Month: January 2016

Questions over the ability of Daniel Sturridge continuously lead

Questions over the ability of Daniel Sturridge continuously lead the Liverpool team have been put under serious consideration after the latest hamstring injury to the striker.

Sturridge has been hit by numerous injuries in the last two years and this has reduced to under 30 appearances during this period. It has also meant that Liverpool have nowhere been near enough to their target of qualifying for the top four or even challenging for the title. They are undoubtedly aware of the quality possessed by the former Chelsea striker, but his injury record is proving to be a major source of frustration.

Jurgen Klopp recently claimed that Sturridge should start to play through the pain barrier in order to overcome minor injuries. Top players often play with niggling injuries rather than rest. A famous example is Cristiano Ronaldo, who has missed very few matches in the last five years. Just when it seemed that Sturridge was listening to the advice, he has been hit by a hamstring injury that will keep him out for a couple of weeks. Due to the fitness concerns about the player, it has been speculated that . The Liverpool manager, though, says that he will retain his faith in the existing names like Christian Benteke.

“We have Christian Benteke, we have Divock Origi, we have Firmino, we have Danny Ings, even if not right now.If you take a player, a striker, who can help immediately, then Daniel is back in the race and maybe better, more confident, fitter than before, then we will sit here and talk about all the problems, about all the players who can’t play.I am not like this. We have to train with him, make sessions with him. At this moment he trains in aerobic things,” said Klopp.

LEIVA DISTANCES TITLE TALK

Lucas Leiva says Liverpool FC is not thinking about the Premier League title in spite of being in the best of form at this stage.

Liverpool has recently secured two mammoth wins at the Stamford Bridge and the Etihad Stadium and it has given a huge boost to their chances in the English top flight.

But, according to Leiva, the Reds are work in progress at this point of time and they are taking each match as it comes.

The 28-year old Brazil International, who has become a key figure in the line up again with the arrival of Klopp, was quoted as saying, “A few games go your way and you are talked about as the favourites again. It’s normal, but, as far as we are concerned, it’s not in our minds at the moment. We are taking the matches on one-by-one basis rather than planning of too far ahead.”

“The process is what matters the most. If you are going about it the right way, you would reap the rewards. It’s been a fantastic run for us. We have played good Football and we want to continue.”

When asked about his own experience of working alongside Klopp, the holding midfielder said, “Jurgen demands a lot, but, he is very honest and always remains clear about what he wants off you.”

“Also, what I like in Jurgen is his handling of the players. He doesn’t get excessively harsh on anyone. If you have committed errors in the game, he would have a chat with you for sure, but, not in the manner that your morale gets down. He makes each player feel he belongs to the group and his role is vital.”

Liverpool are taking on Arsenal next at home on Wednesday night and have been selected as one of the matches that StanJames will offer live bets on. The match is also being televised on Sky Sports in the Uk, and is expected to be watched by over 2 millions football fans.

SUAREZ PRAISES MESSI

Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Cristiano Ronaldo were the 3 finalists of picking up the UEFA Best Player in Europe award and the winner was selected on August 27 which resulted with the Barcelona star player picking up the award for a 2nd time as he became the first player in the history of the sport to reach this milestone.

Messi won the award back in 2011 and collected it once again a few days ago. Luis Suarez reached the shortlist of 3 players along with Cristiano Ronaldo but it was an overwhelming win for Lionel Messi as he received 49 of the 54 votes.

Luis Suarez came in 2nd place while Ronaldo finished in 3rd place as the Portuguese attacker had the fewer amounts of votes. According to some sites on the net, Suarez had only been expecting to finish in third, so to finish ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo was a real bonus.

Despite losing this award to his club teammate Lionel Messi, Suarez praised the Argentine superstar as he deserved to win this award for a 2nd time.

The Uruguayan attacker praised his partner Lionel Messi as Suarez said: “Well, I think it was more than deserved and my reaction is pure happiness, as he is a great team mate and as he said, it’s the result of good work from the whole team to achieve important things. He is just the best in the world and it’s a great pleasure to have him in the team. I am happy, also about the good friendship I have with him.”

Messi was just outstanding in the previous season as he scored 58 goals and provided 27 assists to his teammates and also broke the record of Telmo Zarra who had a long serving La Liga record of 251 goals.

Luis Suarez had no problem in admitting that Messi was not only the best player in Europe but also in the entire world as the Argentine attacker is simply untouchable.