Tag: Liverpool

Jesus scored for Arsenal on Easter. The jokes just write themselves.

He even rose to score from a cross!

Gabriel Jesus scoring on Easter. It was written.

The Arsenal striker gave his side a two-goal lead in the first half against Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday, and gave everyone the chance to take a crack at their best Easter-related Jesus pun.

To make things even more appealing for the joke-writers among us, Jesus scored when he rose up to connect with a header from a cross. Those are what we call key words.

The goal by Jesus followed an even more impressive feat from FC Dallas on Saturday night, as three players with “Jesus” as part of their name combined for a goal against Inter Miami.

Naturally, on Sunday, there were jokes aplenty after Arsenal’s Jesus scored on the day commemorating his ancient namesake.

Bournemouth mark David Brooks’ return from lymphoma with win over Liverpool

The Cherries had a perfect gift to welcome Brooks back

Bournemouth had 525 days to figure out how to celebrate David Brooks’ return to a matchday squad.

They made the perfect choice, shocking Liverpool at the Vitality Stadium as the Wales midfielder appeared in uniform for the first time in nearly two years after a lengthy battle with Hodkin’s lymphoma.

Brooks was diagnosed with cancer in October 2021 after the Wales medical staff discovered the issue following a medical exam. Brooks began treatment, and Bournemouth had to make do without a regular presence in their midfield.

66 competitive fixtures and one promotion to the Premier League later, the 25-year-old was in uniform for the first time in well over a year.

However, even with that wonderful news, the task ahead of the Cherries was a daunting one: Liverpool beat them 9-0 earlier this season, and entered the match coming off of a 7-0 demolition of Manchester United. Meanwhile, Bournemouth started the day in 20th place in the 20-team Premier League.

In that context, it wasn’t much of a surprise that Liverpool put their hosts under immense pressure from kickoff. However, Bournemouth offered some danger on the counter, and that’s how they conjured up the ideal gift to welcome Brooks — who got a pre-game ovation from Cherries fans — back into the fold.

Dango Ouattara turned a hopeful ball over the top into a cutback that found Philip Billing charging into the goalmouth for a tidy finish.

The Cherries had to sweat out a long VAR check over whether Ouattara was onside, but the goal stood.

At the other end, Bournemouth had to worry about quite a bit: Cody Gakpo had a goal chalked off for offside, Virgil van Dijk missed a sitter, and most crucially, Mohamed Salah blasted a 69th minute penalty horribly wide.

Bournemouth rode their luck, but also battled hard to make the lone goal stand up for just their second win in their last 13 competitive games.

Bournemouth ‘delighted’ for Brooks

Cherries boss Gary O’Neil was happy to win, but was arguably even more pleased that Brooks was able to be in consideration to play.

“I felt privileged to even be able to sit and tell him [that he was in the team] yesterday,” O’Neil said in quotes published by Dorset Live. “I think for him, his family, the journey he’s been on and what he’s been through, what they’ve all been through, I was absolutely delighted for him.”

“I think we still need to be realistic with how much he can do at the moment. I was desperate to try and get him on at some point but unfortunately, the game didn’t go that way,” added O’Neil. “He scored a goal in training on Wednesday in [a training match] and I just thought, ‘we need to get this guy back involved somehow.'”

For Brooks and Bournemouth, it wasn’t just a win. The three points may prove crucial in the relegation scrap, as the Cherries jumped from the very bottom of the table and out of the drop zone entirely. They sit 17th after Saturday’s fixtures, having hurdled West Ham, Leeds, and Southampton with the victory.

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Weghorst responds amid backlash to heinous sign touching

The on-loan forward committed an unforgivable sin in the eyes of some Red Devils fans

Wout Weghorst has crossed a line with some Manchester United fans.

The Dutch striker is in hot water for touching the famous “This is Anfield” sign prior to Manchester United’s disastrous 7-0 loss to Liverpool on Sunday. Weghorst’s decision was notable as, unlike almost everyone else who touches the sign before games, he does not play for Liverpool.

United fans have been quick to point out a 2018 interview with De Telegraaf, in which the striker said he’d “dreamt” of playing for Liverpool “since childhood.”

Weghorst, who is on loan at United from Burnley, has caught so much flack that he felt compelled to release a statement on Instagram explaining why he committed such an unforgivable sin.

Weghorst’s reasoning? He was only trolling his Netherlands teammate Virgil van Dijk.

“Normally I never react on media topics, but for this one it’s worth it because you amazing United fans are important to me. So I just want to clarify the video that is doing the rounds,” he said.

“From the national team, I know that Virgil always touches that sign and I went to stop him touching it to try and wind him up before the game.

“As a child I always supported FC Twente, and as a player now for Manchester United, my dedication to this incredible club can never be questioned.

“Sunday was a terrible day for all of us, we are putting everything into making it right in the next weeks. We will bounce back together and achieve our aims this season.”

Let’s go to the footage!

It does appear that Weghorst only went for the sign after seeing Van Dijk reach up first, but the defender hardly seemed to notice or care. He then went out and kept a clean sheet while Weghorst and his team gave up a touchdown and extra point.

Maybe, just maybe, that result has set off fans just a bit more than an on-loan striker touching a sign.

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UEFA issues refunds to Liverpool fans after Champions League final chaos

Liverpool fans were initially blamed for the chaos before a report exonerated them

UEFA has announced it will issue refunds to all Liverpool fans who attended last May’s Champions League final in Paris.

The match against Real Madrid was delayed by 36 minutes amid chaotic scenes of fan congestion outside Stade de France.

Police teargassed sections of Liverpool fans, many of whom ended up in dangerously overcrowded areas as they attempted to reach the stadium. Several fans had to be hospitalized.

Those scenes were followed by Liverpool fans themselves taking the blame from UEFA and French officials, who said that fans with fake tickets were responsible for the overcrowding.

But last month an independent report commissioned by UEFA exonerated Liverpool fans, saying that UEFA and the French authorities must take “primary responsibility” for a situation that could have turned out much worse.

“It is remarkable that no one lost their life,” the report said. “All the stakeholders interviewed by the panel have agreed that this situation was a near-miss: a term used when an event almost turns into a mass fatality catastrophe.”

The report even said Liverpool fans should have been thanked rather than blamed, calling them: “instrumental in protecting vulnerable people and averting what might well have been more serious injuries and deaths.”

In a statement, UEFA General Secretary Theodore Theodoridis said the refunds came after input from Liverpool fans.

“We have taken into account a huge number of views expressed both publicly and privately and we believe we have devised a scheme that is comprehensive and fair,” Theodoridis said.

“We value the input from the Liverpool FC supporter organizations Spirit of Shankly (SoS) and Liverpool Disabled Supporters Association (LDSA) as well as the open and transparent dialogue throughout this period. We recognize the negative experiences of those supporters on the day and with this scheme we will refund fans who had bought tickets and who were the most affected by the difficulties in accessing the stadium.”

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Liverpool sent Manchester United back to the Dark Ages

It was utter humiliation for the Red Devils at Anfield

Liverpool handed Manchester United its worst ever Premier League defeat on Sunday, humiliating the Red Devils 7-0 at Anfield.

JĂŒrgen Klopp’s side only led 1-0 at halftime but blew United away with a scintillating six-goal performance in the second half to re-establish their top-four credentials in style.

It has been a bounce-back season for United under Erik ten Hag, who led the club to its first trophy in six years last weekend with victory over Newcastle in the Carabao Cup final.

But Sunday’s match was reminiscent of some of United’s darkest days in recent years — and perhaps its entire history — as the Red Devils suffered their worst defeat in more than 91 years.

Amazingly for a game that ended 7-0, it very nearly went into halftime scoreless. Cody Gakpo gave Liverpool the lead in the 43rd minute with a fine finish into the far corner after a great assist from Andy Robertson.

From there, the collapse began. Darwin NĂșñez and Gakpo gave the home side a 3-0 lead by the 50th minute, before NĂșñez completed his brace and Mohamed Salah grabbed a brace of his own — his second making him Liverpool’s all-time top Premier League scorer.

There was still time for one more memorable moment. Roberto Firmino, whose agent revealed this week that he will leave the club at season’s end, scored Liverpool’s seventh in front of the Kop.

For Liverpool, it was the highlight of a trying season and evidence that Klopp’s side may be the favorite to sneak into the fourth and final Champions League spot. The Reds are now just three points back of fourth-place Tottenham, with a game in hand.

United will have to pick the pieces up after a confidence-shattering result. Heavy defeats to Liverpool have become something of the norm for United of late, having lost its two games against the Reds last season by a combined 9-0 scoreline.

But this season was supposed to be different for Manchester United. On Sunday, though, United didn’t just reach the depths of recent seasons — it went much lower.

“It was unprofessional,” Ten Hag told Match of the Day. “Yes [I am angry]. Definitely.

“This is definitely a strong setback and is unacceptable. I’m really disappointed and angry about it.”

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Carlo Ancelotti: Vinicius Jr. is the most decisive player in the world

The Brazilian scored two and assisted another as Madrid beat Liverpool 5-2 in the Champions League

Carlo Ancelotti called VinĂ­cius Jr. “the most decisive player in the world” after the Real Madrid star scored a brace against Liverpool in the Champions League on Tuesday.

Liverpool went up 2-0 early in the last-16 first leg at Anfield, but Madrid came storming back with VinĂ­cius leading the charge.

The Brazilian scored two goals and assisted one more as Madrid put up an incredible five unanswered goals to win the match 5-2 and take a giant step toward the last eight.

VinĂ­cius victimized Liverpool for a second straight season in the Champions League, having scored the only goal in last season’s final.

After the game, Ancelotti heaped some major praise on the 22-year-old forward.

“VinĂ­cius is the most decisive player in the world,” the Madrid boss told a press conference. “There is no other player like him right now. He doesn’t stop dribbling, shooting. I hope he can maintain this level.

“Winning like this isn’t easy, above all because of how the match began. We never lost confidence and little by little we won control of the ball. We were efficient up front and VinĂ­cius produced an incredible performance.”

VinĂ­cius has saved his top scoring form for the Champions League this season, as he’s scored seven goals in 21 La Liga games, and six goals in just seven Champions League matches.

Madrid will aim to seal a quarterfinal spot in the second leg at the Santiago Bernabéu on March 15.

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Real Madrid produced some Champions League Madness to overwhelm Liverpool

Liverpool’s dream start became a true nightmare

It’s not great to be struggling for form when you have to play Real Madrid.

Just ask Liverpool, who fell 5-2 at Anfield after some true Champions League Madnessℱ saw Real come from 2-0 down to emerge victorious in their last-16 first leg clash.

Liverpool were two goals to the good after just 14 minutes. It looked like they could be using this game as a platform to turn around an increasingly disappointing season. It was a thrilling, authoritative start for the Reds, the kind of soccer they haven’t been able to produce consistently in the 2022-23 season.

It’s just that they had to play the rest of the game.

Stung into action, Real Madrid rode a combination of VinĂ­cius Junior’s brilliance, Liverpool mistakes, misfortune, and some ruthless counter-attacking play in the second half to produce five unanswered goals and take total control ahead of the second leg on March 15.

It all started so well for Liverpool. With Anfield in full voice, Mohamed Salah slipped a clever pass in behind to find Darwin NĂșñez, who supplied a stunning backheel finish to open the scoring in the fourth minute.

Liverpool had created a lead with ingenuity, and expanded it with luck. Thibaut Courtois would have certainly preferred a better back-pass from Dani Carvajal, but still had plenty of time to get the ball away without much trouble.

Instead of an easy clearance, the Belgium No. 1 produced a disaster. His chest trap was casual enough to let Salah pressure him, and Courtois seemed to short-circuit. The ball bounced off of his knee as he tried to turn, setting Salah up to simply flick the ball past him.

If only the game could have just ended there for Liverpool. Unfortunately they had over 75 minutes left, and Real Madrid is still Real Madrid.

Vini Jr., who scored the winner in last year’s Champions League final between these teams, somehow conjured up a goal after he and Benzema combined despite being surrounded by seven red shirts.

When you’re in the kind of form Vini Jr. is in, a wall of defenders simply isn’t a problem. The Brazil attacker seemed like he was going to carry on dribbling only to snap a lovely, angled shot past Alisson and into the bottom corner.

With the game now well and fully careening out of control, it was only fair that Liverpool — having scored and conceded a golazo — cough up a howler to match Courtois’ error.

Alisson obliged, firing a low pass attempt right into Vini Jr. as the Brazilian applied only token pressure on a back-pass. The way Liverpool’s season is going, everyone in the building knew what was coming: a looping rebound that floated over Alisson, sucking the air out of Anfield and equalizing the score.

Halftime came, and whatever Jurgen Klopp did to try and get his side going again, it went out the window within seconds. Éder Militão took advantage of some absurdly hesitant set piece defending, trotting away from his markers to nod home a Luka Modrić free kick.

Barely 100 seconds into the second half, a game that had started so well for the Reds was now one they trailed.

Liverpool’s poor defensive work was one thing, but they were also cursed on the day, and those factors combined as Real made it 4-2. The Reds seemed to defuse the threat as Rodrygo’s cross was tipped away by Stefan Bajčetić, but no one could beat Carvajal to the resulting loose ball.

Rodrygo got the chance to try again, and this time he and Benzema casually carved a stagnant Liverpool open. The result? A classic “you make your own luck” goal, as Benzema’s shot glanced off of Joe Gomez’s calf, wrong-footing Alisson.

Liverpool was now having a full-fledged nightmare, and the last thing you want to do against this Real Madrid team is cough up a cheap turnover and open yourself to a counter.

Fabinho unfortunately did just that, losing the ball to Modrić with Liverpool having eight players in the attack. From there Real Madrid made it look simple: Modrić to Rodrygo to Benzema, who drew Alisson out only to cut the ball away from him and slide it into an empty net.

Los Merengues‘ demolition job was complete.

 

Liverpool laments defending on MilitĂŁo goal

“Super start. We had everything we wanted,” Jurgen Klopp told beIN Sports after the match, before turning his attention to Real’s third goal.

“I’m really not sure if it’s a foul at all,” said Klopp, “but even when it’s not a foul and they get a free kick, we have to defend the free kick better. In that space, it’s not allowed that [MilitĂŁo]’s alone. Absolutely not possible.”

“We made too many mistakes. Real Madrid punished us every time tonight,” lamented Jordan Henderson to BT Sport. “It’s difficult to come here and speak. Yes, they have a lot of quality. When you’re not 100% defending they punish you… The second goal obviously is a mistake. The third we’ll be disappointed with. That’s when the game went away from us.”

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Jesse Marsch saved his job by doing the near-impossible: winning at Anfield

Leeds desperately needed a win, but this wasn’t the game they expected to get it

Jesse Marsch needed a victory to save his Leeds job, but this probably wasn’t the game he had circled on his calendar.

Leeds stunned Liverpool 2-1 at Anfield on Saturday, the club’s first league win since August 21 and a result that got them out of the relegation zone.

There were better chances to get three points for Marsch in an eight-game winless league run: last week against Fulham and the previous week at Leicester come to mind as recent examples.

But both of those games ended in defeat, with Leeds fans calling for Marsch’s head and chanting for his predecessor Marcelo Bielsa. It was getting ugly.

Liverpool, for all intents and purposes, doesn’t lose at home. Its last home defeat prior to Saturday was in March 2021. Before that, the club had a 68-game unbeaten home run snapped in January 2021.

But Crysencio Summerville scored a dramatic winner in the 89th minute in front of the away fans, giving Marsch a stay of execution. He was pretty happy.

It’s hard to blame him. Leeds was on a rotten run of results but has actually been playing fairly respectfully. The club actually had a +1.4 expected goals difference heading into the game at Anfield, suggesting it would soon start getting the rub of the green.

On Saturday that luck finally arrived, though it did take an absolutely massive performance from goalkeeper Illan Meslier and a fluky early goal from Rodrigo Moreno, who was given an empty-net tap-in thanks to a mix-up between Joe Gomez and Alisson.

“I’ve believed in this group,” Marsch told Sky Sports after the game. “We shouldn’t be in this situation if you look at the metrics, but we are. Now we’ve got something like this and now we have to stay strong.”

Whatever criticism you could level at Marsch, it’s clear that his players are still playing for him. With that and a little more luck, he could just keep his job for the long term.

Watch Summerville’s winner at Liverpool

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Diogo Jota is the latest casualty as World Cup injury season arrives

The Liverpool star will be out several months in a blow to Portugal’s World Cup hopes

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has confirmed Diogo Jota will miss the World Cup for Portugal with a serious calf muscle injury.

“It’s really not good news about Diogo,” Klopp said on Tuesday. “Yes, he will miss the World Cup. [It’s a] pretty serious injury in the calf muscle and now the recovery process starts.”

Jota was stretchered off against Manchester City over the weekend, and Klopp said the winger basically knew at that moment that his World Cup dreams had ended.

“I think he knew it when we carried him off the pitch,” Klopp said.

“We passed each other after the game and he explained pretty much what had happened. I think he knew it was a serious one and could be pretty impactful for his World Cup dreams.”

On the length of Jota’s absence, Klopp added: “We talk about months.”

Jota’s absence will be a blow for Portugal, which has been drawn into Group H at the World Cup along with Ghana, Uruguay and South Korea.

The 25-year-old has earned 29 caps for Portugal since making his debut in 2019, scoring 10 goals.

His injury will also be a warning for players as the World Cup creeps to within one month of kickoff. Any injury now, even a relatively minor one, could seriously impact a player’s World Cup dreams.

As club fixtures pile up, the reality is there will be more players like Jota. Here’s hoping the list won’t be too long.

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Rangers’ USMNT pair gets good view as Mo Salah scores record-breaking Champions League hat trick

It’s probably for the best that Sands and Tillman didn’t play in this one

Maybe Rangers should have put James Sands and Malik Tillman in?

Liverpool had a very rare sort of comeback win in the Champions League Wednesday, turning a 1-0 deficit into a 7-1 victory thanks in no small part to Mohamed Salah scoring a hat trick in all of six minutes and 12 seconds.

Rangers scored their first group stage goal in the 17th minute to take the lead at Ibrox, and though Roberto Firmino replied seven minutes later, the Scottish club — with both Sands and Tillman on the bench — got into halftime with the scores level.

Unfortunately for Rangers, the referees and Liverpool decided to play the second half rather than simply letting everyone go home early. Firmino struck again in the 55th minute, followed by a goal from Darwin NĂșñez, as Liverpool looked to be cruising to a win.

However, things were about to get worse for Rangers. Salah hadn’t even entered the game at that point, only entering the fray to replace NĂșñez after the Uruguayan had finished celebrating his goal.

With the clock reading 74:43, Salah took his first step towards a new Champions League record, stabbing a left-footed shot past Allan McGregor from an acute angle to make it 4-1.

The Egyptian star then added Liverpool’s fifth in the 80th minute, with a sneaky shot that used the scrambling Rangers defense as a screen. 96 seconds later, he had his hat trick, characteristically curling home from the right side of the box as the clock ticked over to 80:55.

Salah broke BafĂ©timbi Gomis’ 11-year-old record, as the French striker had scored an eight-minute hat trick for Lyon against Dinamo Zagreb back in 2011.

For Rangers, who ended up not putting Sands or Tillman into the match at all, it’s been a rough return to the Champions League. They are one of two teams to have lost all four of their matches, and Viktoria Plzen’s -13 goal difference in Group C is slightly better than the -15 mark Rangers has in Group A.

Watch Salah make Champions League history

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