Liverpool

Darwin Nunez is "a bit more disappointed than the rest" of his Liverpool team-mates after missing a huge late chance in Wednesday's 2-2 draw with Aston Villa, says Reds boss Arne Slot.

Substitute Nunez missed a golden chance to make it 3-2 when he blazed over from five yards after Dominik Szoboszlai squared the ball to him with 20 minutes remaining.

"You can understand there is one person in the dressing room who feels quite down," said Slot post-match.

"Szoboszlai made it an open goal chance and then Darwin was, of course, it was not his best leg, he's right footed, of course, but it was still a big chance.

"I was hoping that he could have got another one, because a player like him probably wouldn't miss two chances in a row.

"I think we were all disappointed, but it's normal that a player that missed a chance like this is always a bit more disappointed than the rest."

Despite the missed chances, the point at Villa Park moved Liverpool eight points clear at the top of the Premier League and Slot was happy with his team's display if not the result.

"Performance-wise, not a dip at all today, in my opinion," he added.

"What we must not do, and we've done that a bit too often now, is that we don't get what we deserve.

"If you look at all the chances, you put them in a row from us and from them, I think it's clear which team should have won this game, and we must not make a habit out of that.

"It happened a bit too much now, and still we are eight points clear with Arsenal, who have a game in hand.

"The only reason why we could be happy with a 2-2 was that they got the last chance of the game. A point is good to take, but for the rest - I think all for everything else I'm not happy."

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Liverpool dropped points in the Premier League as they came from behind to draw with Aston Villa at Villa Park.

Mo Stewart from the Anfield Wrap spoke to BBC Radio 5 Live after the match and said: "It was a ridiculous game of football, I don't think either side had control of it for longer than three or four minutes at a time.

"We created enough chances to win the game. Both Villa goals came from Liverpool defensive mistakes and the control that Arne Slot seems to crave in his football seems to have been missing for a good couple of games in a row now.

"Liverpool are still eight points clear at the top of the Premier League so it's hard to really be too disappointed.

"I think you have to recognise the fact that there have been times where Liverpool have been in good positions in the Premier League title race at this stage of the season and then had these kinds of results where you think 'it's OK, we're still at the top' and then when you get to the end of the season, you look back on those results and say 'oh well, maybe those were the ones that cost us.'"

Mikel Arteta's side sit second in the league and are the closest challengers to Liverpool but Stewart added that he doesn't believe "Arsenal are going to be perfect between now and the end of the season".

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Liverpool's Colombia forward Luis Diaz, 28, wants to sign a new contract - even though his current deal still has two years to run. (TBR Football, external)

Barcelona could turn their attention to signing Diaz, who is a long-term target of the club and would be cheaper than signing Portugal winger Rafael Leao, 25, from AC Milan. (Sport - in Spanish, external)

Liverpool and Manchester City are both interested in Bayer Leverkusen's right-sided player Jeremie Frimpong, who has a 'gentlemen's agreement' with his German club to listen to offers worth 40m euros (£33.1m). The Netherlands international, 24, was in City's academy before moving to Celtic in 2019. (Teamtalk, external)

Liverpool's Republic of Ireland goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher, 26, remains a top target for Chelsea this summer, with the Blues prepared to pay up to £40m for the Reds' second-choice stopper. (Football Insider, external)

Arsenal are optimistic of signing Real Sociedad and Spain midfielder Martin Zubimendi, 26, who decided to stay with his club rather than join Liverpool last summer. (Teamtalk, external)

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Arne Slot spoke to BBC Match of the Day after Liverpool drew against Aston Villa: "It was a great game. Going in 2-1 down at half-time didn't feel like the game went for us like that but I was disappointed. We came out in the second half and scored 2-2 and had some good chances to make it 3-2 and then we could even have lost it. It was a great game but I am not happy with the result.

"I felt we defended well but I can't come up with a lot of Villa chances. You need to have a neutral set-piece balance or positive and we conceded one and did not score one. We scored two good goals and created enough chances to get the winner.

"We played Wolves away and beat them 2-1 and in the final minutes, it was tough for us as well. These players are used to this and are used to playing for trophies. Today we played very well but that also has to do with the style of play of the other team.

"Every team has to play every team twice and this week is Villa away and City away but again we did not lose. We desired more and that is the only thing we can blame ourselves for a few times now we did not get what we deserved. We must not make a habit of that."

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Mohamed Salah became the first Liverpool player to score 15 away Premier League goals in a season, breaking Luis Suarez's record of 14 in 2013-14. It was the most by a Reds player in a league season away from home since Gordon Hodgson scored 15 in 1930-31.

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Mike Hughes
BBC Radio Merseyside reporter

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Liverpool's Premier League title challenge faces a critical test over the next week.

After Wednesday's match at Aston Villa, the Reds travel to Manchester City on Sunday - then there is a dress rehearsal for the Carabao Cup final with Newcastle coming to Anfield on 26 February.

It is not difficult to understand why fans view this as a pivotal point in the season.

It has been a bit of a bumpy ride over the past 10 days. Losing to Plymouth in the fourth round of the FA Cup was as unwelcome as it was unexpected. Even a much-changed starting line-up should have performed much better than they did and Arne Slot will learn lessons from that.

In the raucous Merseyside derby that came three days later, they were just seconds away from establishing a nine-point lead at the top of the table. Sunday's home game with Wolves saw them keep a seven-point advantage intact, but their second-half performance had an uncharacteristically nervous feel to it.

Slot makes the point that, at this stage of the season, lots of games end up being much closer than expected and actually winning matches becomes a lot more important than how it is achieved. When you lead from the front in the fashion that Liverpool have, you are always in the sights of your rivals as they try to close what is still a considerable gap.

All teams - even the best ones - have to overcome setbacks. So far, the Reds' setbacks have been few and far between, and when you have a player like Mohamed Salah in your team, then nothing appears out of reach.

He has the capacity to turn a game in an instant, with his vision and goalscoring prowess. He is, without doubt, a gold-standard talent and his record so far this season is simply staggering.

There are many rivers to cross for Liverpool between now and the end of the campaign as they chase silverware on three fronts. Every game they play will be of significant value in whatever competition on any given matchday.

But, when we get to this point, what really matters is that you win and not how you do that.

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Aston Villa are capable of beating anyone on their day, but they have not won any of their past four Premier League games and they are short of fit defenders too.

So they have got bigger problems than Liverpool, who are still without Cody Gakpo but otherwise only missing Joe Gomez through injury.

It was interesting to hear Reds defender Andy Robertson admitting the team felt nervous towards the end of Sunday's win over Wolves. I know that feeling, but hearing Robertson say that now surprised me a little bit, because there still a long way to go in the title race.

Robertson has been there, done it and won it with Liverpool before, in the Premier League and Champions League, but it shows how players feel the pressure even if I still feel their seven-point lead, with 13 games to go, is a big gap for Arsenal to make up.

Liverpool are not going to play well all the time, and if this is their blip - a draw in the Merseyside derby thanks to a stoppage-time equaliser by Everton and then an edgy win over Wolves - then it is not exactly a reason to panic.

In the past few weeks they have also gone out of the FA Cup and lost their final Champions League group game against PSV Eindhoven too, but it was their reserves who lost to Plymouth and, in Europe, they were already through.

For Arne Slot, one of the important things now is balancing when to try to rest players - and Aston Villa have been in a similar situation all season because of their Champions League campaign.

Villa do not have the strength in depth Liverpool do, but they do now have Marcus Rashford, who came on and made a bit of a difference in Saturday's draw with Ipswich.

I think Villa will score against Liverpool but it is the other end of the pitch that concerns me with Unai Emery's side, partly because of that lack of defenders, especially centre-halves, but also because I feel teams can always score against them anyway - they have kept only three clean sheets in the league all season.

With Liverpool's attacking power, I am expecting them to find a way through. Arsenal are waiting for them to slip up, and they have got another tough away game at the weekend when they go to Manchester City.

They will know this is a huge week in their season, but before they go to Etihad Stadium, I can see them taking three points here.

The performance for Liverpool does not matter here. It is all about the result, and maintaining that gap.

Sutton's prediction: 1-2

Make your own prediction here

Pat Nevin
Former footballer and presenter

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Liverpool had the pressure put on them not only by Arsenal's win but also the points they dropped at the final Goodison Park derby against Everton.

It was an emotional night on Merseyside and it brought back many memories of those games I played in. In fact, the tackles, wildness and general mayhem was a direct throwback to those less controlled times, and I loved watching it for that.

Liverpool now only had to take care of Wolves and they did, after a bit of a struggle. Champions win even when not at their best and Liverpool still aren't showing enough signs of weakness to make them look likely to fold.

As they say in the game, it is up to the others to keep them honest and continue to pour on any pressure they can, even if it doesn't seem to be working.

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• Liverpool remain the only side yet to lose away from home in the Premier League this season in 13 matches (W9 D4). In English top-flight history, on only five occasions has a side avoided defeat in their first 14+ matches on the road from the start of a campaign: Leeds United in 1973-74 (15), Liverpool in 1987-88 (15), Arsenal in 2001-02 (19), Arsenal in 2003-04 (19), and Manchester United in 2020-21 (19).

• With 14 goals and nine assists in Liverpool's 13 away games in the Premier League this season, Mo Salah has the most ever goal involvements by a player away from home in a single campaign in the competition (23). He is also one assist away from becoming only the third player to assist 10+ goals in away games in a Premier League season, after Muzzy Izzet in 2003-04 (10) and Cesc Fàbregas in 2014-15 (11).

Liverpool are prepared to offer 25-year-old forward Darwin Nunez plus cash in exchange for Newcastle United's £100m-plus rated forward Alexander Isak, who has scored 17 Premier League goals this season. (Football Insider), external

However, Newcastle will not allow their best players to leave if they miss out on qualifying for next season's Champions League. (Daily Mail), external

The Reds are set for a busy summer of transfer activity, with 27-year-old Barcelona and Netherlands midfielder Frenkie de Jong on a list of players the club might bid for. (Teamtalk), external

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Liverpool head coach Arne Slot has been speaking to the media about title-race nerves.

The Reds' win over Wolves on Sunday has prompted debate over how they will deal with the mental stresses of the Premier League's last 13 games.

Phil Cartwright
BBC Sport journalist

In a column published on this page earlier on Tuesday, fan writer Jordan Chamberlain said it is "becoming increasingly obvious with every match that Liverpool need a new number nine in the summer".

A "wasteful attack" is also something that has been mentioned by contributors when we have asked for topics that may be going under the radar at Anfield.

Mohamed Salah has clearly been in sensational goalscoring form so far this season and instrumental in the Reds' sustained stay at the top of the Premier League, but what about the supporting cast of forwards?

In the Premier League this season, the quartet of Luis Diaz, Diogo Jota, Cody Gakpo and Darwin Nunez have been directly involved in 35 goals between them (26 scored, nine assists).

By comparison, Salah alone has 37 goal contributions (23 scored, 14 assists) - a statistic helped by the fact he has missed only 36 minutes of Liverpool's first 25 league games.

Of all Premier League players to have had at least 10 shots this season, Salah ranks seventh in the division on shot-conversion rate, with 23 of his 94 attempts finding the net (24.47%).

Nottingham Forest's Chris Wood (39.13%) is the only Premier League player with a conversion rate above 30% this season.

Newcastle striker Alexander Isak, who was suggested in our fan writer's column as a potential summer target for the Reds, has scored with 17 of his 65 shots (26.15%) and is fifth on that list.

Gakpo (19.05%) and Diaz (18.75%) are 26th and 27th respectively, with Jota (17.24%) 35th and Nunez (16%) 42nd.

Interestingly, however, only Jota of the five Liverpool players mentioned is underperforming in terms of their expected goals (xG) this term.

*All statistics correct on 18 February, 2025

Nick Mashiter
BBC Sport football news reporter

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Liverpool have improved under Arne Slot despite their success under Jurgen Klopp, according to Aston Villa boss Unai Emery.

Slot's Premier League leaders are yet to lose away from home this season, while the hosts have been beaten just once at Villa Park in the top flight, losing 2-0 to Arsenal in August.

Liverpool come to Villa Park for the rearranged game - because of their Carabao Cup final against Newcastle next month - on Wednesday knowing victory will extend their lead at the top to 10 points.

Klopp won their first title for 30 years in 2020 while also lifting the Champions League in 2019 - and being a runner-up twice in both - but Emery believes Slot, who replaced Klopp last summer, has raised Liverpool further.

"With Klopp they did fantastic, but with Slot they're doing even better," he said.

"As a coach, it is a big challenge, a challenge to how we can collectively set our gameplan against them. It's the most difficult match we are going to play for the last weeks and months.

"We have to compete because they are going to demand a lot of us, tactically and individually.

"I appreciate them and they have a very high level of performance this year - more than the past two years. They are even doing better."

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We asked for your views on whether Liverpool should be looking to bring in a new centre-forward, after our fan writer suggested the club should "go big on" Newcastle forward Alexander Isak in the summer transfer window.

But is he a realistic target and the right man for Liverpool? Here are some of your thoughts:

Yusuf: I do think that ever since our famous three of Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah up front, Liverpool haven't had a proper centre-forward. Mane and Salah used to run down the wings, while Firmino would supply the through balls and get into the box. We still have quick wingers - Salah and Cody Gakpo on both sides have been outstanding - but if we want to make it even more fluid then finding the next Firmino is key - and that man has to be Isak.

James: I don't think Newcastle would entertain offers for Isak, possibly Ollie Watkins from Aston Villa or even Matheus Cunha from Wolves could be more likely?

Todor: I would reckon that Isak is out of the question. Joao Pedro from Brighton or one of the Brentford forwards could be more achievable?

Mez: Isak first choice, Liam Delap of Ipswich second choice.

Mohammed: Isak is a realistic signing, why not? He can score goals, assist and also play on the wing. He is scoring loads of goals for Newcastle and the only other option is Victor Osimhen. Arsenal are interested in Marcus Thuram, whose release clause is 85m euros, and we could get Isak with his Premier League experience for that same amount.

Barry: The time has come for Liverpool to make another transformative signing, someone who will have the same sort of impact on the team as Virgil van Dijk or Alisson. Perhaps Newcastle would be interested in a cash plus Darwin Nunez deal. I think Nunez could thrive at St James' Park. He would be more the main man there than at Liverpool and their fans would love him.

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Former Liverpool defender Stephen Warnock believes the club's fans will have "learned" from Sunday's edgy win over Wolves.

Defender Andy Robertson admitted to feeling "nervous" during the Reds' narrow 2-1 win.

At one point, Robertson gestured for fans to calm down as a nervous energy built inside Anfield.

Warnock told BBC Radio 5 Live's Monday Night Club: "In the second half, it got to about 20 minutes or 15 to go and the fans suddenly went, 'they need us here'. There was a reaction from the crowd trying to lift them - but it was almost a bit too late.

"The Liverpool fans will have learned a lot from that at the weekend."

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Liverpool boss Arne Slot has said he would be "completely surprised" if Marcus Rashford does not impress during his loan spell at Aston Villa, as the two sides prepare to meet at Villa Park on Wednesday.

Rashford has scored seven times for Manchester United in matches against the Reds, but only emerged on the winning side four times in 19 meetings.

The 27-year-old will be hoping to start against the league leaders after impressing in the second half of Saturday's draw with Ipswich.

"I know Marcus Rashford as I follow the Premier League," Slot said on Tuesday.

"The first time I faced him was on the USA tour and was really impressed with how fast he is and comfortable on ball. I hope he shows that at Villa - but not tomorrow.

"I'd be completely surprised if a player of that quality isn't going to show that in upcoming months. He is a very good player."

The Reds have an opportunity to go 10 points clear at the top before Arsenal next play, but Slot is not looking beyond the trip the Villa Park with tough matches away to Manchester City and at home to Newcastle to follow.

"I see it as 13 games to be played and the next one is the most important one," the Dutchman added.

"Villa away is like Wolves at home [the 2-1 win on Saturday] - a difficult one. They have a great home record, maybe more when they play in the evening. Last season was 3-3. They have a very good manager who always has a very good gameplan.

"We know it's going to be a challenge but we know we have a quite OK away record this season."

Former Liverpool defender Stephen Warnock believes certain players in Arne Slot's squad will be "expecting a hiccup" after pulling seven points clear at the top of the Premier League table with 13 games left.

Warnock sympathised with the players on BBC Radio 5 Live's Monday Night Club, stating: "The players probably feel like they don't want to throw it away because everyone will say, 'it wasn't Manchester City chasing you down, it was Arsenal and they lost their forward three'.

"I do think there is an element of the players expecting a hiccup because it has almost gone so well so far, but they shouldn't do because they are such a good team."

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