Liverpool FC have now completed 2/3 of their preseason exhibition tour of the United States of America. Today, on what was the hottest day that the city of Boston has seen in nearly three decades, the Reds lost 2-1 to Sevilla at Fenway Park.
It was a match that was anything but friendly, and it will unfortunately be remembered most for one dirty tackle and scary, ugly challenge. After the game however, major news broke in regards to forward Sadio Mane. Following international duty with Senegal in the Africa Cup of Nations, Mane will join the team on August 5th, after the Community Shield clash against Manchester City.
He’ll be back and in contention for both the Premier League season opener against Norwich City and the UEFA Super Cup versus Chelsea.
“He is in good shape,” Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp told Liverpoolfc.com.
“Obviously they had a celebration in Senegal and I’m happy about that because it showed that they respect the competition and saw the second place as a success, which is nice.”
“He is now on holiday, not the longest one – he will be back on August 5, after the Manchester City game. That means he had two weeks. There is four or five days to prepare for Norwich, 10 days for Chelsea [in the UEFA Super Cup].”
Elsewhere, midfielder and sometimes when necessary defender James Milner admits his contract situation is still up in the air. (Also, he’s been working out a lot)
Sun's out, guns out ?
James Milner looks like he's spent his whole summer in the gym ? pic.twitter.com/66T6Amiyo7
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) July 17, 2019
He has just one year left
“As it stands, last year we spoke to the club and asked them if they wanted to do something and they said not at that time,” explained Milner.
“We haven’t heard anything since, so that’s where we are at.
“All I can do is concentrate on my football and do what I can. But in terms of where I am with my contract, that’s what has happened up until now and I haven’t heard anything from the club.”
Finally, an update on the “Can I get a hug Jurgen Klopp?” guy at the end of the post Notre Dame press conference on Friday night.
He works for iHeart Radio, and he was spotted drinking beers in the stands during part of the match. No, what he did was not staged, and not part of an inside joke or anything.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” regularly appears on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
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