Football Talkies ⚽

Rio Ngumoha made history for Liverpool FC as the club’s youngest-ever FA Cup player when he was named in the starting XI to face Accrington Stanley at Anfield. At just 16 years and 135 days old, he broke the record previously set by Trey Nyoni (16 years and eight months) last season. Ngumoha, a versatile and lively left-sided forward capable of playing anywhere across the front line, joined Liverpool’s Academy in September 2024 after a stint with Chelsea. Sharing the field with senior players like Trent Alexander-Arnold, Dominik Szoboszlai, and Diogo Jota, the teenager showcased his potential in a memorable debut that lasted 72 minutes. ...

Liverpool played Burnley at Turf Moor on Match Week Four. Liverpool was looking to extend their run of victories in the Premier League to thirteen. The match was played in front of a crowd of 21,000. The match referee was Christopher Kavanagh. Lineups: Liverpool remained unchanged from their match against Arsenal. While Burnley brought in former Everton man Aaron Lennon for his first Premier League start of the calendar year, replacing the injured Johann Berg Gudmundsson. Things were looking good for Burnley and Ashley Barnes, for only Sergio Agureo (16) and Sadio Mane (15) have scored more Premier League goals than the star striker (13). He has also scored in each of his last four Premier League matches (5 goals). For Liverpool, Roberto Firmino had scored home and away against Burnley last season and was on his way to become the first Brazilian to score 50 goals in the Premier League. First Half Analysis: The game started off pretty well, both teams trying to impose themselves in the match. There were chances for both sides; Liverpool got the first opportunity of the match when Mane found Salah just inside the box and the Egyptian’s shot hit the post. Liverpool had another opportunity when a beautiful ball from Alexander-Arnold found Mane inside the box, only to see his shot blocked and sent for a corner. Burnley had a chance to score the first goal of the match when they caught Liverpool off guard after a turnover in possession; Barnes did well to find Lennon whose cross was sent over the bar by Alexander-Arnold. There were a lot of misplaced passes during the game, especially by the Clarets. Passing accuracy in the first half for the home side was at 52% and the away side had 72%. The first goal of the game came when a deflected cross from Alexander-Arnold found the back of the net. Burnley’s goal keeper Nick Pope was left bamboozled with the trajectory of the ball. Liverpool added a second almost immediately after, when Ben Mee gave the ball away at the half way line and Firmino did well to setup Mane with a beautifully weighted ball. The Senegalese man did well to slot it past the Burley goal keeper to increase his tally for the season. Second Half Analysis: Burnley started off the second half the same way the first half had ended. Burnley’s defensive line was not the best, lack of communication across the back line allowed Liverpool forwards to easily get past them. Main culprits were club captain Ben Mee and right back Matthew Lowton. Burnley were unable to build up from the back, losing possession in key midfield areas. Burnley forwards Ashley Barnes, Chris Wood and Aaron Lennon had the fewest touches in the match. Jay Rodriguez came on from the bench for the Clarets, looking to impress the fans after being away from the club for 7 years. Liverpool scored the third goal of the match after Salah was released by Firmino and did well to throw off Pieters and Mee. The ball then fell for the Brazilian, whose shot takes it past the goal keeper. With this goal Roberto Firmino became the first Brazilian to score 50 goals in the Premier League. Firmino was involved in another build up play for Liverpool when his pass found Salah at the edge of the box, and the Egyptian went all by himself and Pieters did well to block his effort. Sadio Mane was frustrated at the Egyptian for not passing the ball to him. Tempers flared at the substitutes bench for Liverpool when Sadio Mane was brought off by Jurgen Klopp. ...

Liverpool’s first real test in the Premier League came on Match Day 3, hosting Arsenal at Anfield. Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool has had a good record against the Gunners, unbeaten in 7 Premier League meetings against them. Meanwhile, Arsenal were struggling to win against the ‘Big six’. This fixture has a special feature associated with it; it has produced a Premier League record number of goals, an incredible 159 goals between them. The match showcased all 3 of last season’s Premier League Golden Boot winners together in a match; Mo Salah, Sadio Mane and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. The match was witnessed by 53,000 people and the match referee was Anthony Taylor. ...

Match week two saw Liverpool playing Southampton away at St.Mary’s in front of crowd of 31,700. Match referee was Andre Marriner. Lineups: Liverpool made three changes to the starting eleven that played Chelsea midweek in the UEFA Super Cup, bringing on Trent Alexander-Arnold, Georginio Wijnaldum and Firmino for Joe Gomez, Jordan Henderson and Divock Origi. Southampton was able to name their captain in the starting lineup after recovering from an illness. And Maya Yoshida was also restored to the team. Danny Ings was left on the bench and unable to start against his former side. There was good news for Liverpool as Mo Salah had managed to score 5 goals in 4 games prior to this match. First Half Analysis: Southampton started the half brilliantly, attacking Liverpool and controlling the midfield. Oriol Romeu was their key man, imposing himself as the enforcer for the home team. Liverpool’s midfield trio containing Wijnaldum, Milner and Oxlade-Chamberlain failed to link well with their forwards due to this and were also unable to release their full backs. For Southampton this gave rise for Nathan Redmond to play freely and was very good in the first half. Adrian almost gifted the home side with the opening goal of the match when he was caught by James Ward-Prowse trying to clear the ball; luckily it ended being just a goal kick. Southampton were again denied when Maya Yoshida jumped highest to reach a James Ward-Prowse corner, only for Adrian to deny him with a brilliant save from close range. Liverpool were unable to keep the ball well in the first half, tiredness may have been a factor. On the other hand, Southampton looked compact and solid. Liverpool scored against the run of play, thanks to a brilliant strike from former Saints man Sadio Mane. Second Half Analysis: The second half saw a resurgent Liverpool side, placing Southampton on the back foot. Salah was sent on his way with a wonderful through ball and Angus Gunn did brilliantly well to deny the Liverpool forward. There was a period of incessant pressure by Liverpool, and Southampton struggled to win the ball. Danny Ings was brought on by Southampton replacing Oriol Romeu and this led to Liverpool winning the midfield battles easily. Mane and Firmino combined brilliantly on the left hand side for Liverpool, and the former set up the latter with a chance which went just wide of the post. The second goal came for Liverpool after they won the ball from a throw-in, and Firmino rounded off a few players and coolly put if past Gunn. A lot of Liverpool’s attack came from the left hand side, Mane and Robertson heavily involved in the build-up plays. Southampton managed to find a goal after a howler from Liverpool goalkeeper Adrian who kicked it straight to the feet of oncoming Danny Ings. The Southampton goal scorer had an opportunity in the dying minutes to equalize but failed to capitalize and saw the shot go just past the post. MOTM: Andy Robertson. The Liverpool left back had the most touches off the ball than anybody else on the field. He was equally good at defending and attacking for Liverpool and supported Mane in creating spaces on the left hand side. Things to take away: ...

Ah! Yes, it’s that time of the year again. Where the reigning champions of the two main European competitions (Champions League and Europa League) face off against each other. This was the 44th edition of the competition and there was history being made all over; this match saw two English sides face off against each other for the very first time, it also saw the first female to officiate a major men’s European match, and this was the first time VAR (Video Assistant Referee) was used in this competition. The match was held at the Vodafone Park in Istanbul and was witnessed by 38,400 people. Match referee was Stéphanie Frappart. Lineups: Team news for Liverpool included the introduction of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to the starting eleven after he got back from a cruciate ligament injury and was out for 16 months and Naby Keita was declared unfit to be included in the starting lineup, suffering a muscle strain. For Chelsea, N’Golo Kanté was declared fit to be included in the staring eleven after the injury concern in their last match against Manchester United and Christian Pulisic was handed his first competitive start for Chelsea. First Half Analysis: Liverpool started off the match looking for an early goal and would’ve secured it through Mo Salah if not for a good save by Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga. Liverpool kept looking for the longs balls trying to release either Mane or Salah but the Chelsea defence shut shop on the duo. Chelsea goal came after a good play from Kante who found Pulisic who found Olivier Giroud with a through ball and easily slotted it past Adrian. There was an opportunity for the creator of the Chelsea goal to extend the lead for his team but the effort was ruled offside. It looked like Chelsea had more players willing to run and/or carry the ball behind the Liverpool defence and, Liverpool kept looking for those long balls. The Ox had a poor first half and went missing after the initial 15 minutes. Second half analysis: Roberto Firmino was brought on by Liverpool in the second half in place of Oxlade-Chamberlain. He made an instant impact setting up Mane to score Liverpool’s first goal. Liverpool looked far more comfortable in attack in the second half, for in Firmino they had somebody to hold the ball and also linkup with the other two forwards. As the half went on the tiredness kicked in and both teams struggled to keep the ball. There was a chance for Liverpool to take the lead which was denied by a superb double save by the Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa, first to deny Salah and then Van Djik. Chelsea had another goal disallowed for offside, this time against substitute Mason Mount. Extra Time and Penalties: Liverpool brought in Alexander-Arnold replacing Andy Robertson, with Joe Gomez taking the role of a left-back. Liverpool struck first in extra time after a beautiful one-two between Mane and Firmino, with the latter setting up the former for the goal. Chelsea had an opportunity when Tammy Abraham was sent through by Jorginho only to see his effort saved by the outstretched leg of Adrian. The hero became the villain soon afterwards when he brought down the Chelsea forward in the box and the French referee awarded Chelsea with a penalty. There was a VAR check which confirmed the referee’s decision. Up stepped Jorginho to put it past Adrian and made it 2-2. The fitness levels of the players were tested and both teams made use of the allotted 4 substitutions. Extra time couldn’t separate the two teams and so the match moved onto penalties. The match was decided after Tammy Abraham failed to convert his penalty and Liverpool went onto lift the trophy for the fourth time. MOTM: N’Golo Kanté. He along with Pedro were the live wires for the Chelsea side, always willing to run to with the ball or to win it for his team. His presence was truly missed when Chelsea were humbled at Old Trafford. Things to take away: ...

The 2019/20 premier league season kicked off with Liverpool facing Norwich at Anfield. The match was witnessed by 53,000 people. The match referee was Michael Oliver. Lineups: It was a game of many firsts actually; This was the first match for Norwich City under Daniel Farke in the Premier League, this was the first premier league match to showcase the VAR (Video Assistant Referee), this was also the debut game for the new Liverpool signing Adrian and Onel Hernandez became the first Cuban player to play in the Premier League. First Half Analysis: Norwich kicked things off by attacking the KOP end at Anfield. The Norwich side fielded a lot of young players in their starting eleven including Max Aarons, Ben Godfrey, Jamal Lewis and Todd Cantwell. Liverpool secured the first goal of the season thanks to a mistake by Grant Hanley, whose mishit secured the goal for the home team. The first half also showcased the away team’s Finnish striker who scored an incredible 29 goals in the Championship last season. His movement caused some early trouble for the Liverpool defence, especially for defender Joe Gomez. The second goal for Liverpool came from a scrappy play in the box where Norwich failed to clear the ball and Salah pounced on the opportunity to slot past Tim Krul. Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson was called on a few times to save the home team from conceding a goal. His distribution was spot on as always, until injury forced him off the field. He was replaced by the new signing Adrian who was given a warm welcome by the home crowd. Salah caused some trouble for young left-back Jamal Lewis who found it difficult to mark the tricky forward. The third goal came from a Salah corner which found the head of a tall Virgil Van Djik who was able to easily put it past the keeper. Liverpool ended the half with another goal, a cross into the middle of the box from Alexander-Arnold which was met by Divock Origi. Second Half Analysis: The second half started off with Liverpool pressuring the away side. There were chances to extend the lead for Liverpool; Henderson had a shot saved by Krul after a good play by Origi on the left wing, Firmino scuffed a chance after some good play between Alexander-Arnold and Salah on the other side, and Salah was sent through after some good closing down by the Liverpool players. Liverpool were unlucky not to extend their lead further. There were good things to be noted of the away side as well; their player of the season from last year showed some excellent movement off the ball in pressuring the Liverpool defence, their Argentine winger Emiliano Buendia was excellent in midfield, Todd Cantwell on the other side showed some silky moves with the ball as well and Moritz Leitner came on from the bench to add some mettle in the midfield. The Norwich secured a consolation goal through their star man Pukki latching onto an excellent through ball from Emiliano Buendia. Sadio Mane was brought on by Liverpool for some match time before their UEFA Super Cup fixture against Chelsea. Mane caused some problems for the Norwich defence in the few minutes he was on the field. There were lapses of concentration in the Liverpool defence from time to time and were regularly tested by the away side. MOTM: Emiliano Buendia. The young Argentine play maker caused problems for the Liverpool defence all throughout the match. His ability to carry and pass the ball would be a cause for concern for the premier league defenders. Things to take away: ...

The English football kicked off with a ‘Clash of the Giants’ fixture in the Community Shield. It was match between the Best team in the Premier League vs the Best team in Europe. The match was witnessed by 77,500 people on a Sunday afternoon at Wembley Stadium. Match referee was Martin Atkinson. Lineups: Both teams lined up in their usual 4-3-3 formation. City staying wide as Guardiola always likes his teams to do, whereas Liverpool played narrow. First Half Analysis: The first half saw Liverpool playing in zones, the forwards, the midfield and the defence of Liverpool seemed to operate in their own territories. It looked like easy pickings in the early minutes for the City attack as Liverpool played a high defence. Sterling playing the lone striker role and Leroy Sane running down the wings caused some early trouble for the Liverpool defence. City kept looking for the ball over Alexander-Arnold releasing either Sterling or Sane. It also saw the latest addition to the Guardiola project: Rodri, who cost the Cityzens £62.8 million. It was a trial by fire for the 23 year old who quickly adapted to the game after an initial struggle. The City goal came after some good thinking by the city players from a well crafted free kick. From a Liverpool perspective things didn’t turn out too well in the first half. Wijnaldum was largely ineffective, Origi trying to do the best he could but unable to linkup with any of the Liverpool players, Liverpool unable to release Salah who was easily covered by Zinchenko and Otamendi. Most of the time when Liverpool were defending, the midfield containing Henderson, Fabinho and Wijnaldum stayed too flat. There was only one team on the field that looked match ready and it was not Liverpool. Second Half Analysis: The second half pretty much started off the way it was left off, City attacking Liverpool. There was a slight change in midfield for Liverpool as Henderson and Wijnaldum had swapped sides. Henderson pushed the Liverpool attack line and also helped Alexander-Arnold mark Sterling and David Silva. Opportunities fell for both sides; Liverpool from a corner that almost went in and Sterling, released by Walker for City. Salah had a lot of shots on target for Liverpool but failed to convert any. In the second half there were signs of Liverpool from the previous season. Liverpool were rewarded for their efforts in the second half with a goal by substitute Joel Matip. It was a game of two halves really, and Liverpool would have walked away with a victory if not for a goal line clearance by Kyle Walker. The match was won on penalties by City as there is no extra time in this fixture. It ended 5-4 to the Cityzens, for a save by Bravo on Wijnaldum clinched a victory for them. MOTM: Kevin De Bruyne. He looked like a real threat for the Liverpool defence with his dribbling and ability to find space. If he continues the he’s been playing and be injury free, I can see him as one of the contenders for the PFA player of the year award. Things to take away: ...

The latest prospect to come out of the world renowned Dinamo Zagreb’s conveyor belt is Ante Ćorić. He is a very gifted footballer in the mould of Luka Modric or a Mateo Kovacic. He’s quick with his feet, has got silky movements and a tidy passer of the ball. Ante Coric’s Profile Name: Ante Coric Current Team: Dinamo Zagreb Positions: Midfielder Age: 18 years old (14-04-1997) Nationality: Croatia Current market value: €2,50 Mill. ...

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