After being booked for diving in the first half, Sadio Mané sparked Liverpool to a yet another dramatic, come-from-behind victory. The Liverpool winger set up the equalizer and scored the winner in the closing minutes of a 2-1 win over Aston Villa on Saturday at Villa Park.
Almost immediately after, he was being attacked for diving by the manager — of next week’s match.
The Carabao Cup inspires hatred from many soccer fans who would rather be watching the Champions League at midweek and Premier League coaches who don’t care enough to play any of their regulars. Your dad would probably call it the “Don’t Carabao Haircuts Cup” because of all the shaggy haired teens taking the field in EPL uniforms.
But the Carabao Cup has some redeeming qualities — they were all seen Wednesday in the ridiculous match between Arsenal and Liverpool
We’re almost a third of the way through the 2019-20 European club season, giving us an ample enough sample size to analyze this year’s current statistics in a somewhat meaningful way. There’s one giant caveat to it all and that’s Lionel Messi’s restricted start to the campaign due to a calf strain followed by an abductor muscle injury. He’s only started three of Barcelona’s nine league games thus far, so he's yet to dominate every statistical category.
On Monday, France Football (over the course of five ridiculous hours) released its 30-man shortlist for the 2019 Ballon d’Or prize, as well as a 20-player shortlist for the Ballon d'Or Féminin. Last year, Luka Modrić broke Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi’s combined 10-year stranglehold on the game’s most prestigious individual award, but Messi is again the favorite this year after leading Barcelona to the Spanish league title while capturing his sixth European Golden Shoe.
An 85th-minute equalizer from Adam Lallana — his first goal since May 21, 2017 — earned Liverpool a dramatic point from Old Trafford on Sunday, extending Manchester United’s winless streak in league play to four games. It was a gut punch to the home side, who’d largely dictated the run of play for the entirety of the match.
It wasn’t a vintage Netherlands performance by any means, but the Dutch’s quest for a first major international tournament appearance since the 2014 World Cup remains on course following a 2-1 victory over Belarus on Sunday.
With two matches remaining in Euro 2020 qualifying, a draw against Northern Ireland in Belfast on Nov. 16 would ensure a return to the big stage for the Oranje.
Hailed as one of the best defenders in the world right now, Virgil van Dijk is also one of the more likable figures in world soccer. Just don’t tell that to the poor 8-year-old Everton fan he teased in a recent sit-down with some Liverpool U-8 players.
LFC’s stellar social media department released a YouTube video of VVD taking questions from Liverpool youth players in a mostly adorable segment.
Van Dijk answered questions like “Do you pick your nose?” and “Who smells the most in the team?” in a delightful 6:46 video (embedded above).
You just can’t escape Liverpool these days, even during the international break, which can’t end soon enough.
Liverpool has won 17 straight Premier League matches, a run that includes winning the Champions League trophy at the end of last season. The Reds are already eight points clear of Manchester City atop the league table and look poised to run away with the title.
Liverpool won its 17th straight Premier League match with a 2-1 victory over Leicester City on Saturday at Anfield. The Reds are eight points clear of Manchester City, which plays Sunday.
The Anfield faithful went wild as James Milner scored the match winner in the 95th minute, ensuring a perfect eight-from-eight start to the season. Jurgen Klopp’s postgame celebrations showed just how difficult the match was for the home side.
Liverpool and RB Salzburg played a frenzied game of Champions League football on Wednesday. It was the sort of match that makes you question everything — from Virgil van Dijk’s shaky status as godhead to Erling Braut Håland’s growing status as Pelé.