For Liverpool, their season hangs on finishing in the top four of the Premier League.
Jurgen Klopp’s side are 5-2 down to Real Madrid in their last-16 Champions League tie and seem destined to exit the tournament after the second leg later this month. It has been a tough campaign for Liverpool, but a top-four spot would offer some consolation.
For Liverpool, their season hangs on finishing in the top four of the Premier League.
Jurgen Klopp’s side are 5-2 down to Real Madrid in their last-16 Champions League tie and seem destined to exit the tournament after the second leg later this month. It has been a tough campaign for Liverpool, but a top-four spot would offer some consolation.
The Brazil international, 23, has divided opinion since his £85million transfer from Ajax last summer. He has scored some big goals for Erik ten Hag’s side – most notably the winner against Barcelona in the Europa League – but consistency has been an issue.
Antony has scored just six goals in 26 appearances for United. His showboating has also angered fans and pundits, with Red Devils icon Paul Scholes calling him a “clown” after a trick went wrong in a Europa League tie last November.
Despite this, Antony remains one of the most admired youngsters in Europe. It is believed a number of clubs were interested in signing him last summer, but his preference was to join his former Ajax manager Ten Hag at Old Trafford to continue his development.
Liverpool’s alleged interest in Antony emerged after he was sent off against Feyenoord last March. The Brazilian scored a late winner and took his shirt off, which earned him a yellow card. He then picked up another booking in the dying seconds of the game.
Antony’s actions left pundit Rene van der Gijp bemused. He told Vadaag Inside, “Suppose we are in the stands together as a scout for Manchester City or Liverpool… and we are looking at Antony, what do you think we would say when we come back on Monday?
“We will not take that. You don’t see a Serge Gnabry, Leroy Sane or Mohamed Salah doing this. Then you can say, ‘He is young’. But it can also get crazier.”
Fellow ex-professional Wim Kieft added, “He is not that young anymore, because he has been doing this for two years. Such a boy cannot be calmed by a coach, in the end.
“Ten Hag will of course never say that Antony behaves like an idiot, but he thinks so. In general, this behaviour is addressed in the locker room. Then someone says, ‘Hey, what are you doing?’”
Antony will frustrate Ten Hag at times – there is no doubt about that. But when he is at his best, he is a genuine match-winner. Liverpool will remain in the top-four race regardless of Sunday’s result, yet a humbling display from the Brazilian is not what Klopp needs right now. The Liverpool boss must ensure Antony’s box of tricks stays closed.
It’s been a pretty rotten campaign for Liverpool and Jurgen Klopp – but the Reds could go some way to making amends with a positive result against bitter rivals Manchester United this weekend.
Liverpool host the Red Devils at Anfield on Sunday and could put a major spanner in United’s Premier League title hopes with a positive result, but Erik ten Hag’s side are on a high after ending a six-year trophy drought and will be aiming to complete a league double after winning the reverse fixture earlier in the season.
Trent Alexander-Arnold believes that a lack of consistency has been behind Liverpool’s struggles this term ahead of Sunday’s crunch clash with Manchester United.
The Reds came within a whisker of completing an unprecedented quadruple last season but have struggled this year; the Premier League title is already beyond them and they face an early elimination from the Champions League after a 5-2 drubbing at the hands of Real Madrid in the first leg of their last-16 tie.
Alexander-Arnold, however, is adamant that there is nothing sinister linked to Liverpool’s struggles this year – and that it’s simply a case of his side needing to be more consistent.
Liverpool forward Diogo Jota has stuck the boot in on Manchester United ahead of Sunday’s mouth-watering showdown at Anfield.
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Jota has missed a lot of the campaign through injury but is fit and available to lead the line for Jurgen Klopp’s side this weekend.
And the Portuguese international has ramped up the pressure on United after insisting they can’t afford to drop points against the Reds if they are serious title contenders.
Roberto Firmino is set to bring the curtain down on his Liverpool career in the summer – but the the Brazilian striker is refusing to entertain any negotiations with top clubs right now.
The 31-year-old is due to be a free agent at the end of the season and has informed the Reds that, like his former striker partner Sadio Mane, he will be leaving the club at the end of the season in order to pursue a new challenge.
Firmino is free to discuss terms with interested clubs from overseas now. However, the former Hoffenheim man wants to put discussions over his future on the back-burner in a bid to rediscover his top form before bowing out in May.