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    A strike sensation and Serie A ace who struggled in Prem.. who Arsenal could turn to as Arteta hints at January spree

    MIKEL ARTETA has revealed Arsenal are “on it” when it comes to January recruits.And the Gunners boss has hinted that Kieran Tierney could be sold to raise funds after admitting the Scottish full-back still cannot play in the system that he prefers.Mikel Arteta has hinted Arsenal could dip into the transfer market this summerCredit: AlamyThe Gunners are in the midst of a defensive injury crisis, with the likes of Jurrien Timber and Gabriel Magalhaes among those unavailableCredit: GettyThe North Londoners have been hampered by injuries in the opening months of the season and currently have another defensive crisis to muddle through ahead of a busy festive period.Ahead of tonight’s Champions League clash with Monaco the likes of Gabriel, Jurrien Timber, Riccardo Calafiori, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Thomas Partey were missing from training.Add to that the long-term absences of Ben White and Takehiro Tomiyasu and Arteta could be without a recognised first-choice full-back with an upcoming Prem clash against Everton.Arsenal have already put out NINE different Prem combos at the back this term, with midfielder Partey often used as a makeshift right-back.READ MORE ON ARSENALAsked about January business, the Spanish boss said: “The window that gives us an opportunity to strengthen the team if we feel that is needed and we feel that we have the capacity to do that.“We are on it and just have to assess the situation because it is changing every week. At the moment not for the better but I’m positive that in a few weeks we’re going to be in a better place.”Because of their dire situation, Arteta could be forced to start Tierney in an Arsenal shirt for the first time since May 2023 – who has not featured in Europe for the club since November 2022.Tierney, 27, was signed in the summer 2019 from Celtic for around £25m by former manager Unai Emery but has swamped with injuries – spending last season on loan at Real Sociedad.Most read in FootballFOOTBALL FREE BETS AND SIGN UP DEALSArteta may feel the need to show potential buyers that the Scotland international is fit and ready to be sold – although it is unlikely they will be able to recoup the fee they paid for him five years ago.More worryingly, despite playing under Arteta for nearly half a decade, Tierney appears unable to play as an inverted full-back to the level of full-back rivals Timber and Zinchenko.Mikel Arteta ‘gutted’ with Arsenal draw against Fulham Arteta explained: “It is about the player having certain qualities. First is he willing to do it? Does he want to do it, yes or no? The other one: is he capable of doing it and does he understand it?“When a player has those three ingredients anything can happen. We see that with many other players.“But if a player doesn’t really fill it, it is more of a problem and we as coaches we have to find solutions. I would play [Tierney] in situations that he is more comfortable with.”So, who could Arsenal bring in to bolster their title charge? They currently are six points off leaders Liverpool who have a game in hand, and perhaps require a spark to go on a consistent run.Left wing is an area they need to strengthen, even with Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard to choose from, especially given Arsenal’s over-reliance on Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka down the right.Former target Ademola Lookman, 27, is ripping it up for Atalanta, netting 17 goals last term – including a Europa League final hat-trick – and already has 10 in 17 games this campaign after scoring in their 3-2 Champions League defeat to Real Madrid.He joined the Italians in August 2022 for an initial fee of around £12.5m on a four-year deal, but looks unlikely to leave next month even if the Gunners offer double what Atalanta paid for him.Kai Havertz has just one goal in his last seven Prem outings with calls for striker reinforcements growing.Arsenal have kept tabs on Sporting Lisbon’s Viktor Gyokeres and RB Leipzig’s Benjamin Sesko but would likely need to offload before bringing anyone in.Gabriel Jesus has just one goal this term in all competitions, but Arteta has revealed the club are currently NOT looking to sell the Brazilian they bought for £45m from Manchester City in the summer of 2022.Should defensive issues persist then Arteta may be forced to add to his numbers. Versatile Ajax starlet Jorrel Hato, 18, has been a long-term target but could cost between £25m and £30m.READ MORE SUN STORIESHowever, Arteta is also wary of overcrowding. With everyone fit, he has EIGHT defenders including Gabriel, White, Zinchenko, Timber, Calafiori, Tomiyasu, Jakub Kiwior and William Saliba.Academy graduate Myles Lewis-Skelly is also an option, currently sidelined with a foot infection. The 18-year-old inverted full-back has appeared six times in all competitions this season already.The Gunners could attempt to sign Ademola Lookman, who has impressed for AtalantaViktor Gyokeres is another targetCredit: GettySesko has also been looked at More

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    Ruben Amorim will teach Pep Guardiola how to be humble – but he won’t do it by burning cash like City and United have

    MANCHESTER United boss Ruben Armorim is ready to give Pep Guardiola more lessons in how to be more humble.Amorim’s Sporting Lisbon humiliated Guardiola’s Manchester City 4-1 in the Champions League before the Portuguese took over at Old Trafford last month.Pep Guardiola and Ruben Amorim go head-to-head in the Premier League for the first time on SundayAnd as the new United manager prepares for his first Manchester derby, a former close confidant reckons he will bring his City counterpart down a peg or two in the short and long term.Goncalo Ferreira was communications chief at Braga when Amorim took his first job as a top-flight manager in 2019.Ferreira believes Amorim will revive United without spending the kind of money they have wasted in recent years, and without the resources that Guardiola has enjoyed at the Etihad and in his previous jobs at Barcelona and Bayern Munich.Ferreira said: “I think Ruben will give Guardiola some lessons in humbleness. READ MORE ON MAN UTD”Ruben isn’t a ‘rich’ coach, in terms of mentality. He respects everybody.“He doesn’t think he is the best coach in the world. He doesn’t need that focus. He only needs the space and the time to work, and hopefully then the results will arrive.“He will prove that with maybe cheaper players than United is used to, you can win. “Let’s make a team. United had great teams in the past. Most read in FootballFOOTBALL FREE BETS AND SIGN UP DEALS“United started to think that to build success they should do the same as City, burn money. “It’s not about burning money.”Man Utd’s Player Ratings Against Nottingham Forest Ferreira is now boss of agency Global Take Over but before taking the job at Braga he was a journalist and came into contact with Guardiola.He recalled: “I interviewed Guardiola and I know what I felt. “I thought he was talking to me but thinking about other things he had to do afterwards. Not humble. “You won at Barcelona. People can say it’s easy if you have Messi. You won at City – you had Sergio Aguero, David Silva. “Let’s win at  Roma, they have some money but don’t win a lot. Let’s win at Dortmund, for example, not in Bayern. It’s difficult.”Amorim was flying high after his Sporting Lisbon side thrashed City 4-1 in NovemberCredit: PAAmorim and Guardiola will be shaking hands again at the Etihad on SundayCredit: AFPFerreira feels Guardiola and City were guilty of underestimating Amorim and Sporting when they travelled to Lisbon at the start of last month.The City boss was having to manage an injury-hit squad in which senior players like Kevin de Bruyne and Kyle Walker were feeling their way back to match sharpness.Guardiola also gave centre back Jahmai Simpson-Pusey his first start, the day after his 19th birthday. And although the young defender acquitted himself well, Ferreira felt Guardiola’s overall team selection was flawed.Ferreira said: “Even with the players that he chose, from what he had, he didn’t take Sporting too seriously. “No-one in Portugal ever did that because everybody knew that Sporting had the best coach and if they were in their normal way, they would win because they had the best players.“But although Sporting is a good team, it isn’t Real Madrid or Barcelona or Bayern or one of the big teams of the world. Yet they beat City 4-1.“Guardiola learned a lesson. Because he won everything and is rich, he is lacking a little bit of humbleness.”READ MORE SUN STORIESAmorim has had an up and down start at United, while City are enduring the worst run of Guardiola’s reign and his entire managerial career – which included that defeat in LisbonIf Guardiola isn’t careful, the new man at Old Trafford may kick him when he’s down again. More

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    Arne Slot rages at Liverpool stars despite continuing 100% record but amazing stats show why Alisson is still No1

    ARNE SLOT was furious with his Liverpool players – despite them continuing their perfect Champions League record.Mo Salah’s second half penalty against Girona made it six wins from six for the Reds and means they look certain to finish the top eight and avoid a play-off round in February.Arne Slot was furious with his Liverpool players after they laboured to a 1-0 win over GironaSlot said that Liverpool were ‘outplayed’ in SpainBut Liverpool’s Slot, who welcomed back keeper Alisson from injury, slammed his team for not being “aggressive” enough in Spain.He said: “I’m really pleased with the first five games, but I’m far from pleased about this performance. Especially two things.“If you play against a team that has such a good idea about football and knows how to bring the ball out from the back like some of the teams we’ve played recently, like City or Real Madrid, you need to be so intense if you want to make it difficult for them.“But we were so easily outplayed and then this team can cause you a lot of problems. READ MORE FOOTBALL NEWS“They showed this in their games, in all of the Champions League this season, except PSV Eindhoven.“I almost feel sorry for them as they deserve so much more points than the three points they have.“The other part is every time we lost the ball, we were not aggressive enough so every time we lost the ball, they could go almost all the way to our goal and have a shot. “We had hardly any control at all over the game. Maybe the second half was a bit better – I’m trying to be positive.”Most read in FootballFOOTBALL FREE BETS AND SIGN UP DEALSBrazilian keeper Alisson had been sidelined for over two months with a hamstring injury but made five key saves before Salah struck from the spot after VAR flagged up a foul by Donny van de Beek on Luis Diaz.Slot joked: “We have to thank Alisson that we kept a clean sheet. John O’Shea says teams all over Europe will try to sign Caoimhin Kelleher from Liverpool“Maybe his team-mates wanted to make sure if he was really fit, to give him a little work.“Of course that was not the idea but he showed today why he is so important for us. I said so many times that he is our first goalkeeper. “That has nothing to do with Caoimhin Kellher, as he did so so well, but Alisson has been so important for this club for so many years and showed why he is one of the best or in my opinion, the best in the world.“Let’s hope he can keep on putting these performances in and even more that he can stay fit.”Caoimhin Kelleher was dropped back to the bench after Alisson was declared fitKelleher, who has made it known he wants to leave Merseyside, was forced to sit on the bench here in northern Spain despite helping his team storm to the top of the table.Despite Kelleher’s fine displays — his only blip was against Newcastle six days earlier — Alisson was always going to be parachuted back into the team. And he now finds himself back in a team who have still lost only once all season.Four points clear in the Premier League and now looking certain to finish in the top eight of the Champions League. This means they will miss the two-legged play-offs in February.Crucially, the second leg of the games will be played before Liverpool’s scheduled Premier League trip to face Manchester City on February 23.While Slot’s team will be able to put their feet up in that week, City — potentially — have a play-off match.Nevertheless, it looks like City are out of the title race and Liverpool are going to take some stopping in all competitions.Slot also has the added bonus that he will be able to rest any players with aches and strains for the remaining league-stage clashes against Lille and PSV Eindhoven in January.Yet the Dutchman will be mildly concerned about his team’s performance. In a crowd of about 10,000 — restricted while the ground is being renovated — there were just 492 Liverpool fans.To qualify with points, supporters had to have been to 27 European away matches including Spartak Moscow in September 2017. Talk about dedication.One player making his 235th Liverpool appearance was Joe Gomez and, remarkably, he is still looking for his first goal.Joe Gomez was booked as he was handed a rare start from centre-backHe was denied the moment he must be dreaming of in the fourth minute when Paulo Gazzaniga, who had stints at Spurs and Southampton among others, showed good reactions to push a header over the bar.Gazzaniga also kept out a well-hit drive from Darwin Nunez, who was then guilty of wasting a couple of other chances in the first half, particularly one before the break.It was exactly the sort of performance from Nunez which makes him such a frustrating player.And Slot admitted that the Uruguayan, is struggling as he made it five games without scoring.He added: “Every striker around the ball has a period where every ball goes in and sometimes he has a period when he tries so hard and it doesn’t go in. “We have other players who can score and Mo did today.“We would love to see Darwin score because every striker needs goals and that is why I kept him in for such a long time but unfortunately he couldn’t score.”The best chance of the game — until the goal — came in Girona’s first attack.Unfortunately for the home team, it fell to Daley Blind — although it will come as no surprise to Manchester United fans he completely missed the ball from six yards.How Liverpool have fared in Europe after edging past Girona in SpainLIVERPOOL maintained their 100 per cent start with victory over Girona. Check out the incredible stats behind their season so far…Twenty of Liverpool’s last 23 goals in all competitions have been scored in the second half — with nine of their 13 in the Champions League coming after the interval.The Reds have won five successive European away matches for the third time in their history, also doing so in runs ending in September 1984 and May 2022.English sides are unbeaten in their last eight matches against Spanish sides in the Champions League (W4 D4) since Real Madrid beat Chelsea 2-0 in their April 2023 clash.Girona are the 13th different Spanish side Liverpool have faced. They have beaten ten of those teams — the exceptions being Sevilla, Valencia and Celta Vigo.Mo Salah scored his sixth penalty for Liverpool in the Champions League — drawing him level with Steven Gerrard for the most for the clubAlisson saved the follow-up from Alejandro Frances and then threw out a desperate arm to avoid being beaten at his near post by Miguel Gutierrez.The Brazilian stopped an effort from an offside-looking Bryan Gil.But his finest moment came before the break when he used both his hands to save a decent strike from former Watford midfielder Yaser Asprilla.Just seconds into the second half, Alisson was at it again, denying Arnaut Danjuma this time.Girona’s defence certainly had few problems dealing with the Liverpool attack, who looked to have run out of ideas when Diaz fell to the ground after tangling with Van de Beek.French referee Benoit Bastien told Diaz to get up as he thought it was a dive. Yet after Andy Robertson’s shot had been saved for a corner, VAR checked over the clash.Bastien was called over to the screen and did not take long before pointing to the spot — and Salah stuck away the penalty by sending the keeper the wrong way.READ MORE SUN STORIESLiverpool avoided any late dramas to record an 18th win in 21 matches for Slot. When he landed on Merseyside, at no stage did he think it would be this easy. More

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    Under-fire manager SWEARS live on Amazon Prime as Gabby Logan laughs awkwardly weeks after she was forced to apologise

    GABBY LOGAN laughed awkwardly after RB Leipzig boss Marco Rose swore live on air.The German was interviewed by Logan for Prime Video ahead of his side’s 3-2 defeat to Aston Villa.Gabby Logan laughed awkwardly after Marco Rose sworeRose was asked about Leipzig’s upturn in form after winning their last two league games – having previously lost all five Champions League matches.He responded, telling Prime Video: “Like always, if you win everything is fine but if you lose it’s s***. “The mood is much better than the games before but we have to use it today.”Logan, 51, responded by laughing awkwardly in response to Rose’s inappropriate language.READ MORE IN FOOTBALLIt comes just weeks after the presenter was forced to apologise after pundit Josie Henning swore on live TV.Former Arsenal Women’s star Henning was providing analysis of Manchester City following their 3-3 draw with Feyenoord when she let slip a swear word.She said: “The situation is a little bit s***.”The 35-year-old then looked over at presenter Logan, and joked: “Gabby’s looking at me like oh my god she said it, but no it is the worst.”Most read in Champions LeagueBEST FREE BET SIGN UP OFFERS FOR UK BOOKMAKERSUltimate sports presenters rich listTV sports presenters make a mint.The biggest and best are signed up on yearly deals with the likes of the BBC, ITV and Sky for your viewing pleasure.Laura Woods is dominating the media landscape at the moment, leading TNT Sports’ coverage and ITV’s.Alex Scott and Jermaine Jenas are two of the fresher faces for the BBC’s sporting output.Then, it’s the old guard of Gary Lineker and Mark Chapman who also command hefty fees for their Match of the Day programmes.SunSport has taken a look at how those big names rank and compiled a list of the top 10 highest earning stars that grace our TV screens.With number one worth a whopping £29.4million more than number 10!Read the story and see the full list here.Logan could be seen smiling at the comment.She then added quickly: “I’m just looking at the time it’s 10:20pm. I do apologise.”Meet Aston Villa wonderkid Lamare Bogarde who has a famous uncle More

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    RB Leipzig 2 Aston Villa 3: Barkley’s deflected strike gives Villans huge Champions League automatic qualifying boost

    ASTON VILLA finally managed to grab the Red Bull by the horns as super sub Ross Barkley snatched a dramatic late win in Leipzig.Villa inspirational sub was only on the park for two minutes when he crashed home a shot which took a wicked deflection off Lukas Klostermann to leave Peter Gulacsi stranded.Ross Barkley scored the winner for Aston VillaCredit: RexJohn Duran came off the bench to score a crucial goalCredit: RexJohn McGinn came up with another goal in the Champions LeagueCredit: GettyVilla rode their luck at times and led Leipzig twice – only to let them back in twice.But Barkley’s winner proved just too much for the home side to recover from as Villa stormed into the top eight of the Champions League.If Carlsberg did starts to a football match they would have hand-picked this one for Villa.Unai Emery’s men were in dreamland when skipper John McGinn fired them in front with just two minutes and 33 seconds on the clock.READ MORE IN FOOTBALLMatty Cash, standing in for the injured Leon Bailey wide on the right – picked out Ollie Watkins with a deep cross to the back stick.The England striker rose on his own and cushioned an inviting header into the path of McGinn who accepted the gift with glee.The Scot expertly tucked the ball away with his less favoured right foot from nine yards to stun the hosts.Only Peter Withe against Vitoria Guimaraes and Spartak Moscow, both in 1983, had managed to score quicker goals for Villa in Europe.Most read in Champions LeagueBEST FREE BET SIGN UP OFFERS FOR UK BOOKMAKERSThe big stage certainly brings out the best in McGinn.He scored his last goal for Villa in this competition against Bologna.’Referee had no choice but to award a penalty after Tyrone Mings’ schoolboy error – he’s absolutely spot on’And he also overtook Scottish scoring legend Ally McCoist when he scored on his last two international outings against Croatia and Poland.At that point Villa looked in cruise control.Watkins was a fraction away from getting on the end of a Lucas Digne delivery which flashed across the face of goal.Then Youri Tielemans and McGinn worked a short corner which ended with the Scot blazing his shot high and wide.Tielemans was next to try his luck when he screwed his shot wide after good build-up play by McGinn, Digne and Watkins.We all sat and waited for the next goal.What we never expected was that RB Leipzig would score it!Yet somehow after 27 minutes Leipzig struck as Villa undid all their previous good work.Once again Villa’s Kamikaze defending reared its ugly head again in Europe.The last time they were on their travels, Tyrone Mings committed football hari-kari, picking the ball up in his own box to hand Brugge a soft penalty and three points.This time it was Emi Martinez and Diego Carlos’s turn to hang their heads in shame.Nicolas Seiwald’s hopeful punt forward should have been bread and butter for the World’s No.1 goalie and an experienced defender like Carlos to deal with.Martinez actually started to come but then had second thoughts as he realised the ball was going to bounce just outside his penalty area.So he slammed the brakes on and left Carlos to deal with the danger – only the Brazilian didn’t!As Villa’s pair played pass the buck and dithered, Lois Openda cashed in.He nipped in to nick the ball around Martinez and roll the ball into the unguarded net to notch a dramatic equaliser.Stung, Villa surged back onto the front foot.Matty Cash raced onto a Morgan Rogers through ball but Peter Gulacsi beat his shot away for a corner.Villa thought they had regained the lead when McGinn sent Watkins clear and the striker calmly drilled the ball through Gulacsi’s legs.But Villa’s joy was short-lived as the flag went up for offside and VAR agreed Watkins had just strayed a fraction off.It was to be the striker’s last act as he went off at the break holding his thigh and was replaced by Jhon Duran.The Colombian’s first involvement was to drill a low shot wide but boy did he make his second contribution count!Emi Martinez set the ball rolling with a quick throw out to Youri Tielemans and Villa passed through Leipzig before the ball was worked to Duran, 45 yards from goal.The big striker strode forward and unleashed an absolute peach of a left footer which ripped into the net, directly above Gulacsi’s head as he was caught slightly off his line.It was a sensational finish on a par with his stunning winner against Bayern Munich.Confidence soaring, Duran thought he had killed off Leipzig six minutes later.Matty Cash broke down the right and delivered a perfect centre which Duran strode onto and slotted into the net from six yards.However his celebrations were cut short by VAR who spotted Cash had strayed a fraction offside when he gathered the ball.Incredibly Leipzig used that let-off to inspire them to equalise again!Openda picked out Cristoph Baumgartner at the back post and his cushioned volley flew over Martinez to find the top corner of Villa’s net.It was another spectacular finish which left Emery scratching his head at how his side had let another lead slip.READ MORE SUN STORIESBut it was almost worse when Pau Torres presented Lois Openda with a gift in front of goal, only for Martinez to bail him out with a crucial save.Leipzig’s sponsors Red Bull might give you wings. But Villa’s RB gives you wins! More

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    Champions League LIVE RESULTS: Aston Villa edge five-goal thriller in Leipzig, Liverpool beat Girona – latest reaction

    TUESDAY’S Champions League action has concluded after some thrilling ties around Europe.Earlier, Liverpool continued their perfect record in the competition with a win in Girona, as Mohamed Salah’s penalty was the difference between the two sides. On Tuesday evening, fellow Premier League giants Aston Villa edged a five-goal thriller with RB Leipzig.Elsewhere, Jude Bellingham helped Real Madrid to a 3-2 win over Atalanta – and Bayern thrashed Shakhtar 5-1 despite going 1-0 down early doors.Live stream: discovery+/Amazon Prime VideoTV channel: TNT Sports/Amazon Prime VideoFOOTBALL FREE BETS AND SIGN UP DEALSFollow ALL the action from Matchday Six with our live blog below…Still plenty to comeAnother huge card of Champions League action to come tomorrow night, too!Here’s what we’ve got to look forward to:5.45pmAtletico Madrid vs Slovan BratislavaLille vs Sturm Graz8pmMilan vs Red StarArsenal vs MonacoBenfica vs BolognaDortmund vs BarcelonaFeyenoord vs Sparta PragueJuventus vs Man CityStuttgart vs Young BoysCopy linkCopied’Love the competition’Jhon Duran says he’s enjoying the competition to be Villa’s number 9 with Ollie Watkins.And the forward – who turns 21 this week – insists there will be no celebrations with all eyes on scoring this Saturday.He told Amazon Prime Sport: “I am just happy to be here and love the competition with Ollie Watkins. When it is my turn hopefully I can step up and help the team.”We’re so happy to be where we are and we are almost through so we are delighted about that.”I am definitely not going out to celebrate my birthday [on Friday] because my aim is to score to celebrate on Saturday to celebrate.”Copy linkCopied50 upKylian Mbappe scored tonight’s opener for Real Madrid.But he was subbed with an injury in the first half as Madrid’s injury woes continue.It was the Frenchman’s 50th Champions League goal already!On the game, Jude Bellingham told TNT: “Really important for us to get the points tonight. We knew how difficult it would be. It was important we got over the line.”Copy linkCopiedVilla reportBy Graeme BryceAston Villa finally managed to grab the Red Bull by the horns as super sub Ross Barkley snatched a dramatic late win in Leipzig.Villa inspirational sub was only on the park for two minutes when he crashed home a shot which took a wicked deflection off Lukas Klostermann to leave Peter Gulacsi stranded.Villa rode their luck at times and led Leipzig twice – only to let them back in twice.But Barkley’s winner proved just too much for the home side to recover from as Villa stormed into the top eight of the Champions League.If Carlsberg did starts to a football match they would have hand-picked this one for Villa.Unai Emery’s men were in dreamland when skipper John McGinn fired them in front with just two minutes and 33 seconds on the clock.Copy linkCopiedReds reportBy Charlie WyettYou really have to spare a thought for Caoimhin Kelleher – he must be the only pi**ed off person under Arne Slot at Liverpool.Despite helping his team storm to the top of the table in both England and Europe over the last two months, winning 10 games and drawing two, the Irish keeper was booted out of the team the moment No.1 keeper Alisson was fit.Kelleher, who has made it known he wants to leave Merseyside, was forced to sit on the bench here in Catalonia and, predictably, watch Alisson prove why he is surely the best keeper in the world.On a night when Slot’s team under-performed, Alisson proved there was no rustiness in his game with five key saves. Slot’s surprisingly toothless attack was helped by VAR on the hour when it spotted that former Manchester United midfielder Donny van de Beek had stood on the heel of Luiz Diaz.Mo Salah, who barely got a kick all night, delivered a textbook penalty meaning that of Liverpool’s last 23 goals, 20 of them have come in the second half.Copy linkCopiedProgressionBrendan Rodgers was disappointed with the lack of quality up the top end for Celtic as they stuttered to a 0-0 at Dinamo Zagreb.But he reckons the fact there is disappointment in the camp shows how far they’ve come in this competition – despite still not winning away from home.He said: “The positive is we’ve come away from the game defensively strong and didn’t concede. I thought we lacked quality in the final third. The pitch was a little bit tricky.”We had great energy, good commitment. In the Champions League, if you get a clean sheet and take a point away from home and you’re not very happy, that shows how the team has progressed.”Copy linkCopied’Small injury’Unai Emery confirms Jhon Duran replaced Ollie Watkins at half time as the Englishman had a small injury.More on that to come likely – but it proved inspired anyway with Duran doing what he does.Copy linkCopiedHow we standA look at the top of the Champions League table after the halfway point of matchday 6.Liverpool still rolling along clear in front.Aston Villa up to third now after that win tonight!Copy linkCopied’Could’ve been more’John McGinn hailed the Villa substitutes for coming on and making a difference in their big win in Leipzig.The Celtic fan says this one sets them up for games against Monaco and the Hoops.He told Amazon Prime Sport: “It was disappointing losing the offside goal. I think the two goals we conceded were disappointing from our point of view. I thought overall we were the better team and we could have scored more.”We dealt with their problems well and what we needed today was substitutes to come on and make a difference.”It is exciting. We had some disappointing results off the great start and it is great to be in the top three. We have that Monaco game and then a nice one against Celtic.”Copy linkCopiedAngry SlotArne Slot was furious with his Liverpool team even though they maintained their 100 per cent Champions League record.Mo Salah’s second half penalty means the Reds look certain to finish in the top eight and avoid a play-off round in February.But boss Slot, who welcomed back keeper Alisson from injury, tore into his team for not being “aggressive” enough and failing to take control of the game in Spain.The Dutchman said: “I’m really pleased with the first five games, but I’m far from pleased about this performance. Especially two things. “If you play against a team that has such a good idea about football and knows how to bring the ball out from the back like some of the teams we’ve played recently, like City or Real Madrid, you need to be so intense if you want to make it difficult for them.“But we were so easily outplayed and then this team can cause you a lot of problems. They showed this in their games, in all of the Champions League this season, except PSV Eindhoven. I almost feel sorry for them as they deserve so much more points than the three points they have.“The other part is every time we lost the ball, we were not aggressive enough so every time we lost the ball, they could go almost all the way to our goal and have a shot. We had hardly any control at all over the game. Maybe the second half was a bit better – I’m trying to be positive.”Copy linkCopiedFT – Club Brugge 2-1 SportingClub Brugge do cling on in stoppage time.Huge win for them as the post-Ruben Amorim era continues to stall for Sporting!Copy linkCopiedFull time from Graeme Bryce in LeipzigRB Leipzig were beaten by Villa’s very own RB …. Ross Barkley.Villa’s supersub came off the bench to grab a famous win – although his winner owed everything to a massive deflection.The midfielder won’t care about that however.Leipzig’s sponsors Red Bull might give you wings.But Villa’s RB gives you wins!Copy linkCopiedFULL TIMES!Still playing in Brugge where the second half kicked off late due to a first half injury.But we’re all done everywhere else.Girona 0-1 LiverpoolDinamo Zagreb 0-0 CelticAtalanta 2-3 Real MadridBayer Leverkusen 1-0 Inter MilanClub Brugge 2-1 Sporting Lisbon LATESTRB Salzburg 0-3 PSGShakhtar Donetsk 1-5 Bayern MunichRB Leipzig 2-3 Aston VillaBrest 1-0 PSV EindhovenCopy linkCopied90 – GOAL! Shakhtar 1-5 BAYERNIncredible solo goal from MICHAEL OLISE!He collects the ball 25 yards from goal and beats five defenders to get into the box and 1v1 with the keeper.He fakes a shot to sit the keeper down and cheekily rolls the ball into the back of an empty net. Potential for goal of the night, that. Beauty.Copy linkCopied84 – GOAL! CLUB BRUGGE 2-1 SportingHuge, huge goal in Belgium for the home side!CASPER NIELSEN is off the bench for the matter of a couple of minutes before he’s sent clean through down the right.He shows great pace to stay clear and finishes tremendously well beyond the keeper into the far corner.Copy linkCopied90 – GOAL! LEVERKUSEN 1-0 InterThe deadlock is finally broken in Germany!Mukiele attempts an overhead kick but instead plays it down the right of the area for a team-mate.The ball is flashed across goal and when the kick is missed from a few yards out, it lands at the feet of NORDI MUKIELE who smashes home from six yards out!Copy linkCopied87 – GOAL! Shakhtar 1-4 BAYERN JAMAL MUSIALA wraps it all up!He is down in the area looking for a penalty as Bayern play on. He hops to his feet on the penalty spot when the ball lands at his feet.He feigns to shoot and sits two defenders down before passing into the corner.Copy linkCopied85 – GOAL! Salzburg 0-3 PSGSplendid team goal and DESIRE DOUE has it.PSG work it superbly down the right and when Hakimi looks set to score from eight yards out, he opts to roll it across the six-yard box for Doue to smash into the top corner.Copy linkCopied85 – GOAL! Leipzig 2-3 ASTON VILLAA huge, huge goal for Villa and it’s ROSS BARKLEY who has it!But it ‘s with the help of an almighty deflection.Leipzig struggle to clear it on the edge of their own box and it’s cleared to Barkley 25 yards from goal. He takes a touch and slips as he hits it, it takes a wicked deflection to wrong-foot the keeper and arrows into the opposite corner.Villa won’t care one jot.Copy linkCopiedLatest scoresChampions League latest scores entering the final 20 minutes:Atalanta 2-3 Real MadridBayer Leverkusen 0-0 Inter MilanClub Brugge 1-1 Sporting LisbonRB Salzburg 0-2 PSGShakhtar Donetsk 1-3 Bayern MunichRB Leipzig 2-2 Aston VillaBrest 1-0 PSV EindhovenCopy linkCopiedSecond half view from Graeme Bryce in LeizpigOllie Watkins left the pitch at half-time clutching his thigh and was replaced at the break by Jhon Duran.And the Colombian kid rose to the occasion again as he swept home another stunner to put Villa ahead.He thought he had wrapped up all three points when he tapped home a Matty Cash centre – only for VAR to catch Cash offside.And amazingly Leipzig cashed in on the reprieve to stun Villa with another equaliser as Openda picked out Cristoph Baumgartner whose cushioned volley flew over Martinez to find the top corner of Villa’s net.A big finale is needed now from Villa.Copy linkCopied72 – GOAL! Salzburg 0-2 PSGAnd that looks like game over in Austria!Barcola involved again, sliding in Doue down the left. His cut-back is met by NUNO MENDES who carried on his run and he smashes into the top corner from seven yards.Huge win this!Copy linkCopied69 – GOAL! Shakhtar 1-3 BAYERNNo, no. This CANNOT be a penalty! Madrid’s luck is matched by Bayern’s here. Extremely harsh and maybe a bit of ‘big team’ tax there.Sacha Boey is shutting a shot down and slides in, hitting the turf first and almost as a trip on himself makes contact with a Bayern man.Penalty given but very harsh.MICHAEL OLISE strokes it home.Copy linkCopied65– GOAL! ATALANTA 2-3 Real MadridGame on again after a terrific ADEMOLA LOOKMAN strike!He’s picked out with a switch of play wide on the left.He works it inside onto his right foot away from Lucas and smashes low and hard at the near post, beyond Courtois with sheer power.Copy linkCopied62 – GOAL! LEIPZIG 2-2 Aston VillaStunning finish this and Leipzig – who thought they were 3-1 down a couple of minutes ago – are level!Jhon Duran gives the ball away midway inside Leipzig’s half and the hosts break, via a long ball for Openda.He gets in behind but has to slow up. He does so and waits for CHRISTOPH BAUMGARTNER who is at an angle and delicately volleys back across goal and into the far corner passed a despairing Martinez. Beauty.Copy linkCopied More

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    Man Utd flop rips Luis Diaz’s boot off as he suffers nightmare vs Liverpool’s to gift former rivals winning penalty

    MANCHESTER UNITED flop Donny van de Beek gifted Liverpool a win after a clumsy foul on Luis Diaz inside the box.The Reds were not at their fluid best against Girona but won 1-0 thanks to Mo Salah’s 63rd minute spot-kick.Donny van de Beek brought down Luis Diaz inside the boxCredit: ReutersThe clumsy challenge resulted in Mo Salah scoring a penaltyCredit: AFPDIaz’s boot was ripped off in the tackleDiaz won the penalty after being fouled in the penalty area by Van de Beek.A clumsy challenge from the midfielder resulted in him bringing down the Colombian.Van de Beek stood on the back of Diaz’s left foot, causing his boot to rip off as the winger fell to the floor.Diaz still attempted a shot despite missing a boot, but slipped as he had no grip wearing just his sock.READ MORE IN FOOTBALLSalah stepped up and made no mistake to take his goal tally to 15 for the season.Liverpool continued their 100 per cent record in the Champions League with six wins from six.Fans poked fun at Van de Beek with one saying: “Man Utd flop always costing clubs😭😭”Another added: “Take a man out of Manchester but you can never take out the Manchester United in him.”Most read in Champions LeagueBEST FREE BET SIGN UP OFFERS FOR UK BOOKMAKERSA third wrote: “Van de Beek left Man United months ago and is still haunting Man United fans.”Van de Beek, 27, made just 62 appearances for United in three years at Old Trafford, of which just 23 were starts.Gary Neville throws DRINK over Carragher after Liverpool blow Newcastle lead as fans say ‘he was gonna go for him there’He was signed for £25million but scored just two goals, and was subsequently loaned out to Everton and Eintracht Frankfurt before joining Girona on a permanent basis in the summer. More

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    Girona 0 Liverpool 1: Salah scores from spot and Alisson returns to help Reds keep 100% Champions League record

    YOU really have to spare a thought for Caoimhin Kelleher – he must be the only pi**ed off person under Arne Slot at Liverpool.Despite helping his team storm to the top of the table in both England and Europe over the last two months, winning 10 games and drawing two, the Irish keeper was booted out of the team the moment No.1 keeper Alisson was fit.Mo Salah’s penalty was the only goal of the game as Liverpool edged a nervy encounter in GironaLiverpool fans were delighted to see Alisson back in business between the sticks after a lengthy injuryEx-Man Utd midfielder Donny van de Beek conceded the penaltyCredit: GettyCaoimhin Kelleher was dropped back to the bench after Alisson was declared fitKelleher, who has made it known he wants to leave Merseyside, was forced to sit on the bench here in Catalonia and, predictably, watch Alisson prove why he is surely the best keeper in the world.On a night when Slot’s team under-performed, Alisson proved there was no rustiness in his game with five key saves. Slot’s surprisingly toothless attack was helped by VAR on the hour when it spotted that former Manchester United midfielder Donny van de Beek had stood on the heel of Luiz Diaz.Mo Salah, who barely got a kick all night, delivered a textbook penalty meaning that of Liverpool’s last 23 goals, 20 of them have come in the second half.READ MORE FOOTBALL NEWSAlisson has delivered some exceptional performances for Liverpool in the Champions League over the years. He will never beat the stoppage time save from Napoli’s Arkadiusz Milik in December 2018 which kept Liverpool in the Champions League – and they went on to beat Tottenham in the final.But Alisson has proved that six years later, he has got even better and the only worry are his dodgy hamstrings.There were also moments against the third best team in Spain last year when the 32-year-old was just as good with his feet, playing tight passes with his defenders and at one stage, delivering a brilliant chip over the head of an onrushing player.Most read in FootballFOOTBALL FREE BETS AND SIGN UP DEALSKelleher’s mistakes against Newcastle in the Prem last week came at the worst possible time before Alisson’s returnDespite Kelleher’s fine displays – his only blip was against Newcastle six days earlier – and Alisson was always going to be parachuted back into the team.And he now finds himself back in a team that have still only lost once all season. Mo Salah drops yet another hint about leaving Liverpool win days after admitting he was ‘more out than in’ Four points clear in the Premier League and now looking certain to finish in the top eight of the Champions League. This means they will miss the play-off round with two matches to be played in February.Crucially, the second leg of the games will be played before Liverpool’s scheduled Prem trip away to Manchester City on February 23.While Slot’s team will be able to put their feet up in that week, City – potentially – have a play-off game.Nevertheless, it looks as though City are out of the title race and Liverpool will take some stopping in all competitions.Prime Alisson is back as he put in a Man of the Match performance in SpainSlot also has the added bonus that he will be able to rest any players with aches and strains for the remaining group matches against Lille and PSV Eindhoven in JanuaryBut the Dutchman will be mildly concerned about the performance from his team. In a crowd of around 10,000 – restricted as Uefa do not allow temporary seating – there were just 492 Liverpool fans .To qualify with points, fans had to have been to 27 European away matches including Spartak Moscow in September 2017. Talk about dedication.One player making his 235th Liverpool appearance was Joe Gomez and remarkably, he is still looking for his first goal.He was denied the moment he must be dreaming of in the fourth minute when Paulo Gazzaniga, who had stints at Spurs and Southampton among others, showed good reactions to push a header over the bar.Gazzaniga then kept out a well-hit drive from Darwin Nunez who was then guilty of wasting a couple of other chances in the first half, particularly one before the break. It was exactly the sort of performance from Nunez which makes him such a frustrating player.Joe Gomez was handed a rare start from SlotThe penalty was awarded after Van de Beek stepped on Luis Diaz’s footAlisson was forced to stop former Spurs star Bryan Gil on several occasionsThe best chance of the first game – until the goal – came in Girona’s first attack. Unfortunately for the home team, fell to Daley Blind although it will come as no surprise to United fans that he completely missed the ball from six yards.Alisson saved the follow-up from Alejandro Frances and then threw out a desperate arm to avoid being beaten at his near post by Miguel Gutierrez.The Brazilian kept out an effort from an offside-looking Bryan Gil but his finest moment came before the break when he used both his hands to keep out a decent strike from former Watford midfielder Yaser Asprilla. Just seconds into the second half, Alisson was at it again, saving at his near post to keep out Arnaut DanjumaGirona’s defence certainly had few problems dealing with the Liverpool attack, who looked to have run out of ideas when Diaz fell to the ground after tangling with Van de Beek.Ex-Man Utd star Daley Blind missed the best chance of the first halfFrench referee Benoit Bastien told Diaz to get up as he thought it was a dive. Yet after Andy Robertson’s shot had been saved for a corner, VAR checked over the clash.Bastien was called over to the screen and did not take long before pointing to the spot and Salah stuck away the penalty by sending the keeper the wrong wayREAD MORE SUN STORIESLiverpool avoided any late dramas for yet an 18th win in 21 matches for Slot. When he landed on Merseyside, at no stage did he think it would be this easy. More