By Leo Rutherford 

The following is a guest article by the aforementioned author and is not necessarily representative of opinions held by anyone at Empire of the Kop…

The Reds conducted a major overhaul in their engine room over the summer transfer window, with five Anfield long-stays preceding the four new arrivals of Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai, Ryan Gravenberch and Wataru Endo. Jürgen Klopp publicly admitted that he felt that “it was time” to transform the middle of the park from the oldest midfield in the Premier League to one of the youngest, and the success of ‘Liverpool 2.0’ thus far has certainly been epitomised by their renewed energy in this area of the pitch.

Liverpool recouped north of £50m for the departing Fabinho and Henderson, whilst Milner, Oxlade-Chamberlain and Keita parted ways at the end of their respective contracts. The quintet were, of course, prominent members of a high-flying side that delivered the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup etc., yet their roles would diminish by the end of last season.

Injury woes in this department are nothing new for a side who have suffered greatly from availability crises in recent seasons; young duo Fabio Carvalho and Harvey Elliot were even thrown into the deep end in last season’s away Merseyside Derby. Significantly, the Reds’ new Hungarian number 8 has already doubled the total combined Premier League minutes that Keita and Oxlade-Chamberlain registered last season, also boasting just two hundred fewer minutes to his name than the total of Thiago in the entirety of the previous campaign.

Thus far, Liverpool’s new-look midfield has been the necessary glue between a free-flowing attacking force and a tight defensive unit which has shipped the joint least goals in the division (10), as Klopp’s side sit just one point behind table toppers Manchester City. Let’s take a closer look at how such a transformation has been made possible…

Defensive midfield

Cries for the Reds to bolster their virtually non-existent holding midfield options were as loud as ever in the summer, but the manner in which the problem was addressed was certainly unconventional. Brazilian star Fabinho had reached extraordinary heights in Liverpool red as he elevated himself to the world’s greatest in the position at one stage, being named in the UEFA Champions League team of the season in 2021-22. Yet, the now-Al Ittihad midfielder’s rapid decline in the final twelve months of his tenure was brutal enough to lead to a total rethink in the #6 position behind the walls at the AXA.

The £35m acquisition of Alexis Mac Allister from Brighton back in June led to discourse surrounding whether the World Cup winner could add goals to the Liverpool midfield. Instead, the 24-year-old has begun his Anfield tenure in a deeper area of the pitch, predominantly featuring behind Dominik Szoboszlai and Curtis Jones in the midfield three. 37% of Mac Allister’s minutes on the south coast came as a number six under Graham Potter and Roberto De Zerbi, so it’s certainly not a totally unfamiliar adjustment for the Argentine to make.

Graphic via Sky Sports

The tricky midfielder possesses a wholly different skillset to the mainstays in the DM position from recent years, most notably Fabinho and Henderson. Anfield scouts will have been alerted to Mac Allister’s impressive press-resistance which led to him recording the fourth lowest turnover rate out of all Premier League midfielders last season, being one of the main creative outlets in a possession-comfy De Zerbi team. The former Brighton man has certainly at least brought considerably more on-ball security to the table, despite the clear defensive deficiencies.

Graphic created via DataMB tool. Mac Allister 23/24 (blue) vs Fabinho 22/23 (green)

The data certainly supports this view – Mac Allister’s arrival has led to a stark improvement in possession, but is of course led by his predecessor in terms of individual duels. The remarkable disparity between the two in the progressive carries and progressive passes department visualises Liverpool’s idea to utilise a player with immense technical security deeper in the pitch, to effortlessly progress play and break the lines. An ability to carry the ball twenty to thirty yards up the pitch from deep is an invaluable asset for a team, and is evidently a much more consistent aspect of Mac Allister’s game than Fabinho’s.

Eyebrows were certainly raised across the football world when 30-year-old Japan international Wataru Endo traded a Bundesliga relegation dogfight with Stuttgart for the glamour of Liverpool. The failure to land key summer targets Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia clearly led to a rethink in strategy, after which a more traditional and aggressive option was snapped up in Endo.

As expected, the new acquisition has started in all four of the opening Europa League clashes, but has also found his name in the starting eleven of a Premier League team sheet twice, in the absence of suspended seniors. Indisputably, Endo displayed his most complete performance in a Liverpool shirt in the 5-1 hammering of Toulouse: registering a goal, five tackles, three interceptions and two key passes.

Endo’s defensive action map in the recent 3-0 home victory against Brentford.

Right central midfield

The decision for long-serving captain Jordan Henderson to depart was seemingly an event that no one at the club had anticipated, but the Reds have coped just fine in his absence. RB Leipzig star Dominik Szoboszlai’s £60m release clause was triggered in July, and neither he nor Liverpool have looked back since.

Dubbed the ‘complete midfielder’ that hasn’t been present in the Anfield ranks since the legendary Steven Gerrard, Szoboszlai has proved his worth as an all-action midfielder with the genuine ability to dictate the game at his spectacular best. Two stunning piledrivers against Aston Villa and Leicester City have provided hope that the Hungarian can become the first Liverpool midfielder to register double figures in the goal charts since Phillipe Coutinho in 2017/18, with the goalscoring numbers plummeting hugely in this department since the Brazilian’s departure.

Despite his clear contributions in the pinnacle years of the Klopp era, the former Reds skipper endured one of the toughest seasons of his spell at the club last season, on the right of the midfield three. Defensively, the ageing Henderson struggled to maintain the strong engine required to cover for the offensive Trent Alexander-Arnold, and, offensively, there was a scarce amount of creativity or precision in his attempts to create chances in his final season in Merseyside.

Graph created using MCLach Bot

It’s perhaps unsurprising to learn that Hungary have gone 12 matches unbeaten, the longest current streak in European international football, since the 23-year-old was appointed as captain. His capacity to break the lines and unlock defences has paid dividends for Liverpool so far, creating countless chances for the record-breaking Mo Salah who has relished the early months of his time spent with the new-look midfield. For a large portion of last season, the Reds’ midfield was often labelled as ‘sluggish’ and ‘predictable’; two traits which certainly cannot be attributed to the in-form Hungarian.

The very best of Szoboszlai was unleashed in last month’s comfortable home victory over Nottingham Forest, where he registered two assists and four key passes, as well as the typically reliable off-the-ball performance.

Left central midfield

Dutch youth international Ryan Gravenberch was a player on Liverpool’s radar for a number of years before his switch to Bayern Munich on a free last summer, but the 21-year-old was quickly discarded in Bavaria by Thomas Tuchel. A £34m deal to bring the midfielder to Anfield was agreed on Deadline Day despite late drama surrounding Bayern’s inability to sign replacement target Joao Palhinha from Fulham.

When fit, Thiago has certainly added another dimension or two to his role on the left of the two ‘eight’ roles, and evolved Liverpool’s midfield into a more technically secure unit.

Gravenberch’s remarkable athleticism has undoubtedly made a difference in the middle of the park in his opening appearances this season, but it’s his on-ball prowess that provided a very welcome surprise for Liverpool supporters this season. The summer arrival possesses great ball-carrying talent, can break the lines with his incisive passing and dribbling, whilst being able to comfortably drop into the No.6 position to progress the play from deep. Already, Gravenberch’s profile has attracted premature comparisons to the likes of Yaya Toure and Paul Pogba for his elegance on the ball despite being one of the tallest midfielders in the Premier League.

Goals against Union Saint-Gilloise and Toulouse in the Europa League have served as a breath of fresh air for a side who have deeply struggled for goals from the centre of the pitch for a number of years. It shouldn’t come as a surprise, however, as the youngster was averaging 2.73 shot-creating actions per 90 during his time in the Eredivisie; most of the Dutchman’s tenure was spent playing in a double pivot under Erik Ten Hag.

Comparison graph – Ryan Gravenberch (blue) vs Curtis Jones (red). 2023/24 stats, created using MCLach Bot

Before the contentious red card offence in September’s defeat at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Curtis Jones was relishing his opportunity as a mainstay on the left of Liverpool’s midfield three. Jones had unarguably turned a corner when presented with a regular advanced midfield role in the starting lineup towards the end of last season, coinciding with an upturn in results as the Reds ended the season unbeaten in their last 11 Premier League games. Healthy competition is beneficial for every successful team, and Liverpool finally seem to have that in abundance this season.

As shown in the data, the 22-year-old Scouser holds up fairly well in most metrics against the newly arriving Gravenberch, yet there are notable differences in terms of chance creation and progressive dribbling. The Dutchman leads in ball-carrying as well as both key and progressive passing, reaffirming his rare technical profile for a player of his size. Inevitably, there are areas of Gravenberch’s name which still need to be ironed out; he is averaging almost double the amount of turnovers as Jones this season – perhaps emphasising the need to be safer in possession on occasions.

On the defensive end, the capped Netherlands midfielder naturally leads Jones in most metrics due to his years of experience playing in a double pivot, boasting impressive interception and aerial numbers. However, and perhaps surprisingly, it is the young Englishman who holds the considerably higher percentage of dribblers tackled as he continues to evolve from a left-sided attacking academy prodigy to a technically safe all-action midfielder with the total trust of the manager, as it would seem.

In short, despite some noticeable shortfalls in defending transitions, Liverpool’s transformed midfield is performing exceptionally stronger than that of last season, where the Reds recorded their lowest league finish since 2015-16. The talented Spanish pair of Stefan Bajcetic and Thiago Alcantara are yet to feature for the Reds in the Premier League this season, and yet Klopp’s side find themselves in a position with genuine aspirations of their 20th title. Whether another defensive-minded midfielder enters the doors of the AXA Training Centre in January remains to be seen, but the once inescapable plethora of rumours surrounding the potential signing of Andre Trindade from Fluminense have certainly dissolved since the Copa Libertadores final.

The post GUEST: A deep dive into Liverpool’s midfield transformation appeared first on The Empire of The Kop.

Jarell Quansah had England caps at every level from U16 to U20 before this season started… He captained Liverpool’s team in the UEFA Youth League and was an automatic starter for us in successful youth teams since his arrival in 2008.

Yet, for some reason, there was little or no hype. No fans were hoping Jurgen Klopp would give him minutes this term. There was no clamour for his promotion to the first-team. Quansah had a fairly mundane loan spell at Bristol Rovers in League One last season under Joey Barton, where he didn’t always start.

There was an incident with a red-card in which Quansah was criticised by an opponent for his recklessness.

Joe Morrell told BBC Radio Solent: “I’ve got up. Maybe he’s started a bit and he’s headbutted me. I think it’s probably [worth] two red cards.

“I haven’t made a tackle like that in my career and I certainly wouldn’t do that.”

Despite then Bristol Rovers manager Barton taking him in and out of the side, he did have big words of praise for the towering defender, which surprised many given the average performances.

“Jarell’s been excellent since he’s come in, he’s gone away with England and done well with them, got a goal and he’s come back and it looks like he’s figured out how to head the ball.

“He would probably be our top scorer if he’d had known that before,” he said in March, cited by TIA.

During the summer, Liverpool fans desperately wanted the club to sanction a deal for a new centre-back, but they refused and that decision has actually allowed Quansah minutes in the cup competitions.

So far, he’s played two full games in the EFL Cup and four in the Europa League. He’s had one start in the Premier League and come off the bench in three more to shore up matches. Without exaggeration, Quansah hasn’t put a foot wrong.

Strong, fast and imposing, he has the physical traits required of any elite centre-half, but he backs it up with composure and technical skills on the ball. It’s obviously a silly comparison right now, but aesthetically, he passes the ball like Virgil van Dijk with his relaxed gait and effortless side-footed balls into midfield.

His performance on Thursday night against LASK was again, faultless. Check out the highlights of his outing in the video, below. His passing and interceptions are good, but I especially like the recovery pace and timing of the last ditch tackles you see in the second-half.

Liverpool will always give other teams chances due to our ultra-attacking style, so you need defenders and goalkeepers who can get you out of jail when big moments arrive. He did exactly that.

Quansah vs Lask pic.twitter.com/9YfwhBTGUg

— 1947 (@1947production) November 30, 2023

Klopp was very keen to laud Quansah post-match and spoke about his new defender in length, referencing the decision not to buy a centre-back before the season as a good one.

“For us it was absolutely perfect. Jarell played a super game,” Klopp said, cited by Anfield Watch.

“There couldn’t be better news for the club, to be honest. Before this season, people told us we should buy a centre-half. We knew we had Jarell. Did we know that he would show up like this? Not exactly, but we were pretty hopeful. So the future’s bright. He is our own boy, calm on the ball, good in the challenges, quick, ruthless in the right moments.

“Besides Caoimh he had the most spectacular defensive situations when he saved our backside in some moments, so that’s really top news for us.”

“That couldn’t be better news for the club, to be honest. I think before this season a lot of people told us we should buy a centre-half. “We knew we had Jarell. Did we know that he will show up like this? No, not exactly, but we were pretty hopeful, so the future is bright. “It’s cool. Our own boy, calm on the ball, good in the challenge, quick, ruthless in the right moments and besides Caoimhin, who had one or two saves, [he] probably had the most spectacular defensive situations when he saved our backside in some moments. So, that’s really good. [It’s] top news for us.”

The great thing about our defensive situation is that it’s not only Quansah who is playing above expectations.

Joel Matip is enjoying a brilliant season. So much so, he’s arguably climbed above Ibrahima Konate in the pecking order, who himself hasn’t done anything wrong other than picking up a few niggling injuries.

Van Dijk is back to his absolute best, which helps tenfold. The Dutchman is oozing the confidence that made him stand head and shoulders above any centre-back on the planet and is clearly relishing the full-time captaincy.

Joe Gomez is showing he can play the inverted right-back position but also cover in central defence, too. What a squad player he is, capable of both.

Even at fullback, Kostas Tsimikas has found form while deputising for Andy Robertson.

With our attack always firing and our midfield finding its feet, should Liverpool find a way to become ultra-solid defensively, we really do have a chance in all four competitions this season.

Klopp will prioritise the Premier League, but don’t be surprised to see the Reds pick up at least one cup, too, with Quansah likely to be in the side for any run.

The post Editor’s Column: Jarell Quansah, from League One head-butt to Liverpool’s next centre-back superstar appeared first on The Empire of The Kop.

The worry which was etched across Jurgen Klopp’s face during stoppage time in Liverpool’s 1-1 draw at Manchester City on Saturday may well have masked an underlying sense of enormous relief.

Along with every Reds supporter, the manager was grimacing at the sight of Alisson Becker grasping his hamstring in obvious discomfort, playing through the pain barrier to help see out a deserved point for his team.

We’ve yet to discover the full extent of any injury the 31-year-old may have incurred, but there have been educated suggestions that he may have played his last match of 2023.

There might be only 34 days left in the calendar year (including today), but the trouble is that Liverpool play nine more times before New Year’s revellers blast out Auld Lang Syne.

While watching Alisson struggle through the final few minutes at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday, Klopp might also have been thanking himself over his stance on Caoimhin Kelleher during the summer.

READ MORE: Phil Thompson salutes ‘perfect call’ from Klopp as Liverpool duo lead notable in-house change

READ MORE: (Video) Dominik Szoboszlai had a warm greeting for one Liverpool player during surprise visit

Klopp could easily have sold Kelleher in the summer

It would’ve been no great surprise if the Republic of Ireland international moved on from Anfield during the off-season, with his Brazilian teammate a virtually immovable object in the starting XI and other Premier League clubs reportedly showing an interest in our number 62.

The Cork native is no longer a prodigious youngster who can afford to think long-term. He turned 25 last Thursday, the same age at which Alisson joined Liverpool and slightly older than Steven Gerrard was when he captained the club to Champions League glory in 2005.

His status as second choice on Merseyside was also hampering him at international level, with Gavin Bazunu starting all eight of Ireland’s Euro 2024 qualifiers despite playing in the Championship with Southampton. However, ‘playing’ is the word on which emphasis is to be placed.

It would’ve been impossible to begrudge Kelleher a move away from the Reds, such was Alisson’s unshakable status as number one, but the top-heavy workload that elite clubs must negotiate in the modern era has made football more of a squad game than ever before.

The Irishman will always get opportunities at Liverpool, particularly this season with the Europa League the continental diet being served up at Anfield, but he now looks set to be thrust into the limelight to a more sustained degree.

His tally of senior Reds appearances is only one greater than his age, but the 25-year-old has never let Klopp down when given the nod to start.

Klopp’s praise for ‘exceptional’ Kelleher

His clean sheet record is 10 out of 26 (38.5%), with Alisson’s clocking in at 108 out of 245 (44.1%), via Transfermarkt. No goalkeeper in Liverpool’s history has made more saves in penalty shoot-outs, with Kelleher making numerous vital contributions en route to our Carabao Cup triumph in 2022.

It was after that final against Chelsea that Klopp dubbed the Irishman ‘the best number-two goalie in the world’, also labelling him ‘exceptional‘ following his latest bout of penalty heroics in that competition against Derby County just over a year ago.

It’s a testament to the 25-year-old’s attitude that while he’s been prepared to leave Liverpool in search for more regular action rather than simply coasting as a backup ‘keeper, he’s never publicly moaned about being kept out of the starting XI by his Brazilian teammate for several years.

Goalkeepers know that they can often go for months without playing unless an opportunity presents itself through a colleague getting injured or suspended, but always need to be ready to step in at any moment incase the window to a starting berth opens.

With Alisson now looking set for a spell on the sidelines, Reds fans can take comfort in knowing that the very capable Kelleher is ready and waiting to come into the team.

With no disrespect intended to Adrian, he wouldn’t inspire the same confidence if he’d been first in line to replace the Brazilian, with flashbacks to those horrific performances against Atletico Madrid and Aston Villa in 2020 still likely to give Kopites nightmares.

Klopp made the right call

Klopp and Liverpool made it clear during the summer that they’d no intention of selling the Ireland international, unless a massive bid came in to persuade them otherwise.

It’s a stance that the manager – and indeed many Reds supporters – must be delighted he took, and he’ll now feel vindicated for recognising Kelleher’s true value to the squad, when other bosses or clubs could well have blinked and cashed in on the 25-year-old.

EOTK FPL Gameweek 13 Review : Trippier OUT & Zinchenko IN? Gordon the ultimate differential? Haaland & Salah must-haves

The post Klopp will now feel vindicated over ‘exceptional’ Liverpool summer transfer call – opinion appeared first on The Empire of The Kop.

The two best teams in the country will play each other on Saturday lunchtime, in a match which will see the victor top the Premier League table and put down a marker for the season.

Liverpool have dropped silly points at Luton and Brighton, while being robbed at Spurs, but are still in a very strong position, thanks largely to our unrivalled home form.

Manchester City look ominous. They’re top of the table with their best player Kevin de Bruyne injured, but they have a few top players also racing to get fit for for the blockbuster clash.

Ederson, Rodri and Erling Haaland missed their national teams’ fixtures due to fitness concerns, but no doubt Pep Guardiola was exaggerating the extent of their issues so he could get them a rest before our trip to the Etihad.

Liverpool’s players scored goals and shone during the international break, but played lots of football. Trent Alexander-Arnold, Darwin Nunez, Virgil van Dijk, Alisson, Alexis Mac Allister, Dom Szoboszlai and Diogo Jota all played twice, much to Jurgen Klopp’s likely annoyance.

Hopefully our South Americans will be ready… Nunez, Mac Allister and Alisson all played in the hours of Wednesday morning and will only have one session on Friday before the game.

Tactically, Klopp needs to win the transition battle with City, who are lethal when the ball is turned over. They have pace down the flanks and Jeremy Doku will be hoping to exploit the space Alexander-Arnold leaves at right-back when he drifts into midfield. Haaland is obviously lethal and will be constantly running in behind to exploit a line which will is always high, no matter where or who we’re playing.

City though will also deploy a high-line and our best chance to create chances is by using the pace of Nunez in behind. The Uruguayan is flying at the moment. He scored three times for his country and is oozing confidence. He was Liverpool’s best player last time out versus Brentford, registering an assist and having two goals disallowed. It’s admirable how he’s got over the open-goal miss against Luton, which was a real shocker.

Nunez is extremely fast and physical. Salah’s creativity will provide him opportunities to run, with Trent also capable of putting in longer balls past the defence, too.

It’ll be interesting to see who Klopp picks on the left. Jota has been in better form than Cody Gakpo or Luis Diaz and is the best finisher of the three. He can fight and press, which may be beneficial, but rest assured, all five will feature at some point.

That’s the benefit of having five elite attackers. Klopp is spoiled and our offensive options are potentially the best of any side in Europe. They complement each other well. Diaz needs to return to his swashbuckling, dribbling best, when he loved taking on the right-back and Nunez needs to get better at finishing his easier chances – but there really isn’t much to complain about.

It’ll be interesting who Klopp picks in midfield. Hopefully Curtis Jones will be fit and can take his place alongside Mac Allister and Szoboszlai. That is our best midfield right now. Gravenberch is also hoping to be fit, but whoever Klopp picks will be a slight risk given the intensity of the game and the fact they’re coming off the back off injuries. Wataru Endo simply hasn’t got the pace or ball-retention skills to anchor the midfield against City, while Harvey Elliott has proved himself to be a brilliant sub but not yet a consistent starter.

Kostas Tsimikas will keep his place at left-back, you’d assume, with either Joel Matip or the hopefully returning Ibou Konate alongside van Dijk.

We’ll need the Dutchman at his very best to deal with Haaland’s strength and movement. This season, van Dijk has been the best centre-back in the Premier League and it’s fantastic to see how confident he looks again. At his best, nobody comes close.

As always, we may need Alisson to pull off a few saves in one-on-one situations, as even at our vest best, Klopp’s Liverpool teams always give up a few chances.

It’s going to be a belter. Strap yourselves in, Reds.

The post Editor’s Column: Liverpool must counter-attack v Manchester City and take chances when they come appeared first on The Empire of The Kop.

Liverpool resume their Premier League campaign on Saturday with a trip to the Etihad Stadium to face leaders and reigning champions Manchester City, in what promises to be their toughest test of the season so far.

The Reds go into the game just one point off the summit and will go top if they can get the better of Pep Guardiola’s side, in turn also laying down a serious marker as to their title aspirations for 2023/24.

A look at sports betting in the UK with Betiton shows that these two are prime candidates to go on and lift the trophy next May, and LFC fans have plenty of reasons to believe that Jurgen Klopp’s side can triumph when all is said and done.

READ MORE: Liverpool act to avoid repeat of September scenario as Reds quartet battle the clock to face City

READ MORE: Liverpool plot January raid for ‘elite’ £52m gem who’s keen on Premier League move

Fortress Anfield

Liverpool have a 100% record on home soil this season not just in the Premier League, but across all competitions, emerging victorious in each of their nine games so far at Anfield in 2023/24.

Incredibly, barring a freak six-game losing streak during the behind-closed-doors campaign three years ago, the Reds have lost just once on home turf in the top flight since April 2017 – an extraordinary consistency which gives them a genuine chance of going all the way.

That is, if they can improve upon a patchy away record which hasn’t seen them win on the road in the Premier League since beating Wolves at Molineux in mid-September.

The Egyptian King

Whoever is responsible for rejecting Al-Ittihad’s £150m offer for Mo Salah in early September can’t be thanked enough.

The Egyptian has been consistently excellent for Liverpool ever since joining the Reds in 2017, but even by his standards he’s having an exceptional impact this term, with 12 goals and four assists in 17 matches.

A return of seven goals in his last five Premier League games highlights just how pivotal he is to Klopp’s side.

He’s our centre-half…

Virgil van Dijk was getting pelters left, right and centre throughout last season, but since the summer he’s looked a man reborn.

In a throwback to his 2018-2020 prime, he’s yet to be dribbled past once in the Premier League this term, despite playing for every minute aside from the portion of the win at Newcastle when he was sent off, and the subsequent game for which he was suspended.

The Dutchman is back to his imperious best, taking to the club captaincy like a duck to water. It’s no wonder Liverpool currently have the division’s joint-best defensive record with him marshalling operations.

Enviable squad depth

Players like Salah and Van Dijk are undoubtedly pivotal, but unlike in previous years, there’s a sense that Liverpool could change more than half of their starting line-up without greatly weakening it.

Think of the decisions Klopp could make if he’d a fully fit squad at his disposal. Ibrahima Konate, Joel Matip, Joe Gomez or Jarell Quansah to partner the captain at centre-back? Darwin Nunez or Cody Gakpo at centre-forward? Luis Diaz or Diogo Jota on the left?

As for midfield, a trio of Alexis Mac Allister, Ryan Gravenberch and Dominik Szoboszlai could easily be rotated for Thiago Alcantara, Curtis Jones and Harvey Elliott, and that’s before we even mention Wataru Endo and Stefan Bajcetic.

Meanwhile, Caoimhin Kelleher would walk into most starting line-ups in the Premier League. He’s mightily unfortunate to have the world-class Alisson Becker in front of him at Anfield.

New-found belief

Liverpool have made a frustrating habit of conceding first in games this season, but they’ve also made a much more encouraging habit of recovering from adversity to come out on top, or at least salvage a point.

Go back to 2022/23 and, for much of the campaign, the Reds seemed to fold when falling behind, particularly if it were to an early goal. Contrast that to now, and the self-belief which has seen them score crucial late goals against the likes of Newcastle, Wolves and Luton.

There’s also been plenty of games where LFC have dominated with ease, with wins over Aston Villa, Toulouse, Nottingham Forest and Brentford displaying a conviction which was often lacking last season.

10 games in 33 days: Liverpool’s title credentials set to be put to the test during relentless round-off to 2023

The post Five reasons why Liverpool can win the 2023/24 Premier League appeared first on The Empire of The Kop.

Remember a few years back, during our title season, when Mo Salah refused to square to Sadio Mane against Burnley?

Mane was raging and kicked off on the touchline. Then, in the tunnel while walking into the dressing room, Roberto Firmino smirked at the camera as our two brilliant wingers blanked each other. It made a great viral clip, but actually, it never mattered that Salah and Mane weren’t very close… That season we romped the title. Their rivalry actually spurred each other on, even if there were some awkward moments between the pair. It may well have resulted in Mane’s eventual exit, which was sad and unexpectedly unemotional, but his subsequent failure at Bayern Munich proved it was a smart Liverpool sale.

Throughout their entire time together, Mane assisted Salah 13 times. Salah assisted Mane 17 times, slightly more often, but not an enormous amount considering the goals both scored and the fact they were basically ever-present for five seasons together.

Darwin Nunez, in one season and a bit, has assisted Salah nine times already. In fact, every one of Nunez’s assists has been to his partner in crime. Salah has made two goals for Nunez, but it would likely be plenty more if Darwin didn’t have such a habit of missing sitters!

But I’d much rather focus on the positives. Opta state that Salah and Nunez have made more chances for each other (19) than any other duo in the Premier League this season.

They clearly have a good relationship off the pitch and there seems to be no issue between the pair in terms of who’s scoring more. Salah and Mane were in a silent battle to be considered the main man, whereas there is obvious hierarchy now with Salah above all the other attackers in Liverpool’s roster in terms of age, status, productivity and ability. This suits Mo. He likes playing with Nunez and the Uruguayan’s immense physicality benefits Salah’s creative attributes.

The Egyptian, who has lost some of his pace, likes now to cut in from his right-wing and play intricate through-balls or lofted passes behind the defence. Nunez can run onto these thanks to his incredible speed and the pair seem to have a an increasingly telepathic relationship, where Nunez begins his run early and Salah knows where he’s heading. Salah used to be a cold-blooded goalscorer first, second and third, but while he’s still an insanely good finisher, he seems more happy to make chances for team-mates than simply get himself into the box. His evolution will see him remain world-class for many years to come.

Nunez is not world-class yet. He simply lacks the composure in front of goal to be regarded as one of the best, but his overall contribution is so, so much better than last season.

His pressing has gone through the roof and his work-rate is arguably the best of any of our attackers. Jurgen Klopp made sure to voice this after our 3-0 win against Brentford, in which Nunez had two goals disallowed.

“Outstanding! Outstanding,’ he said. ‘Everyone can see; look at him how he kept the ball for us, who would have thought he could do that for us last year?” Klopp told the Metro.

“[The] standout was Darwin because Brentford wanted long balls so he started the pressing. [His] work-rate was insane.

“In all the moments we could keep the ball on the ground and we could play football, with Darwin [Nunez] connecting the game for us exceptionally, we were super dangerous,” Klopp added.

Nunez now holds the ball up better, is consistently making great runs and is always involved in our offensive moments. If he had the calmness in front of goal Diogo Jota is currently showing, we’d be talking about one of the best strikers on the planet, but his improvement is enormous and his catalogue of shocking misses demonstrates an ability to be in the right place at the right time, as well a mental-block to score these chances.

Can he change this? Well, he’s learned to hold the ball up from a situation last term where it was bouncing off him, which is surely a trickier task than putting the ball into an open net from six yards out – so I’m holding out hope!

Salah clearly loves playing with Nunez. He provides energy, strength, speed and excitement. He gets his team and the fans going. The relationship between the pair is blossoming and will continue to do so now Nunez has staked his claim as a Premier League starter above Cody Gakpo in the central attacking role.

Gakpo is a lovely player in the buildup and a great option to have, but right now, he’ll have to wait his turn.

Nunez should start against Manchester City after the international break. The fact they’ll play a high-line and dominate possession will actually suit him on the transition. No doubt Salah will provide moments of class to feed his friend, too. It would be a mighty handy time for the 24-year-old to find his finishing boots!

The post Editor’s Column: Mo Salah and Darwin Nunez’s partnership benefits everyone appeared first on The Empire of The Kop.

He’s back. 

It always seemed quite bizarre to throw criticism at the feet of Virgil van Dijk, a player whom many still hold in very high regard even without half a yard of pace.

Squawka’s stats, however, as released on X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday, indicate that Liverpool’s perhaps most valuable asset has returned to the peak of his powers.

It's official, Virgil van Dijk is the best centre-back in the Premier League right now:

◉ Highest duel success (10+ contested)
◉ 0 errors leading to shots
◉ 0 dispossessions
◉ 0 x dribbled past

VVD is back.

— Squawka (@Squawka) November 14, 2023

Remember the days of rival fans praying that it would be their side, their tricky dribbler, who would be the first to worm their way past our Dutch colossus?

READ MORE: The left-footed centre-backs Liverpool should consider signing, according to ChatGPT

READ MORE: Transfer insider confirms Liverpool ready for January bidding war over £25m-£30m defender – report

Just how good is Virgil van Dijk?

Remember the furore over former Arsenal man Nicolas Pepe being the first man to find a way past our No.4 back in 2019 in his last 50 matches in Premier League football?

Utter insanity.

Though Virgil can’t take all the credit for our defensive solidity this term, he’s no doubt a big reason why we’ve maintained the joint-best defensive record in the league alongside Mikel Arteta’s Gunners.

The best centre-back in the league? Without a doubt. The best in the world? We’ll leave that up to you to decide!

EOTK FPL Gameweek 12 Review : Tsimikas benching frustration, Palmer bargain? Time to sell Heung-min Son?

The post Liverpool player isn’t getting credit he deserves as data proves he’s the Premier League’s best – opinion appeared first on The Empire of The Kop.

The third and final international break of the autumn gives Liverpool fans a chance to draw breath and take stock of the Reds’ season so far, before the turbo-charge of 10 games in 32 days once club action resumes.

While many of Jurgen Klopp’s squad are jetting off to represent their countries this week, those remaining on Merseyside will have some welcome down-time, which they may put to use by playing games such as those from Vulkan Vegas.

With roughly a third of the campaign boxed off, let’s review how it’s gone for LFC so far across the three competitions in which they’ve played.

READ MORE: ‘It’s wrong…’ – John Aldridge urges Liverpool to use ‘joke’ situation as ‘motivation’ v Man City

READ MORE: (Video) Darwin Nunez’s tigerish determination saw one opponent floored during Liverpool win

Premier League

Liverpool are in a very healthy position in the Premier League table, sitting just one point behind leaders Manchester City, who they meet next at the Etihad Stadium.

The Reds have 27 points from their first dozen matches, boasting the league’s joint-best defensive record with only 10 goals conceded. That’s 11 points more than we had at the equivalent stage last season, when we were ninth in the table following a 1-2 defeat at home to Leeds.

Six wins out of six at Anfield by an aggregate scoreline of 17-2 have helped to fuel hopes of a prolonged title challenge, but our prospects of being crowned champions are minimal unless we improve upon an away record which has seen us win just two out of six games on the road, and none since mid-September.

City at the Etihad is as tough an assignment as they come, but our three away games in December against Sheffield United, Crystal Palace and Burnley must yield the maximum return of nine points if we’re to be serious about topping the table at the end of the season.

Europa League

Gallingly, an opportunity for Liverpool to wrap up top spot in Group E was squandered last Thursday when they deservedly lost 3-2 to Toulouse. However, the Reds are still well on course to make it into the knockout phase without too much drama.

Victory at home to bottom club LASK in our next game on 30 November would ensure progression, and it’d also seal first place if Toulouse fail to beat Union Saint-Gilloise the same night. Topping the group is paramount, as it’d send us straight into the round of 16 in March, thus avoiding a play-off tie the previous month.

Liverpool’s destiny is in their own hands. Win their final two games and top spot is theirs, irrespective of what happens elsewhere.

Carabao Cup

Liverpool are the only team in the current Premier League top six remaining in the Carabao Cup, which has suddenly opened up as theoretically our easiest route to a trophy this season.

A home tie against West Ham awaits in the quarter-finals, and one of Chelsea or Newcastle will be knocked out at that stage as they face each other.

Klopp will continue to rotate for this competition, especially amid a hectic December, but a much-changed Reds line-up could still get the better of David Moyes’ side, which’d put a late February trip to Wembley within touching distance.

Liverpool’s season won’t be defined by what they do in the Carabao Cup, but the squad will unquestionably have designs on winning it from here.

Anfield Annals: Matt McQueen – the Anfield all-rounder who did everything in 36 years as a Red

The post So far so good for Liverpool this season, but relentless pre-Christmas schedule could be defining appeared first on The Empire of The Kop.

A quick glance at the attack momentum shared between Liverpool and Toulouse clearly illustrates just how abject the former’s performance was.

At least one man can hold his head up high, however, amid a series of disappointing performances from his visiting teammates in France.

Harvey Elliott produced an encouraging display in the middle of the park, winning most of his ground duels – in stark comparison to his fellow midfielders (in stats compiled by Sofascore).

Harvey Elliott’s Toulouse stats

82 touches
86% passing accuracy (51/59)
3/4 dribbles completed
6/8 ground duels won
1 clearance
2 interceptions
2 tackles pic.twitter.com/qiebLVDd8u

— Farrell Keeling (@farrellkeeling) November 9, 2023

READ MORE: Klopp comments spell trouble for £16.2m Liverpool player; being benched is least of his problems

READ MORE: Steve McManaman hammers £11.75m Liverpool player who ‘fell asleep’ during Toulouse clash

Stellar once again, Harvey

Harvey Elliott continues to impress despite having been largely limited to appearances from the bench this term.

There will be disappointment for both Wataru Endo and Alexis Mac Allister, the former of whom failed to showcase his credentials in Europe whilst the latter looked strangely subdued higher up the pitch.

At 20 years of age, however, our young English gem’s surprising maturity for his age continues to shine through.

Nice work, Harvey. At the very least, you’ve probably spared yourself from the manager’s wrath tomorrow morning!

EOTK Insider with Neil Jones: Andre ticks a box, Liverpool have a ‘real top player’ with Kevin De Bruyne gift, unfair treatment of Nunez and much more!

The post 6/8 ground duels; 3/4 dribbles: One Liverpool player untouchable vs Toulouse amid atrocious displays all around him – opinion appeared first on The Empire of The Kop.

Virgil van Dijk was just a few votes away from winning the Balon d’Or ahead of Lionel Messi in 2019. The Dutchman was extremely close to being named the world’s best player – let alone the best defender. The heights he reached during Liverpool’s pomp were unfathomable and probably incomparable. I’ve never seen a centre-back as good as van Dijk was between his arrival at the club and the injury sustained in 2020. He had literally everything. He was better on the ball than any other defender, physically stronger and faster and had an aura about him that literally frightened attackers from going near him.

The Jordan Pickford tackle changed things, however. He was out for 250 days with a cruciate ligament tear and he took time to find rhythm upon his return. He was very good during our pursuit of the quadruple in 2021/22, but still not at his meteoric best. Last season, he was poor and it looked like he was on the beginning of his decline.

Van Dijk was way too passive. He would wait for an opponent to make a mistake instead of defending on the front-foot, which would lead to attackers getting easy shots on goal or putting in crosses unchallenged. This style of defending is based on risk-calculation:

‘The keeper will probably save this effort if I let him have it from this angle, so I won’t risk jumping in and giving a penalty away or making the attacker more space…’

The issue was though that van Dijk simply took it too far, and was allowing attackers freedom to get into the box and shoot far too often and was simply not showing enough aggression or proactivity to snuff out attacks.

Because he’s van Dijk, he was still one of the top four or five centre-backs in the Premier League, but it appeared his aura had diminished. He was getting dribbled past. He was losing aerial battles.

I don’t know what happened during the summer before this season, but a 32-year-old van Dijk now looks as good as ever. He’s turned it around. I hadn’t written him off; he’s van Dijk after all – but it’s not often a player of his age has a poor season and then reverses his decline the campaign after.

Check out this graph from Stats Bomb. The Dutchman has basically been the very best at every aspect of defending this season. He’s in the top percentile of all the important factors, such as aerial win percentage, blocks, tackles, dribbled past, productive passing and winning the ball back. The only sections where he isn’t one of the best is dribbling out, simply because he isn’t asked to do so; and dealing with attackers pressing him (but that’s only because nobody goes near him as they know they won’t get the ball!).

Virgil van Dijk, Liverpool 2023/24

He's back. pic.twitter.com/fPvLRBRB8c

— StatsBomb (@StatsBomb) November 8, 2023

As well as the stats, van Dijk is passing the eye-test as well. He looks more confident in his game and is clearly enjoying being the full-time wearer of the armband. Captaincy suits him. Liverpool have a young team and he’s stepped up in terms of his responsibility off the field, too.

On it, he is oozing that composure that made him unrivalled. His decision making has been spot on again. It might well be that a largely functioning midfield ahead of him is helping matters, but don’t forget, Liverpool are playing without a naturally battling no.6, and Alexis Mac Allister has definitely been guilty of giving the ball away with overly adventurous passing, inviting pressure onto van Dijk and his defenders. Thankfully, we have van Dijk at his imperious best, or we wouldn’t be three points off top in the Premier League and favourites for the two cup competitions we’re in.

Our performance against Luton Town will be used by many as evidence that we won’t win the Premier League. I’m not sure. We did more than enough to win the game – our striker just missed an open goal. If the game went on a few more minutes, we’d have won. But it’s fair to say that we cannot afford to drop points away from home in the manner we’ve done so far. We’ve left four points at Brighton and Luton. The Spurs defeat was a robbery, but that’s not what will cost us the title.

Many fans think Liverpool should enter the transfer market after we drop points, so the news we’re no longer after Andre Trindade has annoyed many. In fairness, we did buy four midfielders in the summer and have Stefan Bajcetic and potentially Thiago coming back, although the latter obviously cannot be relied on despite his brilliance.

I’m not too bothered what happens against Toulouse tonight, so long as we win on Sunday against Brentford, before the two-week wait ahead of the monster clash against Manchester City. Then it’s van Dijk versus Erling Haaland.

The post Editor’s Column: Virgil van Dijk is back – and nobody right now gets close appeared first on The Empire of The Kop.

It’d be fair to say that, for supporters of clubs like Liverpool whose sights are set on challenging for the Premier League title, the Carabao Cup is often regarded as the lowest trophy on the season’s priority list.

Winning it won’t define the legacy of a campaign, nor does an early knockout place any great dampener if other major silverware is secured domestically or in Europe.

However, as with cup competitions in general, teams who make it to the quarter-finals may change their perspective and see a tremendous opportunity opening up in front of them.

That’s most certainly the case for Liverpool and the Carabao Cup this season.

READ MORE: Journalist claims Liverpool-linked midfielder mightn’t extend current deal after ‘chaotic year’

READ MORE: (Video) Arsenal ace names ‘explosive’ Liverpool tank as his toughest-ever Premier League opponent

A roll call of the eight teams remaining in the tournament has some notable absentees. Both Manchester clubs are gone, as are north London rivals Arsenal and Tottenham, along with two of the other top seven in the Premier League in Aston Villa and Brighton.

Indeed, the only other clubs currently in the top half of the uppermost tier of English football who can still win the trophy in February are Newcastle and Chelsea, who face each other in the quarter-finals.

Liverpool are the highest-placed team left in the competition. That doesn’t by any means guarantee they’ll go on to triumph at Wembley – just look at the calibre of teams who’ve already been knocked out – but it does leave them with a glorious opportunity to negotiate only four more matches to have something tangible to show for the season before March begins.

A home tie against West Ham will be a tricky one, but the Reds have done a very good job of finding a way to win matches this term without always being at their free-flowing best. Last week’s hard-fought success at the windswept Vitality Stadium – secured by a stupendous Darwin Nunez goal – was proof positive of that.

The timing of that quarter-final tie could be better from an LFC point of view – it falls between the Premier League showdowns against Manchester United and Arsenal – although the impressive selection of players at Klopp’s disposal should allow him to make a plethora of changes without greatly weakening the starting XI.

Trying to predict the line-up for a match which is still six weeks away is foolhardy at best, but for argument’s sake in assuming that we have a full squad on 20 December aside from the long-term absentees, the Liverpool XI to face West Ham could look something like this:

Kelleher – Gomez, Matip, Quansah, Tsimikas – Endo, Jones, Elliott – Doak, Gakpo, Jota

Obviously there are some big names missing from that hypothetical line-up, but you’d probably still back that team to get the job done against the Irons. Of course, there could also be the likes of Thiago Alcantara, Stefan Bajcetic and Conor Bradley back fit by then.

Without being disingenuous to the other seven teams who could still win the Carabao Cup, Liverpool could legitimately view themselves as the favourites to go all the way at this point. Right now it represents the lowest-hanging fruit in terms of lifting silverware this season, so why not go for it when we’re this close?

Even with the United and Arsenal games on either side of the quarter-final, there’s a strong possibility that the Reds could have first place in their Europa League group sewn up by the time they travel to face Union Saint-Gilloise the previous week.

That’d be Klopp’s perfect opportunity to give all his first-team regulars a night off and ensure he has adequate squad depth to negotiate the pre-Christmas triple header at Anfield.

Liverpool fans, players and management celebrated unreservedly when we won the Carabao Cup two seasons ago, even when there was a firm possibility of adding three more trophies by the campaign’s end.

Why wouldn’t we go all-out to enjoy that feeling once more at the end of February, especially when so many of the big guns have already been taken out?

EOTK Insider with Neil Jones: Andre ticks a box, Liverpool have a ‘real top player’ with Kevin De Bruyne gift, unfair treatment of Nunez and much more!

The post Huge Carabao Cup opportunity has opened up for Liverpool and they must take advantage appeared first on The Empire of The Kop.

Liverpool are being tipped by the bookies to lift the Carabao Cup this season, with Chelsea and Newcastle close behind.

It is always tricky trying to judge whether a team will put out a weakened line-up if they are still involved in other competitions. Jurgen Klopp will certainly see the Premier League as a priority, and the opportunity for European silverware is also a good possibility with their inclusion in this season’s Europa League.

At present, Liverpool sit just three points behind Manchester City in the top flight. According to many bookies listed on this site, the Reds are currently the favourites for the Europa League and second favourites for the FA Cup.

Even with a weakened team, Liverpool are still a great shout for the Carabao Cup this term, and comparing the best prices and sign-up bonuses could help you enhance your odds or increase your stake at no extra risk.

READ MORE: ‘He’s a great player’ – Alexis Mac Allister wowed by 19y/o who Liverpool could sign for a snip

READ MORE: ‘Something was not right’ – Bobby Firmino admits momentous Liverpool occasion had one huge flaw

Liverpool’s last Carabao Cup game saw them defeat Bournemouth a week ago. While the likes of Joel Matip, Cody Gakpo and Mo Salah played, there was also scope for Klopp to field Caoimhin Kelleher, Jarell Quansah and Wataru Endo before bringing on Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister, Darwin Nunez, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Diogo Jota to guarantee the result.

Goals from Gakpo and Nunez saw Liverpool beat the Cherries, who put up a dogged performance and equalised through Justin Kluivert. Klopp’s negotiation of the fourth-round tie puts Liverpool in a strong position to lift the trophy, and fielding youngsters, squad players and those coming back from injury seems to have worked well so far.

While Chelsea have had a couple of seasons to forget, it’s worth noting that they lifted the Champions League as recently as 2021. Of course, there have been a lot of comings and goings since then, but the Blues still pose a threat.

Newcastle have surprised a lot of people under Eddie Howe. When the Saudi investors came in, many people thought he might be pushed aside for a bigger-name manager, but he has crafted a team which finished in fourth place last season and saw them return to the Champion’s League for the first time since 2002/03.

A draw against AC Milan and a blistering 4-1 defeat of Paris Saint-Germain is better than what a lot of people would’ve expected for Newcastle in this season’s ‘Group of Death’, although two defeats to Borussia Dortmund have left them with an uphill task to reach the last 16. Silverware will be Howe’s priority this season, and he may see the Carabao Cup as his best opportunity.

Last season’s Europa Conference League winners West Ham could also surprise a lot of people if they continue to field a strong team in the domestic up. Everton, Fulham, Middlesbrough and Port Vale are also still in the competition, with the non-Premier League duo facing each other on 19 December.

Everton meet Fulham on the same night, while Chelsea host Newcastle. Liverpool fans will have to wait until the following night before the Reds take on West Ham at Anfield.

Of those fixtures, Chelsea v Newcastle and Liverpool v West Ham look most likely to hold the eventual winners of the 2023/24 Carabao Cup.

EOTK FPL Gameweek 11 Review : The Fantasy week from HELL, the Doku & Jackson show & xG paying off

The post Will Liverpool win the 2023/24 Carabao Cup? appeared first on The Empire of The Kop.

Robbie Fowler surprisingly named Unai Emery as a potential Jurgen Klopp successor.

The Spaniard has taken Aston Villa to new heights in recent years following the unsuccessful stint of former Villans boss Steven Gerrard.

“The biggest compliment I can pay Unai Emery is that I think he is one of the few managers who would be up to the challenge of replacing Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool,” the ex-Red told the Mirror.

We’d have some serious reservations over such an avenue of action being taken at Anfield, however, as and when our German tactician opts to call time on his L4 career.

READ MORE: Bayern chief still hasn’t signed off on Max Eberl move; Liverpool could swoop – report

READ MORE: Andre points to key figure responsible for Liverpool summer snub

Fowler did get one thing right

With all due respect to one of the greatest footballers in the annals of Anfield history, the idea is a terrible one.

Emery does boast some serious European pedigree when it comes to the Europa League. That said, his spells at PSG and Arsenal hardly inspire a great deal of confidence in his ability to lead the biggest clubs on the continent.

Certainly, no job comes bigger than that on the red half of Merseyside!

As such, we can confidently say that Fowler did get one thing right: there are indeed only a ‘few’ managers in world football who could be considered. Emery shouldn’t be one of them.

EOTK Insider with Neil Jones: Andre ticks a box, Liverpool have a ‘real top player’ with Kevin De Bruyne gift, unfair treatment of Nunez and much more!

The post Robbie Fowler only got one thing right in naming PL manager as Klopp successor – opinion appeared first on The Empire of The Kop.

There have been doubts surrounding Alexis Mac Allister’s long-term suitability as our holding midfielder, and in truth, a top performance at home to a bottom-half Premier League team won’t change that.

His naysayers suggest he is too easy to run past and that he gives the ball away too often as the deepest midfielder. And in fairness, there has been evidence this season to suggest this is the case.

After all, the Argentine wasn’t bought as an out and out no.6. It’s a role he has played for his country and Brighton, but not one that obviously makes the most of his creative attributes.

He’s obviously outstanding and progressive on the ball, but it was his work off it that really set the tone against Nottingham Forest on Sunday. Mac Allister broke up Forest attacks, not with tackles, but clever interceptions. He pressed at the right times and was there to mop up when our opponents lost possession. Being in the right place at the right time is an essential trait for a deep-lying midfielder and he nailed it at Anfield in the 3-0 win.

When he gets on the ball, he’s magic. His pass for Mo Salah led to the first goal and he consistently broke the lines with quick, forward balls. If Mac Allister nails the defensive side, we’ll be looking at a player who provides protection but is also an extra playmaker from deep, which is extremely exciting given we have Trent Alexander-Arnold and Virgil van Dijk capable of similar things.

Mac Allister isn’t always nailed down for this role, but against lesser sides at home, it feels smart. It adds another player in who can break down deep defences; and when opponents are happy to let us have the ball, it makes sense to have another technical midfielder using it.

The question of course remains whether he’ll be able to flourish in this role against the bigger and better sides. We play Manchester City after PL games with Luton and Brentford and given how our rivals keep winning, we’ll need to go to the Etihad and get a point. Will Klopp trust Mac Allister as the no.6? He probably will.

Wataru Endo is doing well now in the cups midweek and showing he’ll provide capable backup, which is great. We also have Thiago coming back and there are big rumours Andre Trindade will be signed in January, given his recent quotes to Fabrizio Romano that he almost signed in the summer but stayed for Fluminense’s run to the Copa Libertadores Final.

With Trindade as a potential starting no.6, Klopp has the unbelievably exciting options of Dominik Szoboszlai, Ryan Gravenberch, Curtis Jones, Harvey Elliott and Mac Allister as the two no.8s.

Virgil van Dijk back to his best

Mac Allister was exceptional, Szoboszlai incredible, but the Man of the Match was probably Virgil van Dijk.

Liverpool’s captain endured his worst season in 2022/23 but this term he’s been back to his best. Not only was his passing sharp and precise, but he defended in that wonderfully composed manner where the Forest attackers couldn’t get near him.

It’s in vogue now to suggest he’s in decline, but the form this term has proved otherwise.

Ibrahima Konate is a great partner, while Joel Matip, Joe Gomez and Jarrell Quansah provide solid backup – which is not how it felt in the summer.

Liverpool should now win our next four games: Bournemouth in the EFL Cup, Luton and Brentford in the Premier League and Toulouse in the Europa League.

Then, it’s an international break before the City game. It’s a travesty that it’s been scheduled for 12:30 on the Saturday. At least all of their players are also on international duty.

The post Editor’s Column: Alexis Mac Allister’s best Liverpool performance shows his potential at no.6 appeared first on The Empire of The Kop.

I want to start off by making it very clear that this is my opinion and my opinion alone.

Right, now that’s out of the way, let’s dive into the curious case that is Liverpool Football Club’s treatment of fan @lfcrazz during the Reds’ 5-1 win over Toulouse.

For those who have yet to come across @lfcrazz’s story, the long and short of it was that he was escorted out of the stands and asked to remove a jumper that demonstrated support for the Palestinian cause – an item of clothing that did not (just to clarify) state support for Hamas nor promote violence against Israel, its citizens nor the Israeli regime.

Last night the club that I’ve adored since I was 5 has broken me, everything I thought we stood for felt like a farce so much for YNWA and freedom of speech, I travel up 3 hours every home game even when I can’t get a ticket just to be in the city for game… 1/6 @LFC @LFCHelp https://t.co/9SU0dcyeI5 pic.twitter.com/dRUU11eOUn

— (@lfcrazz) October 27, 2023

Some, then, might be wondering how on earth a fan can be pressured to strip themselves of clothing or flags that simply show solidarity.

There are regulations the club could technically point to in aid of defending its reaction to this isolated incident – given the fixture in question was a Europa League clash – though not necessarily ones I find myself persuaded by.

UEFA’s stance

Article 16.2 of UEFA’s Disciplinary Regulations (2022) states the following: “All associations and clubs are liable for the following inappropriate behaviour on the part of their supporters and may be subject to disciplinary measures and directives even if they can prove the absence of any negligence in relation to the organisation of the match:”

With the relevant facet of the guidance being: “e. the use of gestures, words, objects or any other means to transmit a provocative message that is not fit for a sports event, particularly provocative messages that are of a political, ideological, religious or offensive nature.”

A precedent has already been set at club level too. The Belfast Telegraph reports that, following the decision of Celtic supporters to show solidarity with the Palestinian people during the Glaswegian side’s Champions League tie with Atletico Madrid, sanctions are likely to follow.

It goes some way to explaining why Liverpool stewards rushed to “correct” the fan in question, presumably for fear of avoiding disciplinary proceedings, not to mention wishing to follow the letter of the law in the club guidance issued prior to the Europa League meeting with Toulouse (as relayed by the Echo): “In addition to Anfield’s long standing flag policy, and following consultation with safety and security experts, it has been determined that Israeli and Palestinian flags should not be permitted to be displayed at football matches for the foreseeable future and the same approach can be applied to other displays, banners, clothing or scarves identified as pro-Israeli or pro-Palestinian or related to the current crisis.”

READ MORE: ‘There will be a meeting’: Napoli director drops Osimhen transfer claim amid Liverpool links

READ MORE: ‘Perfect for Liverpool’: Complete player with one league start showed true colours last night, says journalist

Liverpool, you’ve got this one wrong

Whilst we can respect that the conflict between Israel and Palestine is a complex one, and refusing to take any side in the matter is potentially seen as being better than appearing to take one by proxy, the treatment of @lfcrazz still leaves a rather bitter taste.

Especially in light of the fact that the club has recently been selling merchandise in support of Ukraine. Surely we then can’t be selective in which causes are considered worthy. That said, I’d be remiss not to mention the wider context we must pay tribute to when comparing the two conflicts. There is a religious element underpinning events in Gaza that further complicates matters for a club like Liverpool representing a global and multicultural fanbase – ergo, it is possible (though not necessarily agreeable) to rationalise Liverpool’s commitment to neutrality.

I can’t speak for every Liverpool fan, nor can I speak for my colleagues at large in the football reporting/writing space, however, in my mind, I see little reason why supporters should not be able to express solidarity with a populace under genuine threat of genocide.

What does it say about our values as a club if we stay silent on such a matter? Mark my words, future generations will condemn such a stance – and rightly so.

Ultimately, I find myself resting on what I believe to be one final, crucial point: there is (or should be) a difference between showing solidarity (in the interest of keeping the plight of an entire people in the public consciousness) and being ‘provocative’ by, for example, promoting violence and bloodshed.

As far as I’m concerned – @lfcrazz falls into the former of the two categories. In that same breath, mourning the death of Israeli Liverpool fans – The Athletic reported on the removal of a banner, prior to the Merseyside derby, from the Kop reading “In Loving Memory of the Fallen Israeli Reds” following Hamas attacks on 7th October – surely also shouldn’t be considered ‘provocative’ under UEFA’s regulations nor in opposition to Premier League guidance. Either way, it feels like the wrong call.

Even in a debate that divides the world’s powers, there should be room for nuance in this issue at the level of club football and beyond. There should at least be wiggle room for expressions of solidarity for those caught in the crossfire, even if the club is totally committed to a stance of neutrality.

Let’s not completely strip football as a platform of what makes it stand out (with increasing rarity) as a force for good.

#Ep94 of The Empire of the Kop Podcast: EOTK Insider with Neil Jones

The post Liverpool get Palestine stance wrong as fan escorted out of the Kop – opinion appeared first on The Empire of The Kop.