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Tag: Juergen Klopp

  • Forest upsets Liverpool as Haaland fires City back on track

    Forest upsets Liverpool as Haaland fires City back on track

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    MANCHESTER, England — Familiar faces came back to end Liverpool’s mini-revival in a shock 1-0 loss at relegation-threatened Nottingham Forest in the Premier League on Saturday.

    Meanwhile, Erling Haaland put last week’s blank at Anfield behind him to fire Manchester City within a point of league leader Arsenal with a 3-1 win over Brighton.

    Liverpool’s win against City last weekend had looked like putting it back on track after such an unconvincing start to the season.

    Jurgen Klopp’s team backed that up with a victory against West Ham in midweek, but the loss at Forest raises fresh doubts over Liverpool’s ability to mount a credible title challenge.

    Taiwo Awoniyi, who spent six years at Liverpool without ever playing for the first team, struck the second-half winner to relieve the pressure on Forest manager Steve Cooper, who was formerly on the coaching staff at Anfield.

    The win moved Forest off the bottom of the table and left Klopp bemoaning the latest setback.

    “(It feels) as low as possible,” the Liverpool manager said. “Massive, massive blow because I have no idea how we can lose this game to be honest. Not that we played exceptionally well, not that I expect that, but it would have been nice.”

    Liverpool was without the injured Darwin Nunez and Thiago Alcantara, who was unwell.

    Defeat ends a three-game winning run for Liverpool, which included the hugely encouraging victory against City.

    Defending champion City brushed off that defeat with Haaland back on the score sheet.

    The Norway striker’s failure to find the back of the net against Liverpool was the first time he had gone without a goal since the second game of the season.

    Haaland made up for that against Brighton, scoring twice to take his overall total since joining City to 22 goals in 15 appearances in all competitions. He has scored 17 goals in the Premier League so far this season.

    He looked set to register his fourth hat trick this season, but couldn’t add a third goal, with Kevin De Bruyne sealing the victory with an impressive strike after Leandro Trossard pulled one back.

    Despite his goal, City manager Pep Guardiola was critical of De Bruyne’s form.

    “He is not playing at his top level, not yet,” Guardiola said. “He made a fantastic goal, but he is not playing at his best. He knows, I don’t have to tell him. His dynamic is still not perfect, I spoke with him.”

    Not that Guardiola wasn’t pleased with the goal.

    “The goal is outstanding,” he said. “Thanks to him we didn’t suffer in the last 15-20 minutes.”

    CALVERT-LEWIN HURTS PALACE AGAIN

    Dominic Calvert-Lewin scored for the fifth time against Crystal Palace in a 3-0 win for Everton.

    Victory ended a three-game losing streak for the team managed by Frank Lampard and moves it four points clear of the relegation zone.

    Anthony Gordon and Dwight McNeil also scored.

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    AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/world-cup and https://twitter.com/AP—Sports

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    James Robson is at https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson

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  • Liverpool-Man City has become England’s ugliest rivalry

    Liverpool-Man City has become England’s ugliest rivalry

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    LONDON — As the Manchester City team bus made its way out of Anfield, there came a parting shot.

    An object, supposedly thrown by home fans after the bad-tempered 1-0 loss to Liverpool on Sunday, caused a small crack in the windshield.

    It’s a rivalry that has turned ugly, the bitterest in the Premier League.

    City manager Pep Guardiola had already successfully avoided coins being hurled in his direction during the match. Liverpool, meanwhile, condemned the behaviour of the away fans after offensive chants relating to Hillsborough — the tragedy in 1989 that resulted in the deaths of 97 of its fans.

    As fierce as the competition has been on the field during a four-year period when the teams have dominated English soccer, so has the feud been off it. A person with knowledge of the bus incident said City will make an official complaint to the English Football Association.

    The person spoke on condition of anonymity because City has yet to publicly comment on the events surrounding the match. The coin-throwing and Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp’s pre-match comments will also be included in the complaint, the person said.

    “There are three clubs in world football who can do what they want financially,” Klopp said on Friday, an apparent reference to City, Paris Saint-Germain and Newcastle, who are backed by Abu Dhabi, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, respectively.

    Tensions between the clubs have been building for some time — dating back to before their recent battle for supremacy at the top of the Premier League.

    Raheem Sterling’s transfer to City in 2015 pointed to a shift in the balance of power from one of European soccer’s traditional giants to its newly-enriched rival, which was bought by the Abu Dhabi royal family in 2008. As a result, the England forward was heavily-criticized for what was perceived as a financially motivated move.

    “Trophies don’t get handed out, you’ve got to earn them,” former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher said at the time. “You’ve got to deliver in big games and he hasn’t done that yet.”

    Sterling went on to win four titles at the Etihad Stadium and 10 major trophies.

    But the rivalry really intensified when Klopp emerged as the greatest threat to Guardiola’s dominance.

    Liverpool beat City in three-straight games in the second half of the 2017-18 campaign, which saw Guardiola’s team crowned champion with a record 100 points.

    It was a notice of intent from Klopp, while Liverpool fans appeared determined to intimidate City, not only with the famously daunting atmosphere inside Anfield, but also by attacking the visiting team bus ahead of a Champions League quarterfinal match.

    The damage caused was so severe that a replacement bus was required to get the team back to Manchester.

    The small crack left on the windscreen on Sunday was not as dramatic, but it was the latest incident involving two teams that have set standards on the field that have not been matched by their fans off it.

    Liverpool said it wants to work with City to eradicate “vile chants.”

    “The concourse in the away section was also vandalized with graffiti of a similar nature,” Liverpool added in a statement after Sunday’s match.

    Meanwhile, Klopp, who was sent off for angrily charging out of his technical area to remonstrate with the referee’s assistant, apologized for the coin-throwing.

    “Horrible,” he said. “I am sorry. It never should happen.”

    How the FA unpicks a game that was overshadowed by flash points off the field is not straight-forward. It has limited jurisdiction over isolated incidents of objects being thrown from the crowd from individuals. And while it has condemned the chants from City fans, it would only normally act when discrimination is involved.

    Klopp’s fate is also uncertain.

    The Liverpool manager won’t face an automatic suspension for his red card, the FA said. The governing body will review the incident before deciding whether to offer him a ban and/or a fine. If his behaviour is deemed to be serious enough, he could face a hearing and potentially more severe punishment.

    If the fall-out from this latest engrossing clash between City and Liverpool has shown anything, it’s that this rivalry isn’t going away any time soon.

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    AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/world-cup and https://twitter.com/AP—Sports

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    James Robson is at https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson

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