Kylian Mbappé gives Virgil van Dijk a night to forget as seven Liverpool stars gain minutes

Several Liverpool players played for their respective international teams tonight

Ibrahima Konate had the upper hand tonight in his head-to-head battle with Virgil van Dijk, the former guide France to a 4-0 victory over the Netherlands in Euro 2024 qualifying.

Konate played the full 90 minutes, even picking up a yellow card, as Les Blues got off to a winning start in Group B. Van Dijk was on the losing side on this occasion, even completing the entire game at the Stade de France. It was a night where Kylian Mbappé once again showed his class by scoring two of his side’s goals, with Antoine Griezmann and Dayot Upamecano completing the rout.

Elsewhere, Mohamed Salah was on the scoresheet as Egypt won 2-0 against Malawi in Africa Cup of Nations qualifying. In the same group, Naby Keita helped Guinea to three points after beating Ethiopia.

It was also a successful night for Kostas Tsimikas, who was called up to the Greek starting XI which secured a 3-0 win over Gibraltar. The Liverpool left-back was taken off five minutes from the end of this Euro qualifier after being cautioned earlier.

The Academy stars also took to the pitch on Friday, giving the youngsters a chance to make their mark. U-21 regular Bobby Clark was brought on in the 60th minute of a friendly between England and Belgium, while Mateusz Musialowski made an appearance in the draw between Poland U-21 and Poland. ‘Austria. Goalkeeper Vitezslav Jaros, currently on loan at Second Division Stockport County, did not feature in the Czech U21s’ 0-0 draw against Belgium.

Also….

Five things spotted during Liverpool training when surprise figure appears but four legends are missing

Liverpool Legends take on Celtic Legends at Anfield on Saturday afternoon to raise money for the club’s official charity

It may be the international break, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be football at Anfield this weekend, with Liverpool Legends back in action as they host Celtic in their latest charity match.

As a result, a plethora of aging Reds stars headed to the AXA Training Center for media assignments and one last practice session on Friday night as they dusted off their cobwebs before turning back the years on Saturday.

Before training at the AXA Training Center, the legends took part in some joint media activities. And an ECHO interview was almost cut short by an ignoramus Martin Skrtel!

When he entered the room, the Slovak was completely oblivious to our video camera as he walked through the bulkhead. Seeing him too late, he sheepishly apologized as the interviewee tried to hold back his laughter. Although Skrtel resisted the hiring, no member of Liverpool’s media team can say the same. Our video editing team will have a lot of fun with it!

“Where is the field?” »

John Barnes is a Liverpool legend. In 10 years at the club, he made 407 appearances, scored 108 goals, won two league titles, two FA Cups and a League Cup, whilst also captaining the Reds.

Sadly, the 59-year-old no longer dusts off his boots to play in Legends matches, but he’s still part of the backstage team today, having taken on the role of assistant manager.

But with his entire playing career spent at Liverpool while the Reds were still training at Melwood, he was unfortunately somewhat lost to the AXA academy. “Ah, you have a camera, you’ll know!” she shouted at a member of the media. “How do you enter the field? I’m just the assistant manager, but I have no idea!”

Luckily, Barnes would find his way to him in time for training to start!

Former Reds goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek, a popular man in the media space, opened up about his time at the club to a number of people on Friday night.

ECHO were among those who spoke to the former Polish international, a two-part interview soon to be available to read online and on our app, which caused the 50-year-old to be delayed in the dressing room as the players are were tested shortly thereafter.

As a result, Dudek was the last to enter the training ground and the rest of the Liverpool legends were already on their way with their training routines under the direction of a member of staff. Liverpool have designated a 20-man squad for Saturday’s Legends match, but not all of their players were available for training on Friday night.

Reds legend Steven Gerrard was on media duty ahead of Thursday night’s match against England and was absent, while Charlie Adam and Djibril Cisse were unable to attend training. Meanwhile, Luis Garcia had to lose after a delay.

All four should be seen at least on Saturday, but it’s a different story for some of Liverpool’s other heroes. Jamie Carragher and Daniel Agger were originally confirmed to join Celtic, but their names were missing from the final confirmed squad. Another legend discovered

As the Liverpool players began to wrap up their training session, a special figure turned up to watch the activities of those who will grace Anfield on Saturday afternoon.

The Reds manager for tonight’s game, Sir Kenny Dalglish, was already part of the pre-match preparations and was later joined by Rafa Benitez, a former Liverpool manager.

The Spaniard’s appearance was a pleasant surprise, having emerged from the AXA training center building with a pulse in his step and a smile on his face. Welcome Rafa!