Agent of Udinese striker denies Liverpool contact

The agent of Udinese striker Luis Muriel has denied that he’s been in contact with any English sides, despite growing rumours of Liverpool being interested in his client.
The 22-year-old Colombian, who signed for the Friuli-based side in 2010 and spent two years out on loan, scored 11 goals and provided three assists during his first full year with the Zebrette last season and has garnered the attention of some of Europe’s biggest clubs as a result.
However, despite admitting that the young attacker would be interested in moving to a bigger club in the future, his agent was quick to downplay the growing rumours that Liverpool had earmarked him as a perfect understudy to Luis Suarez.
“He’s an immensely talented player, so it’s only normal that big clubs should be interested in him,” Helmut Wennin stated to calcionews24.
“However, I haven’t had any contact with English clubs regarding his future, nor have I had contact with any Italian sides, either, but I don’t know if the Pozzo family have been talking to anyone.
“In either case, Udinese and the Pozzo family have been really essential in Luis’s career to help him grow both as a man and as a player.
“He has a great relationship with Francesco Guidolin and knows that he’s an important player for his club.
“But, of course, my client’s objective is to play for a top club someday and he’ll continue to work hard to improve and hopefully have the opportunity to test himself at a bigger club sometime in the future.”

Sunderland 1-3 Liverpool: Suarez and Sturridge show great partnership

Reuters

A wonderfully bright display of attacking prowess by both sides put on a show at the Stadium of Light, but Liverpool pulled out the expected result as they move to second place with a 3-1 win, their 400th Premier League victory.
The Reds welcomed back Luis Suarez, and he rewarded the loyalty of Brendan Rogers with a brace, and Daniel Sturridge added a goal of his own plus he assisted both of Suarez’s strikes.
It was Liverpool who looked the most dangerous in the opening few minutes, but Sunderland had their moments of creativity. Suarez and Sturridge paired together looked a great decision by Rogers, as the two both tested the fluidity of the Sunderland defense early.
The Reds thought they had the opener inside 10 minutes when a Suarez free kick found Martin Skrtel‘s head but the offsides flag had gone up.
Sunderland then began to threaten even more, much to the surprise and delight of the home fans.  They looked inspired under interm manager Kevin Ball, taking over for the fired Paolo Di Canio.
Sebastian Larsson was the first Black Cat to go ever so close, as a biting free-kick in the 23rd minute clashed the crossbar, out of the reach of Liverpool goalkeeper Simon Mignolet.
Liverpool responded in the 28th minute when the Reds earned a corner, and Gerrard’s kick met Daniel Sturridge’s head…actually his shoulder…and into the back of the net.  No one on the pitch claimed handball, but replays showed Sturridge directed the ball goalwards with his shoulder. Nonetheless Liverpool took a 1-0 lead.
More controversy just after as Sunderland searched to level the score. Mignolet collected a corner but spilled it, and Kolo Toure appeared to pass it back to his goalkeeper.  Referee Howard Webb instead said the pass was legal, and replays suggested Toure may have intended to clear but Mignolet got in the way.
Suarez matched Sturridge’s tally and doubled Liverpool’s led in the 36th minute.  Steven Gerrard‘s pass threaded through Sturridge, and he low crossed to his strike partner lurking at the far post for an easy finish and a 2-0 lead.
In the second half again both sides threatened on goal, but it was Sunderland who pulled one back in the 52nd minute. Emmanuel Giaccherini pounced on a rebound from Ki Seung-Young’s shot and Mignolet, once he spilled it, had no chance at stopping the putback.
The goal lit up the Sunderland squad, and they began to pepper the Liverpool goal. Giaccherini, Altidore, and Larsson all came close to equalizing the score.  With both teams pressing for the next goal, the goalkeepers began to step up.
With the game flying open and both sides looking at chance after chance, Liverpool finally killed off any chance for Sunderland at the death.   The Uruguayan put up a perfect long ball for Sturridge who put a wonderful move down the left, and again cut it back for his strike partner Suarez to crash home on the empty net to seal the scoreline.
It was a great shift by the Sunderland players under Ball, especially from Giaccherini, but the loss means the Black Cats remain bottom of the table.  It was a tall task for the interm manager, but things at least look quite positive against a much better and sharper opponent.

http://www.goalsarena.org/video/england-barclays-premier-league/29-09-2013-sunderland-liverpool_en.html

Goals:
Sunderland – Giaccherini 52′
Liverpool – Sturridge 28′, Suarez 36′, 89′
Lineups:
Sunderland – Westwood; Gardner, Colback, O’Shea, Cuellar; Larsson (Mavrias, 85′), Cattermole (Celustka, 74′), Ki, Johnson, Giaccherini; Altidore.
Liverpool – Mignolet; Toure, Sakho, Skrtel, Enrique; Henderson, Gerrard; Lucas, Moses (Sterling, 75′); Suarez, Sturridge

Liverpool target Diego Costa ruins ex-Spurs star Gareth Bale's home debut in Madrid derby

ATLETICO MADRID striker Diego Costa showed why Liverpool were so keen to sign him by scoring the winner against Real Madrid to scupper former Tottenham star Gareth Bale's home debut.

Gareth Bale, Cristiano Ronaldo and Isco look dejected as Real Madrid lose to rivals Atletico [AP]

Costa admitted he was close to joining Liverpool this summer, but stayed at Atletico and has hit form with eight goals in his last seven games.

Costa's goal ruined Bale's Bernabeu bow, who could not stop his new side falling to defeat.

Atletico's big win came after Lionel Messi scored before being substituted due to injury to help Barcelona win 2-0 at Almeria. 

Diego Costa is in a spectacular moment. He has helped us a lot

Atletico Madrid's Koke

Barcelona and Atletico set club records by staying perfect through seven games to start the season, opening up a five-point gap over Real.

Messi and Diego Costa have guided their teams to their milestones and lead the league with eight goals each.
 
"We are having a great year and we have to keep it going," said Atletico's Koke, who set up Diego Costa's goal.

"Diego Costa is in a spectacular moment. He has helped us a lot." 

Diego Costa - a summer target for Liverpool - scores Atletico Madrid's winner [REUTERS]

Liverpool cannot afford to lose this 19-year-old star

One thing that pains me with regards to Liverpool is not being able to bring in many of our youth teams players into the first team and making them stars in the starting eleven. Brendan Rodgers has tried his best in giving youth an opportunity by giving the likes of Sterling and Suso runs in the first team and this season may be the break through season for Jordan Ibe.
Out of Sterling and Suso who made their mark last season, Suso was subsequently sent out on loan this summer to Spanish side Almeria where he has featured regularly and put in some impressive displays. It is good for Suso to go out on loan and get some regular first team football and hopefully he returns to Liverpool a better player and ready to challenge to be a regular starter.
All too often, young players go out on loan and never come back. With Suso, I sincerely hope that will not be the case and Liverpool do all they can to convince him to come back and stay at the club. With all his great performances thus far for Almeria on loan, you can be sure there will be many clubs keeping an eye on him and wanting to buy him.
Liverpool had Dani Pacheco and he was dubbed the next biggest thing in Spanish football whilst he was part of the Liverpool setup but Pacheco never did make it into the Liverpool first team after many promising displays and being shipped out on loan for many seasons. Another Pacheco situation should not arise with Suso who can clearly have a bright future for Liverpool.
One just has to look at Suso’s display against Barcelona on Saturday evening to see the quality the young attacker has (see video below). Keep an eye out for his amazing skills with the ball at the 1:03 mark in the video. It is skills like this that we need in our side and couple Suso with Coutinho, we would have great skill and creativity in the final third.


Liverpool should continue to give youth a chance and hopefully we could have another Gerrard or Carragher breaking through who would turn into a world class player and save us millions by not having to go into the transfer market.

Sunderland vs Liverpool preview: Agger fit, Luis Alberto to start?

Liverpool will travel to the Stadium of Light to face a manager-less Sunderland on Sunday afternoon looking to bounce back from their shock defeat against Southampton at home last weekend.

Sunderland are in complete mess. They really are. The Italian management didn’t last long and astoundingly the Black Cats find themselves back at square one. Paolo Di Canio signed 14 new faces in the summer and without any surprise there was no cohesion in the squad, consequently they suffered on the pitch. Is there any positive left at the Wearside to allay the fears?

Or could this be the time to fight back when they’ve hit rock bottom? With seemingly no expectations from them, against a Liverpool side that have their own problems, can Sunderland find a fighting spirit within themselves and pull out a shock result?

Liverpool on the other hand have started the season brilliantly, despite two back-to-back 1-0 defeats in all competitions. Luis Suarez has returned in the last match against Manchester United and Brendan Rodgers will be counting on the Uruguayan to fire all cylinders.

The inclusion of Suarez has forced Rodgers to alter his system a bit. From 4-2-3-1, he has deployed a 3-4-1-2 formation to accommodate both Suarez and Sturridge up front. But, in absence of Coutinho, the central creative play-maker, Liverpool are struggling a bit to feed their strikers with delicious balls to score. And Moses and Iago Aspas are mainly wide forwards and can hardly play the role of the trequartista.

In such a scenario, should Rodgers bring Luis Alberto into the side? The Spaniard is a technically gifted player who can easily slot into the no 10 role. It is always better to give chances to players who are tactically astute to play in a particular position, rather than forcing others to adapt to a new system.

Team News

Good news for the Reds is Daniel Agger is fit again and could start against the Black Cats. However, Glen Johnson remains sidelined with an ankle injury while Aly Cissokho and Joe Allen are still sidelined.

Sunderland will miss the services of striker Steven Fletcher with shoulder injury while Phil Bardsley will miss out. New signing and former Liverpool defender Andrea Dossena faces a late competence test.

Key player

Daniel Sturridge – The England international has scored four goals in the first four matches and will be looking to add more goals to his name against a struggling Sunderland side.

My Prediction: Sunderland 1-2 Liverpool

What do you think??

Reina rules out Liverpool return

Former Reds goalkeeper Pepe Reina has denied that he will ever pull on the Liverpool shirt again and reveals that a trace of bitterness lingers about the nature of his exit from Anfield, reports the Daily Mail.

Reina, who is reunited with Rafa Benitez in Italy, has been key in their impressive start to the season and became the first goalkeeper to ever save a Mario Balotelli penalty last weekend as Napoli won in the San Siro for the first time in 27 years.

Reina revealed he was almost pushed out of the club when he was on holiday during the summer, following a season finishing with seven clean sheets in 10 Premier League games.

‘It did come as a surprise,’ said Reina, who has three years left on his Anfield deal. ‘It was the club [Liverpool] who made the move. I was on my holidays and nobody told me anything. Suddenly Napoli called and said they were agreeing terms with Liverpool and Liverpool just rang me two days later and said the same. They probably had their own reasons.’

It all happened quickly and the 31-year-old signed on loan for one season. Benitez will work on him to make it permanent, but accepts there will be competition, possibly from Barcelona, who expect Victor Valdes to leave when his contract expires next year.

Reina is adamant that a return to Anfield is not on the cards, ‘No,’ he said, shaking his head.

Liverpool set minimum target of top six finish by Brendan Rodgers

The Reds have enjoyed a strong start to the campaign

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has set his side the minimum target of remaining in the league's top six until he can bring in January reinforcements.

The Reds topped the league with a 100 per cent record after three matches but a draw at Swansea and defeat at home to Southampton last weekend have seen them drop to fifth.
They are still only two points adrift of leaders Arsenal but with an unbeaten Everton just a point behind and champions Manchester United a further two back in eighth there is increased competition for space at the top.
Rodgers hopes to use their exit from the Capital One Cup at the hands of United on Wednesday as a positive for the next three months.
"Now we can only concentrate on the league up until Christmas," he said.
"So we have to make sure we stay up in that top six in the league and keep fighting and hopefully we can reinforce in January.
"I think the players have made an excellent start. We were flat and subdued at the weekend and we couldn't get going - part of that was because of the players we had available."
Liverpool have been hampered by injuries in recent weeks with the absence of playmaker Philippe Coutinho, sidelined after a shoulder operation until the end of October, and right-back Glen Johnson (ankle) out making a considerable difference.
With left-back Jose Enrique's knee complaint requiring careful management Rodgers has had to experiment in an attempt to find a solution.
Fielding four centre-backs against Southampton back-fired but a 3-5-2 formation at Old Trafford had more success and it is an option the Reds boss is willing to try again.
"It is something that has been forced upon us in terms of players that we have available," said the Northern Ireland international.
"I have never in my life played four centre-halves in any game and anyone who knows me and my work knows that is not how I operate.
"But when you have no choice that is what you have to do. I try to get as many attackers on the field as I can.
"I just felt that system (three at the back) suited the players we had and I thought the players suited the system well and we got numbers forward.
"If we have to play that system again for a period of time until players are fit - we obviously have to work on it more - but the players are comfortable in.
"It gives us three players to dominate midfield and two strikers up front (Daniel Sturridge and Luis Suarez) who are top strikers in the league and still keeps us secure at the back."

Liverpool prepare shock move for PSG forward

Brendan Rodgers wants to strengthen his attacking options with Javier Pastore

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Pastore is looking to leave PSG soon. (©GettyImages)

Liverpool are ready to launch a surprise January raid for PSG star Javier Pastore, according to the Metro.
The attacking-midfielder has reportedly become disillusioned with life in France, and doesn't want to remain there in the long-term. Despite being one of the first marquee signings after PSG's big-money takeover in 2011 from Palermo, Pastore has largely struggled to impress in Ligue 1, and has subsequently seen his game-time diminish.
The 24-year-old was thought to be on the brink of leaving the club in the summer, with a number of European outfits eyeing his situation, but in the end he chose to remain at the French champions in order to prove his worth to new coach Laurent Blanc.

An indifferent start to the season however seems to the final straw for the playmaker, with his agent admitting he wants out.
"In football there are always ups and downs,’ said his agent, Marcelo Simonian.
"He has been happy there, but now is not the time for nostalgia. We will see what happens in the next few months."
The comments have prompted speculation that Liverpool could be preparing a January move for the Argentinian, with Rodgers keen to bring in a big-name player.
The Reds have reportedly been tracking Pastore for a few months and could see him as the ideal man to complete their strike force, though they are likely to have competition from other clubs in any attempt to sign him.

Liverpool's Lucas handed Brazil recall

Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari has recalled Liverpool midfielder Lucas Leiva for next month's friendlies against South Korea and Zambia.

Lucas has not played for the Selecao since their 2-0 victory over Egypt in November 2011, reports Xinhua.

"Today the feeling is like when I got my first call up to play for Brazil. I can't put into words how good I am feeling. Now that I have been called up, my dream is to be a part of the World Cup in Brazil," the 26-year-old said.

Brazil will play South Korea in Seoul Oct 12 and Zambia in Beijing three days later.

Cruzeiro centre-back Dede was also named, replacing captain Thiago Silva, who is sidelined with a hamstring injury.

Botafogo goalkeeper Jefferson is likely to be Scolari's first choice in goal following a hand injury to Queens Park Rangers stopper Julio Cesar.

Fluminense forward Fred was not included due to an injured right thigh, meaning Alexandre Pato and Jo will contest the only centre-forward spot in Scolari's preferred 4-2-3-1 formation.

The squad:
Goalkeepers: Jefferson (Botafogo), Victor (Atletico Mineiro), Diego Cavalieri (Fluminense).

Defenders: Daniel Alves (Barcelona), Maicon (Roma), David Luiz (Chelsea), Marcelo (Real Madrid), Dante (Bayern Munich), Henrique (Palmeiras), Maxwell (Paris Saint-Germain), Dede (Cruzeiro).

Midfielders: Ramires (Chelsea), Lucas Moura (Paris Saint-Germain), Oscar (Chelsea), Paulinho (Tottenham Hotspur), Hernanes (Lazio), Lucas Leiva (Liverpool), Luiz Gustavo (VfL Wolfsburg), Bernard (Shakhtar Donetsk).

Forwards: Neymar (Barcelona), Hulk (Zenit Saint Petersburg), Alexandre Pato (Corinthians), Jo (Atletico Mineiro).

Liverpool to scout practical joker booted out by Barcelona

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Reports have suggested that Liverpool are keeping an eye on former Barcelona starlet Keita Balde Diao.

Keita Balde Diao is a versatile 18-year-old forward currently plying his trade in Serie A with Lazio who he joined in 2011 for the amazing fee of just €300,000.
He started his youth career with Barcelona in 2004, progressing through the ranks at the Spanish club before he joined Cornelia after a rather interesting turn of circumstances.

He thrived at Cornelia, smashing in 47 goals for their youth team in one season which grabbed the attention of several top sides before he eventually moved onto Lazio after turning down the chance to return to Barcelona.Diao was effectively booted out of the Barcelona youth system, sent on loan to the Spanish club after he put ice cubs in the bed of a teammate during a youth team tournament in Qatar in 2012.
He’s made his first senior appearances for Lazio this season in Serie A and the Europa League and Liverpool clearly see something they like in him, with reports that they are sending scouts to Italy to monitor his progress.
He’d certainly be a quality addition to the current Liverpool squad and the move would be appealing because Brendan Rodgers has not hidden his younger players, throwing them into the first team when he feels they’re ready.
There are possible complications with regards to a deal this winter or next summer because Diao is on a long and large contract with Lazio, which doesn’t expire until the summer of 2017.
Considering some of the attacking talent in Liverpool’s youth and reserve ranks, it may be a needless investment if it takes a large fee to ensure that Diao can move to Anfield.
The likes of Luis Alberto, Raheem Sterling, Jordon Ibe and even Suso, not even at the club, are more refined players, arguably more ready to step into the Liverpool first team.
Those players are all struggling for regular appearances which means it’d be exactly the same for Diao and he’d certainly have to be prepared for a lot of hard work and discipline to get a chance at the club.
The benefit for Liverpool in having people watching the teenager is that they can report back on a regular basis, while monitoring the interest from other clubs.
That allows Brendan Rodgers and the club in general to make a better assessment of the player they’d be getting and the value involved of how much it would take to sign him. They could do much worse.