أبدى نيكو كوفاتش، المدير الفني لفريق بوروسيا دورتموند، فخره الشديد بلاعبيه بعد مباراة الأمس ضد فريق برشلونة، رغم توديع منافسات دوري أبطال أوروبا.

واستضاف ملعب “سيجنال إيدونا بارك” مباراة الفريقين في إياب ربع نهائي دوري أبطال أوروبا، حيث فاز بوروسيا دورتموند بثلاثة أهداف مقابل هدف.

ورغم فوز بوروسيا دورتموند، إلا أن برشلونة هو من تأهل إلى نصف نهائي دوري أبطال أوروبا بفضل انتصاره في الذهاب بأربعة أهداف دون رد.

وقال نيكو كوفاتش، في تصريحات نشرها الموقع الرسمي لـ يويفا: “لقد شاهدنا جميعًا مباراة رائعة الليلة، خاصة من جانب فريقي، اتسمت المباراة بالحماس الشديد وضغط هجومي كبير”.

اقرأ أيضًا.. ليفاندوفسكي: تلقينا جرس إنذار أمام بوروسيا دورتموند.. وتسببنا في التوتر لأنفسنا

وأضاف: “أشعر بخيبة أمل كبيرة لخروجنا، لكننا تسببنا في أول هزيمة لـ برشلونة في عام 2025 اليوم، وهذا يعني الكثير، يحق لنا أن نفخر بأنفسنا”.

وواصل: “كانت المباراة مختلفة تمامًا عن الذهاب، كنا أكثر شجاعةً وحسمًا، كان لدينا شجاعة أكبر، جمهورنا عامل مهم في مباراة كهذه بكل تأكيد، مما أسعدني كثيرًا”.

وشدد: “اللعب بهذه الطريقة ضد برشلونة يستحق كل التقدير والإشادة”.

وعن أداء سيرهو جيراسي، الذي سجل هاتريك في مباراة برشلونة، قال: “من الصعب جدًا تفضيل لاعب واحد اليوم، الجميع كانوا جيدين، لكن تسجيل جيراسي ثلاثة أهداف ضد برشلونة يُعد أداءً رائعًا بلا شك”.

واسترسل: “إنه ضماننا، كان بإمكانه تسجيل المزيد من الأهداف اليوم، لكن جيراسي يحتاج أيضًا إلى دعم زملائه، وقد حصل عليه اليوم”.

Chelsea made it five wins from five in the UEFA Conference League, despite the subzero temperatures in Kazakhstan. Enzo Maresca’s side won 3-1 against Astana, with two goals from Marc Guiu and a header from Renato Veiga in the first half.

The Blues held 69% possession, taking 23 shots in the game, creating five big chances and scoring three goals from their 1.19 xG generated. This dominant performance also allowed Maresca to hand out a few more Chelsea debuts, bringing the likes of Ato Ampah, Shumaira Mhueka and Kiano Dyer on from the bench.

Chelsea remain top of the UEFA Conference League, sitting on 15 points, scoring 21 goals in five games and only conceding four times. This leaves them with a goal difference of +17, the most in the competition.

Marc Guiu's performance vs Astana

Guiu has made nine appearances for Chelsea this season after joining the Blues this summer from Barcelona, for a fee of around £5m.

The striker has shown in his short time at the club that he is a hard-working forward, who will chase down balls, run the channels, and make the defenders’ lives a nightmare.

The 18-year-old Spanish forward had 22 touches in the game against Astana, taking three shots (two on target), making one key pass, winning one of his two ground duels, and, of course, scoring two of the Blues’ three goals.

But Guiu wasn’t the top performer, as there was another player who stole the limelight. In fact, it was a Cobham academy graduate who actually put in a man of the match display, stating his case for more senior team minutes this season.

Performance in Numbers

Want data and stats? Football FanCast's Performance in Numbers series provides you with the latest match analysis from across Europe.

Expand Collapse Josh Acheampong's performance vs Astana

18-year-old defender, Josh Acheampong was outstanding in his full debut, securing a 7.9/10 match rating from 90MIN for his performance. This was Acheampong’s first appearance since he was “frozen out” of the first and U21 squads, as Chelsea attempted to agree terms of a new deal with the teenage sensation.

Acheampong featured against Barrow in the EFL Cup this season for the first team, playing 27 minutes in Chelsea’s 5-0 victory. His only other appearances prior to this Conference League game this season were four Premier League 2 games, where he provided one assist and totalled 273 minutes.

Josh Acheampong vs Astana

Stat

Acheampong

Minutes

90

Touches

101

Accurate Passes

76/81

Key Passes

1

Long Balls

4/6

Ground Duels Won

6/9

Interceptions

1

Tackles

4

Successful Dribble Attempts

2/2

Stats taken from Sofascore

Standing at 6 foot 3, Acheampong possesses an extremely athletic frame, is a powerful runner, and can win duels to the teams’ benefit, as shown against Astana, winning six of his nine ground duels, and making four tackles, helping the visitors to sustain pressure and keep the ball in the opposition half.

But the youngster also showed his class on the ball, full of confidence and poised with composure, making 94% of his passes, four out of his six long balls, and even playing a key pass for the team. His 100% dribble success is perhaps the most impressive stat line though, as his ability to carry the ball through central areas can often catch the opposition off guard.

The teenager’s performance was one that showed enough to challenge Maresca in the injury absence of Reece James, for Acheampong to feature in the Chelsea senior squad more frequently this season, deputising Malo Gusto as the right-back.

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MatériaMais Notícias

Um dos principais nomes do CRB neste ano, o atacante Anselmo Ramon que é o artilheiro da equipe na temporada, falou sobre o desejo de manter a média de gols em 2022.

– VEJA A TABELA DA SÉRIE B

‘Estou trabalhando muito para manter a intensidade e a média de gols com a camisa do CRB. Venho em um ritmo forte e me empenhando para continuar ajudando o grupo nesta sequência da temporada. Estou muito motivado para isso’, afirmou.

Anselmo destacou, ainda, que a meta, agora, é buscar uma vitória sobre o Ceará no sábado pelo Nordestão.

‘Vamos para mais uma decisão e precisamos estar preparados. O grupo sabe da responsabilidade que terá durante os noventa minutos. Temos que ter intensidade máxima para buscarmos essa vaga nas semifinais da disputa’.

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The two England wingers are providing the Gunners with a lively tag team as European football returns and the Women's Super League run-in begins

For a while on Friday, it looked like Arsenal were about to make their bid to secure Champions League for next season a little more tricky. Despite taking the lead away at Everton, thanks to Alessia Russo's strike, the Gunners went into the second half with the scores level after their hosts had made one of several promising counter-attacks count. A draw would've left them in the third and final European spot and just two points ahead of Manchester City with six games to go. Fortunately, head coach Renee Slegers had plenty to turn to on her bench, particularly in attack.

On came Caitlin Foord and Beth Mead, for Frida Maanum and Chloe Kelly, as part of a quadruple change on the hour mark. As Mariona Caldentey shifted centrally to fill Maanum's role, Foord and Mead added two new problems for the Everton full-backs to deal with, and both played key roles in Arsenal's eventual 3-1 win, Foord putting Maren Mjelde under pressure as she scored an own goal before Mead played a lovely through-ball for Russo to net her second.

The Gunners have not always had the ability to replenish the attack quite like this throughout the season, but several factors have allowed Slegers to have game-changing depth on her bench as the business end of the campaign approaches. Kelly's January arrival is certainly a big one, and it is not only proving beneficial for Arsenal, but also Mead and, as an extension of it all, England, just four months before their European Championship defence begins.

• Getty Images
  

  More in midfield

  There are other reasons for this strength in depth, with the consistent availability of those in midfield certainly playing a part. In the first half of the season especially, Caldentey often found herself in a central position to make up for absences of others, and it deprived the front line of another player out wide. That this was before Kelly's arrival is also significant.

  However, the fact that players like Kim Little and Lia Walti are now playing regular minutes again means the Spain star can be pushed out to the left and also moved back in the middle when it suits during a game, as it did on Friday against Everton.

Advertisement

• Getty
  

  Quartet with quality

  At the same time, Kelly's arrival is huge. It means Arsenal now have four proper wingers at their disposal, giving Slegers the chance to rotate, impact games with her subs and pair different styles of players.

  All four bring varying qualities to the table. Caldentey loves to cut inside and play in the channels, which allows left-back Katie McCabe to thrive in the final third; Mead enjoys doing that too, albeit while also being a threat with her crosses; and then Kelly and Foord will hug the touchline and drive at players, though still in slightly different ways.

  That means Slegers has different pairings to deploy depending on the opposition, the demands of a game and loading considerations. It's a great thing for Arsenal to have as they prepare to approach a demanding period, with the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final against Real Madrid coming on Tuesday.

• Getty Images
  

  Depth behind Mead

  Caldentey and Foord are more often deployed on the left while Kelly and Mead battle for the berth on the right, and in that sense, Kelly's January arrival has also been good for her England team-mate. Arsenal have long lacked natural depth on that right-hand side, making them more dependent on Mead's form. But Kelly's arrival has addressed that issue – and in good time, too, as Mead struggled with a calf issue in February.

  It means Slegers has been able to keep both players fresh in a period of the season that has been demanding – and will continue to be as the Champions League returns. Both players can push each other to be their best, too, as they compete for as many minutes as possible and as many opportunities to help this team enjoy a successful end to the campaign. It's early days, but Mead's stats are already up in the games played since Kelly came in, with more chances created, more shots taken and more touches had.

• Getty Images
  

  Boost for England

  That's good news for England, too. After all, it was only in February that the wide spots felt a little bit like a weak spot in the squad. Lauren Hemp is still to return from her knee surgery in November, Mead missed the Lionesses' first camp of the year with that calf issue and Kelly was not initially called up, owing to the serious lack of game time at Manchester City which prompted her to pursue a January exit.

  Now, as Mead and Kelly provide a lively tag team on Arsenal's right, and with Lauren James also back to fitness and Jess Park putting in good performances from a wide role in England's February games, it feels like Sarina Wiegman suddenly has a heap of options going into this summer's Euros, which is great news for competition for places – especially amid the uncertainty surrounding Hemp's fitness.

A former Arsenal player has questioned if Mikel Arteta has the "personality" to manage a "big player" such as striker Victor Osimhen.

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Arteta comes under fire from ex-GunnerQuestioned if he can handle a "big player"Arsenal told to sign striker Osimhen Follow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Former Gunners captain William Gallas has urged his old team to sign Napoli ace Osimhen, who is spending the season on loan at Galatasaray, in a bid to finally end their centre-forward issues. However, the Frenchman does not believe Arteta will be able to handle the Nigerian, something he claims managerial greats such as Sir Alex Ferguson, Arsene Wenger, and Jose Mourinho would be able to do.

AdvertisementGetty Images SportWHAT WILLIAM GALLAS SAID

When asked which striker Arsenal should sign, Gallas told Prime Casino: "I think Victor Osimhen would be the man I would try and sign. He’s been performing well for Galatasaray, obviously on loan from Napoli, and he’s only going to be there for a season. He’s a good player. Maybe not the player, but maybe he can score 20 a season. But if he doesn’t, he gives you movement, he gives space for the second forward to exploit and score goals. He takes the focus of defenders, so he could play with Kai Havertz or another striker. He will be a little bit more free and then he can score goals for the club. So that's why a striker like him would be good for Arsenal. I was talking about this many years ago. He was too good, I think, to go to Galatasaray. I'm still saying the same thing. I know the club’s fans are going to be on my back again. Is he too much of a big player for Arteta? Maybe Mikel Arteta doesn't have the personality to manage players like Osimhen or to deal with players with personality. Big managers like Klopp, Guardiola, Ancelotti, Mourinho and Ferguson. Even Arsene, he had the personality of being our friend, but he knew how to speak to players. You have to know how to speak to your players. It doesn't mean you're going to have arguments. You have to know how to deal with them, that’s all."

THE BIGGER PICTURE

Arsenal have failed to sign a striker over the past two seasons, something that has come back to haunt them off the back of the injuries to forwards Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz this term. The Gunners look set to miss out on another Premier League title in 2024/25 and if they want to end their 21-year wait for that trophy, they may need a top striker.

Getty Images SportWHAT NEXT?

Arsenal, who sit 15 points behind league leaders Liverpool, host Chelsea in their next Premier League game on Sunday.

Australia interim coach Andrew McDonald is in no doubt that captain Aaron Finch will lead Australia’s T20 World Cup title defence later this year on home soil despite Finch’s current lengthy form slump.Since the start of the last T20 World Cup in the UAE in October 2021, Finch has played 12 T20Is and three ODIs without making a half-century. Across 15 innings, including both formats, he averages 15.73 with a strike rate of just 97.92.Related

• Aaron Finch is in a rut, and faces a big week in his ODI career

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• McDonald yet to look beyond interim role in Australia's future

He also has nine single-figure scores in those 15 innings including back-to-back ducks in the last two ODIs against Pakistan. But McDonald said there was no question internally about Finch’s place heading towards the T20 World Cup in Australia later this year.”From my end, there’s no conversation around the fact that he won’t be there,” McDonald said. “His form can ebb and flow like most players can and his ability to work through these patches has been significant in his career. We had the same conversation about David Warner leading into the T20 World Cup last time.”All these conversations are going to happen. Do we think he’s still good enough to play at this level? 100%, yes, and I think that’s as simple as it gets for us.”We’re building a team around him as a captain. It’s a pretty significant pillar to be discussing about not being at the T20 World Cup. From our end, we think he can still play at this level.”There is nothing new about Finch’s current woes. He was trapped lbw in his first three balls in each of the last two innings in Lahore. Shaheen Shah Afridi pinned him with a shin-high full toss first ball in the second ODI and Haris Rauf trapped him plumb with a reasonable straight delivery angled in at middle stump in game three. Rauf tried the exact same delivery to Marnus Labuschagne two balls later and the No. 1 Test batter clipped it wide of mid-on with ease for a boundary to highlight the clear differences in balance and footwork between the two players.Finch put his hand up in the aftermath of the ODI series loss to Pakistan, identifying that he was struggling for runs, and McDonald noted that the pair has been here before many times dating back to their time working together at Victoria and Melbourne Renegades.”He’s disappointed with his current form, there’s no doubt about that,” McDonald said. “Obviously that plays out on the big stage, but he’s currently probably not moving the way that he wants to move in terms of his mechanics.”That’s something that we probably need to rectify, and he’s working on it at training. It’s like anything, we’ve been down this path before. Sometimes, he can sort of get his legs crossed over a little bit and gets a little bit too much weight on that left leg.”It’s not an uncommon thing. So, hopefully we can work through it, albeit the timeframes in between these games over here haven’t created the time that you would like to be able to have to work on that.”Common theme creeping in there, but something that he’s been able to work through before, and we’re really, really confident that he’ll be able to work through that as his career continues.”Finch has one more innings on this tour, in Tuesday night’s one-off T20I, to find some touch before joining Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL.McDonald himself doesn’t yet know if he will lead Australia’s coaching group at the T20 World Cup despite being the warm favourite to take over the vacant head coaching position full-time, following the departure of Justin Langer.McDonald, who was the senior assistant, was seconded as interim coach for the Pakistan tour at short notice. Cricket Australia was initially expecting to have a full-time coach appointed by late March but the demands of the tour have meant that McDonald has had limited discussions with CA regarding the role, his candidacy, and what it will look like moving forward.”Obviously, the congested Test series didn’t allow that but with a few more gaps in amongst this one-day series, I’ve had the opportunity to speak to Cricket Australia,” McDonald said. “Whether that then becomes a follow-up conversation, we’ll wait to see.”It’ll be pretty much like the other people that have no doubt spoken to Cricket Australia as well. Within that, there was no great detail or clarity on what the role would look like. So that’s probably something that will be built in the next few steps. However many steps are there to the process.”I don’t really want to openly share what I think the job should look like because that might put people in difficult situations through the process. I think once the process is done, then I’m happy to talk about what I think it should look like, if I don’t have the job, or if I do have the job.”That’s something for later on down the track. I don’t really want to weigh into it while that process is going on.”

Interim head coach remains favourite to take over Australia men’s coaching job full-time after 1-0 Test series win in Pakistan

Alex Malcolm26-Mar-2022

Andrew McDonald and Pat Cummins worked well together in Pakistan•Getty Images

Cricket Australia’s search for a new men’s coach may have narrowed to one following Australia’s triumphant 1-0 away Test series over Pakistan, with captain Pat Cummins full of praise for the role of interim coach Andrew McDonald in the team’s victory.”Fantastic,” Cummins said of McDonald after the win in Lahore. “Not unexpected. He’s a great operator. The boys absolutely love him. Very diligent, very thorough, strategic, very organized. He’s a huge part of this tour win.”McDonald was thrust into the interim role after the messy exit of former coach Justin Langer just weeks out from the tour of Pakistan, as he turned down offers to work in the IPL to lead the Pakistan tour.Related

Andrew McDonald, the quiet achiever

Five key challenges for Andrew McDonald as Australia's new head coach

Andrew McDonald appointed as full-time Australia men's coach

Finch: New coach will have to manage limited-overs transition

Cummins: Langer shouldn't be 'surprised' with coaching change

Cummins’ praise for McDonald’s quiet work behind the scenes on the tour is noteworthy given the Test captain’s careful answers when asked similar questions about Langer both during the former coach’s contract renewal process and after his resignation.”His preparation, and all the support staff’s. It’s not just the 11 players who walk out; we’ve got a squad of 30-odd people who have been working so hard this month, and it’s also important. I’ve said before it’s not my place to employ the coach, but Ronnie [McDonald] has been fantastic.”McDonald had been the senior assistant under Langer, in charge of the bowling group since late 2019. Cricket Australia added a trusted assistant for the Pakistan tour in Andre Borovec, who had worked very closely with McDonald when he was previously in charge of Victoria and Melbourne Renegades, while also bringing in a similarly friendly face in Fawad Ahmed as spin coach at short notice when full-time spin coach S Sriram was unable to tour.Daniel Vettori, who had worked with McDonald as his replacement at Birmingham Pheonix in the Hundred last year after the Victorian was unable to coach in person due to Australia duties, will be joining Australia’s coaching group for the limited-overs matches in Pakistan after being unable to join for the Test series despite being sounded out.Australia exuded a sense of calm and patience throughout a long series, and rarely got flustered despite the pitches offering precious little to the bowlers for large periods even when they were in dominant positions on the final days in both Karachi and Lahore.The victorious Australian team with the series trophy•AFP/Getty Images

The team had held firm to the plan throughout the series not to chase the game or try and force the issue with the ball, but rather to be patient and keep the scoreboard under control and wait for an opportunity when a hint of a reverse swing or a batting mistake opened the door.It was a triumph of planning and execution that saw Australia claim their first away Test series victory since 2016, and their first Test series win in Asia since 2011.”Andrew McDonald and myself have been saying that a lot – it’s a 15-day Test match,” Cummins said. “I didn’t expect it to go right down to the last session on the 15th day. I think it’s one of those ones where you want to try and speed up the game. You want to try to create things and make things happen. But if there’s nothing in the pitch, [and] if the ball is soft, you can’t just make things out of thin air.”So you’ve got to take your medicine at times and I think we saw that in the first Test match. Absolutely you’d love to push for a result every Test match, but it’s sometimes just not possible. So I thought the way we stuck at it, we were attritional for the whole series and walked away last week still with our heads up high, confident for this week. Just really proud of the group.”Australia’s limited-overs captain Aaron Finch revealed last week that he had spoken to the external recruitment firm that CA is using to conduct the coaching search, but only to provide insight into what the ODI and T20I teams would require of a coach over the next two years rather than endorse any specific candidate.McDonald has been the warm favourite to take over the role full-time, and it is unlikely the head coaching role will be split into two with the chosen candidate likely to be the coach of all three formats. But there may be stronger structures in place to help manage the head coach’s workload; however, what that structure will look like could depend on the candidate chosen.News Corp had reported that Ricky Ponting had been contacted by recruitment firm SRI along with a host of other candidates. But it is incredibly unlikely Ponting will entertain the role given what happened to his close friend Langer and his preference to coach in the IPL only with Delhi Capitals while engaging in commentary work and other business interests for the remainder of each year.

Jurgen Klopp’s shock exit created unavoidable anxiety during the off-season, sneaking slippery tendrils through Merseyside doors as this unknown coach alighted in Liverpool from Holland.

We can all chuckle ruefully now, ay? Arne Slot has been a revelation, surely power-ranked as the standout manager of the 2024/25 campaign as Liverpool push toward the Premier League title and top the Champions League group stage too.

To be sure, the Reds could have done more in the transfer market, only signing Federico Chiesa, who was pushed out of Juventus and listed for a bargain £12.5m fee.

But FSG kept their finger off the trigger and instead doubled down on their watchword: prudence. In fairness, it’s all gone rather swimmingly thus far, but Anfield does need to see some first-team investment in 2025, lest this wonderful knitting of players fizzle out and allow rivals to catch up.

Liverpool interested in elite-level forward

It’s important to differentiate prudence from precaution, and Liverpool will at some stage need to fork out a significant sum for a talented footballer capable of elevating Slot’s system to a new level.

Well, according to Caught Offside, Liverpool still hold an interest in Bayern Munich superstar Jamal Musiala, but recent developments suggest that curiosity must be willed into something more concrete.

Indeed, Manchester City are also fixed admirers of the German playmaker, and given that Kevin De Bruyne’s contract is set to expire at the end of the season, it makes sense for Pep Guardiola to target Musiala as the centrepiece of his much-needed rebuild.

Moreover, Bayern are hoping to tie the 21-year-old down to a bumper new deal and are optimistic about their chances. Were they to let Musiala leave, the German giants would be fielding offers worth roughly €180m (£149m).

Imagine Jamal Musiala at Slot's Liverpool

Musiala has built himself up to elite-level merit over the past few years at the Allianz Arena, becoming a key part of Bayern’s first team and dazzling on numerous occasions with the German national team.

Jamal Musiala – Bayern Munich Stats by Position

Position

Apps

Goals

Assists

Attacking midfield

125

36

25

Left winger

44

16

8

Central midfield

29

3

5

Right winger

10

4

2

Centre-forward

5

5

0

Stats via Transfermarkt

In terms of positioning, Musiala is something of a jack-of-all-trades, invariably deadly through goalscoring or creating and conjuring up moments of wizardry.

It’s no surprise that he’s been hailed for his “magical” ball-playing qualities by presenter Gary Lineker after lighting it up at Euro 2024, scoring three goals across five matches and averaging 2.6 dribbles and 6.6 successful duels per game, as per Sofascore.

Chelsea’s one-time youth prospect has made startling progress since Bayern snapped him up, aged 16, for a nominal fee, amassing 185 appearances in total and notching 94 goal contributions.

Were Liverpool to sign him – ahead of rivals Man City – it’s likely that Musiala’s crackling pace and power would be used on the left flank, especially with Luis Diaz reaching a contractual impasse and potentially being sold in the next year or two.

In any case, Musiala would likely need to jockey with the currently in-form Cody Gakpo, but given his completeness and flair, the Bavarian sensation might actually prove to be an upgrade.

Jamal Musiala vs Cody Gakpo (2024/25)

League Stats (per 90)

Musiala

Gakpo

Goals scored

0.80

0.42

Assists

0.18

0.21

Shots taken

3.93

2.97

Shot-creating actions

5.45

3.82

Progressive passes

6.17

2.65

Progressive carries

3.58

2.65

Successful take-ons

3.31

1.91

Tackles

1.88

1.70

Stats via FBref

No disrespect to Gakpo, who is a fantastic footballer, but Musiala outstrips him across almost every noteworthy metric, endowed as he is with supreme athleticism and balletic poise.

Musiala has a doe’s grace, a lion’s ferocity and a fox’s cunning, the various facets sort of wrapping together to create something marvellous. Something elite.

Further to the point, Musiala’s feints and off-the-ball movements set him apart from your run-of-the-mill trickster. In fact, the 6 foot star would assume the role that Gakpo forfeited last season in playing across the field.

Gakpo did this without complaint under Klopp’s leadership but is clearly at his best when situated on the left flank. Musiala, however, maintains a clinical output regardless of his role, as evidenced by his positional table above.

Regarding Gakpo, Slot’s hardly going to be displeased with his options on the left flank. The 25-year-old has scored ten goals and supplied four assists across all competitions this term, and that’s while registering just 15 starts.

The £120k-per-week ace, however, has been streamlined into a goalscoring force under Slot’s wing, which has served him well in his fight to enter the ascendency.

That said, when considering his skillset against Musiala’s, it’s clear that the German brings the more expansive and stylish style of play, something that could give Liverpool the most incredible of dynamic injections on the left, pumping more creativity and energy into a frontline already established as one of Europe’s finest.

Liverpool would hit the biggest of jackpots if they were to seal this deal, taking Slot’s project to the next level and confirming to the footballing world that Anfield is here to stay as a powerhouse.

Man City would love to sign him themselves to help phase out De Bruyne, and if we’re being honest, the most likely scenario does seem to be a renewal in Germany.

Transfer Focus

Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.

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But if Liverpool were to succeed in their bid, they’d land one of the best forwards in the world. He’s better than Gakpo, and that’s certainly not to the Dutchman’s detriment. That says it all, really.

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