‘World-class…’ Paul Merson says Liverpool star is ‘the best runner without the ball in the world’

‘World-class…’ Paul Merson says Liverpool star is ‘the best runner without the ball in the world’

‘WORLD-CLASS…’ PAUL MERSON SAYS LIVERPOOL STAR IS ‘THE BEST RUNNER WITHOUT THE BALL IN THE WORLD’

A blockbuster Premier League title showdown awaits when Liverpool welcomes Manchester City to Anfield on Sunday.

With Liverpool leading the way at the top, you feel if there is a winner in this fixture, then it will provide them with a huge boost during this final title run-in.

Mohamed Salah has returned to action for the Reds and Paul Merson has claimed that, if he starts, then Liverpool will win the contest, as he told Soccer Special on Sky Sports (06/03/24 at 7:10 pm).

Manchester City recorded a 3-1 win over Manchester United over the weekend, but it didn’t come after Marcus Rashford’s stunning long-range opener.

Just now and again, the away side were hitting the Treble winners on the counter and targeting those acres of space in-behind the defence.

But Man United didn’t have the quality to cause many issues, something Paul Merson thinks will change against Liverpool and Mohamed Salah.

The former Arsenal and Aston Villa player thinks the Egypt star is ‘world-class’ and ‘the best runner without the ball in the world’.

Will Mohamed Salah start for Liverpool against Manchester City?
“I am not saying it’s a one-man team, I just think he needs to play,” said Merson. “I just think he is world-class. He is one of the best players in the world.

“You look a Man City, one of their achilles heel is going to be down the left with Doku and Ake. I felt Ake fell asleep a couple of times against Man United – Salah is the best runner without the ball in the world. I think he will be a threat. I think if Salah plays, I just think they win, if he doesn’t, then I am not sure they win the game, but with him playing, then I would be quite shocked if they didn’t win.

“With Salah playing, it gives them the advantage to really go and press high. They all know when to press when Salah is playing, if he doesn’t play, then I think they drop off.

“I don’t think Diaz is going to be enough of a threat to cause Man City problems, you need more than that and I think with Salah playing you get that, then you have Diaz, Salah and Nunez. That’s when you look at it and think, I don’t know how Man City cope with them.”

AC Sparta Praha v Liverpool FC: Round of 16 First Leg – UEFA Europa League 2023/24
Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images
Manchester City’s record at Anfield
Pep Guardiola has dominated wherever he has gone, but the Anfield stage is one where he has struggled to prove his worth.

The Spanish coach has only won once in Liverpool’s backyard during his time in the Premier League – and that was during the COVID season.

That point was highlighted by Jamie Carragher when he was aiming jibes at Micah Richards ahead of the weekend’s contest.

You feel it would be unbelievably huge if Man City, given their record, were to win at Liverpool because, regardless of what Arsenal do, it makes them instant favourites to become the first team to win four titles in a row.

MORE: In-form star is ‘playing like Jude Bellingham’ after leaving Celtic

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(Images) Look at these fresh snaps of Salah offside call; doesn’t look right
NEWS
Posted by Farrell Keeling56 minutes ago
(Images) Look at these fresh snaps of Salah offside call; doesn’t look right
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We’ll take VAR’s word for it, but we have to admit the offside call to disallow Mo Salah’s cameo goal is rather dubious.

Screenshots of the incident shared online during Liverpool’s Europa League clash with Sparta Prague certainly indicate it was, at the very least, a particularly tight call.

Errrrrrr…. is that offside? pic.twitter.com/4e7siWRb41

— Empire of the Kop (@empireofthekop) March 7, 2024

We’re not quite sure if the VAR operators have based the lines on our Egyptian King or one of his teammates though.

He looks, in our view, to be just about onside.

Ah well. A 5-1 win it is in Prague, thanks to Dominik Szoboszlai’s late effort!

You can catch the clip below, courtesy of CBS Sports:

🏆ELラウンド16(1st leg)🏆
🇨🇿スパルタ・プラハvsリバプール🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

モハメド・サラーのゴールはVARの結果オフサイドに。
AC Sparta Praha 1-4 Liverpool

Mohamed Salah’s goal is not allowed for offside.#acsparta #UEL #LFC #LiverpoolFC #WataruEndo #MacAllisterpic.twitter.com/RD7qMScTba

— Enjoy Football Japan (@EnjoyFootball_J) March 7, 2024

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1 Comment
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BazzaMarch 7, 2024 at 7:58 pm
Even in Europe, VAR screw us.

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LIVERPOOL FC FEATURES
5 talking points from Liverpool’s 5-1 win vs Sparta Prague
Alex Caple
9 SECONDS AGO
ALEX CAPLE
Liverpool beat Sparta Prague 5-1 in the first leg of their Europa League Last 16 meeting. Here are five talking points from the game.

ONE RISK TOO MANY?
Jurgen Klopp didn’t take too many chances with his starting XI. No abundance of kids here in what was a very strong team, but also one that didn’t risk fitness.

Mohamed Salah and Dominik Szoboszlai both started on the bench, with Conor Bradley and Virgil van Dijk also out of the XI for once. It was a team that offered plenty of hints for the plan against Manchester City.

Darwin Nunez
DARWIN NUNEZ SCORES BRILLIANT GOAL – AND TAKES JURGEN KLOPP TO AN INCREDIBLE LANDMARK
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The downside? Ibrahima Konaté went off early in the second half, bringing Van Dijk on earlier than planned. We’ll see how that affects things at the weekend, though the Frenchman did walk off.

DARWIN NOTCHES NO.1000
Darwin Nunez put on a show here. He only played 49 minutes but managed to score two fantastic goals that essentially killed the tie.

The first saw him compoase himself before sending a swirling shot over the goalkeeper from the edge of the box. The second was a first-time finish to send a bouncing ball into the far corner from distance.

Just two moments of magic from a player in fantastic form.

His first was also notable for being the 1000th Liverpool goal under Jurgen Klopp – a historic one, then. A no better player to score it than someone who is epitomising the German’s style of play right now.

KELLEHER INCREDIBLE ONCE AGAIN
Caoimhin Kelleher has one of the most difficult tasks going in living up to Alisson Becker. He’s somehow doing it.

The Irishman came into this one on the back of three clean sheets and was bitterly unlucky not to make it four. His first-half save was world-class, and he then provided another brilliant stop to tip a dipping ball over the bar.

Jurgen Klopp has long said he’s the best no.2 goalkeeper in football. He’s certainly playing like that right now.

MUCH-NEEDED RESULT
Liverpool have some enormous games coming up. The big win here just eliminated one of them – the Reds can go into the second leg next week with a four-goal headstart.

That should allow plenty of rest ahead of the FA Cup clash with Manchester United before the international break. And it means Klopp and co. won’t be worrying about that fixture during the big one this Sunday.

A positive game all-around, then – except for that Konaté injury.

ONTO THE MAN CITY GAME
Liverpool’s attention now turns to Manchester City and the biggest game of the season this Sunday. A win would leave the Reds as title favourites.

They very nearly set themselves up perfectly here. Darwin Nunez got 49 minutes, Dominik Szoboszlai and Mo Salah both got second-half minutes, and they were able to rotate well in midfield across the 90 minutes.

Of course, the Konaté injury (we’ll mention it one more time) is an issue. If it turns out to be nothing, then this was exactly what Liverpool needed going into Sunday.

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(Video) Darwin Nunez scores really special goal v Sparta Prague to mark 50th start for Liverpool
MATCH HIGHLIGHTS NEWS
Posted by Farrell Keeling1 hour ago
(Video) Darwin Nunez scores really special goal v Sparta Prague to mark 50th start for Liverpool
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Darwin Nunez is just an absolute pleasure to watch, isn’t he?

You’ve seen him hit some stunners, you’ve seen him miss sitters – but he never (NEVER) fails to entertain in the famous red shirt Liverpool.

Nor our white and green away shirt for 2023/24, with the Uruguayan doubling our lead in Prague with a superb long-range effort.

All that and in his 50th start for Jurgen Klopp’s men! How about that, eh?

You can catch the clip below, courtesy of TNT Sports:

Individual brilliance at its finest! 😮‍💨

Darwin Nunez produces a moment of magic for the Reds ✨#UEL pic.twitter.com/RrN5om2lLm

— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) March 7, 2024

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BOURNEMOUTH, ENGLAND – Wednesday, November 1, 2023: Liverpool’s match-winning goal-scorer Darwin Núñez celebrates after the Football League Cup 4th Round match between AFC Bournemouth and Liverpool FC at Dean Court. Liverpool won 2-1. (Photo by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
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Confirmed Liverpool lineup vs. Sparta Prague: Nunez starts, Salah on bench
March 7, 2024
Jack Lusby
There are three changes to Jurgen Klopp‘s starting lineup as Liverpool visit Sparta Prague in the Europa League, with Mohamed Salah back in the squad after injury.

The leaders of the Premier League and Czech First League meet in the Europa League this evening, with the Reds hoping to keep up their momentum with a valuable win.

Having been plagued with injuries in recent weeks, the situation is easing for Liverpool, though Klopp has named a rotated side at Stadion Letna.

Caoimhin Kelleher makes a seventh consecutive start in the ongoing absence of Alisson, with Joe Gomez, Jarell Quansah, Ibrahima Konate and Andy Robertson making up the back four.

Wataru Endo starts as the No. 6, with Harvey Elliott and Alexis Mac Allister in the more advanced midfield roles.

And with Salah available again on the bench, Klopp fields a forward line of Cody Gakpo, Luis Diaz and Darwin Nunez.

Virgil van Dijk is among the more senior options in reserve and could replace Konate at half-time, with one eye on Sunday’s visit of Man City.

There could also be a debut for 20-year-old forward Mateusz Musialowski, who is named in a matchday squad for the first time.

Liverpool: Kelleher; Gomez, Quansah, Konate, Robertson; Endo, Elliott, Mac Allister; Gakpo, Diaz, Nunez

Substitutes: Adrian, Mrozek, Van Dijk, Bradley, Tsimikas, Szoboszlai, McConnell, Clark, Salah, Gordon, Koumas, Musialowski

Sparta Prague: Vindahl; Vitik, Krejci, Sorensen; Preciado, Kairinen, Solbakken, Zeleny; Birmancevic, Haraslin, Kuchta

Substitutes: Vorel, Surovcik, Olatunji, Karabec, Tuci, Sadilek, Mejdr, Laci, Vydra, Wiesner, Sevcik, Rynes

Read all our build-up and previews on the This Is Anfield app for iPhone and Android. There’ll also be reaction, analysis and videos after full-time. Click here to get it for free.

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