A dejected Luis Suarez of Liverpool (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
Liverpool's spirited comeback fell short as Hulk's early strike ensured Zenit St. Petersburg progressed to the next round of the Europa League.
Two free kicks from Luis Suarez and a close-range finish from Joe Allen provided the home crowd with optimism going into the latter stages of the match.
Xabi Alonso wants to end his playing days back at his beloved Liverpool. The Real Madrid midfield star's current deal has 18 months to run and the Spanish giants won't start talks until the summer. But by then, Alonso, 31, will already have decided on his future, with a desire to link up once more with his great friend, Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard.
Under-fire Liverpool man Stewart Downing hushed a few of his critics in the Kop with a stunning winning goal against Anzhi in last night's Europa League match. Ironically, the England international derided his team-mates over his new role as a makeshift left-back had been shunted to left-back at the time he scored the [.
A trip to Anfield is always full of trepidation, despite Liverpool's recent decline, they are
still a team that hold many dangers. If the Kop are allowed to get into the game they can be a
telling 12th man roaring their team on. With this in mind Arsène Wenger and his newly arranged
squad deserve a large amount of credit for making the game a very relaxed enjoyable affair for us
fans.
A trip to Anfield is always full of trepidation, despite Liverpool's recent decline, they are
still a team that hold many dangers. If the Kop are allowed to get into the game they can be a
telling 12th man roaring their team on. With this in mind Arsène Wenger and his newly arranged
squad deserve a large amount of credit for making the game a very relaxed enjoyable affair for us
fans.
Two of Arsenal's summer signings, namely Lukas Podolski and Santi Cazorla, struck either side of
the break to win 2-0 at Liverpool and force the home side to remain without a single win in the
Premier League this season.
Podolski made his impact right in front of the Kop at the half-hour mark when he finely struck
from the left side of the box to give Pepe Reina no chance of a save.
Andy Carroll saga: Liverpool playing hardball, Newcastle priced out of move - originally posted
on Soccerlens.com
The ongoing speculation over Andy Carroll's future continues, as the will-he, won't-he talk of a
transfer rolls on. Much has been made of Brendan Rodgers' intentions to play others ahead of the
England international for Liverpool this season, but the Northern Irish manager still will not let
the forward leave on the cheap; especially to former club Newcastle.
There was a lot of movement both on the pitch and in the stands for Liverpool
when they took on Man City yesterday. From the unceremonious introduction of Lucas
Leiva's ice pack after his disappointing exit in the fourth minute (above) to
Daniel Agger's arrival in his dapper suit ("I'm here, mennesker!
Daniel Agger has admitted he would like to stay at Liverpool, but admits the situation is out of
his hands.
Manchester City and Barcelona are chasing Agger with Premier League champions City believed to have
seen two bids already rejected for the classy central defender.
City is thought to be readying a third bid for Agger with Roberto Mancini keen to bring in the
defender before the close of the transfer window.
Liverpool star Lucas Leiva has revealed he can't wait to play at Anfield against FC Gomel as he
continues his rehabilitation after a serious knee injury.
The Brazilian midfielder, 25, is likely to play a part in the Reds' Europa League qualifying round
second leg clash with the Belarusians on Thursday.
Carra played his 700th game in Belarus...Gomel will be the
opposition at Anfield on Thursday evening as Brendan Rodgers looks to send Liverpool through to the
next round of the Europa League in his first match as manager in front of the Kop.
The first leg ended in a Liverpool win after Stewart Downing found the back of the net but it
wasn't an easy victory for the Reds as Gomel provided the defence with several problems.
Gomel will be the opposition at Anfield on Thursday evening as Brendan Rodgers looks to send Liverpool through to the next round of the Europa League in his first match as manager in front of the Kop.
Joe Cole has stated that he is ready to revive his career at Liverpool and win over the kop.
Cole was signed on a Bosman in the summer of 2010 by Roy Hodgson and was Hodgson's first signing.
But he struggled to establish himself in the first team and also faced some injury problems. He
scored only 3 goals in 32 appearances in the 2010-11 season.
Fabio Borini has signed for Liverpool for a free rumored to be around £10 million. The Italian
International is Brendan Rodger's first signing since he arrived at Anfield. Borini who knew
Rodgers from his time at Chelsea has also played under him during his loan spell at Swansea.
He has joined Liverpool on the back of a good season at Roma where he managed to score 10 goals
from 26 matches.
Maxi Rodriguez has left Liverpool. The former Athletico Madrid midfielder arrived at Anfield in
January 2010 and he scored a very healthy 17 goals in 73 appearances for the Reds. He is rejoining
Newell's Old Boys of Argentina.
He wrote an open letter to all Liverpool fans: Dear Reds, I am leaving Liverpool FC today.
Where would Liverpool target Clint Dempsey fit into the Reds' setup? - originally posted on
Soccerlens.com
Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers has admitted that his first signings as Reds boss are not too far
away, with the team's attack in need of a revamp. With Andy Carroll looking surplus to requirements
in the Northern Irishman's thoughts, sprightly Roma striker Fabio Borini has been identified as a
more agile replacement.
Brendan Rodgers says he is planning to use the Spanish tactics that have taken the world by storm
in recent years as a blueprint for future success at Liverpool.
The 39-year-old manager won many admirers for the way he built on the foundations of the current
Wigan boss Roberto Martinez at Swansea that had the club likened to the reigning world and European
champions.
There's nothing quite like a trip to Wembley, and today's a very big day for Liverpool fans.
While Liverpool has adopted "You'll never walk alone", back in 1964 the crowd sang "She Loves You"
and channeled their inner Lennon and McCartney.
This monstrosity is currently doing the rounds on the internet purporting to be a mock up of
Liverpool's new Warrior third kit for next season it ain't pretty...
It's more than likely the handiwork of some scurrilous Scouse scallywags but, if it does prove
to be kosher, then may the good lord Xenu descend and push safety pins through my eyes before the
start of next season.
This monstrosity is currently doing the rounds on the internet purporting to be a mock up of
Liverpool's new Warrior third kit for next season it ain't pretty...
It's more than likely the handiwork of some scurrilous Scouse scallywags but, if it does prove
to be kosher, then may the good lord Xenu descend and push safety pins through my eyes before the
start of next season.
The premature post-mortem into the league campaign begins, and if criticizing a popular manager is
too hard to stomach, there is usually an array of boardroom executives, owners or Liverpool players
who are more convenient targets.
Nowadays, there is an even more vulnerable object of the fans' ire: the director of football.
Here at the Liverpool Offside we've got some shocking news to share with you today: Andy Carroll
thinks Steven Gerrard is kind of awesome. No confirmation on whether he thinks he's big and fucking
hard, too, though if you really dig for it you could infer that he does. And that could probably
get a little awkward for some of you if we decided to mention Steven Gerrard's Groin alongside
regular Steven Gerrard right about now.
Liverpool produced a gritty and commanding performance against dogged and determined Stoke City on
Sunday afternoon in the FA Cup quarter-final tie at Anfield to progress to the semi-finals where
they will have a home tie against either Everton or Sunderland.
Fine individual goals from Luis Suarez and Stewart Downing set the seal on a terrific day in front
of the kop.
Back in July 2010, Liverpool FC were in a state of turmoil as their UEFA Champions League
winning manager Rafael Benitez had been dismissed, or in our PC world "left by mutual consent", for
a continuing run of poor results and ever increasing calls from fans for a change, after having
spent close to $300m on new players.
As alluded to already this morning, Liverpool hammered Brighton 6-1 at Anfield in the FA Cup
yesterday afternoon without actually scoring half of the goals, with the Seagulls notching three
own goals the first time three O.Gs have been scored by the same side in a match since the FA Cup
began in 1871.
Liverpool midfielder Jordan Henderson believes that playing at Old Trafford tomorrow afternoon
could actually prove beneficial for the Reds, who have not been at their best at home this
season.
Despite using the Kop to their advantage to knock Manchester City out of the Carling Cup and
Manchester United out of the FA Cup, Liverpool's league form at Anfield has been nothing to rave
about.
Luis Suarez is back in business, whether any of you
futbolitinos like it or not! Over the weekend, we spoke to a few
Uruguayans about the striker's return to the Premier League and they all shared a
similar nonchalant and supportive approach for the Liverpool man.
There came a point at the beginning of last year when you simply knew it was coming. Perhaps
it was the infamous Roy Hodgson face rub – a sure sign that man had reached his last bastion of
pure desperation – the previous December, or the penalty that Steven Gerrard sent soaring
uncharacteristically over the bar against Blackburn the same month.
The subtext was Luis Suarez watching from the stand with Patrice Evra getting booed by the
Anfield crowd and all the lovely chanting between the two sets of fans about the existence of
racism. At the end, the Reds had the greater satisfaction of beating Utd, the second Manchester
club to suffer at their hands in three days.
Dirk Kuyt's 88 minute strike put Liverpool into the fifth round of the FA Cup as they beat
bitter rivals Manchester United 2-1 at Anfield earlier today.
Daniel Agger gave the Reds the lead as United keeper David De Gea was again found wanting midway
through the first half before Park Ji Sung scored a deserved equaliser as United came out on top in
the possesion stakes, however possesion doesn't always win games and Dirk Kuyt's winner with just
two minutes of normal time on the clock proved that as the Kop went wild.
While German giants Bayern Munich are busy calming down fans who are angered that the club's
commitment to unveil a major new signing today was simply a promotion for a new app, Liverpool
managing director Ian Ayre is making sure that the Kop's transfer expectations remain low, to begin
with.
English media has heavily linked Liverpool with the likes of Real Madrid's Esteban Granero,
Groningen's David Texeira, Rangers' Nikica Jelavic, and Udinese's Mauricio Isla.
Mike Phelan has insisted Manchester United would not consider leaving Patrice Evra out of their
game against Liverpool if he is fully fit.
United's FA Cup fourth-round tie with Liverpool will be the first time they have faced their old
rivals since Evra levelled racism allegations at Luis Suarez that ended with the Uruguay forward
landing an eight-match ban.
Liverpool's soon to be confirmed signing Joao Carlos Teixeira has quiet the reputation to uphold
after comming through Sporting Lisbon's talented academy which has produced stars such as
Christiano Ronaldo, Nani and Luis Figo.
He has already shown he can score infront of the kop after scoring against Liverpool in the
NextGen series game.
Liverpool have a whole host of promising young attacking players being developed at Anfield right
now, but Kop legend Ian Rush believes one particular youngster stands out from all the rest. Rushie
was recently asked who he felt would be the 'next Ian Rush' at Liverpool. The ever-modest Welshman
argued that 'you have to be looking at someone with a better pace' than he had.
Steven Gerrard has backed the returning Lucas Leiva to once again underline his class to Liverpool
fans.
The 25-year-old was displaying his most consistent form since joining the Reds in 2007 when he
damaged his cruciate ligament at the tail end of last year.
Lucas, though, has now recovered from the injury and is poised to start the 2012/13 campaign at the
heart of Liverpool's midfield.
Ho Hum, another home game another poor showing at Anfield.
It seems as though that can be written every week after a Liverpool home game, and that really
upsets me. Liverpool are a club with a great history and a great tradition and since 2005 I do not
get the same feeling about the club anymore.
What next for Harry? - originally posted on Soccerlens.com
Sunday night saw the news that Harry Redknapp must have been dreading since that fateful
February day when he was acquitted of not paying his taxes and Fabio Capello resigned in a huff
over John Terry and god knows what else. Harry, the darling of the press was passed over for the
job he dearly longed for.
In times of adversity, Kenny Dalglish usually resembles the tougher types that populate John le
Carré novels. The sort the Circus would happily send to Moscow, safe in the knowledge that, under
interrogation, he would not even divulge his shoe size.
It made his post-match interview on ESPN on Saturday night all the more extraordinary.
Terrible news emanating from Goodison today in that Everton's academy coach, Kevin Sheedy has
been diagnosed with bowel cancer and will undergo surgery later this week.
Former Ireland international Sheedy, who played 369 times in ten years at Everton between 1982
and 1992, stoically reacted thus: "It is not ideal, but I have to remain positive.
Liverpool striker Andy Carroll admits he has had a disappointing campaign but has thanked manager
Kenny Dalglish for sticking by him.
The England international has scored just nine goals this term in 47 appearances for the Reds, but
he has bagged three in his last six games.
And whilst Carroll admits he has not been happy with his form, he is pleased with how Dalglish and
the club's fans have stood by him.
