Liverpool

Jordan Chamberlain
Fan writer

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Ibou Konate is starting to find his best form once more, so it is no surprise Liverpool have stopped conceding goals again.

The Reds have let in just two Premier League goals in three games since his below-par return from injury against Manchester United, in which he looked slow and severely lacking fitness in the 2-2 Anfield draw.

Konate improved at Nottingham Forest, helped us keep a clean sheet at Brentford and was sublime at home against Ipswich Town on Saturday.

Liam Delap is renowned for his ability to bully defenders, but by the second half, he had stopped even contesting long balls, such was Konate and Virgil van Dijk's dominance.

Konate also showed an ability to step into midfield and begin attacks, with his incisive pass to Dom Szoboszlai assisting our opener in the 4-1 win.

His partnership with Van Dijk is the foundation to which this superb Liverpool side can win a title. Liverpool conceded multiple goals to Newcastle, Manchester United, Tottenham and Fulham during his injury absence in December, but the backline is far more assured when he is part of it.

Injuries have always held Konate back, but when fit and in rhythm, there are only a few centre-backs you would take over him in the world, and one of them is his Liverpool team-mate.

Find more from Jordan Chamberlain at Empire of the Kop, external

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We asked for your thoughts after Saturday's Premier League game between Brighton and Everton.

Here are some of your comments:

Brighton fans

SE: Every year Everton and Jordan Pickford come to the Amex and time-waste. The officials are oblivious to it and they need training. How we lost is beyond me but we were toothless up top again.

Chris: We were half the team that we had been against Man Utd. We deserved nothing. Little energy, little desire. Creativity almost non-existent. A real anti-climax to a great month.

Colin: We could have played all night and not scored. It was vital to get the first goal and apart from a couple of early occasions we never got behind the Everton full-backs and completely ran out of ideas of how to break down a strong defence guarding a one-goal lead. Joel Veltman knew what he was doing for the handball and didn't have his best game. Another frustrating watch.

Neil: Absolutely rubbish - no attacking ideas, stale. Buy someone quickly.

Everton fans

Paul: Sometimes, particularly away from home, you just have to win ugly. So, obviously very poor going forward and in possession but a hard-working midfield and solid defence should guarantee we are in the Premier League in the new stadium. At this stage, that's all that matters for Everton.

Jason: The Moyesiah has come back to keep us in the Premier League and lead us into the new stadium as a top flight side. I am utterly delighted he's come back, and at this stage care only about results, not necessarily performances. They will come in time.

Dave: Bit disjointed at the back largely but still dug in and defended as a pack. A more pacy outlet is needed to ease the pressure at the back. The players' reactions on the field and the dugout at full-time speaks volumes. This is down to the change of manager who values every individual.

Mark: A superb away win showing team spirit, commitment and resolve. Our depleted ranks held firm but we might have suffered some vital injury losses. If ever we needed reinforcement, it's certainly now.

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We asked for your thoughts after Saturday's Premier League game between Liverpool and Ipswich.

Here are some of your comments:

Liverpool fans

Yusuf: A routine performance from Liverpool. Knew what they had to do and they executed it well. Great to see Dom back to his best and Salah and Gakpo keep on scoring. Defensively, we have been good in the last few games, but a clean sheet would be convenient to boost the backline. Now we can focus on securing top spot in the Champions League on Wednesday, before a difficult trip away to an in-form Bournemouth.

Fraser: Great all round performance. Gakpo once again on fire and a massive improvement from last season. He's crucial to our attack and goals. Salah and Szoboszlai also really good and their goals were absolute crackers. Shame about conceding a clean sheet though but overall, job well done. We go onto the next game.

Ken: Another professional job done but conceding a goal at the end felt deflating. The lack of clean sheets is so frustrating. Trent was brilliant with solid performances from the others. Despite the positives, I despair at the standard of refereeing. Enciso almost dropkicked Endo in the face but only got a yellow. Dangerous and reckless play in my book.

Paul: Brilliant, just brilliant from Liverpool. Measured, controlled aggression. Pressing when right to do so and able to bring quality subs off the bench to finish the game off.

Ipswich fans

Matt: Nowhere near as bad as last week. Let's put these two games behind us and concentrate on finishing above Wolves. Encisco looks the business. He needs to start every game. We must beat Southampton next week!

Terry: Tame at best. Liverpool showed their gulf in class. However, these games will not be the ones that define Town's season. It is difficult to integrate new players at this time of the season. Some good play at times to keep me optimistic that we can survive.

Simon: With Everton getting a result against Brighton, February could be a crucial month. If Wolves sell Cunha it may well turn into a dogfight between Ipswich and Wolves for survival given the games each team plays. I feel if Town can stay up then they will go on to improve next season.

William: It was a disgrace. No effort to attack and happy to keep score down. At least have a go.

Chris Collinson
BBC Sport statistician

Arne Slot had huge shoes to fill replacing Jurgen Klopp, but comparing Liverpool's stats to the same stage last season shows that he's done so seamlessly…and even slightly improved them.

While their goal difference and points are slightly better, their expected goal difference is noticeably so, showing that Liverpool have been more dominant under the Dutchman. Although they've taken fewer shots than last season, their improved xG shows that they've taken much better ones, which has more than made up for it.

At the back, they've limited their opponents to both fewer and worse chances

That does mean that they've not been quite as efficient (or lucky?) as last season, since they're matching their xG, not overperforming it… but it's much healthier in the long run to be dominating games than being efficient in them

Chris Wise
Final Score reporter at Amex Stadium

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I don't think I've seen David Moyes wear his emotions as clearly as he did at the full-time whistle on Saturday.

A combination of delight, relief, and belief were probably all mixed into one as he roared towards a packed Everton away end.

If you didn't know it already, you saw in that moment just what being back at Everton means to him.

It was good to hear Moyes mention Sean Dyche's name in his Match of the Day interview after the game too. The structure and grit of Everton's defensive performance against Brighton clearly had foundations from the Dyche era.

This is the Moyes movement now though, and he's pulled in plenty of followers already.

Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk says he does not know "what the future will bring", with the 33-year-old Dutch centre-back's contract with the Reds set to run out in the summer. (Liverpool Echo), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Monday's full gossip column

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Ciara Fleming
BBC Sport journalist

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Brian Sorensen will have liked plenty of what he saw from his Everton side on Sunday afternoon, but he will have been left with a very familiar feeling of frustration as they fell to yet another avoidable defeat.

The Toffees dominated possession 54.8% to West Ham's 45.2%, registered an expected goals ratio of 2.19 to West Ham's 1.77, and had five more shots at goal than their hosts.

However they failed to beat their opponents in the area that matters most: goals.

As Kelly Gago and Katja Snoejis missed golden chances to open the scoring inside the opening quarter of an hour, West Ham striker Shekiera Martinez had one chance and grabbed it.

Then Viviane Asseyi slammed home her penalty to give West Ham a two-goal cushion.

While the visitors remained in the contest, in reality the second goal sealed West Ham's win. Everton have yet to come from behind to win this season.

In fact they have scored more than one goal on just one occasion, their shock 2-1 win over Manchester City before the winter break.

Their only other victory this season was also by a one goal margin, their 1-0 Merseyside derby victory in November.

Everton's four point gap to the relegation spot remained in tact as Crystal Palace also lost on Sunday. However if goals continue to be a problem it may only be a matter of time before the division's newcomers overtake them.

Highlights and analysis from Saturday's six Premier League fixtures are now available to watch.

If you missed Match of the Day, you can catch up now on BBC iPlayer.

Listen back to full match commentaries on BBC Sounds:

• Wolves 0-1 Arsenal

• Man City 3-1 Chelsea

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Liverpool boss Arne Slot, speaking to BBC Match of the Day: "We created more chances and scored more goals [than the win over Lille in midweek]. The only thing I'm not happy about is conceding from a set piece at the end.

"The players are very fit but we have to keep them fresh.

"As a manger I don't think you dream that much. You don't think about when you start at a new club about the amount of points. I think about how can I make sure these players play in a style I would love them to play.

"And they have done that from the start. Today as well, the work-rate they put in when we lost the ball to prevent them from playing the counter-attack. It's a joy to watch.

"Many fans prefer to see goals and assists, I also enjoy the work rate we put in every game."

On the title race: "We are mainly focused on ourselves. We had to win this game because it's expected from Liverpool that we win this game. It's so pleasing to see that we had a comfortable win."

On next Saturday's game with Bournemouth: "They have been a joy to watch - so have we. It's a very interesting match up."

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Everton boss David Moyes speaking to BBC Match of the Day: "That second half was about two hours long! It was really, really difficult but the players put in one hell of a performance, backs to the wall stuff a little bit, down to ten men for the last ten or fifteen minutes plus extra time. A great performance.

"I have got to say Dychey [Sean Dyche] left an awful lot of good things at this football club. Resilience, being hard to beat, tough, they had all that. We are now just trying to add a little bit more. Can we make some more chances? Can we get some more goals? Add those sorts of things to the game.

"Everton has always been incredibly special to me. I had eleven and a half great years here previously, some wonderful memories. I don't know if I'll do another eleven and a half but I'll see how far I can go.

"My only concern at the moment is that we stay away from the bottom three and we take Everton into the new stadium as a Premier League clubs. Today's points and the ones we got on Sunday will help greatly. The players have been great, they really have been. I see the improvement in them. I hope we can take that into the coming weeks.

"We always hoped that we would do business in this window but we had an injury to Dom [Calvert-Lewin] today and another one to Mangala, which is a downside of the result. Hopefully we have some time to do some more deals."