Liverpool

Mike Hughes
BBC Radio Merseyside reporter

Image source, Getty Images

As far Arne Slot is concerned there iss no such thing as a meaningless match and certainly not in the Champions League. In tonight's final game in the opening section of the Champions League, Liverpool could make it eight wins from eight if they can beat PSV Eindhoven.

They need one point to guarantee top spot. They have already pocketed £47 million in prize money and there is another £2 million coming if they win tonight.

However, given their ridiculously hectic fixture schedule, the Reds manager has decided the virtues of common sense have a superior bargaining power than even an extra couple of million pounds.

By leaving nine of his regular first team squad out of the group that have made the trip to Holland, he has owned up to the fact that he has decided to disengage from that touchstone of the football manager's lexicon of 'one game at a time'.

He has also admitted that, as well as preparing for tonight's game, he is doing some of the necessary planning for Saturday's big Premier League match at Bournemouth. Whatever happens in Eindhoven, it is clear that the game on the south coast is of much more significance.

But that is not because Slot is attaching more importance to winning the Premier League above the Champions League. It is because he realises that even if Liverpool lose tonight - something he and his players are not accustomed to this season - it will not have any effect on who they will be draw against in the first knock-out stages of the competition.

The barely fathomable logistics of the new Champions League set-up does have the advantage of much fewer "dead rubbers". As far as the competition as a whole is concerned we're all set for an exciting finale this evening.

And yet asking more players to play more matches is the absolute opposite of what we should be doing at the elite level of the game - and almost every manager will agree with that.

Given that the new-look format is one of the key factors behind the decision to scrap FA cup replays, isn't that a really sad indictment of the modern game?

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Henry Brownsey
BBC Sport journalist

Liverpool have already qualified for the round of 16 and will finish top of the table if they avoid defeat at PSV or if Barcelona fail to beat Atalanta at home.

Here's how they did it.

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The Reds began this year's Champions League campaign with a 3-1 win against AC Milan at the San Siro.

Goals from Ibrahima Konate, Virgil van Dijk and Dominik Szoboszlai got them off to the perfect start.

Image source, Getty Images

Liverpool then hosted Bologna and won 2-0 thanks to goals from Alexis Mac Allister and Mohamed Salah.

This victory meant Arne Slot became the first Liverpool boss to win eight of their first nine games in charge of the club.

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Liverpool clinched a 1-0 win away at Leipzig, before hosting Xabi Alonso's Bayer Leverkusen.

Despite drawing 0-0 at half time, Liverpool won 4-0 with goals from Cody Gakpo and a Luis Diaz hat-trick, to ruin Alonso's return to Anfield.

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After not beating Real Madrid in their previous eight Champions League encounters, Liverpool got the better of them at Anfield to make it five wins from five in the group stage.

Both Mohamed Salah and Kylian Mbappe (who Conor Bradley bossed to great delight) missed penalties, but Alexis Mac Allister and Cody Gakpo fired the Reds to a 2-0 victory.

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A Mohamed Salah penalty helped Liverpool to a 1-0 win over Girona, before they secured their place in the last 16 with a 2-1 home win over Ligue 1 side Lille.

Salah's 50th European goal for the club and a deflected Harvey Elliott strike were enough to beat the French side, who were reduced to 10 men just before the hour mark.

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Liverpool forward Cody Gakpo has revealed how the fate of his career changed when an own goal was awarded to him.

The 25-year-old, who joined the Reds from PSV following the 2022 World Cup, had heard whispers of a switch to England the previous summer but had not considered Liverpool as a potential destination.

Indeed, it was the intervention of his church minister - and an unexpected twist on the pitch - that convinced him.

"Everybody who knows me, knows I am a man guided by my faith," Gakpo explained in an article in The Players Tribune, external. "So, one day, I had a meeting with the pastor from my church and he brought a friend who was a pastor somewhere else. This other pastor said, "Can I tell you something?" This was before any big clubs had come knocking on my door. And he said that God told him that I would go to Liverpool. I kind of laughed it off like, 'Yeah, nice - we will see about that'."

With Anfield written off, the Dutch international would probably have been pulling on a very different shirt, had a goal outcome not changed everything.

"[In the summer of 2022] I could have gone to Leeds, Southampton, or I could have stayed at PSV," he explained. "So I said, 'If I score only one time, I'll go to Southampton... If I score two times, I'll go to Leeds... If I score three times, I'll stay'.

"The next day we played, and I scored twice. I was also involved in a third goal - and at first, it was called as an own goal. Then I was subbed out. So, two goals, right? I thought, 'Ah, OK, it's Leeds then'. I was at peace with my decision.

"As I was sitting on the bench, I told my friend, Jordan Teze, who now plays for Monaco, the whole story. He was like, 'If God wants you to stay, that own goal will be awarded to you.' It was like a coin toss, waiting to see what they decided. It could have gone either way! But after the game, they gave me the goal. I scored three, so my fate changed. I stayed at PSV.

"It's a funny story, but in a way, that's a really important piece of the puzzle.

"Thank God I stayed because that allowed me to play in the World Cup, which led to Liverpool."

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Having a squad with fewer injuries is "the biggest difference" for Liverpool this season as they compete on four fronts, says forward Cody Gakpo.

When they won the Carabao Cup last campaign, the Reds had the chance to send outgoing manager Jurgen Klopp off with a four-trophy haul, but ultimately finished with just the one.

Once again, they are still in with the chance of an unprecedented quadruple under new boss Arne Slot, topping the Premier League and Champions League tables and still active in both domestic cups.

Speaking before their final Champions League group stage game against PSV Eindhoven, Gakpo said: "I think the biggest difference is at this point last season we had a lot of injuries.

"Mo [Salah] was away for the Africa Cup of Nations so that didn't help and he injured himself over there too. Then we had Darwin [Nunez] out, Dominik [Szoboszlai] was out, Curtis [Jones] was out and Trent [Alexander-Arnold] was out as well., [Diogo] Jota and Alisson as well. So we had some problems last year which obviously didn't help.

"This year, at this point, almost everyone is fit. As a group you get more experience and you get more togetherness. We were growing last year and growing this year as well. Hopefully we can bring it to a good end."

PSV academy graduate Gakpo could start against his former side on Wednesday, something that he feels will be "pretty strange".

"I think I've never been in the away dressing room, so it will be the first time and [to be] on the other side of the walkout," he said. "But when the game starts, all those things will fade away and we will be focused.

"We are going for the win."

Al-Hilal are favourites to sign Liverpool's Egypt winger Mohamed Salah, 32, this summer after the Saudi Pro League side cancelled the contract of Brazil forward Neymar, 32. (Telegraph - subscription required, external)

Liverpool will recall Spain Under-21 midfielder Stefan Bajcetic from his loan spell at Red Bull Salzburg and send the 20-year-old to Las Palmas for the rest of the season. (Atlantico Hoy - in Spanish, external)

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Nicola Pearson
BBC Sport journalist

Liverpool boss Arne Slot has been speaking to the media before Wednesday's Champions League game at PSV Eindhoven (kick-off 20:00 GMT).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Having left a number of senior members of the squad at home, Slot said the younger players "don't need to prove themselves" as "we know their quality" and "we are playing many, many games". He added: "These players are ready."

• More on rotating his squad for the game: "We mainly start with 13, 14 players that share most of the playing time. For those who haven't played a lot, it is useful for them to get playing time so they are ready if we get injury problems. It definitely helps us for the long term."

• Liverpool need a point to be confirmed as group winners but are already certain of finishing in the top two. Slot said: "I can say for sure it doesn't matter if we end up one or two because we will play 14, 15, 16 or 17 and it is a draw for the team we will face. So it is not of importance to the league table, but a wise man once told me - 'I've never seen anything good come from losing a football game'. So we are not going into tomorrow trying to lose a game. We will do everything we can to win it."

• Slot confirmed the players left at home will have a day off on Wednesday so they can rest but "some staff will go home early to train with them on Thursday".

• He said his is "not scared" to make so many changes for this game, adding that it is "so difficult to become a champion and there are so many things that need to go well" - and, despite good form, there are "no guarantees in football".

• Slot praised PSV counterpart Peter Bosz: "PSV fans are really, really happy he is here. He doesn't only bring results, it is a joy to watch - always positive, always eventful. We are mainly judged on results, but I hope there comes a time that managers are also judged on playing style."

• He said his focus is not on praise from the media, but on what he can "influence" and that he and his staff "always want to prepare as best as possible... I just work hard."

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Several key first-team players have been left behind on Merseyside as Liverpool travel to the Netherlands to face PSV Eindhoven in their final Champions League group phase game on Wednesday.

Head coach Arne Slot has chosen to rest nine of the starting line-up from Saturday's 4-1 win over Ipswich Town.

Alisson, Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai, Luis Diaz and Mohamed Salah have all not travelled.

Only Andy Robertson and Cody Gakpo from Saturday's side were on the plane.

Defender Joe Gomez returned to training on Tuesday but not in time to make the squad, while Curtis Jones and Diogo Jota remain out.

Academy players Trey Nyoni, Jayden Danns, James McConnell, Amara Nallo, James Norris, Kieran Morrison, Isaac Mabaya and Trent Kone-Doherty are all in the travelling squad.

Liverpool need a point to be confirmed group winners but are already assured of a place in the top two.

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Liverpool have won their past five meetings with PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League, only beating Porto (six) more often in the competition.

Liverpool and Chelsea are set to rival Napoli for Borussia Dortmund and Germany forward Karim Adeyemi, 23, but may wait until the summer to make a move. (Corriere Dello Sport - in Italian, external)

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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 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

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

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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."