Liverpool FC are still smarting from their thrashing at the hands of arch-rivals Manchester United right now, a result that has a lot of people asking all kinds of questions. And we’ll cover all of those, as we head towards the next weekend league fixture, this time at Anfield against AFC Bournemouth.
But first, some warmer and happier thoughts. Liverpool fare better than anyone else in England when it comes to competing in Europe. They fell just one game shy of winning their seventh European Cup/Champions League title last season, and they have reached the title game in three of the past five competitions.
The quest for seventh heaven begins this week as the groupings for the 2022/23 UEFA Champions League will be announced live Thursday at 12PM ET.
Held in Istanbul, Turkey, the Champions League draw will feature 32 teams being split into four seeding pots. UCL Fixtures will be confirmed after the draw for an eight-week long group stage that will begin on September 6. Here’s how to watch:
Stream the UEFA Champions League group stage draw live Thursday at 12PM ET on Paramount+. Try it FREE!
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp was asked how easy it was to avoid looking at the league table right now (where the Reds currently sit 16th) and he responded:
“If you want to be a bit of a pervert then you look at it. It is not the nicest thing to look at, that is clear but it is our situation. Look, we can talk about all the things, but in the end I saw tonight again. During the week, it is not easy. We had 15 senior outfield players in training.
“That’s obviously not cool, but for the game tonight, I like the lineup. I saw good performances as well tonight, obviously not good enough to win the game. But I think we all know if we score in any situation the equaliser, it would not be the biggest surprise in the world. It is a deserved draw after a start where United looked sharper than us, but it was not [for] too long and in the situation, a little bit expected.”
The German is urging the supporters to help make Anfield a fortress again this weekend. He believes this help get his team fired up and fighting to move up the table.
“To play the football we are able to play, we want to fight,” Klopp continued.
“We have a good home game on Saturday and Anfield has to be rocking. We have to set the fire and the rhythm. We will try absolutely everything that every Liverpool supporter will expect. We will fight for our lives.”
Finally, a lot has been said lately about Virgil van Dijk- that he’s not what he used to be. Plenty has been written and said about him not being the world’s greatest defender anymore. Some of the more thoughtful and accurate analysis comes from Micah Richards, a pundit whose work we enjoy and admire. Richard points out the uncharacteristic mistakes VVD has been making this season, including the gaffe on Jadon Sancho’s goal.
He has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune, and he co-hosts the After Extra Time podcast, part of Edge of the Crowd Network. Follow him and the website on Twitter and Instagram.
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Bank (TheSportsBank.Net) and author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” as well as “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
