Jamie Carragher has bitten back at accusations that Liverpool are ‘bottling it’ in the run-in to the season by comparing the Reds’ overall performance for the campaign to two clubs in particular.

It was just over a month ago that Jurgen Klopp’s side were still in contention for four trophies this term, but subsequent exits from the FA Cup and Europa League, in addition to slipping behind Manchester City in the Premier League title race, threaten to see the German’s reign peter out to an anti-climax.

However, in his latest column for The Telegraph, the 46-year-old insisted that his former club and Arsenal deserve praise for how they’ve competed with Pep Guardiola’s side, pointing to how that duo have performed in comparison to Manchester United and Chelsea, who sit seventh and ninth respectively.

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Carragher wrote: “If Arsenal and Liverpool are ‘bottling it’ in April and May, what does that tell us about Manchester United and Chelsea for the rest of the season? 

“They are clubs which have made so many poor decisions they are nowhere near the required level, albeit Pochettino is in the process of trying to fix previous mistakes.

“Arteta and Klopp are being judged to the ultimate standard in taking on Guardiola. City are so freakishly good with resources beyond Arsenal and Liverpool, the fairest reference point is with United and Chelsea, especially, who have spent mega millions for a watching brief in the race for the top four at this point in the season.”

READ MORE: ‘Put him in Liverpool’s team’ – Ex-Arsenal striker says Premier League ace would be an upgrade on Reds 24y/o

READ MORE: Jurgen Klopp admits 90-touch Liverpool wizard ran ‘out of gas’ during second half v Atalanta

Liverpool fans know better than anyone that there’s no shame in coming up narrowly second best to Man City when their financial resources are vastly superior (and when they can rack up 115 Financial Fair Play charges without a care in the world!).

Rival supporters will inevitably indulge in tribal nonsense on social media whereby they try to label the teams who fall slightly short of winning the Premier League as ‘bottlers’, when in the cases of United and Chelsea they may be best advised to get their own houses in order first.

It’s not wholly implausible that those two clubs could miss out on European football altogether for next season, even with the Red Devils accruing a net transfer spend of more than £1bn since 2014 but having not so much as a title challenge to show for it, and the Blues posting just over £650m for the same metric in two chaotic years of Todd Boehly’s ownership thus far.

Annoyingly, Liverpool won only one of their four league games against that pair this term despite being a far superior team, but even if we miss out on domestic glory again, at least we can be thankful that our club is much more competently run than the Old Trafford and Stamford Bridge basket cases of recent years.

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Liverpool losing a game of football is generally a reason for Manchester United fans to revel in some schadenfreude, and plenty of them will inevitably have done so after Jurgen Klopp’s side were thrashed at home by Atalanta on Thursday night.

Indeed, darts maestro Luke Littler – an avid Red Devils supporter – took to Instagram after the result to poke fun at the Merseysiders, but what he and his fellow Old Trafford brethren mightn’t have realised is that the heavy loss could actually have a negative impact on his club.

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As noted by The Mirror, the defeats for LFC and West Ham in the Europa League last night have seen England’s coefficient remain beneath Italy and Germany, the nations who are currently on track to take the two Champions League berths reserved for fifth-place domestic finishers.

There’s still time for the Premier League to nudge ahead of the Bundesliga for the second such slot, but Liverpool’s chastening result has made that less likely to happen.

READ MORE: ‘The reasons I did it…’ – Klopp stands firm over Liverpool team selection despite Atalanta rout

READ MORE: (Video) ‘It’s possible…’ – Klopp not ruling out Liverpool comeback in second leg v Atalanta

As things currently stand in the Premier League, sixth-placed United are currently 11 points behind both Tottenham (fourth, having played the same number of matches) and Aston Villa (fifth, having played one game more) with 21 more points for which to play.

Winning their fixture in hand on Unai Emery’s side to bring them within eight points of fifth place would offer renewed hope of leapfrogging the Midlanders, but making up a double-digit gap to Spurs without the luxury of an extra match seems a tall order at this stage of the season.

Although the Red Devils staged a late resurgence to pip Leicester for a top-four finish in 2019/20, they’ll need an extraordinary turnaround to catch both Tottenham and Villa from hereon, whereas usurping one of them might still be viable.

If Liverpool were to pull off a phenomenal comeback in Italy next Thursday and go on to win the Europa League – in tandem with fellow English clubs going the distance in the other European tournaments – that could yet see fifth place be enough for Champions League qualification.

As it stands, though, the Reds’ humiliation last night has lessened United’s chances of featuring in Europe’s premier club competition in 2024/25. Maybe those Red Devils fans sneering at our woes should actually be seething at the impact it could have on their own wildly inconsistent team.

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Rasmus Hojlund was understandably delighted with his former side’s victory over Liverpool in the Europa League.

His automatic rivalry with the Reds, per his relationship with current club Manchester United, might also have something to do with his latest post on Instagram.

The Red Devils attacker shared a Bergamesque phrase ‘Mola Mia’ – which when translated means ‘never give up’ – after the visitors secured a historic 3-0 win at Anfield.

You can catch the clip below, courtesy of Rasmus Hojlund’s official Instagram account:

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Stephen Warnock has been left baffled by some of the social media discourse over a decisive moment from Liverpool’s 2-2 draw at Old Trafford on Sunday.

Despite dominating for most of the game, the visitors needed a late Mo Salah penalty to come away with a point, the spot kick being awarded after Aaron Wan-Bissaka lunged in on Harvey Elliott.

The former Reds defender was discussing the incident alongside Dermot Gallagher on Sky Sports‘ Ref Watch on Monday, and he pointed to the absence of any protests from the Manchester United players as a clear indicator that referee Anthony Taylor made the right decision.

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Warnock said: “I find it baffling. I’ve seen this all over social media – it’s a lot of Man Utd fans saying it, suggesting there’s no contact. They think it’s not a penalty. 

“One thing we always talk about is the reaction of the player. Wan-Bissaka doesn’t argue it, no Manchester United player does. They all know it was a stonewall penalty.”

READ MORE: (Video) Luis Diaz’s goal had travelling Liverpool fans bouncing at Old Trafford on Sunday

READ MORE: (Video) ‘A bit mad…’ – Carragher highlights one big difference between Liverpool and Man City

Although Wan-Bissaka didn’t make any contact on Elliott, it was still a wild and mistimed lunge from which the United defender was never going to get a toe to the ball.

As Warnock rightly says, the fact that neither the 26-year-old nor any of his teammates argued with Taylor – at a point in the game where his side led 2-1 with only a few minutes remaining – made it quite clear that a penalty was the correct call.

A rivalry as intense as this one will always give rise to extreme tribalism on social media, and the reaction of players to major refereeing decisions is invariably a more telling indicator.

Wan-Bissaka knew he’d erred in lunging in on Elliott, and that was evident in his body language as soon as the referee’s whistle had blown.

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You could forgive Jurgen Klopp for losing his cool in light of what transpired on the pitch during Liverpool’s 2-2 draw with Manchester United.

The German head coach was spotted gesticulating wildly at his players in the latter stages of the contest at Old Trafford.

The Merseysiders failed to learn lessons as they once again did not capitalise on their first-half dominance, inviting the Red Devils to steal a rather undeserved point in Manchester to unsettle our title hopes.

You can catch the clip below courtesy of fan footage shared on X by @drwnunez:

klopp’s head was on mars pic.twitter.com/ncbvLWHKfX

— hae (@drwnunez) April 8, 2024

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Liverpool fans know that we let a massive opportunity pass us by against Manchester United and Gary Neville was quick to criticse one aspect of our performance.

Speaking on ‘The Gary Neville Podcast’ the former defender said: “From Liverpool’s perspective, it was just absolutely the same as the FA Cup game, a wasteful performance and they could regret it.”

READ MORE: (Video) Carragher bemoans ‘attacking players’ who ‘cost’ Liverpool at Old Trafford

You would have hoped that the Reds would have learned from the FA Cup clash and been able to convert chances and finish the game off.

However, we now must watch on and hope as the Premier League title is no longer in our control.

You can watch Neville’s comments (from ) via Sky Sports Premier League on YouTube:

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Liverpool fans will be feeling low after watching our glut of chances be wasted at Old Trafford and Jamie Carragher has placed the blame on several players.

Speaking on ‘The Gary Neville Podcast’, the Scouser said: “The attacking players have cost Liverpool today.

“They haven’t done enough and it was almost that feeling that because Manchester United are so poor there’ll always be another chance, it’ll come again.”

READ MORE: (Video) Klopp issues ‘matter of fact’ warning to Man United and Arsenal after draw

That wasn’t the case though and even with all the chances that came the way of Jurgen Klopp’s side, we could only convert from a corner and a penalty.

Missing so many chances is not something we wanted to see as we chase a Premier League title which is now considerably harder to win.

You can watch Carragher’s comments (from 6:57): via Sky Sports Premier League on YouTube:

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Liverpool fans will be feeling down-hearted after watching our side become the first to drop points in the title race and Jurgen Klopp had a message to other teams.

Speaking with the press after the match, the German said that Arsenal will defeat Manchester United if they play the same way they did against our team at Old Trafford.

READ MORE: (Video) Van Dijk on his ‘good friend’ in the Man City camp he’s sharing title race with

The 56-year-old then added: “I’m really sorry to say that, but this is matter of fact.”

It’s just a shame that we weren’t able to capitalise on a wide open defence for so much of a crucial game that saw us drop two points.

You can watch Klopp’s comments via @BBCSport on X:

"I'm really sorry to say that, but this is matter of fact."

Jurgen Klopp says if Man Utd play like they did today against Arsenal they'll lose. pic.twitter.com/DeMZjKAkF0

— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) April 7, 2024

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Scott McTominay has been ruled out of Manchester United’s impending tie with Liverpool this afternoon.

The Scotland international’s absence marks the 56th case of injury or illness that has led to a United star missing a game.

“To confirm, Manchester United midfielder Scott McTominay has been ruled out of today’s game due to injury,” Simon Stone reported for BBC Sport.

The 27-year-old is joined on the treatment table by Raphael Varane and Jonny Evans, leaving the hosts with Harry Maguire and 19-year-old Willy Kambwala in the heart of defence.

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READ MORE: Next Liverpool manager: Fabrizio Romano drops huge afternoon update on Ruben Amorim

READ MORE: ‘Deal agreed’: Fabrizio Romano confirms ‘documents being signed’ ahead of wonderkid transfer – Rival watch

Liverpool must capitalise against Manchester United

It goes without saying that nothing is simple or predictable when it comes to facing our bitter league rivals.

That’s not to suggest we should be going into this gunning for anything other than an additional three points on the board beyond the 90 minutes.

With further injuries hitting the hosts, we have to be looking to capitalise in what could be a make or break tie in the context of the title race.

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Liverpool fans will rightly feel some nerves ahead of Jurgen Klopp’s final visit to Old Trafford.

The Reds find themselves in need of a statement response following Arsenal’s convincing victory over Brighton & Hove Albion yesterday.

The Merseysiders were punished for not taking their chances last time out against Manchester United. The hope for the visitors is that they will be far more ruthless when called upon.

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READ MORE: ‘Deal agreed’: Fabrizio Romano confirms ‘documents being signed’ ahead of wonderkid transfer – Rival watch

READ MORE: Going viral: What Portuguese insider has now heard about Ruben Amorim and Liverpool

Confirmed Liverpool team news vs Manchester United

Caoimhin Kelleher continues between the sticks ahead of Alisson Becker’s expected return from injury later in April.

Virgil van Dijk skippers the side ahead of our impending clash with United. Jarell Quansah partners the Dutch international in the heart of the backline.

Klopp has given the nod to Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai and Wataru Endo in the middle of the park.

Mo Salah, Darwin Nunez and Luis Diaz start up top in our pivotal league clash at Old Trafford.

You can catch the full team news below, courtesy of @LFC:

Team news confirmed for #MUNLIV

— Liverpool FC (@LFC) April 7, 2024

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Luke Littler’s choices in a combined Liverpool and Manchester United XI illustrates why we probably should ban combined XIs in perpetuity.

The darts star backed a whopping six Red Devils stars ahead of Erik ten Hag’s side’s impending clash with the league title hopefuls this afternoon.

Whilst we’re not suggesting the hosts are completely devoid of talent, there’s not a chance in hell we’d be swapping out any of our lads.

To hell with combined XIs, we say!

Luke Littler’s combined XI: Alisson, Robertson, Van Dijk, Maguire, Dalot, Mainoo, Szoboszlai, Bruno, Garnacho, Hojlund, Salah

You can catch the full clip below, courtesy of BBC Sport:

This or that: Man Utd v Liverpool edition.

Do you agree with Luke Littler’s choices?#BBCFootball #MUNLIV pic.twitter.com/HrOGJfrDAn

— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) April 7, 2024

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Gary Neville has lauded the talents of Virgil van Dijk amid a phenomenal season from the Dutchman.

The ex-England international had been asked to name one player he’d like to bring to Manchester United.

“I would say [Virgil] van Dijk. I just think that Van Dijk would bring dominance to the team and a presence in the team that we haven’t got. We haven’t got a forward as good as Mo Salah, but we’ve got talented forwards,” the former Manchester United fullback spoke on The Overlap.

“I always think if you’ve got a spine of strength and presence… We always say, don’t we, ‘Oh, there’s no Roy Keanes anymore, there’s no Vincent Kompanys anymore, there’s no John Terrys’ – there actually is one now at Liverpool, when you think about how he’s performed this season, Van Dijk. He’s a massive presence on that pitch.

“He’s not the same character as some of those that I’ve mentioned, but he actually is quite dominant on the pitch. He speaks a lot more than people might think, and he actually is someone you can see that’s got an aura about him.”

The Dutch international has helped steer Liverpool to the top of the table in what could be a dramatic end to Jurgen Klopp’s final season at Anfield.

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READ MORE: ‘Are you kidding?’: Pundit reacts to what’s now being said about Liverpool’s next potential manager

READ MORE: ‘One of the best’: Neil Jones absolutely amazed by 25-year-old Liverpool player vs Brighton

Give Van Dijk a new contract

One of the first hurdles a new Liverpool manager will have to clear is our No.4’s expiring contract.

The former Southampton centre-half’s current terms – along with that of Trent Alexander-Arnold and Mo Salah’s – are set to run out in the summer of 2025.

On current form, however, it would seem daft beyond belief to allow Van Dijk to depart the club in just over a year.

Virgil may be in his 30s but he’s clearly still got a lot to offer in the famous red shirt for years to come.

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Liverpool may be hoping to exact a measure of revenge for their FA Cup defeat to Manchester United by beating them to the punch for a reported mutual transfer target.

In Christian Falk’s Fact Files for Fabrizio Romano’s Daily Briefing, the journalist outlined that Donyell Malen is of interest to both clubs (as well as Arsenal), with the 25-year-old potentially being the subject of a proposed swap move which’d see him come to Old Trafford and Jadon Sancho rejoining Borussia Dortmund permanently.

That is supposedly ‘plan B’, with the Bundesliga club eager to discuss another possible loan move for the England international, who’s currently back at Signal Iduna Park on a temporary basis.

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Falk wrote: “Jadon Sancho is getting better and better. Most recently he scored against Bremen and Eindhoven. The club looked up old data from the archives to compare Sancho’s stats from his first time at Dortmund. His training plan will then be adjusted.

“Sports director Sebastian Kehl is very happy with Sancho. That’s why he wants to talk to Manchester United in May. The goal: another loan.

“But there is also a plan B: Donyell Malen is currently playing in his best form since he joined Dortmund. Manchester United are interested in him. Dortmund would give him away. A swap deal would be possible. Good for Dortmund: Arsenal FC and Liverpool FC are also interested in the Dutchman.”

READ MORE: ‘Eberl told me…’ – Christian Falk shares what Bayern chief has said to him about Jurgen Klopp

READ MORE: ‘Fewer believe…’ – German journalist shares Xabi Alonso claim which could sicken Liverpool fans

Malen has emerged as a possible summer transfer target for Liverpool in recent days, with Sky Germany reporter Patrick Berger claiming that the winger ‘wants to leave Dortmund’ and is ‘expected’ to move on during the off-season.

If the Bundesliga club simply negotiate another loan deal for Sancho, one which doesn’t entail a potential swap involving the Dutch winger, that could make it theoretically easier for the Reds to land the 25-year-old than if United were to sign him in exchange for the Englishman.

As Falk outlined, Malen has been enjoying a hot streak of late, with four goals in his last four league games (Transfermarkt), so it’s little wonder that he’s been attracting interest from some of the Premier League’s big hitters.

It remains to be seen just what positions and which players will take priority in the summer shopping list of Liverpool’s new sporting director Richard Hughes, with the identity of the new manager set to shape the plan of attack for the transfer window.

Nonetheless, if the Reds were to beat United to the punch for the Dortmund and Netherlands winger, it’d no doubt bring a wry smile to Merseyside faces.

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An arrest has been made following the depressing recurrence of tragedy chanting during the FA Cup match between Manchester United and Liverpool on Sunday.

As per the Liverpool Echo, Greater Manchester Police (GMP) confirmed that a spectator was arrested over the disgusting practice, which sadly overshadowed a pulsating cup tie between the two teams involved.

An excerpt from a statement by GMP reads: “Incidents of tragedy chanting will not be tolerated and will be dealt with robustly. We are all familiar with fans taunting their opponents at football matches, but this is generally done in good humour and without offence.

“The incidents today crossed the line of what is acceptable, and we will work closely with both clubs to identify anyone responsible for committing offences during the event.”

READ MORE: Liverpool journalist hits back over ‘laughable’ Jurgen Klopp criticism after post-match interview

READ MORE: Jurgen Klopp admits extra time left him with a ‘problem’ regarding three Liverpool players

Not for the first time, a match between the two most successful clubs in English football has been overshadowed by instances of malicious idiots indulging in tragedy chanting.

Following yesterday’s encounter, footage emerged online of one particularly ignorant spectator mocking the Hillsborough disaster with abhorrent face and hand gestures, with their face very clear in the video, which should speed up the process towards a deserved prosecution.

By all means engage in good-natured banter with rival fans, and genuine United supporters were rightly (and with decency) celebrating a statement last-gasp victory for their team yesterday, the same as we’d have done had it been a Liverpool player rather than Amad Diallo who scored a stoppage time winner.

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Sadly, tragedy chanting has become far too commonplace in English football to the point where such loutish behaviour now seems to be normalised, given its regularity. The reason it so frequently rears its ugly head is because the ‘punishments’ meted out for such thuggery aren’t befitting of the crime.

We’ve had enough of tepid, copy-and-paste statements from the authorities condemning the practice without any significant action being taken to combat it.

Our thanks goes to those within GMP who’ve made the aforementioned arrest, and who continue to work towards trying to stamp out such behaviour once and for all, but far more still needs to be done before this disease is truly eradicated.

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