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Liverpool fans have taken to Twitter to criticise Jurgen Klopp’s team selection against Barcelona on Wednesday evening.

The former Borussia Dortmund boss left out right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold, a player with an impressive 11 assists to his name this season, in favour of Joe Gomez, a natural centre-back and a man with just 30 minutes under his belt since returning from injury.

There were absolute scenes on Sunday as Liverpool moved back to the top of the league. Thogden was at Anfield to capture the exact moment in the video below…

Additionally, Klopp left Roberto Firmino on the bench despite being given the all-clear to play the Brazilian, and instead opted to deploy Gini Wijnaldum as a false nine.

As a result, the German watched on as his side crashed to a 3-0 defeat against the Spanish champions, leaving them with a mountain to climb in the second leg at Anfield.

There’s not much you can do when Lionel Messi is in the mood he was in on Wednesday, but a number of Liverpool supporters on Twitter have pointed the finger at Klopp’s team selection as the reason for such a poor result…

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Watford were stunned when Shane Long put Southampton ahead after just seven seconds at Vicarage Road on Tuesday, and it looked like the Irishman’s astonishingly early strike would be the game’s decisive goal until Andre Gray netted at the death to ensure the Hornets kept a point.

Javi Gracia’s side were pretty poor in the first half and the Saints could have been out of sight by the end of it, although the half-time break presented the Watford boss with the opportunity to make a change that would transform the game.

Watford were being run ragged by Southampton’s high-tempo approach and Gracia’s decision to bring on Kiko Femenia for Craig Cathcart, whose mistake gifted Long with the opportunity to open the scoring, and switch to 3-5-2 made it a much more level playing field.

The Spaniard was excellent down the right flank, making a joint-game-high four interceptions while also completing one tackle, and his introduction was another example of excellent in-game management from Gracia, who is establishing himself as one of the best managers outside the top-six.

Gerard Deulofeu came on to single-handedly drag Watford back into the FA Cup semi-final with Wolves, while Andre Gray has repeatedly proved himself dangerous off the bench. Rarely do Gracia’s substitutes fail to make an impact and 28-year-old Femenia was no exception.

Wolves Fan TV place the blame for Wolves’ FA Cup semi-final collapse on John Ruddy in the video below…

The former Alaves man has made 25 league appearances for the Hertfordshire outfit this term but has largely had to compete with Daryl Janmaat, who teed up Gray for the late equaliser, for a starting berth.

Fortunately, though, the 5 ft 9 defender can be confident that there will be consistent opportunities to impress, with Gracia far from afraid to make bold changes during the game and having also showcased his tactical flexibility in the draw with Southampton.

Let us know in the comments below, Watford fans, as to who you think should be Gracia’s first choice right-back: Femenia or Janmaat?

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Loads of Rangers fans have been running the rule over Sunday’s action, and they’re delighted with the form of Nikola Katic.

Rangers appeared to have found a centre back duo for the future at the beginning of this season, pairing the young and inexperienced Katic with the commanding leadership of Connor Goldson.

Barring a few rough patches, Goldson has been excellent throughout the campaign, but things have not gone so smoothly for Katic.

The young Croatian lost his place to Joe Worrall, much to fans dismay, and to say Worrall didn’t exactly impress would be an understatement.

Steven Gerrard has recently done what fans wanted all along though and brought Katic back in to partner Goldson, and the 22 year-old has not disappointed.

He won both penalties in the 2-0 win against Aberdeen on Sunday, and between he and Goldson they headed away absolutely every ball that the Dons lumped forward.

You can find some of the best Twitter reactions down below, where the fans have proved the gaffer’s earlier preference of Worrall to be dead wrong…

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James Shan hasn’t done too much wrong since becoming manager of West Brom but after the club were able to seal their play-off spot on Monday with a 0-0 draw against Reading, supporters took issue with one major fault – Shan’s team selection.

The 40-year-old chose to play a number of fringe players, including the likes of Hal Robson-Kanu, Jacob Murphy and Conor Townsend but it didn’t go down well.

Reacting after the game on Twitter, the starting XI Shan chose to go with was berated as one fan said that he had to take the full blame for the game’s result. Another supporter simply said that they needed a proper manager.

Two fans claimed that there was a lack of ambition from the club, hinting that they didn’t care about what position they finished in the table after clinching a play-off place.

West Brom currently sit in fourth and as things stand would be facing a play-off semi-final against Midlands rivals Aston Villa, who are in red-hot form.

Had the Baggies won on Monday, then they’d have been three points off Leeds in third with two games to go.

Here’s the best of the reaction.

وجه نجم فريق ليفربول محمد صلاح رسالة إلى زميله فيرجيل فان دايك بعد بيان النادي الإنجليزي حول الإصابة التي تعرض لها، في مباراة الأمس أمام إيفرتون في بطولة الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز.

وتلاقى الفريقان في جوديسون بارك، في الجولة الخامسة من البريميرليج حيث تعادلا بهدفين لمثليهما.

وشهدت المباراة إصابة قوية لـ فان دايك بعد تدخل عنيف من حارس إيفرتون، جوردان بيكفورد، واضطر للخروج في الدقيقة 11 من عمر الشوط الأول.

وأوضح ليفربول في بيان رسمي، منذ قليل، أن فان دايك سيخضع لعملية جراحية بسبب إصابته بتمزق في أربطة الركبة (لمطالعة التفاصيل من هنا).

وكتب محمد صلاح، عبر حسابه الشخصي بموقع تويتر: “أتمنى لك الشفاء العاجل أيها الرجل العظيم”.

I wish you a speedy recovery big man pic.twitter.com/8kbK9rjy8O — Mohamed Salah (@MoSalah) October 18, 2020

[ad_pod ]Christian Eriksen’s future at Tottenham Hotspur is far from secure.Indeed, the Denmark international will see his current deal with Spurs expire at the end of next season and it is understood that contract talks have stalled.Eriksen has contributed seven goals and 12 assists in 38 appearances for his London club this term, but has struggled for consistency in recent weeks.Mauricio Pochettino’s side have lost three of their last four in the Premier League against Burnley, Chelsea and Southampton, meaning that they are now in a serious battle for a top-four position this season.The Spurs fans are a frustrated bunch at the moment and many have taken the opportunity to have a pop at Eriksen on social media.

Indeed, Tottenham tweeted on Monday afternoon that the 27-year-old had been named in the latest Denmark squad, which led to a reaction from the supporters.

If previous reports are to be believed, both Real Madrid and Barcelona are considering moves for the playmaker this summer.

A selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below:

Life at Manchester United threatens to be a short-lived one for Alexis Sanchez.

The Chilean has lost his position in the starting XI, only starting from the bench under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. Even the Norwegian manager has admitted at not being able to help Sanchez, who according to him, needs to sort out his own problems.

Solskjaer is correct. The former Barcelona man has never looked comfortable playing for United, always trying to go for the extraordinary to win over the fans. In turn, he ends up making mistakes and incurred their wrath.

Indeed, with Anthony Martial and Jesse Lingard recovering from injuries, the game against Liverpool could be key towards saving his career.

After being benched on Monday night, Alexis could be handed a rare start against Liverpool. He possesses the pedigree to cause big problems for Trent Alexander-Arnold but needs to prove it on Super Sunday. The Chilean gave a decent effort against Chelsea after coming on, showing lots of energy, though there wasn’t enough end product.

However, one stark moment showed everything wrong with him. In a late counter-attack, rather than trying to beat his man and take a shot, Sanchez tried to lay the ball to Andreas Perreira, frustrating fans. He needs to find back his confidence and try to run at defences to score goals, rather than setting them up.

The Red Devils have much creativity in others and need Sanchez to plough in goals. Scoring to dent Liverpool’s title hopes can be the best way to win over United fans and reaffirm his status at United.

كشف زكريا السيد رئيس نادي إنبي، موقف محمود الخطيب رئيس النادي الأهلي من استمرار محمد شريف مع الفريق البترولي، وحقيقة طلب التعاقد مع صالح جمعه صانع ألعاب الأحمر.

وقال السيد في تصريحات إذاعية عبر أثير راديو مصر: “تحدثت مع الخطيب بشأن استمرار محمد شريف وأبلغني بموافقته المبدائية علي بقاء اللاعب، وذلك في حالة عدم عودته للأهلي”.

وأكمل: “الخطيب أبلغني أن رينيه فايلر المدير الفني للأهلي هو من سيحسم أمر اللاعب”.

وعن حقيقة رغبة إنبي في ضم صالح جمعة صانع ألعاب الأهلي، قال: “لم نتواصل مع الأهلي بشأن ضم صالح جمعة”.

وعن تحديد قيمة أسامة جلال مدافع الفريق، قال: “لم يصل لنا عرض رسمي لضمه، وفي هذه الحالة سوف نحدد قيمة اللاعب، فهو يمتلك مهارات جيدة وسيكون له مستقبل في الاحتراف”.

وبسؤاله عن شراء أحمد علي، مهاجم بيراميدز، قال: “لم نتطرق لضم أو رحيل لاعب في الفترة الحالية، فقط نركز في المباريات وننتظر استقرار الأمور، وبعدها سندرس العديد من الملفات التي تخص الموسم الجديد”.

وعن رحيل حلمي طولان المدير الفني للفريق، قال: “لا صحة لرحيله عن الفريق، لقد جدد معنا لمدة موسمين بدءا من الموسم الحالي، ونحن نرغب في استمراره”.

Leeds United fans have been suggesting names for their Player of the Season, which has led to The Athletic’s Phil Hay making a bold claim about one member of Marcelo Bielsa’s squad…

What’s he said?

The Whites are sitting pretty at the top of the Championship standings, holding a seven-point advantage to those in the playoffs with just nine games remaining in the season.

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Barring a null-and-void season, the west Yorkshire outfit are the only ones standing in the way of a promotion at this stage.

Their season so far has been rather phenomenal as they appear set to end a 16-year wait for top-flight football, so understandably there have been plenty of candidates for the award.

One supporter offered Kalvin Phillips’ name in a recent Q&A, and Hay replied with the following…

Two top talents

It’s certainly a bold claim to suggest that City loan star Jack Harrison has been somewhat better than Phillips, but he could be onto something – at least in terms of their progression.

The defensive midfielder has been on a meteoric rise ever since Bielsa converted him into that role to the point where England boss Gareth Southgate has scouted him for his Three Lions squad.

But Harrison has improved his figures drastically on last season. So far, he has managed one more goal and a massive four more assists whilst also averaging over double the number of key passes per game from just one in 2017/18 to 2.1 this term, via WhoScored.

In addition, the 22-year-old has increased his attempts at goal (1.7 shots) as well as doubling the number of dribbles per game (1.8).

Either way, both Harrison and Phillips have played instrumental roles for Bielsa and it would be mighty hard to split these two top talents – and that’s excluding the likes of Ben White, Stuart Dallas and Mateusz Klich, too.

AND in other news, Leeds fans react to Marcelo Bielsa throwback footage…

According to the man himself, Josh Maja didn’t want to leave Sunderland.

However, after half a season where he scored 15 goals in League One, he was packing his bags for French football.

Arriving in Bordeaux, the forward had left the Stadium of Light in rather controversial circumstances. Not given the right terms he wanted to extend his deal, the youngster decided to leave before his contract expired in the north-east.

There would have been clear worries about the future of Sunderland’s attack once he left. After all, only Aiden McGeady hit double figures (14) for goals in 2018/19.

However, the Irishman is no more a Black Cats player, at least temporarily. Now playing for Charlton on loan after being alienated by Phil Parkinson, it’s Chris Maguire who has taken it upon himself to become the Mackems’ main man.

Finding a replacement for Maja was always going to be hard. Symbolic of his rare talents on Wearside, the 21-year-old has found the back of the net five times in Ligue 1 this term.

The man who is making up for his goals isn’t quite as good, neither is he an exciting rising talent. However, Maguire gets the job done in a professional energetic manner.

The 31-year-old has scored ten goals in 2019/20 but has also provided creativity in abundance, conjuring up nine assists for his teammates.

Coincidentally, Maguire has more goal contributions (19) at this point of the season than Maja (17) had by the time he departed mid-way through last term.

The winger might not be a natural striker but there is clear evidence to suggest he’s stepped up when it matters. A centre-forward by trade, Maja was the go-to man in attack but now trust has been placed in Maguire.

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He only scored nine times last season but has taken on the mantle magnificently. His running stats are up and Sunderland stand a brilliant chance of achieving promotion.

The Black Cats longed for an attacking force once Maja walked through the exit door. Initially, it could have been £4m Will Grigg. Indeed, it should have been.

However, the true replacement for his goals ended up being Maguire.

Meanwhile, Sunderland are playing a RISKY game with Jon McLaughlin…