Monterrey gave Liverpool all it could handle in today’s FIFA Club World Cup semifinal in Qatar. The two sides exchanged early goals through Naby Keïta and Rogelio Funes Mori, but it was the substitute Roberto Firmino who scored the dramatic winner in second half stoppage time to book Liverpool’s place in the final, where they’ll meet Copa Libertadores champion Flamengo.
Jurgen Klopp was out of town. All the club’s top players were out of town. Basically all of Liverpool’s first team was in Doha, Qatar, preparing for a Club World Cup semifinal against Monterrey.
So Liverpool left U-23 coach Neil Critchley in charge of a bunch of kids for the club’s Carabao Cup quarterfinal against Aston Villa. The Reds got smashed.
Leonel Vangioni booked a date with Liverpool with one monstrous lash of his left foot.
Monterrey’s 31-year-old Argentine left back launched a stunning long-range goal to help his team beat Al-Sadd 3-2 in the Club World Cup quarterfinals on Saturday in Qatar. The victory sends Los Rayados to the semifinals against UEFA Champions League champion Liverpool on Wednesday.
Mohamed Salah is starting to catch fire. The second Mo Salah goal vs Watford on Saturday may have been his best yet.
The Egyptian wonder had a goal and an assist against Bournemouth last weekend and a goal against RB Salzburg in the Champions League during the week. Salah scored twice in Liverpool’s 2-0 win over Watford at Anfield that sent the Reds 10 points ahead of second-place Leicester City.
Salah’s first was a beauty in its own right. The winger who highly favors his left foot showed he can also score curlers with his right to open the scoring in the 38th minute.
Sadio Mané, who leads Liverpool in scoring this season, was recently called out by a teammate for not passing enough.
“Something that Sadio and Mo (Salah) have in common is that they don’t pass us the ball much,” Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain said, possibly joking but with a sting of truth. “They like shooting a lot!”
Two momentous matches, two heavenly touches.
In the 31st minute of Liverpool’s Merseyside derby with Everton, Divock Origi gave the Reds a 3-1 lead after cushioning a long ball from Dejan Lovren straight into his own path. His second touch was a looping effort over the despairing Jordan Pickford.
Origi’s first touch was softer than Charmin.
Divock. Origi. pic.twitter.com/ltWk97jtGb
It was hailed as a cruel slam by Oh My Goal; The Sun called it a dig; The World Game went further and called it a cheeky dig; SPORTbible proclaimed it a Face with Tear of Joy emoji masterpiece; Piers Morgan jumped on the social media bandwagon; Cristiano Ronaldo’s sister tipped over the wagon and set it on fire in defense of her dear brother.
The footballing populace hasn’t been this charged and incited into Twitter fervor since Megan Rapinoe proposed the outlandish idea of taking it upon ourselves to make the world a better place.
So what happened?
On Saturday, the impossible transpired: Miguel Almirón recorded his first major contribution for Newcastle United (an assist) in his 24th Premier League appearance. Also, EPL strugglers Newcastle recorded a 2-2 draw with the champions Manchester City.
Joking aside, it was another performance that showcased why Newcastle fans have been so patient with the 24-year-old Paraguayan (apart from the fact that the squad’s not exactly brimming with potential replacements).
Last Thursday, the “Matchday — Inside FC Barcelona” documentary premiered in Barcelona with a variety of representatives, players and celebrities present. The series promised a “no-holds-barred view of the club” filmed throughout the 2018-19 season, which offered the high of a league title and the lows of a Copa del Rey final defeat and that cataclysmic 4-0 defeat to Liverpool in the semifinals of the Champions League.
Former Red Jonjo Shelvey gave Liverpool a gift earlier in the day, scoring a late equalizer to hold Manchester City to a draw. Then the goalkeeper nearly threw it all away with a remarkably stupid Alisson red card against Brighton & Hove Albion.
Ultimately, Liverpool held on to win 2-1, going 11 points clear of Manchester City after the Citizens drew 2-2 with Newcastle United earlier on Saturday. But it was unnecessarily nervy at Anfield because of some boneheaded goalkeeping.