Derby should delight tonight
LIVERPOOL cannot lead the Premier League on Christmas Day, so the best present their fans can wish for is victory at neighbours Everton in tod 227th Merseyside derby.
Jurgen Klopp’s side were top of the table briefly last month, but seem to have overcome the stumble since then that caused them to lose significant ground on current leaders Chelsea.
Klopp made a big call by dropping goalkeeper Loris Karius after uncertain performances against Bournemouth and West Ham United.
He was rewarded at Middlesbrough on Wednesday as Simon Mignolet kept a clean sheet in a 3-0 victory that moved Liverpool back to second place.
Adam Lallana was also a significant factor in that victory, scoring twice to take his goal total to three in two matches since his return to the starting line-up following a groin problem.
Lallana has established himself as one of the English top division’s most threatening and attacking players, with six assists to go with his six Premier League goals
That is a significant improvement for a player who managed only four league goals and six assists over the whole of last season.
Liverpool have found ways to share the goals around. They went into the weekend as the Premier League’s top scorers, with 40 goals from 16 matches.
Considering the fitness problems of Daniel Sturridge and Philippe Coutinho, it is of great encouragement to Klopp.
Striker Sturridge may be able to play some part at Goodison Park after missing the last five matches with a calf injury.
But Brazilian playmaker Coutinho’s ankle injury, sustained against Sunderland last month, will keep him out until at least the visit of Manchester City on New Year’s Eve.
Emre Can could return to the midfield after a two-game absence with a minor knee problem.
Centre-back Joel Matip continues to struggle with ankle trouble, meaning Klopp is likely to stick with Ragnar Klavan alongside Dejan Lovren at the back.
“It will just be time,” Klopp said of Matip.
“There will be no surgery, there is not even a risk of it. It is only about resting the injury or not. Try it every day or give it a few days. That is what we already did. Against West Ham it was possible to play, but then against Middlesbrough it was not.”
Injury troubles aside, Liverpool have good reason for optimism going into the derby, having not lost any of their last 12 meetings with Everton in all competitions.
Ronald Koeman’s side have at least managed to halt their slide down the table, winning for only the second time in 11 matches as they came from a goal down to beat Arsenal 2-1 on Tuesday.
That win, over a team with title aspirations, showed what Everton are capable of, although it came at a price, with Phil Jagielka collecting a red card that will see him miss today’s match through suspension.
Koeman could do with a win over his side’s great rivals, if only to placate his own club’s supporters, who were unhappy that he cited Klopp’s men as title contenders earlier in the season. — AFP ATLETICO Madrid boss Diego Simeone claimed his side have enjoyed an “extraordinary” year despite a poor start to their league season and narrowly missing out on both the Champions League and La Liga last season.
Saul Niguez’s fine strike handed Atletico their first win in four games in a nervy 1-0 victory over Las Palmas on Saturday to move up to fifth, but still nine points off league leaders Real Madrid having also played an extra game.
Simeone stoutly defended his side’s record in 2016 as they lost out on a first Champions League title to Real on penalties in May and finished just three points adrift of La Liga champions Barcelona.
“Taking into account where we have come from, we have ended an extraordinary year,” said Simeone.
“It was a year in which the team managed to compete in the final of the Champions League; almost until the final day in La Liga, we are once again in the last 16 of this edition of the Champions League and the Copa del Rey has started well. “It is true we have been a bit inconsistent in La Liga, but it was an historic year for the club.”
Atletico next play on January 7 as La Liga takes a winter break over the new year.
“The break is there to rest and we will always look for solutions that can help the team come back strongly,” said Simeone on whether the break comes at the right time for his squad.
Star forward Antoine Griezmann in particular looks in need of a rest as the Frenchman failed to score for a ninth consecutive La Liga game.
Griezmann was rewarded with third place in the Ballon d’Or this week for his fine year in leading both Atletico and France to the Champions League and Euro 2016 finals respectively.
And Simeone insisted the goals will come in the new year should Griezmann maintain his level of performance.
“Griezmann is playing as we have become accustomed to, but unfortunately the goals aren’t coming for him.” — AFP