Shaqiri gives the edge to Liverpool

It was one of the more underthe-radar purchases of the off-season, coming late on a Friday when football fans around the globe were eagerly anticipating the World Cup final between France and Croatia two days later.

Liverpool were signing a back-up midfielder for £13 million (Dh61.4m), and it went largely unnoticed at the time. Xherdan Shaqiri’s cutprice arrival at Anfield could, however, prove to be a masterstroke — an astute piece of business that might yet be a key factor in Liverpool’s bid to capture a first English league title since 1990. (AP)