Liverpool

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BBC Sport chief football writer Phil McNulty has been asnwering your questions on all things Premier League.

Wayne asked: Phil, Do you think that Jurgen Klopp announcing his retirement so early had a major factor on the delay in the "big three" signing new contracts? I certainly wouldn't be signing a new contract knowing my manager was leaving and not knowing if the new manager had me in their plans.

Phil said: They – and of course we mean Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold – may have waited to see who the new manager was, and how his methods work, but that timeframe was very small. It was effectively known before Klopp left, and they clearly all bought into Arne Slot very quickly.

I have a feeling Alexander-Arnold may have been looking at possibly leaving anyway, but I do not think it would have had any impact on the other two whatsoever once it became clear it was all working well under Slot.

I am very surprised it has been as drawnout as it has been, but of course we do not know what is going on backstage at Anfield or even what those players might want in their new contracts to stay.

I think the fact Salah and Van Dijk are coming up 33 and 34 respectively may have been factors with owners FSG, but do not believe Klopp's decision has played any part.

Follow the rest of Phil's Q&A, and the rest of the day's football news on our daily live page

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Fulham have won just one of their past 13 Premier League games against Liverpool, beating them 1-0 at Anfield in March 2021.

Liverpool have scored 38 goals in 15 Premier League away matches this season, an average of 2.53 goals per game. That is their joint best in a top-flight season, also scoring at the same rate in 2013-14 (48 goals in 19 games).

Across Liverpool's past four Premier League away matches, they have scored eight goals and all of them have either been scored (five) or assisted (three) by Mohamed Salah. Only one player has ever had a hand in nine away goals in a row in the competition - Thierry Henry between April and August 2003 for Arsenal.

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How objective can fans be when analysing decision for and against their team?

Wednesday's Merseyside derby offered up two controversial moments: the decision not to send off James Tarkowski for a reckless tackle on Alexis Mac Allister and allowing Diogo Jota's winning goal despite Luis Diaz being in an offside position during the build-up.

We put mirror polls up on both our Liverpool and Everton pages to gauge the thoughts of each fanbases on the two decisions.

Here is what the results told us:

As we put our polls out, refereeing body PGMOL were acknowledging an error was made in not dismissing Tarkowski.

Of the people who voted, five per cent of Liverpool fans and 32 per cent of Everton fans still voted that the referee made the right decision to issue a yellow card.

The split in views between the two fan bases is more apparent in the vote on whether Jota's winner should have stood.

By the letter of the law - probably.

Is there an issue with said law? Quite possibly.

Aston Villa have a clear path to pursue 20-year-old Real Madrid winger Arda Guler, after Liverpool ended their interest in the Turkey international. (Teamtalk), external

Want more transfer news? Read Friday's full gossip column

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

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If you love your football documentaries then you're in for a treat. There's a new one out which charts the journey of Liverpool lifting the 2019 Champions League under former manager Jurgen Klopp.

Reds keeper Alisson and Andy Robertson provide the insight from the dressing room, with former assistant manager Peter Krawietz talking about the plan to turn "doubters to believers" after Klopp's appointment in October 2015.

Liverpool's ex-director of research Ian Graham goes into the club's 'Moneyball' approach to recruitment, including how Klopp was convinced to sign Mohamed Salah rather than Julian Brandt.

There are some great stories from the club winning Europe's top competition for a sixth time, including how they overturned a 3-0 semi-final, first-leg deficit to beat a Lionel Messi-inspired Barcelona 4-0 at a raucous Anfield.

Head over to BBC iPlayer to watch it right now and it will also be on BBC One at 23:40 (BST) on Wednesday, 9 April after the Champions League highlights programme.

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BBC chief football writer Phil McNulty has been answering your Premier League questions.

Mike asked: Who would be your top three summer signings for Liverpool?

Phil: Entering the realms of guesswork and - perhaps - the extremely unlikely here, but mine would be Newcastle United striker Alexander Isak (could Newcastle even dare to part with him), Bournemouth full-back Milos Kerkez and maybe Julian Alvarez of Atletico Madrid.

If I was going for four (!) maybe they would consider strengthening in central defence and go back to Bournemouth for Dean Huijsen... sorry, Cherries fans.

Should stress, I'm not saying these will happen - but I'm sure Liverpool would love to get their hands on Isak and Kerkez.

A lot depends, of course, on the contract situations of Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold.

Come back to this page tomorrow for Phil's thoughts on those contract situations

Mandeep Sanghera
BBC Sport journalist

It was a quick turnaround for Liverpool boss Arne Slot.

He barely had time to celebrate Wednesday night's derby win over Everton before he was chatting to the media on Thursday to look ahead to the league game at Fulham on Sunday.

One main talking point dominated proceedings and that was how Everton defender James Tarkowski escaped a red card for his challenge on Alexis Mac Allister.

The PGMOL has acknowledged it should have been a sending off and, while Slot has had his run-ins with officials this season, he was quite diplomatic when asked about the standard of refereeing in the Premier League.

However, the Dutchman will not want a repeat of the decisions in the 2-2 draw against Fulham at Anfield earlier this season when Slot believes the Cottagers should have a had a player dismissed and that it was debateable if Reds left-back Andy Robertson should have been sent off.

"I think everywhere around the world mistakes are being made," added Slot. "This is something in the league where I came from. We are all aiming for a league without mistakes.

"I am aiming for a season without me making one mistake in the line-ups I make, but unfortunately this will probably never happen - not with me and not with referee decisions.

"Mistakes are being made. If a referee makes a wrong decision, everybody will fall over it. If I make the wrong line-up, everybody will fall over it. I think it is quite an OK season for referees in England, actually."

In typical Slot style, he was also refusing to get carried away by his team's 12-point lead at the top of the Premier League with eight games left.

"We are not working on theories about how many points [this or that would be]," he said. "We are taking the challenge of Fulham on for Sunday, when we will have to be at our best again to get a result."

Watch the Match of the Day panel explain why Diogo Jota's Merseyside derby winner was allowed to stand despite Luis Diaz initially being in an offside position in the build-up before entering play and assisting the goal.

Do you think the goal should have been allowed to stand? And should James Tarkowski have been sent off for his earlier challenge on Alexis Mac Allister?

Make your decisions here

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Former Liverpool defender Stephen Warnock says there has been a drop-off in performances in the second half of the season and warns they will not want to "limp over the line" after such a strong run at the top of the table.

Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live's Football Daily podcast, Warnock acknowledged a terrific bit of skill from Diogo Jota was required to break down Everton's stubborn backline on Wednesday at Anfield.

"When you think about the way Liverpool have played this year," he said, "the first half of the season was very controlled and organised so teams found it difficult to break them down. That has been a bit different since the start of this new year.

"What we are seeing now is that teams are finding ways to get at them and find a way through.

"They rode their luck a little bit against Everton, stayed in the game and waited for the opportunity that can give them that moment of magic.

"Of the front three, Luis Diaz was the bright spark but had no end product and Mohamed Salah was non-existent. That is a concern for Liverpool.

"You can't limp across the line with your strikers not being at your best. They are making it harder for themselves."

Warnock also highlighted a drop in intensity from those behind the forwards as being something to worry boss Arne Slot.

"My main concern is the three midfielders look dead on their feet," he said. "Alexis Mac Allister doesn't look anywhere near the player he was and his passing control in games has run away from him a little bit. Ryan Gravenberch doesn't look like he can get back at players which is different to the driving runs we saw up until the new year.

"Slot has struggled to rotate that area more than he would have liked to. I think we will see back-up for those positions come in so that he can rotate.

"It is difficult because if you are a successful team then by the end of the season all the minutes you have played catch up with you. That is what we are seeing."

Listen on BBC Sounds

Nat Hayward
BBC Sport journalist

Liverpool boss Arne Slot has been speaking to the media before Sunday's Premier League game at Fulham (14:00 BST).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Slot confirmed Trent Alexander-Arnold and Joe Gomez "will not be back in the coming weeks" and Conor Bradley "will have to wait and see if he will be with the squad on Sunday."

• On Alisson's fitness: "For Ali, it is a concussion so you have to follow the protocol and tick boxes. The moment he does, he will be in goal."

• Asked if Curtis Jones could continue at right-back after playing there in Wednesday's win over Everton, Slot said: "Curtis is an option because he did well. It depends if players are coming back. It is good to have versatile players in different positions, Curtis is definitely one of them and has a skillset where he can defend and attack. Some want to stay in their comfort zone but Curtis wants the challenge."

• He added a squad fitness update: "The boys still haven't come in yet [for training]. I hope because [Alexis] Mac Allister finished the game that it's all good but sometimes adrenaline can help you and when you've had a sleep you do feel something. I hope everyone is ready to play again from the ones who were on the pitch yesterday."

• On Wednesday's goalscorer Diogo Jota's "special quality": "For most players, if they think they can score, they get mixed up in their head. He stays calm in those moments and knows where he has to shoot and what the goalkeeper might expect."

• On the PGMOL saying the decision not to send off James Tarkowski for the challenge on Mac Allister was a mistake: "It's always good that if they think they made a mistake, they acknowledge that. We all know mistakes are being made in a football match and it's good they acknowledged. But it was so clear - so many pundits who are not Liverpool fans were clear about it as well."

• On how close Liverpool feel to winning the Premier League: "We felt yesterday how hard it is to win a Premier League game. It tells you that with eight games to go, every game is a challenge - starting with Fulham, who are having a very good season as well. We are not working on theories about how many points - we are taking the challenge of Fulham."

Follow all of Thursday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news

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We asked for your views on Liverpool's Premier League win over against Everton.

Here are some of your comments:

Liverpool fans

Tommy: Hard-won game with Everton parking the bus and time-wasting. Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah's form has dropped dramatically and both were carried throughout the match while Andy Robertson and Ibou Konate were best at the back. Luis Diaz was like a wasp at a picnic and Dominik Szoboszlai never stopped running. We do need to play better though.

Tyra: Not a great performance but we'll take the three points. If one of our players did what James Tarkowski did, it would have been a straight red immediately without any need for VAR. Ridiculous.

Ken: It was never going to be easy against this Everton team and their tactics so it feels even more satisfying to come out on top after a war of attrition. The team was the star here in battling for every ball. That said, the standard of officiating on the pitch and in the VAR booth was woeful again.

Tim: On the whole we deserved the win but I was concerned how easy our centre-backs were beaten by Beto. Poor defending by both at times and they are world class . And what has happened to Salah? It was like playing with 10 men. That said three hard-fought points and we move on.

Yusuf: Great way to bounce back from a difficult period and no better opponent than our enemies across Stanley Park. Diaz gave 100% throughout and it was a well-taken goal from Jota. And please cut Salah some slack - he has been quiet recently but that is just natural - he's not going to score or assist every game. Just need to keep the machine going for another eight games.

Everton fans

Lee: A decent hard-working performance, and definitely a red card! But the game was won by a goalscorer, which sadly is something we lack! Tough run of games to play but it's in our own hands to stay up.

Mozza: Decent performance but was expecting more. Doucoure and Harrison were a complete waste of time and should not get on the pitch again this season. We should play Broja or Chermiti instead of Beto if they are going to be the future.

Jeff: We could - and might even should - have been ahead with Beto's chance. That's the crucial moment in the match for me. Not the two VAR decicions. But on those matters: Tarkowski was lucky to get away with a yellow and he defended clumsily for their goal. Instead of critising the VAR for a possible offside, we should rather be critical at Tarkowski. He has become a liability this season.

Barry: The right result. We didn't create too much and the massive difference of Liverpool's spend on their squad compared to ours ultimately showed through. Might have been different if Beto had scored rather than hitting the post, but the gulf in class will need to be closed if we hope to get anywhere near European spots, starting with a major overhaul this summer.

Alan: Not the best performance from Everton but considering the injuries list it wasn't bad. I'll take a 1-0 defeat at Anfield by the champions elect. But we must invest in the summer.

• Support a different club? Find and follow your team here

Shamoon Hafez
BBC Sport football news reporter

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Even Everton manager David Moyes considered his captain James Tarkowski "lucky" to stay on the pitch.

Explaining the decision, the Premier League Match Centre said on X: "The referee's call of yellow card for a reckless foul by Tarkowski was checked by the VAR, with contact on the follow through after Tarkowski had played the ball deemed to be reckless."

The key word here is "reckless", which according to the laws of the game merits a yellow card rather than a red.

However, Liverpool - and many onlookers - felt Tarkowski's challenge was not just reckless but also was made with excessive force.

According to law 12, as explained on the Football Association's website, "a tackle or challenge that endangers the safety of an opponent or uses excessive force or brutality must be sanctioned as serious foul play".

It continues: "Any player who lunges at an opponent in challenging for the ball from the front, from the side or from behind using one or both legs, with excessive force or endangers the safety of an opponent is guilty of serious foul play."

More on the talking points over here

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The earliest date Liverpool could win their 20th league title is 20 April, when they play Leicester away.

The Reds, who have lost just once in the league this season, need 13 points out of a possible 24 to guarantee the title, with Arsenal only able to obtain a maximum of 85 points.

To win in 17 days' time, Arsenal need to lose their next two matches against Everton and Brentford, and third-placed Nottingham Forest need to drop points against either Aston Villa or Everton, with Liverpool beating Fulham and West Ham in that time.

That would leave Arsenal 18 points behind Liverpool with 18 points left to play for, and a point against Leicester would be enough for Liverpool to claim the title.

Statisticians Opta give Liverpool a 99.2% chance of winning the title. Arsenal, who are 12 points behind, have just a 0.8% chance of finishing top.

Twelve points could also be enough given Liverpool's goal difference is vastly superior to Arsenal's (currently +43 to +30).

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The Merseyside derby rarely disappoints and Wednesday's didn't either.

Diogo Jota's goal, which Everton boss David Moyes insisted should have been ruled out for offside, was all that separated the two sides at Anfield as Liverpool edged closer a 20th top-flight title.

But before that moment of magic from Jota, there was another controversial incident with Everton defender James Tarkowski fortunate to stay on the pitch for his challenge on Alexis Mac Allister.

Tarkowski received only a yellow card and the video assistant referee (VAR) decided not to upgrade the tackle to a red card.

While praising Jota, Thursday's back pages are labelling it a "horror tackle" and questioning how it was not a red card.

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Highlights and analysis from nine midweek Premier League fixtures.

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

Listen back to full match commentaries on BBC Sounds:

• Arsenal 2-1 Fulham

• Nottingham Forest 1-0 Man Utd

• Liverpool 1-0 Everton

• Newcastle 2-1 Brentford