Liverpool are ninth in the Premier League and must beat fourth-placed Newcastle on Saturday to boost hopes of qualifying for next season’s Champions League
Surprisingly, Liverpool can get within six points of fourth-placed Newcastle by beating Eddie Howe’s side at St James’ Park on Saturday.
But a defeat to the Magpies could end Liverpool’s hopes of securing the Champions League next season. The Reds have a game in hand at Newcastle and are looking to chase them down as soon as possible as we approach the end of the season.
Liverpool got a huge boost on Monday by beating local rivals Everton 2-0 at Anfield. That result was their first Premier League win of 2023 and could be the start of a run. Ahead of Saturday’s big match, here are the latest headlines from Merseyside.
Ramsay wanted to resign
Calvin Ramsay has had surgery to fix a knee problem and is in the treatment room for an extended period of time.
Ramsay, 19, joined Liverpool from Aberdeen last summer but made just two appearances for Klopp’s side due to injury. The Scotland international had to wait until November to make his debut for the club and is yet to play in the Premier League.
Ramsay posted a photo after his surgery, with his injured left knee heavily taped. She wrote, “Surgery went well, time to rest, recover and come back stronger!”
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The teenage defender suffered a stress fracture in his back after signing for Liverpool. He said in December: “It was very frustrating because obviously I had just signed for the club. I just wanted to come in and get to work and start training and playing.”
Diaz approaches to return
Luis Diaz was spotted on the grass at Liverpool’s training ground in Kirkby on Wednesday, raising hopes of a comeback.
Diaz, 26, has not played in the Premier League since October due to back-to-back knee injuries. The Colombian international is not expected to play for a while but the sight of him is welcome to Klopp and his team under pressure.
Diaz played a vital role in Liverpool’s quadruple attack last season by winning the FA Cup and Carabao Cup. He arrived from Porto 13 months ago.
Benitez goes wild at Real Madrid
Rafael Benitez has accused his former Real Madrid players of leaking information to the press in an extraordinary diatribe.
Benitez managed the Spanish giants between June 2015 and January 2016. As quoted by Spanish radio station Cadena SER, the former Liverpool manager said: “When we arrived in Madrid [Carlo] Ancelotti had just left, he had a very good relationship with the players and it seemed like we were with a whip arrived.
“There was an unfavorable environment… There are complicated situations. And if it all gets complicated, then who pays? I.
“Cristiano [Ronaldo], knowing how he was, you had to lead him. The problem is that when you have to lead seven, some people don’t play, they’re not happy. And they go to the media to publicize it.”
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Mohamed Salah ‘left in tears’ after dressing room blast from manager
Former Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel has spoken of a time Jose Mourinho upset Mohamed Salah during his days at Stamford Bridge
Mohamed Salah was once in tears after being substituted at half-time by Jose Mourinho and criticized for his performance by the former Chelsea boss, according to ex-teammate John Obi Mikel.
Chelsea beat Liverpool when they signed Salah for £11m in 2014, but the Egyptian spent a torrid two-and-a-half years at Stamford Bridge before leaving for Fiorentina.
Salah scored twice in his first five Premier League games but quickly fell out of favor under Mourinho. The Egyptian returned to England with Liverpool in 2017 and is now one of the league’s top scorers.
Mikel revealed Salah was visibly emotional in the Chelsea dressing room after feeling all of Mourinho’s anger during a ‘bad game’.
The former Chelsea midfielder told Dubai Eye: “I think [Salah] had a bad game and then obviously Mourinho came in and grabbed it massively. “It would have been easy to just take it off and say, ‘You’re not playing well, go sit down, you’re not coming back on the pitch.’ But he tore it up and turned his back on it.”
Salah became one of the best players in world football with the Reds, scoring 174 goals in 286 appearances while winning the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup, League Cup, Super Cup and Cup of the club world.
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Jürgen Klopp must assess ‘missing’ Liverpool piece with new sporting director amid transfer need
Napoli is the latest team to show what Liverpool’s “missing” market piece is at the moment. Jürgen Klopp has to judge with the club’s new sporting director.
What makes a team a title winner? It’s a nuanced question, but a man like Jürgen Klopp must to some extent know the complicated answer, as he has raised all there was to lift with Liverpool. The truth is, there are countless factors that go into creating a winning outfit. Looking through Liverpool’s problems, it would be difficult to pinpoint just one reason why they have fallen below these standards this season. The Reds’ failure to deal with a clear lack of depth and quality in midfield in the transfer market has no doubt played a part in the decline of Klopp’s side.
But there is another aspect that has weakened the squad, which has remained under the radar and is currently perfectly supported by one of the most fit teams in Europe, Napoli, who are really on their way to becoming a scudetto to be lifted in Italy for the first half in decades.
Napoli recruited well in the summer transfer window, bringing in the likes of Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Kim Min Jae who greatly improved the starting eleven. But that’s not all: equally important is Napoli’s desire to keep the majority of the squad united and build a great strength in depth. Eljif Elmas, for example, has been linked with a move but Napoli opted to keep him and although he was not a regular feature in the club’s starting XI, he was a key player from the bench. Although he hasn’t set the world on fire with seven goals this season, his ability to come in and finish games every once in a while is just as crucial to the team’s success.
It’s the team players who emerge at crucial moments that ultimately help teams win titles.
Liverpool should know that all too well. Just think of the examples of Divock Origi and Xherdan Shaqiri, who are always reinforced at crucial moments. Adam Lallana and Takumi Minamino also fall into this category. Over the summer, however, Klopp lost a significant number of these types of players from his squad. Origi and Minamino have departed for new pastures, and although their absences have not been noted as often as Sadio Mane’s, it could be argued that Liverpool have felt them miss just as often.
Whoever is appointed as the club’s new sporting director in the summer should not only focus on strengthening the starting eleven under Klopp, but also restoring Liverpool’s depth in the squad. If the Reds are to return to the same level as when they were at the peak of their abilities, they need to take notes from their past and also from Napoli.
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A wonder kid had been discovered in Liverpool
Stefan Bajcetic’s incredible performance against Everton in the Merseyside Derby is a sign of things to come.
season so far has been full of disappointments, but there is one silver lining that will stay with every Liverpool fan and that is the emergence of young Stefan Bajcetic.
Over the last couple of months, the struggles of the Merseyside club have been on display for all to see. Performance on the pitch was disappointing to say the least.
Despite the vast experience Jurgen Klopp has acquired, it is Liverpool’s Spanish prodigy who has stepped forward and shown what it means to play in the famous red shirt. The player’s best performance on Monday night in one of Merseyside’s most important derbies for years was just one of many we’ve seen in recent weeks.
The results weren’t in favor of the Reds, who indirectly made Bajcetic shine in those games.
While all the other players struggled to find their form, the 18-year-old played beyond his age and showed his teammates.
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The Liverpool legend urges fans not to get too excited about their victory over Merseyside rivals Everton
Liverpool legend Steve Nicol has urged fans not to overestimate the 2-0 win against Everton at Anfield on Monday night (13 February). The Reds secured their first Premier League win in 2023 in the Merseyside Derby, courtesy of goals from Mohamed Salah and Cody Gakpo.
Former Liverpool full-back Nicol has urged fans to calm down and not get too excited over a win against an Everton side battling relegation. He told ESPN:
“I felt very comfortable after the second goal. You know, when I scored so early in the second half, the game was over. I say that, but I have to admit that when (James) Tarkowski headed the ball (against post) I thought he had scored because Alisson had been beaten.”
He continued:
“That the ball is in the Everton net 13 seconds later. Incredible. You talk about completely changing the game. From then on, Everton weren’t really in the game. It’s a good win, an important win, but it’s against a team that seems to be relegated, so everyone has to calm down.”
With just 32 points from 21 games, Liverpool are ninth in the Premier League with just nine wins all season. They are nine points behind fourth-placed Newcastle United (41), with one game to spare.