Premier League's two superstars meet againpublished at 17:22 21 February
17:22 21 February
Image source, Getty Images
Mohamed Salah's goal and assist against Aston Villa on Wednesday placed him level with Erling Haaland for the most goal contributions of any player since the Norwegian came to the Premier League - teeing up Sunday's clash between their sides almost perfectly.
As well as boasting more goals, Haaland is also more clinical than the Egyptian, with his 24.3% shot-conversion rate superior to Salah's 18.2%.
Most would say Salah is having the better 2024-25 so far, though. He needs only six assists in the remaining 12 matches to break the Premier League's single-season assist record and only needs nine goals or assists to surpass Andy Cole and Alan Shearer to have the most goal involvements in a top-flight campaign.
Earlier, we asked how well you remembered Liverpool's opening Premier League game of the season.
The match against Ipswich ended in a 2-0 win, with Diogo Jota and Mohamed Salah scoring for the Reds.
'Something feels a bit off!' - reaction to Champions League drawpublished at 15:49 21 February
15:49 21 February
Image source, Getty Images
We asked for your views on how you felt about the Champions League last 16 draw against Paris St-Germain.
Here are some of your comments:
Alex: I'm fairly confident of meeting Arsenal in the semi-finals. However, a bit flat over the prospect of facing a good PSG side. I suppose every game is meant to be a challenge in the Champions League but finishing first in the league then getting PSG, while Villa scraped through and get Club Brugge… Something feels a bit off!
Joss: If it's a cup competition every team goes into the hat for a random draw for every round. This is just the typical Uefa trying to make as much money as possible. We'll still walk it though!
Oli: If you want to win the Champions League then you have to beat who's in front of you. If we leave this slight dip in form behind and regain decent form I think we have enough to pull through. Let's hope Ousmane Dembele doesn't have a stormer.
Tristam: PSG have not been great this year and lack any real superstars who can drag the rest up. Yes, they've beaten Man City, but so did Spurs.
Paul: At some point you have to play the best sides to win the Champions League and we have had to do this on six occasions. No team in Europe will relish playing Liverpool under the lights at Anfield - ask Barcelona!
Stephen: It's a tough draw, but at this stage it was always going to be. If you want to be the best you need to beat the best. If Liverpool start to play like they did in the group stages, then teams will be more worried about playing us.
Liverpool 'will fancy their chances' against PSGpublished at 14:50 21 February
14:50 21 February
Liverpool will face Paris St-Germain in the last 16 of the Champions League, travelling to the French capital for the first leg before welcoming the Ligue 1 champions to Anfield.
Former Reds defender Stephen Warnock tells The Football News Show that Arne Slot's side will "fancy their chances" against an indifferent PSG outfit, but need to be wary of their recent dip in form.
Liverpool haven't won any of their last five away games against French sides in Europe (D2 L3), with their last such victory coming at Marseille in September 2008.
On the other hand...
Arne Slot is unbeaten against French opposition in major European competition, winning two of his three matches and drawing the other.
Liverpool's Champions League draw - send us your thoughtspublished at 11:53 21 February
11:53 21 February
So, what do you make of the Champions League draw?
It's a tough-looking last-16 tie against Paris St-Germain, with the return leg at Anfield.
If successful, Liverpool would then face either Premier League rivals Aston Villa or Club Brugge, hosting the first leg.
And further progress could set up an all-Premier League semi-final against Arsenal - or an encounter against Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid or PSV Eindhoven. Again, the first leg of that tie would be at Anfield.
'There's a perception that there has to be a scapegoat'published at 10:44 21 February
10:44 21 February
Image source, Getty Images
The Daily Mail's Dominic King says Darwin Nunez is "struggling with his confidence" and the striker is never going to "become the player Liverpool thought they were signing".
Speaking to Radio Merseyside about Nunez after Liverpool's draw at Aston Villa, King said: "I felt very sorry for him. I know this year he's been really struggling with his confidence.
"I know behind the scenes there's people working with him - Spanish speakers on a daily basis to try to build his spirits up and make him believe he can be the player that Liverpool thought they were getting.
"He's definitely a boy with talent. He's erratic. It's fair to say he's never going to become the player Liverpool thought they were signing three years ago.
"What I don't like at the moment is this perception that there has to be a scapegoat, that there's something wrong - everyone's looking at faults."
King also spoke about how he was surprised to see all the negativity surrounding the Reds, despite the club sitting top of the table.
"It's fascinating how Liverpool are being viewed at the moment, after the draw [against Villa] and the performance against Wolves. There's a lot of discussion on social media," he said.
"Everyone's talking about Salah, Van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold's contracts. It's got nothing to do with what's going on at the moment with Liverpool, they've got a title to win.
"The contracts shouldn't even be being spoken about. There's something far bigger at stake."
Man City v Liverpool: Did you know?published at 10:00 21 February
10:00 21 February
Image source, Getty Images
Mohamed Salah has been involved in more Premier League goals against Pep Guardiola's Manchester City than any other player (13 - eight goals, five assists). In fact, only Steven Gerrard (14) has been involved in more against City in the competition's history.
Today's trivia challengepublished at 08:59 21 February
08:59 21 February
Liverpool played Ipswich in their opening Premier League game of this season - what was the final score and who found the net?
Answer will be revealed at 17:00 GMT
Gossip: Reds open to Nunez salepublished at 06:51 21 February
'Players miss chances' - Slot on Nunezpublished at 17:30 20 February
17:30 20 February
Media caption,
Liverpool head coach Arne Slot discusses Darwin Nunez
At his news conference on Thursday, Liverpool boss Arne Slot spoke about striker Darwin Nunez, who missed a glorious chance to score in Wednesday's 2-2 draw at Aston Villa.
Slot said: "In the game against Villa, I would prefer him to score, but the word 'chance' says it all - it's a chance. It's not 100% sure that the ball goes in.
"Players miss chances - that, I can accept," added Slot, before then saying he was not pleased with the forward's reaction in the minutes afterwards.
What do fans think of Nunez? The resultspublished at 17:29 20 February
17:29 20 February
Image source, Getty Images
BBC Sport asked Liverpool fans for their thoughts on Darwin Nunez - with a series of options to select from regarding the striker's position and future at Liverpool.
As of 17:15 GMT on Thursday, more than 11,000 people had taken part.
What's Nunez's xG at Liverpool?published at 15:16 20 February
15:16 20 February
Marissa Thomas BBC Sport journalist
In June 2022, Liverpool completed the signing of Uruguay striker Darwin Nunez from Portuguese side Benfica on a six-year deal for an initial £64m.
The 25-year-old could become the club's record signing, with the fee rising to a potential £85m with add-ons.
So far, it hasn't exactly been value for money.
In his last season at Benfica, he scored 34 times in 41 appearances across all competitions. Liverpool fans have yet to see that level of consistency.
Across three seasons at Anfield, Nunez has a 13-goal underperformance - scoring 39 times from an xG of 52.4. This season, he's at -3.5, meaning he should have 3.5 goals more if we take into account the quality of chances that have fallen his way.
This season, he ranks 22nd for shot conversion in the Premier League on 15.4%. Chris Wood leads the way with a shot conversion rate of 39.1% while Alexander Isak, Mohamed Salah, and Everton forwards Iliman Ndiaye and Beto make up the rest of the top five.
The Uruguayan striker has a record of 223 minutes per goal in the league during this campaign, ranking 24th in this particular category. In sharp contrast his team-mate Salah is second on the list, scoring a goal every 96 minutes.
While his two goals against Brentford gave the Reds a crucial win, the data points to Nunez not making the difference consistently.
'Actions must follow words now'published at 13:38 20 February
13:38 20 February
Josh Sexton Fan writer
"Players miss chances - that I can accept. What was a bit harder for me to accept was his behaviour after that chance, and by behaviour I mean it got too much in his head, where he wasn't the usual Darwin that works his butt off and makes sure he helps the team."
The gauntlet was thrown down by Arne Slot in his strangely early pre-Manchester City press conference on Thursday and Darwin Nunez has already responded on Twitter with a statement that ends with the word "resilience" in Spanish.
Resilience is exactly what Liverpool and their mercurial Uruguayan striker need to show between now and the end of the season.
In isolation, an emotionally charged draw against Everton during a Goodison Park swansong, and a midweek evening draw to a well-drilled Aston Villa side aren't the worst results ever. A reaction is required to make that so, though.
They have a huge chance to make another statement on Sunday against a side who are arguably one of the most mentally fragile the Premier League has to offer right now, especially after being softened up by Real Madrid. It's still Pep Guardiola's Manchester City though, and therefore it won't be a walk in the park by any stretch of the imagination.
While they may be easily discouraged by any level of suffering within the game, the "wounded animal" element will surely kick in if they feel encouraged enough to bite back.
Liverpool need to stop being so easily discouraged and any mentally fragile players need to be dragged up by the collective, rather than the collective being dragged down by poor moments from those lacking in confidence.
Resilience is the right word for it, but actions must follow words now.
Nunez took to social media to compare comments made about him after he scored twice in the win at Brentford on 18 January compared to criticism of him after Wednesday's 2-2 draw at Aston Villa
'Nunez seems unable to compose himself'published at 12:07 20 February
12:07 20 February
Darwin Nunez is a frustrating player.
If you look at Liverpool as a club and the frontline they have in terms of versatility, he is certainly different to a lot of the attacking players they have.
When he came in he became a fans favourite just because of the work rate that he gives. He would run players down, run channels and he would work really hard and the fans really enjoyed that
But, on the flip side, his composure in front of goal has never been good. When you are at a big club, it is what you are measured on. Yes, you can win the fans over in terms of showing how much it means to you to play, but is he good enough to be in a Liverpool team that is competing on all fronts? Probably not.
It was shown against Aston Villa - that was a huge miss. When you are given an opportunity to find a goal when you are at a team like Liverpool, you are expected to finish that.
Nunez does not have that composure. His mind is going a hundred miles an hour and he cannot slow down his thought process and that was what happened. That miss could be costly come the end of the season.
How you manage that as the head coach is quite difficult because it is frustrating that they tend to be easy opportunities he misses. It seems he can score the more difficult ones when he does not have time to think, but when he has a lot of time to think, he seems to be unable to compose himself.
This is why he is seeing himself on the bench a lot under Arne Slot and it cannot really be put down to confidence as we have seen him miss chances even when he was playing with confidence under Jurgen Klopp.
There is still a lot of talk around the future of Mohamed Salah. But, even if he leaves, I do not think Nunez will be the backup ready to step in. If I am being honest, I cannot see him even being there past the summer.
Liverpool know that they they will need a better quality replacement than Nunez. The club are in the position they are because they have such a versatile, dynamic, powerful, quality group of forwards.
I am not sure Nunez has got the quality that they want.
Fara Williams was speaking to BBC Sport's Nicola Pearson
Slot on Nunez, injuries and Man Citypublished at 11:25 20 February
11:25 20 February
Marissa Thomas BBC Sport journalist
Liverpool boss Arne Slot has been speaking to the media before Sunday's Premier League game against Manchester City (kick-off 16:30).
Here are the key lines from his news conference:
On forward Cody Gakpo returning for the Manchester City game, Slot said "let's see" and that it will be "a close call".
Slot said that he would be surprised if Conor Bradley is involved against Manchester City or Newcastle.
Defender Joe Gomez has had surgery on a hamstring injury and is out for "a long time", with Slot stating: "He will be back, maybe, just before the end of the season."
Slot said Diogo Jota and Trent Alexander-Arnold were taking off in the 2-2 draw at Aston Villa because they are coming back from injury.
On Darwin Nunez, who missed a glaring chance to put Liverpool ahead at Villa, Slot said: "I can accept every miss, especially from a player that has scored two very important goals against Brentford. He scored for us in the home game against Villa. I would prefer him to score but the word 'chance' says it all. It's a chance, so it's not 100% certain that the ball goes in. Players miss chances, that I can accept."
Slot continued: "What was a bit harder to accept was his behaviour after the chance. By behaviour, I mean it got too much in his head where he wasn't the usual Darwin who works his butt off and makes sure he helps the team. I think he was too disappointed after him missing that chance. It's not about the chance for me, it's more about the 20 minutes afterwards that I want to talk to him about than him missing the chance. The most important message is you can miss a chance but you can't miss out on workrate. It's part of your life as a number nine that you sometimes miss when people expect you to score."
On what he is expecting from Manchester City: "What I always expect from City since Pep [Guardiola] is there, a great football team. I can see them coming back already, you see the result against Newcastle. What you expect is what everyone expects when you go to the Etihad to play City.
Slot added: "You have to suffer as well and work really hard to keep them away from your goal. The style of play has always been the same from when Pep was at Barcelona, Bayern Munich and now Manchester City. Even he needs quality players to get results."
On Arsenal playing before Liverpool and how it impacts the Manchester City game: "The bigger question is from Man City. We play a strong team again, like we did [Aston] Villa. Arsenal play before us, but that doesn't make the game more difficult. We know we have 12 games to play, Arsenal has 13 games to play. If we constantly look at Arsenal and what other teams are doing then that will not help us. We know already how difficult it is to go to the Etihad, so we don't need Arsenal to get involved in that even more."
Was Nunez's 'abysmal' miss 'one of the worst this season'?published at 10:02 20 February
10:02 20 February
Image source, Getty Images
After a potentially damaging miss after being substituted on during the second half of Wednesday's 2-2 draw with Aston Villa, Liverpool fans' patience with Darwin Nunez appears to be wearing thin.
Here are some of your comments:
Ruhel: Nunez's missed chances probably cost Klopp's team a league title last season. His abysmal finishing will probably cost Slot's team a league title this season.
Ray: Nunez is a big disappointment. His stats showed he wasn't good enough for Liverpool but Liverpool still bought him. Speed of thought is crucial when playing at this level and he hasn't got it. He tries hard but this is not enough. He will be gone at the end of the season.
Sam: Nunez's miss sums him up. Surely he's going in the summer as he's not good enough. He's had plenty of time now, time to move on!
Ryan: Really, really tired of Nunez now. Not just based on Villa. Yes, he 'works hard', but he's playing for Liverpool in the Premier League. That shouldn't be a brag, it's mandatory. He's a very poor finisher and has been the star of his own catalogue of missed opportunities. He needs offloading and replacing this summer.
Tom: It was a disgrace for Nunez at Villa, not only did he miss two sitters but he was laughing at the end with Martinez when he should have his head in his hands. After the game, when the rest of our players are applauding our away end, Nunez walks down the tunnel. Take the money from Saudi and buy Isak in the summer.
Liam: I just cannot understand the persistence and logic behind playing Darwin Nunez. That miss tonight is one of the worst I have seen all season and I have seen nothing so far that indicates he has the ability to play for a club top in the Premier League.
Salah landmarkpublished at 10:02 20 February
10:02 20 February
Image source, Getty Images
Mohamed Salah has become the first player in Premier League history to score and assist in 10 different games in one season. The Liverpool forward is the first player to do so in one of Europe's big-five leagues since Lionel Messi in 2014-15 for Barcelona (11).
'Combative and resilient performance' but have Reds 'peaked too early'?published at 09:18 20 February
09:18 20 February
Image source, Getty Images
We asked for your thoughts after Liverpool emerged with a 2-2 draw from Wednesday's Premier League game at Aston Villa.
Here are some of your comments:
Christopher: A combative and resilient performance at a difficult venue. Villa are in the Champions League last 16 so some perspective is needed. A point at City would also represent a good return. Arsenal are not out of it, but they are under pressure too. Let's see come May.
Stuart: Liverpool should have taken advantage of Villa's early sloppiness in defence. It seemed as though players game time was being strictly managed. Should have won it, could have lost it. Eight points ahead is the main thing.
Andy: As a Liverpool supporter, it feels as if the momentum is shifting and I ask myself if we peaked too early. We've often just scraped the win recently, we are still battling but we are relying on one man (Salah) more and more with goals from others dwindling. Nunez is a huge concern and at some point, Liverpool need to make an outbound decision on him and accept he isn't the right fit.
Julia: I am a massive Liverpool fan, but I feel they are holding on to every game now. They don't look as slick as they did at the start of the season. Unfortunately we have a few tired players. Nunez does not do it for me at all. His work rate as a player is great but his finishing at vital times is poor and you keep thinking if another player was on the end of that ball it would be a goal. Not sure how many more chances he can be given. However, I still think Liverpool will win the league.
Rob: Better second half than against Wolves and should have won if Nunez had done what he is paid to do. However, still only one defeat in the league and Arsenal cannot afford any dropped points so the pressure remains on them.
Ken: Villa away is never an easy game but draws are akin to silent killers in the context of a tight title race. With games against City and Newcastle imminent in this brutal run of tough fixtures, Liverpool need to win both to restore calm. Should Nunez have hit an open target today? Yes. Should Nunez have had the opportunity to hit the target ? No. Szoboszlai was in a far better position to shoot but opted to pass on the responsibility. Players need to step up in these big moments and not shy away. Oh, and can Liverpool please work on set pieces? Poor in both boxes and it's an aspect that needs to improve rapidly.
Image source, Getty Images
