Philippe Coutinho joined Liverpool from Inter Milan back in January, 2013, for £8.5 million. During his time at Anfield, he grew from a relatively unimportant youngster, but one of great potential, to arguably the best player the Merseyside club had.
He became a regular in the starting XI in 2013/14, when Liverpool launched a surprise title run which ended in failure. Playing in a deeper midfield role along with the likes of Steven Gerrard and Jordan Henderson, the Brazilian was given enough freedom in his play to express his creativity from which the deadly duo of Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge, as well as Raheem Sterling behind them, benefited a lot.
But it was actually the decline of the iconic captain, coinciding with the departure of Suarez to Barcelona in 2014 …
Carlos Sanchez was shown the second-fastest red card in World Cup history as Colombia slipped to a 2-1 defeat in their World Cup opener against Japan in Mordovia.
The Group H favourites suffered a nightmarish start to their campaign when Sanchez blocked Shinji Kagawa s shot with his arm after just two minutes and 56 seconds, prompting the referee to brandish the first straight red card for handball at a World Cup since Luis Suarez was sent off against Ghana in 2010.
Kagawa then put Japan ahead from the penalty spot but even with 10 men Jose Pekerman was able to make his side competitive and Juan Quintero levelled with a free-kick six minutes before half-time.
Pekerman brought on 2014 World Cup Golden Boot winner James Rodriguez in the second half but the Bayern M…
Newcomers Norwich City and Champions League winners Liverpool had the honor of opening the 2019/20 Premier League season at Anfield on Friday, August 9, 2019.
Visiting Anfield was rarely a pleasant experience for the Canaries, especially during the days of Luis Suarez for whom scoring hat-tricks against them had become a speciality before he left England for Barcelona in 2014. But even without the controversial Uruguayan to worry about, it was still going to be a difficult 90 minutes for them against the Reds.
Team News
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp called on his team to stay hungry ahead of the game and prove themselves capable of winning the elusive Premier League title that escaped them by a single point last time around, despite a very quiet transfer window for th…
Atlanta United have completed the second major signing in two days as they agreed a deal for Middlesbrough goalkeeper Brad Guzan.
The USMNT star will, however, only join his new side in July after the season in English Premier League comes to an end.
Nevertheless, this is a major coup for the club who will take part in their maiden MLS season this term, and it comes just a day after Atalanta United , who had joined from Seattle Sounders.
With 53 caps to his name, Brad Guzan is one of United States’ most famous goalkeepers alongside Tim Howard and he had represented Chicago Fire and Chivas USA before moving to English Premier League in 2008.
Following a lengthy spell with Aston Villa that also included a loan stint at Hull City, Brad Guzan joined Middle…
Arne Slot has praised Harvey Elliott s quality after he provided a spark to help Liverpool get a 2-1 pre-season friendly win over Arsenal in Philadelphia.
The 21-year-old provided assists for both of their goals, setting up Mohamed Salah and Fabio Carvalho, and could have had a third, but Diogo Jota struck the post.
Elliott has started both pre-season games under Slot so far, being deployed in the number 10 role against the Gunners, and looks to have settled in nicely under the new manager.
He had three shots and created four chances for Liverpool, double that of anyone else on the field, and Slot was quick to highlight the integral role he played in the victory.
They were two great assists but what I believe is that the team created this for him as well…
Olympic champion Caster Semenya is set to play football in 2020 after joining South African club JVW.
A two-time Olympic gold medallist in the 800 metres, Semenya could make her football debut next year.
JVW, who are owned by South Africa women s captain Janine van Wyk, announced the signing of Semenya on Thursday.
I am grateful for this opportunity and I appreciate the love and support I already get from the team, Semenya said in a statement.
I am looking forward to this new journey, and hopefully I can contribute as much as I can to the club.
South African star athlete has set a new challenge for herself, by taking to the football field and joining Captain ‘s club.
— JVW Girls Football (@JVWGirlsFootbal)
Semenya will …
Benfica came from behind to thrash PAOK 4-1 and book a place in the Champions League group stage alongside PSV and Red Star Belgrade – the latter stunning Red Bull Salzburg with a remarkable fightback to prevail on away goals.
Locked at 1-1 following a disappointing first leg in Lisbon, the Portuguese giants fell behind to PAOK striker Aleksandar Prijovic s close-range finish from Mauricio s pass.
Visiting skipper Jardel powered home the equaliser from a 20th minute corner, six minutes before Eduardo Salvio converted the first of two penalties on the night following Alexandros Paschalakis foul on Franco Cervi.
Benfica goalkeeper Odisseas Vlachodimos saved brilliantly from Leo Matos – later sent off for a second booking and Pizzi piled the misery onto PAOK by …
Real Madrid will have been left shaken by Kylian Mbappe s decision to snub them in favour of a new contract at Paris Saint-Germain.
It was common knowledge that Madrid wanted to bring in Mbappe and shape their team around the France striker for the next decade.
The Spanish champions have been used to getting what they want, but this time they have failed to land their number one target, with PSG s financial muscle surely a major factor.
Now Madrid president Florentino Perez must consider the club s next course of action. Do they rely on Karim Benzema and Vinicius Junior next season, or has there been a back-up plan in case Mbappe reached this decision?
Here, Stats Perform looks at players that Madrid could consider if they remain intent on bringing in a…
Jude Bellingham will be fit for Real Madrid’s home match against Granada on Saturday.
The England midfielder has missed training with an ankle issue after scoring in Wednesday night’s Champions League win over Napoli.
But boss Carlo Ancelotti has declared the former Birmingham youngster fit to line up at the Bernabeu.
“He’s ready to play. He doesn’t have any problems,” Ancelotti said at his pre-match press conference.
Eres de otro planeta, .
— Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadrid)
“He’s a bit tired and he had a slight discomfort in his ankle. We preferred him not to have contact.”
Bellingham has now scored an incredible 15 goals in just 16 appearances for the LaLiga leaders.
“He’s a spectacular player, f…
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In what could prove to be another enjoyable affair from the MLS in midweek, New England will welcome Orlando to the Gillette Stadium in the early hours of Thursday.
New England Revolution
Starting with the hosts, marking their return from the international break with an eye-catching display on the road, New England will be looking to keep up that momentum here. Eventually picking up a 2-1 victory away at Sporting KC, Head Coach Bruce Arena is now desperate for his side to find a route back into the Final Series places. Shocking many across the MLS last season as they stormed their way to the Eastern Conference title, the Revs have struggled with their consistency this time around. However, despite crashing out of the US Open Cup falli…