Klopp speaks!
Ewan Murray on a disappointing night for Rangers
Thanks for reading this MBM. Nighty night!
A phlegmatic Gio van Bronckhorst talks to BT Sport. “It is always frustrating when you lose. It was a hard game. They started as we expected, a lot of attacks. Waves of fast football. We did reasonably well. It’s always harsh to get a free kick and a first goal out of a set piece, but after that we stayed in the game. The second half we did much better. Especially in the end, after the penalty, we had some chances to score 2-1 and might have got more out of the game, but the players did really well to show their character and keep going. It was very positive, but the result was not positive. It’s a level we haven’t competed in for many years, so these games will improve us as a team. If you see our first three games, our development has been positive, although the result wasn’t. We will take the experience we have now into the league. We have to keep going and that starts again on Saturday against St Mirren.”
Jurgen Klopp speaks to BT. “"It was absolutely what we needed. A solid performance, top defending, everyone committing. And in a new formation! Sometimes you have to change things. We had plenty of chances but 2-0 I am more than happy. Two set piece goals, as well. You can celebrate them without waiting for VAR! That’s good as well. A really good game, very important. We had great moments. We were unlucky in moments offensively. Rock solid defensively. We go there, it will be a different game. We need consistency, and for consistency you need top-class defending. That’s what we had tonight.”
Hopefully we’ll hear from Klopp and Van Bronckhorst very soon. But in the meantime, Andy Hunter’s report has landed. Remember to come back for hot manager chat, now!
Jordan Henderson chats to BT. “We played some really good stuff. The first half especially we were really good with our intensity levels. Overall we’ve got to be really happy with our performance. You have to give Trent the licence to get forward at times, but I thought he was really good defensively, he did the basics really well, and I didn’t have to cover too much! It can be difficult if you’re going through a difficult period as a player or a team. You have to try to switch off social media and the noise around. You have to stay focused. But it can be difficult. It’s not easy. It can hurt. But you have to find a way to use that as fuel, to prove people wrong. That’s what I’ve learned the older I’ve got. Some individuals need an arm around their shoulder, some need a kick up the backside at times, but it’s trying to find the balance. When we’re on the pitch, it’s not personal, we’re trying to shout and dictate things to help the team. But you’ve got to have conversations as well to help. Overall we’ve got to be really pleased, it’s a step in the right direction.”
That’s a great result for Liverpool. Not the perfect performance, but it’ll nevertheless restore some confidence, and most importantly keeps their Group A campaign on track after its cold start. Napoli’s eye-opening 6-1 thumping of Ajax in Amsterdam – the hosts had their captain Dušan Tadić sent off for two yellow cards as well – helps too. Rangers are still looking for their first point, and their first goal, though those late brief cameos by Fashion Sakala, Rabbi Matondo and Antonio Čolak will give them hope for the return at Ibrox next week.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Napoli | 3 | 11 | 9 |
| 2 | Liverpool | 3 | 0 | 6 |
| 3 | Ajax | 3 | -2 | 3 |
| 4 | Rangers | 3 | -9 | 0 |
Trent Alexander-Arnold speaks to BT Sport. “The performance was great. On Saturday it was disappointing, our press wasn’t there. We were slow out of the blocks. It was the complete opposite today. They had their spells in the second half, but overall we played outstandingly. No matter what, I always try to think positively. People say things, but for me it’s about going out there and performing for the team. it’s the only thing that matters. It’s been a slow start to the season for me but I’m looking forward to the rest of the season. The change of tactics definitely helped us today so we’ll see what happens going forward. We’re used to playing three games a week, so when things come thick and fast, it’s exciting for us.”
FULL TIME: Liverpool 2-0 Rangers
Liverpool still aren’t firing on all cylinders, but that’s back-to-back wins in Group A, and a rare clean sheet – only their third of the season – to boot.
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90 min +3: Alexander-Arnold is booked for … well, not sure what. He’s then replaced by Joe Gomez, allowing the Kop to give him a spirit-boosting ovation. Clever Jurgen.
90 min +2: Salah breaks down the right but sends a weak curler towards the bottom left. McGregor smothers.
90 min: There will be four added minutes.
88 min: “Sometimes playing football you play with someone who is technically and physically adept, but in terms of instincts, doesn’t quite know what to do, where to be or who to pass to,” writes Neil Hattersley. “It’s early days yet with Núñez, but I’m starting to form a bit of the same impression. This might contrast with Sadio Mané, whose unorthodoxy was sometimes one of his key strengths.”
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86 min: … and from the resulting corner, the ball falls at Colak’s feet on the right-hand corner of the six-yard box! Colak shoots for the bottom right, only to be denied by Alisson’s star jump. Fine save. No luck for Rangers tonight, then, but those chances will give them succour ahead of the return fixture at Ibrox next week.
85 min: Rangers finally do something in attack! And so nearly score! Matondo dribbles down the left, tiptoes along the byline, and forces the ball past Alisson. Sakala prepares to tap in, only for Tsimikas to sensationally hook clear off the line and out for a corner. That looked physically impossible, and it would have been much easier to bundle that into his own net. But what a clearance!
84 min: A Liverpool corner on the left. Matip meets it and sends a powerful downward header inches wide of the bottom right. Most of Anfield thought that was in, and briefly celebrated accordingly.
83 min: It’s an absolute rout in Amsterdam now. Goals from Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Giovanni Simeone have made it 6-1 to Napoli against Ajax. A first European Cup for Napoli coming up? Everyone’s second team this year, I tells ya.
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81 min: Another double change for Rangers. Ryan Kent and Ben Davies are replaced by Rabbi Matondo and Glen Kamara.
80 min: No goal for Nunez, who goes off to a warm reception nonetheless. To be fair, he found Allan McGregor in top form. Thiago makes way too. Harvey Elliott and James Milner come on.
79 min: Another run down the left by Tsimikas. Another misplaced cross. Goal kick.
78 min: Tsimikas is sent into a bit of space down the left by Diaz, but his cross is easily cleared by Davies.
76 min: All a bit scrappy. “Just wondering when the Liverpool fans are going to sing their version of ‘The Fields of Athenry’ to make their visitors feel at home?” wonders Niall O’Keefe, with perfect timing. They’ve just struck up their paean to King Kenny now.
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74 min: Salah releases Nunez down the inside-right channel. Nunez draws McGregor and cuts back for Diaz, who can’t slide home under pressure from Goldson. Then the flag goes up for offside, correctly this time, undeniably so.
73 min: Alfredo Morelos is replaced by Antonio Čolak.
72 min: Alexander-Arnold, quarterbacking from a deep position on the right, curls a sensational pass into the road of Diaz, free on the left. But Diaz miscontrols and the flag goes up for offside anyway. Had Diaz gone on to score, VAR might have overruled that decision, but it’s all academic now.
71 min: Kent dribbles into his own box and suddenly realises he’s in a spot of bother, surrounded by red shirts. He slyly clatters into Firmino and gets the benefit of the doubt from the referee.
69 min: Now Liverpool make a double change. Diogo Jota is replaced by Roberto Firmino, while the captain Jordan Henderson makes way for Fabinho. Henderson doesn’t look particularly happy at being hooked. He gives his armband to Van Dijk and shakes his head as he departs.
68 min: Morelos slips Barisic into space down the left. Barisic reaches the byline but floats his cross and it’s an easy pick for Alisson. Liverpool go up the other end through Diaz, who cuts in from the left and sends a low shot wide right. He should get a corner, the ball taking a slight deflection off Jack, but it’ll be a goal kick to Rangers.
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67 min: Sakala gets involved immediately, dribbling in from the right before dragging a poor shot miles wide right of goal.
66 min: A double change for Rangers. Fashion Sakala comes on for Malik Tillman, while Ryan Jack replaces Steven Davis.
65 min: Rangers can’t get out of their final third right now. Jota nearly opens up a packed box with a lively dribble down the left, but there are only so many men he can beat. He’s eventually crowded out and Rangers clear.
63 min: Alexander-Arnold crosses from the right. Nunez prepares to head home from six yards. Goldson eyebrows out for a corner just in time. It really hasn’t been Nunez’s night so far. It’s not been for the want of trying.
62 min: Nunez romps down the middle and thinks about shooting. He should shoot, really, and the Kop encourages him to do so. But at the last minute he tries to release Salah into the box down the inside right. The pass is no good, and Anfield groans in unison.
61 min: Lundstram plays a blind backpass that nearly lets Jota in. McGregor is once again the hero as he lashes clear just in time.
59 min: Anfield has been quiet and anxious for much of the match. But the home fans have found their voice since Liverpool’s second. And the decibels nearly go up again, as the ball breaks to Jota, who spins down the inside-left channel and fires a rising shot towards the top left. It’s a pearler, but McGregor, who is having one hell of a game, fingertips over. What a reaction! Nothing comes of the resulting corner.
57 min: Goldson’s able to continue as well. All good, after that accidental clash. Napoli are now 4-1 up at Ajax, Giacomo Raspadori getting his second of the night just after the break.
56 min: Diaz took a sore one there, but he looks OK to continue. In fact, it’s Goldson who looks to have come off the worst, having landed awkwardly on his ankle as the pair fell.
55 min: Diaz dribbles hard down the inside-left channel and slams straight into Goldson. He goes down clutching his jaw. Play goes on, and Salah, sailing in from the right, attempts a curler into the bottom left. That’s blocked, and then play stops so the physio can take a look at Diaz.
GOAL! Liverpool 2-0 Rangers (Salah 53 pen)
Salah waits for McGregor to jump to his left, then lashes down the middle. The keeper had no chance. Liverpool have a cushion.
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Penalty for Liverpool
52 min: Kent dribbles with purpose down the middle of the park. Liverpool’s defence backs off. Thiago slides in to whip the ball away and Liverpool counter. Diaz scuttles into the Rangers area from the left. He’s upended clumsily by King, and the referee points to the spot.
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50 min: Nunez tries a curler towards the top right. Always high, always wide. The Kop chant his name by way of support anyway.
49 min: Matip slips Tsimikas into the box down the left. Tsimikas thinks about crossing, then about shooting, and achieves neither. The ball twangs out for a corner, from which Rangers break. Davies slips the ball wide left for Kent, who looks for Morelos at the far stick. The low cross sails harmlessly out for a goal kick.
48 min: McGregor zips out of his box to kick clear. He shanks wildly, and is very fortunate that the ball drops into a big gap between Jota and Salah, neither of whom can get there quickly enough to shoot towards the unguarded net.
46 min: Liverpool immediately launch it long down the left. Nunez wins a header against King, but wipes out his man in doing so. It looked accidental, though King doesn’t seem too happy about it when he finally gets back up. Anyway, just a free kick, nothing more.
Liverpool get the ball rolling for the second half. They’re kicking towards the Kop in this second half, just as they like it. No changes.
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In the other Group A game, Napoli have taken total control against Ajax in Amsterdam. Giovanni Di Lorenzo scored the Azzurri’s second goal on 33 minutes, and Piotr Zielinski made it 3-1 on the stroke of half time. Are Luciano Spalletti’s exciting all-new Neapolitans this season’s neutrals’ choice? All signs point to yes!
Half-time pop platter. Seeing we’re in Liverpool, and it was 60 years ago tomorrow …
HALF TIME: Liverpool 1-0 Rangers
Liverpool lead at the break thanks to Trent Alexander-Arnold’s fine free kick. Darwin Nunez has threatened a second goal, but Allan McGregor has denied him on several occasions. Rangers will be happy enough to have weathered the early storm.
45 min: Henderson launches Diaz on the attack down the left. Diaz checks and waits for Jota on the overlap before feeding his man. Jota fires low and hard towards the near post, the ball twanging off Nunez and out for a goal kick. To be fair to Nunez, he had no time whatsoever to react there … and he’s claiming the ball came off Davies anyway.
43 min: Diaz flicks Nunez into space down the middle. Nunez reaches the edge of the box and bashes goalwards. McGregor again gets in the road. This is getting personal now!
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41 min: More angst for Nunez, though this was much better. Salah draws a couple of folk before slipping a pass down the inside-right channel. Nunez, timing his run perfectly, in the style of Ian Rush, whips a first-time shot towards the bottom right. A very decent effort, but there’s a save to match: McGregor kicks away brilliantly. Nothing comes of the resulting corner.
40 min: Nunez bustles down the right and makes a bit of space for a cross, only to blooter clumsily over everyone’s head.
39 min: Salah’s movement earns Liverpool a corner on the right. Alexander-Arnold and Salah attempt a short training-ground number, but over-elaborate and fail to get the ball into the box. Anfield sighs.
37 min: Now it’s Rangers’ turn to string a few passes together. Suddenly Kent tries to burst clear down the left. Alexander-Arnold isn’t having any of it, intercepting and starting a counter. Jota prepares to release Diaz but is crudely raked on the ankle from behind by Lundstram, who goes into the book. That’s as cynical as it gets, really.
35 min: Diaz is allowed to sashay into the Rangers box from the left. A route opens up in front of him. He’s got time and space to line one up, but doesn’t catch his shot properly, and it’s an easy smother for McGregor.
34 min: Henderson loops down the inside-left channel for Nunez, who brings it down nicely but isn’t so adroit with his shot. McGregor saves without fuss.
33 min: Liverpool pass it around to little effect. Rangers will be reasonably happy right now.
31 min: Kent sends an outside-of-foot pass down the left in the hope of releasing Barisic. It’s not particularly accurate, and bounces out harmlessly for a goal kick. A chance to launch a rare attack spurned.
29 min: Liverpool are racking up the corners. Another won down the left. Tsimikas takes this one. Van Dijk gets his eyebrows on it again, but can’t send it goalwards. Liverpool try to recycle possession but eventually run the ball out for a goal kick.
28 min: A corner from the right leads to a corner from the left. Alexnader-Arnold’s delivery is met by Van Dijk at the near post. His eyebrow flick across the face of goal nearly finds Jota at the far stick, but the ball sails out for a goal kick.
26 min: Salah slips a pass infield from the right to pick up Nunez, who cuts back from the goalline in the hope of finding Diaz. Barisic reads the danger and clacks out for a corner.
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25 min: Salah and Alexander-Arnold try to combine down the right, but the ball is spirited away by the constantly buzzing Kent, who may want to make a point against his old club. He’s been lively. “There aren’t many players who set viewers’ pulses racing, just by lining up to take a free kick, but Alexander-Arnold is one of them,” writes Kári Tulinius. “I think only Ward-Prowse in this season’s Premier League has the same air about him. Those players linger in the memory, Juninho Pernambucano is the obvious one, but free kicks by Thomas Hässler, Rogerio Ceni, Ronald Koeman and Dimitry Payet are all etched in my mind’s eye.”
23 min: Salah advances towards the Rangers box and shapes to shoot. Instead he rolls towards Alexander-Arnold, in full flight to his right. Alexander-Arnold takes a first time shot that’s blocked by Barisic. Rangers clear.
21 min: Rangers try to play the ball out from the back. Liverpool swarm. Some pinball. The ball nearly tees up Diaz, just inside the Rangers box, but McGregor is quickly off his line to smother. The visitors aren’t coping particularly well with Liverpool’s press.
20 min: Giacomo Raspadori has equalised for Napoli against Ajax. It’s 1-1 after 18 minutes in Amsterdam.
19 min: Tavernier’s free kick caroms off the wall and back to Kent, who flays a wild shot high and wide right. “Jonathan Pearce and Andy Townsend are commentating on the match for me and both said Trent has answered his critics with his goal,” reports Sam Campbell. “How? No one said he can’t take free kicks. it’s his defending people aren’t sure about.”
18 min: Morelos and Tillman hassle the Liverpool backline for the first time this evening. Liverpool can’t clear their lines. Kent then dances in from the left, spinning elegantly and drawing a clumsy foul from Alexander-Arnold. A free kick just outside the Liverpool box on the left. The noise in Anfield drops alarmingly, betraying quite a few nerves.
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16 min: Liverpool work the corner back up the left wing. Thiago sends a diagonal towards Matip at the far stick. He gets too much on it. Goal kick.
15 min: Salah drifts in from the right and sends a slow-motion curler towards the bottom left. McGregor does extremely well to fingertip around the post. Another Liverpool corner.
14 min: Mohammed Kudus has opened the scoring for Ajax against Napoli in the other Group A game. As things stand, Ajax, Napoli and Liverpool will all be on six points after three matches. A long way to go yet of course.
12 min: Diaz runs across the face of the Rangers box, left to right, and attempts to whip one into the top right. He’s leaning back and it’s always heading wide and high. Rangers are under the cosh here.
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10 min: The pressure is released as Van Dijk trips Davies. Then Goldson tries to take a quick free kick. Nunez gets in the way, and risks a booking. He’s fortunate that the referee is willing to give him one last chance. He sticks up a finger. One more. Nunez has the good grace to look contrite, if nothing else. That would have been such a daft booking to pick up so early, especially with things going so well for the home side.
9 min: Nunez has been busy since the get-go, and here he wins a corner down the right. Alexander-Arnold to take. A few furrowed brows in the Rangers defence.
8 min: A huge smile plays across Alexander-Arnold’s face as he celebrates. He’s taken a fair bit of stick recently, so you can’t blame him for enjoying the moment. What a free kick!
GOAL! Liverpool 1-0 Rangers (Alexander-Arnold 7)
Alexander-Arnold flips one over the wall and into the top-left corner. Whip! Top corner! Simple as that. You could see his intention a mile off, but McGregor couldn’t do a thing about it. Anfield erupts!
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6 min: Davies – formerly, briefly of Liverpool – barges into the back of Nunez, just to the left of the D. Alexander-Arnold’s eyes light up. So do Salah’s. This is a free kick in a very dangerous position.
5 min: Henderson loops long. Rangers panic under pressure from Jota and Nunez, and the ball breaks to Diaz, who slips Tsimikas into space on the left. Tsimikas suffers a rush of blood to the noggin and lashes a wild effort high and wide left from a tight angle. Ambitious, to say the least.
4 min: Salah chases a long ball down the inside-right channel. He crashes into Barisic and wants a free kick, but isn’t getting one. The referee orders him to get up and play on.
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3 min: Salah and Jota combine crisply down the inside-right channel and the ball breaks to Nunez, just inside the Rangers box. He sends a snapshot towards the top right. McGregor parries well. Corner. Van Dijk – formerly of Celtic – launches himself at a header but can’t send anything goalwards. Rangers clear their lines.
1 min: Liverpool quickly snaffle possession and give all of their defenders an early touch of the ball.
Rangers get the ball rolling. They’re kicking towards the Kop in this first half. Anfield is jumping.
Before kick off, a minute of silence in memory for the souls lost in Indonesia last weekend. Perfectly observed.
The teams are out! Liverpool in socialist red, Rangers royal blue. Anfield very much the metaphorical cauldron. One of those European nights under the lights, everyone giving it plenty. The punters in the away section are certainly up for this, and give You’ll Never Walk Alone – popular in the east end of Glasgow as well – the pantomime bird. Sir Alex Ferguson, formerly of Rangers and Manchester United, is in the stand, and may also be partial. A quick blast of Zadok the Priest (Version) – also loudly spattered with abuse – and we’ll be off in a minute. Ready? Aye! Aye ready for a battle of Britain!
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Jurgen Klopp talks to BT. “We expect a really tough game. They have a counter-attacking threat, are compact. We will see how deep they defend. That is our job to do tonight. We thought we have to change a little bit so that’s what we did formation wise. Let’s see how it works out. There is never a perfect time, or a wrong time, but we had to change anyway. We play so many games now we can’t just push the boys through. We will use them all. I know it is easy when you are winning all the time, but we have to do it in this moment and that’s why we decided to do it.”
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Gio van Bronckhorst speaks to BT Sport. “It’s a stage on which we want to perform. A big game for us. It’s big for the players to be playing at Anfield. I played here only once in my career, so to be playing here is a good moment. Liverpool have a very attacking XI so we have to be ready. Don’t give a lot of space away in our own half, and try to find moments to be dangerous when we have the ball. They played the same the last 25 minutes against Ajax, so it probably will be the same set-up. Their striking ability is very threatening. Čolak is in a good moment but for this game we opted for Alfredo.”
Pre-match reading.
Team news: Núñez and Morelos start
Liverpool make three changes to the side that began the 3-3 draw with Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday afternoon. Diogo Jota, Luis Díaz and Darwin Núñez return to the starting XI as Jurgen Klopp changes his formation to a 4-2-3-1. Fabinho, Roberto Firmino and Fabio Carvalho drop to the bench.
Rangers make four changes to the XI named to start the 4-0 win at Tynecastle on Saturday. Alfredo Morelos, Steven Davis, Leon King and Malik Tillman step up; Ryan Jack, Scott Arfield, Rabbi Matondo and Antonio Čolak take their places on the bench. Ryan Kent and Ben Davies both return to their old stomping ground, having between them played a grand total of 57 minutes for Liverpool. (For the record, Kent clocked all of those up in a 2-2 FA Cup draw at Exeter City in January 2016.)
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The teams
Liverpool: Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Matip, van Dijk, Tsimikas, Henderson, Thiago, Salah, Jota, Diaz, Nunez.
Subs: Gomez, Fabinho, Konate, Milner, Firmino, Adrian, Elliott, Ramsay, Carvalho, Bajcetic, Phillips, Kelleher.
Rangers: McGregor, Tavernier, Goldson, Davies, King, Barisic, Tillman, Lundstram, Davis, Kent, Morelos.
Subs: Yilmaz, Jack, Colak, Matondo, Kamara, Scott Wright, McCrorie, Sakala, McLaughlin, Arfield, Devine.
Referee: Clement Turpin (France).
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Preamble
Liverpool first played Rangers in October 1892, when the club was a mere 125 days old. The bouncing baby boys were trounced 6-1. The two famous old clubs have played each other nine times since then, the latest another win for the Gers in 2011 thanks to a Fabio Aurelio own goal … but all ten games have been friendlies. This is the first time they’ve met in serious competition. History tonight, then, right here!
The hosts aren’t in the best of nick. They could easily have been on the end of a thrashing at the hands of Brighton last weekend, the final score at Anfield of 3-3 seriously flattering Jurgen Klopp’s side. They’re already well off the pace in the Premier League, and have already had their Eurotrousers handed back to them, neatly pressed and laundered, by Napoli. They could seriously do with a result tonight to restore some of their shredded confidence.
Rangers by contrast have recovered some of their poise after a rocky spell. Consecutive 4-0 thrashings by Celtic and Ajax put Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s men in a dark place, and while a 3-0 home defeat to Napoli doesn’t look great on paper, Rangers competed well when they still had 11 men on the pitch. Subsequent domestic wins over Dundee United and Hearts have restored a little morale, and tonight may play with the insouciance of men gifted a free shot, with few expecting them to come away from Anfield with anything, despite the travails of the hosts. Kick off is at 8pm BST. It’s on!
