Arne Slot makes admission about tired Liverpool trio ahead of Southampton trip

by | Nov 24, 2024 | Blog

Liverpool boss Arne Slot admits he will be taking no chances with his selection as he prepares for games against Real Madrid and Manchester City following the trip to Southampton

Liverpool boss Arne Slot admits he will be taking no chances with his selection as he prepares for games against Real Madrid and Manchester City following the trip to Southampton Liverpool boss Arne Slot admits he will be taking no chances with his selection as he prepares for games against Real Madrid and Manchester City following the trip to Southampton

Liverpool boss Arne Slot will run the rule over his three South American stars ahead of a pivotal week in his team’s season.

Alexis Mac Allister, Luis Diaz and Darwin Nunez have undergone gruelling flights back home to represent Argentina, Colombia and Uruguay respectively during the International break.

And Slot admits he will be taking no chances with his selection with games against Real Madrid and Manchester City following the trip to Southampton.

Diaz played 180 minutes for Colombia as they lost back-to-back World Cup qualifiers against Nunez’s Uruguay and Ecuador. Nunez featured for 90 minutes in that tie after being substituted at half-time in the 1-1 draw with Brazil.

Mac Allister featured for 89 minutes of Argentina’s 1-0 victory over Peru after being substituted after 64 minutes when the world champions lost to Paraguay.

Slot said: “I will particularly keep an eye on the players that have come back from South America – and that is not only Macca. It’s also Darwin and Lucho.

“You have to keep an eye on them, especially the ones who played twice for 90 minutes. You see how they are doing, how fit they are, you talk to them a bit more about how they feel – more than I do with the ones who played in Europe.”

Alexis Mac Allister, Darwin Nunez and Luis Diaz may need their minutes managed after gruelling flights back from the continent

Slot has been able to welcome back Harvey Elliott, who is back in training ahead of the trip to Southampton following two months out with a foot injury.

“Harvey is training with us again so that’s the positive thing, he has been out for many weeks but he is on the training ground again with the team. So, that’s a positive thing for him,” said the head coach on Friday.

“But that is different than being on the top of your game immediately again. So we have to give him time for this as well, but I am very fortunate that he is back, especially with the amount of games coming up in the upcoming two, three or four months.”

Alisson Becker, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Federico Chiesa and Diogo Jota are out of the Southampton clash, though captain Virgil van Dijk is available for selection despite missing the Netherlands’ Nations League game against Bosnia and Hezegovina on Tuesday.

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Atléti mark Simeone’s 700th game with late win

by | Nov 24, 2024 | Blog

Atléti mark Simeone’s 700th game with late win

Diego Simeone’s 700th game in charge of Atletico Madrid ended in a late 2-1 win over Deportivo Alaves in LaLiga after Alexander Sorloth rescued the home side with an 86th-minute winner at the Metropolitano Stadium on Saturday. Diego Simeone’s 700th game in charge of Atletico Madrid ended in a late 2-1 win over Deportivo Alaves in LaLiga after Alexander Sorloth rescued the home side with an 86th-minute winner at the Metropolitano Stadium on Saturday.

ByReuters

Diego Simeone’s 700th game in charge of Atlético Madrid ended in a late 2-1 win over Deportivo Alaves in LaLiga after Alexander Sørloth rescued the home side with an 86th-minute winner at the Metropolitano Stadium on Saturday.

Alaves took an early lead from the penalty spot but Antoine Griezmann equalised in the 76th minute with a spot kick of their own before second-half substitute Sørloth bagged his fifth goal of the season to seal all three points.

Atlético provisionally moved up to second in LaLiga, four points behind leaders Barcelona who have two games in hand, while Alaves dropped to 16th.

“It’s an incredible amount, 700 games. Congratulations to him. The result is for him and the supporters,” Simeone’ son Giuliano, who livened things up in the second half and earned the man-of-the-match award, said.

“Alaves came here to compete and they fought hard, they made it difficult for us. That’s the way they are, that’s how they always play.

“I’m happy for what I was able to do when I came on but what’s more important is that we won the game.”

Atlético found themselves on the backfoot in the seventh minute when Javi Galan conceded a penalty with a handball when he had his arm raised to block a cross and Jon Guridi made no mistake from the spot when he sent Jan Oblak the wrong way.

The Metropolitano crowd fell silent after going 1-0 down but they found their voice when Griezmann set up Samuel Lino, who saw his shot smash into the crossbar before the visitors cleared the ball.

As Alaves stood firm in defence, a few boos and whistles could be heard as Atletico failed to make better use of their possession and played wasteful passes in the final third while Antonio Sivera was alert to danger and made several saves.

Simeone made two halftime substitutions with Giuliano and Sorloth coming on while Julian Alvarez was introduced at the hour mark, but Alaves’ disciplined defence kept the home side at bay.

Giuliano galvanised their attack and he seemed to be everywhere, popping up on both flanks, and he nearly scored an equaliser from a counter-attack when he raced through on goal, only to see his shot saved by the outstretched leg of Sivera.

Atletico received a lifeline in the 74th minute when Sorloth’s header hit the arm of defender Abdel Abqar to earn a penalty and although Sivera dived in the right direction, Griezmann’s spot kick found the back of the net.

With a draw on the cards, Rodrigo De Paul spotted Sørloth making a run in behind and the Norwegian’s thunderous strike squeezed in at the near post to give Atlético the win.

“We’re very sad, we played very well in the first half and started well in the second. We knew we’d be under constant pressure and the penalty hurt us,” Alaves defender Nahuel Tenaglia said.

“We just have to turn the page and put this result behind us.”

www.espn.com – SOCCER