A selection of Liverpool Football Club-related stories and titbits you may have missed over the past seven days…
After marking his first Premier League start with a goal in the 4-1 win over West Ham United on Saturday, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has spoken candidly about his time on Merseyside so far. “It’s never easy coming into a new team with as much quality as we’ve got here,” he told Liverpoolfc.com. “It takes time to settle in and learn a new formation and style of play. I’ve had to be patient; I’d have liked to have played as much as I can, that’s natural. The only thing I can do when I get the chance is try to impress and help the team to win, with goals and creating chances. I’m going to keep trying to do that and keep pushing for starting places, just as everyone else will.”
Captain for the day, Simon Mignolet, has described the honour of leading out the Reds as ‘unbelievable’. “[I found out] only an hour before the game when we arrived in the dressing room. I was a bit surprised,” commented the shot-stopper to the official website. “It’s a big honour. I can’t grasp it as of yet. It’s something I was dreaming about when I was a small kid: to be a captain of a Premier League team. To do that as a Liverpool player is unbelievable. It was a very proud moment and I’m speechless about it actually!”
The victory featured two assists from Sadio Mané, who made an unexpected return to the starting X1 following injury. Discussing the Senegalese star’s qualities in his role as a pundit for broadcaster BT Sport, former captain and current LFC U18s boss Steven Gerrard remarked: “He’s awesome, he’s great to watch. I’m not saying it from a biased point of view. He’s the type of player you’d go and pay big money to go and watch every single week because he’s great on the eye. He’s so quick, he makes things happen. For someone so quick and the speed that he does it at, to have the touch and the finesse that he shows for the first goal – and also for the second assist – is world-class.”
Three of Liverpool’s Premier League fixtures in January have been rescheduled for live television coverage. The Anfield meeting with Manchester City is now a 4pm GMT kick-off on Sunday January 1, while the trip to Swansea City has been re-arranged for 8pm on Monday January 22, both matches will be broadcast on Sky Sports. BT Sport meanwhile will televise the away game against Huddersfield Town, which will now kick off at 8pm on Tuesday January 30.
There are 15 members of Jürgen Klopp’s current first-team squad heading away for international duty over the next fortnight. They include Joe Gomez, who has received his first senior call-up from England, and Alberto Moreno, who is in line to win his first cap for Spain since May 2014. Of those in competitive action, Dejan Lovren and Sadio Mané will be looking to secure two of the remaining places at next summer’s World Cup for Croatia and Senegal respectively.
The tally had originally been 16 but Kop captain Jordan Henderson has since withdrawn from the England squad due to the thigh problem that forced him to miss the trip to the London Stadium.
Striker Divock Origi, who is on loan at Wolfsburg, continued his fine recent form with a goal and an assist during a 3-3 Bundesliga draw with Hertha Berlin at the weekend. The strike takes the Belgium international to three goals in his last five outings and four in total in Germany.
Danny Ings scored four goals and registered two assists as Liverpool U23s thrashed Bristol City 7-0 in the Premier League Cup on Sunday. The England international registered a hat-trick inside the opening 21 minutes, while Yan Dhanda, Conor Masterson and Harry Wilson were also on target. Victory means Neil Critchley’s side have four points from their opening two Premier League Cup matches, with their next game in the competition coming against Stoke City on December 3. LFC U23s: Kelleher, Flanagan, Jones (Masterson), Whelan, Juanma (Johnston), Brannagan, Virtue, Ejaria (Kane), Wilson, Dhanda, Ings.
Liverpool U18s were also in devastating form over the weekend, recording a 6-0 away win over West Ham United in their Premier League Cup match on Saturday. Rafael Camacho (2), Glen McAuley, Curtis Jones, Tom Clayton and Liam Millar were the players on the mark as the youngsters made it two successive wins in Group D. LFC U18s: Jaros, Sharif, Tagseth, R Williams, Glennon (Hunter), Clayton, Longstaff (Larouci), Dixon-Bonner, McAuley, Jones (Millar), Camacho.
Making it a quartet of victories for the club’s main sides, Liverpool Ladies recorded a penalty shootout success over Durham FC Women in the Continental Cup on Sunday. After a goalless encounter, Siobhan Chamberlain was the hero with two spot-kick saves. Alex Greenwood, Laura Coombs, Casey Stoney, Bethany England and Caroline Weir all netted successfully from 12-yards. LFC Ladies: Chamberlain, Murray (Clarke / Johnson), Stoner, Bonner, Greenwood, Hodson (England), Coombs, Ingle, Charles, Weir, Harding.
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