Liverpool progressed to the fourth round of the FA Cup as they beat arch-rivals Everton 2-1 at Anfield on Friday night thanks to Virgil van Dijk’s late winner on his debut, and Reds fans were impressed with Andrew Robertson;s performance.
The Scotland international struggled for game time earlier in the campaign following his summer move from Hull City, with Alberto Moreno chosen to be the first-choice left-back by Jurgen Klopp.
However, an injury to the Spaniard has given Robertson more regular minutes on the pitch in recent weeks – even though he was only on the substitutes’ bench against Burnley in the Premier League last time out – and he performed admirably against the pace and trickery of the Toffees’ Yannick Bolasie on Friday.
Liverpool supporters were quick to have their say on the 23-year-old’s display via social media, and while one said he “deserves to start vs City” next time out, another said he “should start every week, even when Moreno is fit”.
Manchester United are reportedly in pole position to land Arsenal forward Alexis Sanchez this month, but Red Devils fans would prefer them to sign Leicester City winger Riyad Mahrez instead.The Independent revealed on Tuesday that a deal to take the Chile international to Old Trafford was 75% completed on Monday night – with United ready to pay the 29-year-old attacker £400,000-a-week – although Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s reluctance to go the opposite way could delay the transfer.However, Mahrez has caught the attention with some fine performances for the Foxes since Claude Puel took charge at the King Power Stadium in October, with the Algeria international scoring seven goals and providing a further eight assists in 23 Premier League appearances this season.Man United supporters were quick to have their say on their club’s latest transfer business via social media, and while one said “forget about Sanchez and sign Mahrez”, another said “I would choose Mahrez over Sanchez”.Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has firmly denied suggestions that the Gunners have received an offer for unsettled Chilean attacker Alexis Sanchez.
Sanchez came close to joining Manchester City last summer, but Arsenal’s failure to secure a deal for Monaco’s Thomas Lemar saw the 29-year-old remain at the Emirates Stadium.
Speculation linking Sanchez with a move to Man City has surfaced once again, with reports claiming that the Citizens have made an £30m approach for the former Barcelona forward.
Wenger, however, has insisted that it is ‘very quiet’ on the Sanchez front as the Frenchman concentrates on Wednesday’s EFL Cup semi-final first leg against Chelsea.
Wenger told reporters:
“I expect nothing, I am focused on tomorrow’s game. When solicitations happen you respond, at the moment it’s very quiet.”
Sanchez, who is valued at £63m by transfermarkt.co.uk, will see his contract with Arsenal expire at the end of the 2017-18 campaign.
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The 29-year-old’s professionalism has been called into question during stages of the season, but he has scored eight times in 21 appearances in all competitions for Arsenal.
Alberto Moreno seemed to have redeemed himself in the eyes of Liverpool fans earlier in the season when he regained his first-team spot at left-back.
Now, though, the Spaniard will have to win the supporters over again as he has been on the sidelines since early December with an ankle injury.
Andrew Robertson, who joined the Reds from Hull City in the summer but was routinely snubbed by manager Jurgen Klopp, stepped up and took Moreno’s place.
Since then, the Scotsman has impressed the fans, particularly during the team’s 4-3 victory over Premier League leaders Manchester City.
The full-back stopped Raheem Sterling from making an impact at Anfield and did not give his opponent’s a moments peace.
Moreno is edging closer to full fitness, but he may face a battle on his hands to take back the position.
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The majority of Liverpool supporters have made it clear on Twitter that they want the Spaniard to steer clear from the first team.
Liverpool had to settle for a point in the English Premier League on Sunday after a dramatic 90 minutes at home to Tottenham Hotspur.
Spurs managed to rescue the draw with a late stoppage time penalty, just minuted after it looked like Mohamed Salah had secured all three points with a sublime goal, his second of the game.
Reds fans were left scratching their heads at home they managed not to win a game they led in for almost 80 minutes, often looking comfortable up against the Tottenham attack until the final portion of the game.
Supporters were actually pleased with the defensive performance for the most part, despite conceding late penalties, believing the new partnership of Dejan Lovren and Virgil van Dijk at centre-back is the way forward until the end of the season.
Can the duo finally bring consistent defensive performances to Anfield, or did the last 10 minutes prove that defensive mistakes will always be in Liverpool’s game?
Tottenham Hotspur failed to win against lower league opposition in the FA Cup for the second time this season on Sunday, labouring to a draw against Rochdale in the fifth round.
It was a dramatic 90 minutes against the League One side, who took the lead just before half-time.
Spurs rallied in the second half and equalised through new signing Lucas Moura before Harry Kane looked to have rescued his side from an embarrassing result with a late penalty.
However, Steve Davies capitalised on a poor attempted clearance by Toby Alderweireld and scored a deserved equaliser in injury time to force a replay at Wembley.
Fans were left fuming with the result which comes after their side also failed to beat Newport County away from home in the last round.
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Much of the criticism was aimed at Alderweireld, who was returning to the first team after missing matches against Arsenal and Juventus.
The usually reliable defender is still building his fitness after a lengthy injury but fans will be hoping his performances can improve in the coming weeks with important games ahead.
Arsenal’s Ainsley Maitland-Niles has been very impressive during his first full season in the Gunners’ first team, but there still remain a few doubts over what his best position actually is.
The 20-year-old has put in some solid performances for the Gunners during the current campaign, which has seen him go on to make over 20 appearances across all competitions.
The £4.5million-rated academy graduate, as valued by Transfermarkt, has taken the opportunity handed to him by Arsene Wenger with both hands and looks set for a bright future – but in which position will that future be?
He has already played as a central midfielder, a wing-back, a full-back and a defensive midfielder over his brief time in the senior squad.
But it appears the majority of Arsenal fans believe Maitland-Niles’ future lays somewhere in the middle of the park rather than out wide, with a combined 74% of those who took part in our poll voting for central or defensive midfield.
If Maitland-Niles is to remain in the centre of the field, who should he replace? Let us know in the comments below…
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As reported by The Daily Mail, Brendan Rodgers has spoken about Kieran Tierney’s chances of succeeding Scott Brown as Scotland captain after the midfielder retired form international future for the second time.
What’s the story?
After a 55-cap Scotland career, Brown has been one of the most prominent players in the national team over the last decade but announced earlier this week he has finally called time on representing his country, who are about to embark on a new managerial era under Alex McLeish.
When asked about Tierney’s chances of succeeding the 32-year-old as captain of his country, Rodgers was quick to back his left-back as a ‘credible’ choice.
As quoted by The Daily Mail, the Hoops boss said:
That will be up to Alex McLeish (to decide) but he is a player certainly for the future. It wouldn’t faze him. He has learned off Browny in his short time here in the first team. He now has over 100 appearances (to his name) and nothing fazes him, whether it is international football and playing out of position, he is exactly the same. He is certainly one who would be a credible successor to Browny if that’s what Alex chooses.
Can the 20-year-old really succeed the veteran midfielder so early in his footballing career?
Is his future already planned out?
Tierney is already showing the kind of leadership and determination that makes captains stand-out, for both club and country.
The young wing-back has actually worn the captain’s armband at the Hoops on the two occasions, against Kilmarnock and Dundee, looking set to eventually take over from Scott Brown as the club’s leader when the midfielder retires from club football too.
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For Scotland he’s shown versatility and desire playing in a variety of positions, winning plaudits for his passion and drive to perform well in difficult circumstances.
He might still be a relative footballing novice compared to more experienced players, but he’d be an excellent pick to succeed Brown in both scenarios, something that’s been pretty obvious as early as his initial professional appearances as a fresh-faced teenager.
Liverpool fans are delighted with the form of Naby Keita after the Guinean midfielder dominated Red Bull Leipzig’s Thursday night win.
Keita picked up an assist in Thursday night’s 2-1 Europa League win over Zenit, and Liverpool fans can’t stop talking about the African sensation.
Leipzig went two goals to the good in the 77th minute when Keita picked up the ball in midfield, effortlessly glided past the Zenit midfield and slid a perfect pass through to Timo Werner, who finished wonderfully.
The 23 year-old midfielder has not quite matched his incredible output from last season, but that can be expected from a player who knows he is leaving in the summer. The Reds triggered his £48 million release clause last summer, though they will have to pay an extra premium if they qualify for Europe.
Keita has four goals and three assists in 17 Bundesliga starts this season. On Thursday night against Zenit, he completed 75 of 81 passes, five out of seven dribbles, and added five tackles.
The Guinean’s superb dribbling and passing ability will draw defences out of shape for Liverpool, allowing more space for their excellent front three. Needless to say, Liverpool fans are quite excited about it.
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Some of the best Twitter reactions can be found below.
Toby Alderweireld has not started a Premier League match for Tottenham Hotspur since the end of October.
Granted, a hamstring injury has seen the centre-back, who is valued at £36m by transfermarkt.co.uk, miss a lot of football this season, but he has returned to fitness in recent weeks.
Speculation surrounding the 29-year-old’s future continues to gather pace, with the centre-back’s contract at Tottenham due to expire at the end of next season.
Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino has claimed on a number of occasions that Alderweireld is currently not fit enough to feature in the Premier League, but he was named in the Belgium XI against Saudi Arabia on Tuesday night.
The former Atletico Madrid defender played the full 90 minutes for his country, but is not expected to be involved against English champions Chelsea in the Premier League this weekend, with Davinson Sanchez due to start alongside Jan Vertonghen once more.
The situation is confusing a number of Tottenham fans, and many have expressed their feelings on Twitter: