aaron Ramsey and Adrien Rabiot.
Mandzukic, who scored in the Champions League final defeat to Real Madrid in 2017, misses out in favour of Gonzalo Higuain, Cristiano Ronaldo, Paulo Dybala, Juan Cuadrado and Federico Bernardeschi in attack.
Experienced defender Giorgio Chiellini has also been left out as he is expected to be sidelined for approximately six months following surgery on a damaged anterior cruciate ligament.
Day 1
— Giorgio Chiellini (@chiellini)
Head coach Maurizio Sarri expr…