Category: news and analysisCategory Archives:

Liverpool have been handed Manchester City in the Champions League quarterfinal draw that sees the two remaning English sides go head to head while the three remaining Spanish sides avoid each other.

Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola’s men won each other at home this season as Liverpool became the first and only team to win the Cityzens in the Premier League so far. The Reds would look to get another one over in this game, while Manchester City would be eyeing a place in the semifinals as they continue to look for a treble of trophies.

Liverpool would host the first leg at Anfield on April 4th, while the return leg would be played at the Etihad on the 10th of the same month. The two sides would face derby games in between the two fixtures with Liverpool visiting Everton and Manchester City hosting Manchester United in a game that could see them winning the Premier League with games to spare.

In other draws, Barcelona takes on AS Roma, Sevilla plays Bayern Munich, while Real Madrid and Juventus play each other in a repeat of last season’s final.

Neymar was in tears last night as he was stretched off the field with an injury that appears to be serious.

The Brazilian fell awkwardly in PSG’s 3-0 win over their big-time rivals Olympique Marseille and may be spending some time on the sidelines in what is a huge blow to PSG.

It is understandable why he was crying when leaving the pitch.The Parisians play arguably their biggest game of their season in 10 days when Real Madrid come visiting and it appears like he would not be fit to play.

PSG trail the European champions by 3-1 and need all their best players fit as they look to secure at least a 2-0 win or 3 goal advantage in the event that Real Madrid finds the back of the net at the Parc des Princes.

Neymar was signed for a record £198 million last summer for the main purpose of bringing the elusive Champions League to Paris and if they lose to Real Madrid in this round, that could be the end of the road for former Sevilla manager, Unai Emery.

Neymar has scored 29 goals and provided 17 assists this season.

Liverpool are set to finish this season inside the top four for the second consecutive time. This is going to be made possible by the contributions of star players like Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah.

They continued their impressive season with a 2-0 win over Southampton on Sunday and one the highlights of that game was Roberto Firmino’s performance.

The 26 years old Brazilian netted a goal and provide an assist in that match. Those were his 20th goal and 11th assists this season. He is on a hot streak of form at the moment and he is set to end this season as the most prolific of his career.

One person who is very impressed by Firmino’s performances is Thierry Henry. The former Arsenal star was speaking as a pundit in the Monday night show – Match of The Day and had only good things to say about Firmino.

When asked who his best performer was in Liverpool’s game against Southampton, the French man replied “Roberto Firmino, not for the first time”

“I would have liked to have played with this guy” he added.

Liverpool are back in action on Tuesday in the Champions League as they look to end this season with a trophy at least.

Mohamed Salah has been firing from all corners this season and Liverpool’s ascension into the top four has been largely due to his superb form in front of goal.

He has netted 28 goals in all competitions already for the Reds this season and became the 4th fastest player to score 20 Premier League goals when he netted in Liverpool’s 2-2 draw against Tottenham last week.

After failing to light up the Premier League in his first stint at Chelsea, many expected the Egyptian to flop at Liverpool again. However, without being “arrogant” the Egyptian has claimed that he always expected to be a success when he decided to join the Reds.

The £36 million Liverpool shelled out to get his signature was then a club record and it raised a lot of eyebrows. However, his return of 28 goals in all competitions has left even his critics stunned.

The talented 25 years while speaking to Four Four Two claimed:

“I don’t want to seem arrogant. But yeah, I expected it [scoring a lot of goals].

“When I was in Rome, I was comfortable there. I had two good seasons there. I was happy.

“I always try to take another chance. I always put myself under pressure.

“I didn’t play for Chelsea when I was here three years ago. I came back here to show my football. I think I’m doing well.”

The Egyptian’s performances has seen his name come up as a contender for the Ballon d’Or in the nearest future.

Liverpool’s new signing Virgil van Dijk says he expects so many people to judge his every move because of his huge transfer fee, but he is not bothered especially as the opinion of his critics don’t matter.

The Dutchman has come under some scrutiny for his roles in Liverpool’s recent games as he has been on the winning side only once since his move from Southampton. He fouled Eric Lamela for Tottenham’s equalizing goal in their game on Sunday and several fans are beginning to question his quality.

However, Van Dijk who missed almost a year out of action last year has spoken of the lack of attention he gives to his critics, claiming that he only listens to his manager and his teammates whom he knows genuinely want to help him improve.

The Reds would be visiting his former club next and the Dutchman who claims they were unlucky not to get all three points against Tottenham would be hoping they can win at the Saint Mary Stadium in the South Coast.

Liverpool also return to Champions League action next week, and van Dijk who made 19 appearances in the competition for Celtic would be hoping to help the Reds get as far as they can get in the competition.

Barcelona played out a 1-1 draw against Espanyol on Sunday. The game was very tough for the Catalans both on the pitch and off it, and Samuel Umtiti was reportedly racially abused by an opponent.

The French defender was seen on Camera being held back by GerardPique as he attempted to confront the opponent who racially abused him.

It is still unclear who is the Espanyol player that had rained the abuse on him, and the player may go unpunished if the referee did not see the incident.

Pique netted the equalizing goal for the Catalans on Sunday, but he was booed for much of the game, after claiming that Espanyol was a small town club in the pre-match press conference.

Ernesto Valverde decided to start Lionel Messi from the bench, and it was only when the Argentine had come on that Barcelona finally scored having gone a goal down in the 66th minute, courtesy of a Gerard Moreno header.

This win leaves Barcelona at the top of the league with 12 points separating them and second-placed Atletico Madrid.

Reports in Spain are claiming that a young Spanish footballer named Nacho Barbera has died after suffering a Cardiac arrest while playing for his club, UD Alzira.

The young football was said to have suddenly fallen ill and was taken to a hospital where attempts to save his life ultimately proved unsuccessful.

La UD Alzira está de luto. Esta tarde ha fallecido durante un partido en Ontinyent su futbolista Nacho Barberà. D.E.P.
Quedan suspendidos todos los partidos de los equipos del fútbol base, tanto en casa como de visitantes. pic.twitter.com/Zr1cdWk85Q

— UD Alzira (@UDAlzira) February 3, 2018

He had been training all week, and the club confirmed that he had never suffered any symptom to suggest that he had such a health problem before his demise.

Based in Valencia, UD Alzira were playing against CD Esport Base Ontinyent when the incident occurred and all of the club’s games for the weekend has been canceled.

#LaLiga lamenta el fallecimiento de Nacho Barberá, futbolista del @UDAlzira, y muestra sus condolencias a sus familiares y allegados.

— LaLiga (@LaLiga) February 3, 2018

El FC Barcelona desea expresar sus condolencias a la familia y a la @UDAlzira por la pérdida del cadete Nacho Barberà. Descanse en paz

— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona_es) February 4, 2018

Several La Liga sides have offered their condolences including Sevilla and Alaves, while some football stars in the La Liga have also put up messages of condolence for the youngster’s family.

 

Liverpool drew a high profile game against Tottenham on Sunday, but it was a game full of drama late on with the referee decisions taking centre stage.

The Reds appear to have won the game after Mohamed Salah scored what looked like the winner in the 91st minute. However, in the 94th minute, the Lilywhites were awarded a penalty for a very soft challenge by Virgil van Dijk on Erik Lamela.

The centre referee, Jon Moss did not appear to be convinced at first, but his lineman had his flag up for a foul and he awarded it. After the penalty was taken, Jurgen Klopp appeared to sarcastically clap for the linesman.

Immediately after the final whistle, the Liverpool manager rushed to confront the linesman, and he had to be held back by even his opposing number Mauricio Pochettino.

When asked if he had gotten an explanation from the referee about the goal, the enraged German claimed:

“Did you ever hear? I am not allowed to go in their room until half an hour after.

“It was clear offside, unbelievable, I don’t know what they were discussing.

“Yes, Virgil van Dijk touches him, but we all know Lamela wants the touch and we all know there were some hard fouls in the first half and we didn’t get any fouls.

“That was the level for the game today, but then a situation in the last minute like that? Wow. He wanted to be middle of interest and he is.” He added.