Midweek round up: Ajax preview, Thiago's ear and Michael Edwards to Manchester United?!
Darwin's back, Ibou's back and the Red army has taken over Amsterdam
If you happened to be in Amsterdam over the past 24 hours, the chances are you’ll have seen plenty of Montirex and heard plenty of Scouse. The Red army is on the march once more.
Liverpool fans have been looking forward to this one ever since the Champions League group stage draw was made back in August. Having been denied the chance of an Amsterdam soiree in 2020 due to Covid-19, the travelling Kop were never going to pass up this opportunity, and the bars and cafes of Dam Square and Leidseplein will have been alive with the sound of music on Tuesday night. Allez Allez Allez.
The scenario for Jürgen Klopp and his side is simple enough…..honest! A draw at the Johan Cruyff Arena will be enough to see Liverpool through to the last 16 for the sixth successive season, as will a single-goal defeat of 3-2 or higher. A 2-1 loss would all-but-guarantee progress too, on account of their superior goal difference.
A win, meanwhile, will give them a chance, albeit a slim one, of topping Group A ahead of Napoli, who visit Anfield in the final group fixture next week. We’re assuming the Serie A leaders will take care of Rangers in Naples tonight, aren’t we?
Virgil van Dijk was the designated player for Tuesday night’s Liverpool media conference at the stadium. The Dutch connection, I suppose. “We’re coming here to win, not to draw,” he said. “We want to show that we are Liverpool, one of the biggest and best clubs in the world.”
Klopp, meanwhile, seemed in good spirits, offering long answers when asked about his side’s search for consistency, and the strain it puts on him as a manager. “The job is always quite stressful,” he told a Dutch journalist, “but if you win all the time, it’s a lot nicer!” A sentiment we could all relate to, no doubt! How I long for those glory days of spring, when the only real concern was how to write ‘the Reds are mustard’ in a new and appealing manner. I’m not sure I managed it, looking back.
There was mixed news in terms of the squad which travelled to the Netherlands. Darwin Núñez and Ibrahima Konaté were among those who touched down at Schiphol airport on Tuesday evening, offering a welcome boost, but there was no Thiago Alcântara, who is still laid low with an ear infection. The Spaniard’s experience and class will be sorely missed, with Liverpool seemingly unable to control games without him at the moment.
Earlier on Tuesday, I’d attended an open training session at the AXA. Clubs do that ahead of Champions League games, allowing the media to watch 15 minutes before kindly ushering them away. It’s not the most earth-shattering stuff in all honesty, a series of shuttles and warm-up drills before the real work takes place away from the cameras and the prying eyes, but it makes for good photo and video opportunities
And it it did, at least, afford us a rare glimpse of Naby Keïta on this occasion. The Guinea midfielder will not, however, be involved against Ajax. He and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, remember, have been omitted from the squad for the Champions League group phase. Klopp suggested in his press conference that might have been a bit of a cock-up, actually. “Everybody told me they’d be out longer, but now they’re back,” he said, ruefully.
That likely means bench places for youngsters Bobby Clark, Stefan Bajcetic and Melkamu Frauendorf, which will in turn impact on the U19s’ UEFA Youth League game, which will take place at the Sportpark De Toekomst on Wednesday afternoon (kick-off 3pm UK time). Like the senior side, Barry Lewtas’ kids need only a point to secure progression to the last 16, this time as group winners. They are already guaranteed qualification for the play-off round.
Watch out for Ben Doak, the exciting 16-year-old Scottish winger, and for the smart, classy left-back Luke Chambers in that one. Both of them have bags of potential, and if they’ve got anything about them then both will have their eye on next month’s Carabao Cup tie with Derby County, and a potential first-team opportunity at Anfield. Oakley Cannonier might do as well, though he’ll miss today’s game with a hamstring injury. A shame, given he’s the competition’s joint leading goalscorer with seven goals in his four appearances.
As for Ajax, well they arrive having scored 11 times in their last two Eredivisie games but having conceded 10 in their last two Champions League ones. Alfred Schreuder, their manager, was in no mood to talk up his side’s chances at his pre-match press conference, where his suggestion that Liverpool could have beaten Nottingham Forest 6-1 on Saturday raised more than a few eyebrows. “If we win tomorrow we want to do it with two goals difference,” Schreuder added, bullishly. We should, therefore, expect a more expansive Ajax than the one which came to Merseyside last month.
And hopefully, we will see a more coherent, recognisable Liverpool than the one which underwhelmed at the City Ground last weekend.
Elsewhere…
There was plenty to enjoy in Tuesday night’s Champions League matches. Chelsea’s game with Leipzig was a cracker, featuring three sublime goals. Check out Kai Havertz’s winner if you haven’t already, while Max Wöber’s assist for Chukwubuike Adamu’s equaliser was a thing of beauty. Graham Potter’s side are through after their 2-1 win, joining the likes of Manchester City, PSG, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and Napoli in the last 16.
Juventus, though, are OUT, eliminated after a 4-3 defeat away to Benfica. How much longer can Max Allegri last in the Turin hotseat, one wonders? The Europa League beckons, for the Serie A giants.
PSG scored seven in beating Maccabi Haifa, with Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappé responsible for five of them. Could they put it together when it really matters this season?
Bellingham-Watch was alive and well last night, as Borussia Dortmund drew 0-0 with Manchester City. Yet again, the England midfielder looked the part, though equally impressive were the other young attackers, Youssoufa Moukouko, Karim Adeyemi and Giovanni Reyna. Some potential in that foursome. And what about the handsome fella in midfield? Emre Can, I think his name was…
There were a few Liverpool loanees in action in the Football League last night, with Conor Bradley helping Bolton to a 2-1 win over Burton in League One. They’re going well, Bolton, and Bradley is a big part of their side.
Maxi Woltman got on as a late substitute for Doncaster in League Two, while Adam Lewis got 90 minutes, and a clean sheet, for Newport away to Mansfield.
And how about this stunner, from Fidel O’Rourke for Caernarfon Town against Aberystwyth? Take a bow, son.
Virgil van Dijk is the latest guest on Gary Neville’s ‘The Overlap’, and if his quickfire questions segment is anything to go by, the full interview should be pretty good.
And there was an interesting story on the ‘Football Insider’ website about former Liverpool sporting director Michael Edwards, with Manchester United apparently confident of landing him for next season. Now that would be interesting, given the role Edwards played in the Reds’ success in recent years, and United’s need for a coherent recruitment strategy. Would he be given the Michael Owen treatment on his return to Anfield, one wonders? Keep an eye on progress, where that tale is concerned…
And finally, my pre-match piece for GOAL is live. It focuses on Fabinho, and his struggles this season. How big an impact has that had on the team, and how much does it expose the Reds’ ongoing midfield conundrum? Spoiler alert: it’s a lot!