Jurgen Klopp became aware of Erling Haaland s insane potential when he faced Liverpool with Salzburg, and the Reds boss believes the striker has found a perfect fit at Manchester City.
Liverpool were drawn into the same Champions League group as Haaland s Salzburg in the 2019-20 season.
Then 19, having hit a hat-trick against Genk on his Champions League debut, Haaland netted in a 4-3 defeat at Anfield.
The Norway international has scarcely stopped scoring since, earning moves to Klopp s former club Borussia Dortmund and then City, where he has an astonishing 20 goals in 13 games in all competitions.
Ahead of facing Haaland again on Sunday in the Premier League, Klopp was asked for his take on the dominant forward.
Even when he was very young, yo…
Mauricio Pochettino stressed the importance of not pressuring Christian Eriksen into signing a new deal at Tottenham, likening the situation to letting his dog run free in the park.
The Denmark international, who joined from Ajax in 2013, has 18 months left on his contract but is yet to come to an agreement over a renewal.
That delay has sparked speculation linking the midfielder with a move to LaLiga champions Barcelona, although Pochettino appears unconcerned that negotiations are yet to reach a conclusion.
Maybe he will sign next week or in six months, or the club and him are having different challenges and dreams, Pochettino told a media conference ahead of Sunday s clash against Manchester United at Wembley.
He s a very special person. You need to …
What the papers say
Chelsea are looking at a double January raid on Lisbon side Sporting, according to the Evening Standard. Ivory Coast defender Ousmane Diomande, 20, and Sweden striker Viktor Gyokeres, 25, are in the Blues’ sights.
Manchester City are in talks with River Plate midfielder Claudio Echeverri. The Times reports City plan to loan the 17-year-old back to the Argentinian side, who have a £21.4million release clause in his contract.
Sunderland midfielder Pierre Ekwah, 21, is catching the eye of several Premier League clubs, reports the Evening Standard. Sunderland are keen to keep the French youngster but Crystal Palace, Fulham and Nottingham Forest are all circling.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is close to making a return to management, according to the D…
Bristol Rovers boss Joey Barton will be absent for the first three matches of next season after being handed a ground ban by the Football Association.
Barton, who has a lengthy rap sheet during his career as a player and manager, has been sanctioned for his behaviour following his side’s 2-1 Sky Bet League One defeat by Sheffield Wednesday in April.
He was unhappy when Rovers had a goal disallowed for offside and was sent to the stands before continuing his protestations after the game.
An independent panel has fined him £3,000 and banned him from entering the stadium for Rovers’ first three games next season.
An FA statement said: “Joey Barton has been given a three-match ground ban and £3,000 fine for the three misconduct breaches that took plac…
Carlos Marchena believes former Spain team-mate and Real Madrid great Sergio Ramos would relish the opportunity to represent his country at next year s Olympic Games.
Ramos, who became Spain s most capped player last month, has won the World Cup and two European Championships for his country, while the defender also has four Champions League medals with Madrid.
Yet he has never appeared at the Olympics, where under-23 teams are allowed to field three overage players.
Luis de la Fuente coaches Spain s Olympic team, who have qualified for the upcoming Games, and suggested he would be proud to coach Ramos, who has discussed the possibility of appearing.
Marchena, who played alongside Ramos for Spain until 2011, understands why Tokyo 2020 could be a target…
There can be few things more frustrating in football than coming out second best against one particular rival time and time again.
That is a fate that has befallen numerous clubs over the years and few examples are more notable than Manchester United s struggles at the hands of Chelsea.
Despite both clubs occupying the upper echelons of the table and boasting sizeable playing budgets, there has been an emerging and growing imbalance in their head-to-head record.
The two meet again on Saturday as Jose Mourinho faces up to his former employers and here we take a look at some of the more one-sided rivalries of recent times, with the help of Opta data.
UNITED SUFFER CHELSEA BLUES
The all-time record may heavily favour United, who have w…
Stephen Welsh is looking forward to “kicking on” under Brendan Rodgers after coming in from the cold under the new manager to sign a four-year deal with Celtic.
The 23-year-old defender’s previous contract was due to expire at the end of this season and it looked like his time with his boyhood club might be nearing an end when he fell out of favour under previous boss Ange Postecoglou.
However, academy graduate Welsh, who has been linked with moves away from Parkhead in recent transfer windows, made his first appearance in 10 months when he came on as a substitute for the injured Cameron Carter-Vickers in Sunday’s 3-1 cinch Premiership win over Aberdeen.
And, having impressed Rodgers since he returned to Celtic as manager earlier this summer, the homegrow…
Romelu Lukaku came off the bench to keep Inter’s slim Serie A title hopes alive as his late penalty secured a 2-2 draw with Roma.
Antonio Conte s men could have closed the gap on leaders Juventus to three points with victory at Stadio Olimpico but instead had to settle for a draw, which came courtesy of Lukaku s spot-kick following Leonardo Spinazzola s clumsy challenge on Victor Moses.
Inter had earlier squandered an early lead given to them by Stefan de Vrij s 15th-minute header – a Serie A record 500th goal scored in this fixture – as Spinazzola and Henrikh Mkhitaryan turned the game on its head with goals either side of half-time.
However, Inter were handed a reprieve when Spinazzola recklessly kicked out at Moses four minutes from time – Lukaku ke…
Chelsea are reluctant to sign Karim Benzema in the January transfer window, according to . The report has claimed that former Real Madrid striker Benzema is pushing to leave Saudi Pro League club Al-Ittihad in the January transfer window and is open to a move to a club in the Premier League.
However, Chelsea are reluctant to sign Benzema because of his wage demands. The French striker left Madrid for Al-Ittihad in the summer of 2023. The 36-year-old striker has scored nine goals in 15 Saudi Pro League matches so far this season.
Chelsea are ninth in the Premier League table at the moment with 31 points from 21 matches. Mauricio Pochettino’s side are 12 points behind fourth-placed Aston Villa. The Blues beat Middlesbrough 6-1 at Stamford Bridge in London in the second …
Fabio Quagliarella became the oldest goalscorer in Italy s history when he netted in their Euro 2020 qualifier against Liechtenstein.
Aged 36 years and 54 days old, the Sampdoria forward scored a 35th-minute penalty in Tuesday s match in Parma, putting Roberto Mancini s side 3-0 up.
The veteran added a second spot-kick in first-half stoppage time as Italy extended their lead.
Italy s previous oldest scorer was Christian Panucci, who was 35 when he found the net against Romania in Euro 2008.
The game saw Quagliarella make his first competitive international start since a World Cup qualifier against Cyprus in October 2009.
Quagliarella is the top scorer in Serie A this season, having netted 21 goals.
36 54 Fabio (36 years…