It was a dream weekend for Manchester City as both Liverpool and Arsenal lost in the Premier League and now Bernardo Silva has commented on the dropped points.

Speaking with the media, the Portuguese international said: “It was obviously a very good weekend for us; I’m not going to deny that because personally, I wasn’t expecting both teams to drop points.

“Before, we didn’t depend only on ourselves, so we had to do our job and wait for them to drop points.

READ MORE: Werder Bremen release damning Naby Keita statement after ‘he let his team down’

“Now the situation has changed a bit because we just depend on ourselves because if we do our job properly, we win the Premier League so happy with the results and not going to deny that. But there is a long way to go.”

It’s fair to say that the creative midfielder is not the most liked man at Anfield and these comments won’t help his case.

Let’s just hope Jurgen Klopp’s side can bounce back with a European miracle that can restart the winning momentum that is needed to achieve a successful end to the campaign.

You can watch Silva’s comments (from 1:59) via HaytersTV on YouTube:

EOTK Insider with Jan Age Fjortoft: Why Alonso said no to LFC, who will replace Klopp now? The PL winners will be…

The post (Video) Liverpool fans will be interested to hear Bernardo Silva’s comments on title rivals’ dropped points appeared first on The Empire of The Kop.

It felt like a huge day in the title race and whilst Manchester City and Arsenal failed to stake their claim to be champions, Liverpool took top spot in the league.

Speaking with Sky Sports after the game, Bernardo Silva was asked for his take on the battle for first place and said that his team are: “Not favourties anymore.”

READ MORE: (Video) Liverpool fans won’t believe Quansah’s pace as he puts on afterburners against Adingra

It was a simple statement but shows how both our competitors would have know that the chance was there for them to prove they’re the best in the league, but neither took it.

Now it’s up to Jurgen Klopp’s side to prove that we’re the best, in what is a crucial final nine matches for everyone.

You can watch Silva’s comments via @SkySportsPL on X:

"Not favourites anymore"

Bernardo Silva says City now has to depend on results from other teams to win the league pic.twitter.com/2j8JbqIfAq

— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) March 31, 2024

EOTK Insider with Jan Age Fjortoft: Why Alonso said no to LFC, who will replace Klopp now? The PL winners will be…

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Patrick Bamford has heaped praise on one Liverpool player who ‘can do a bit of everything’ and has a ‘mental’ ball-striking prowess.

The Leeds striker was speaking on the My Mate’s A Footballer podcast when he fielded questions from listeners, one of whom asked him about players he’s faced who he’d pick to play in every position on the pitch alongside himself up front.

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Regarding one selection, the 30-year-old said: “It was between Bernardo [Silva] and Trent [Alexander-Arnold]. He [Trent] can do a bit of everything. I think centre-back would be a bit of a struggle but everywhere else…

“His technical ability and the way he strikes a ball, there’s no-one better. He can kick it so far as well; that’s mental.”

READ MORE: talkSPORT pundits claim to have heard who some Liverpool players want to replace Jurgen Klopp

READ MORE: Liverpool add 17/yo to Europa League squad; he’s set for maiden first-team involvement tonight

Trent has excelled over the past year since Jurgen Klopp switched him to a hybrid right-back/number 6 role, with many pundits believing that the 25-year-old will ultimately be converted into a full-time midfielder at Liverpool.

His match average of 2.5 key passes is the joint-fourth highest of any Premier League player this season, trumping the 2.1 of Manchester City’s Portuguese playmaker (WhoScored), and anyone who’s watched the Reds over the past few years knows full well how gifted the England international is with the ball at his feet.

Our number 66 has shown that he can finish with aplomb, too, rifling a deft equaliser past Ederson to rescue a draw at the Etihad Stadium in November and showing brilliant technique to control and finish for his late winner against Fulham the following weekend.

We’re in full agreement with Bamford that we’d take Trent over Silva any day of the week – the lad from West Derby is a simply sublime footballer!

EOTK Insider with Neil Jones: Michael Edwards’ future, Liverpool contract latest, Musiala to Anfield and much more!

The post ‘There’s no-one better’ – Patrick Bamford would opt for Liverpool wiz over Man City counterpart appeared first on The Empire of The Kop.

Luis Diaz sent Bernardo Silva for the proverbial Echo at one point at Anfield on Sunday.

Although the Liverpool winger was culpable of passing up a couple of gilt-edged opportunities during the 1-1 draw against Manchester City, his overall performance was tremendous, as best illustrated by a scintillating gallop from one penalty area to the other in the final few minutes.

That wasn’t the only moment that he left treble-winning players eating his dust, having also made a mockery of the Portugal international yesterday.

Diaz had possession by the touchline and appeared to be hemmed in by three opponents, but he took two of those out of the equation with a majestic piece of skill.

Silva remained in his shadow and tried to dispossess the 27-year-old with a lunging slide tackle, but he was left sitting on the Anfield turf after the Colombian shimmied the ball to his right and continued apace.

Such moments of individual quality are exactly why Lucho is adored at Liverpool!

You can view the Diaz-Silva moment below, via @1947production on X (formerly Twitter):

what happened @BernardoCSilva pic.twitter.com/CnbnSVydvw

— 1947 (@1947production) March 10, 2024

The post (Video) See you later! – Luis Diaz brilliance leaves Bernardo Silva slide-tackling thin air appeared first on The Empire of The Kop.

Bernardo Silva has had no shortage of spats with Liverpool before, but the Manchester City player now seems to have changed his tune about the Reds, with his recent comments sure to elicit a wry smile from Kopites.

The £300,000-per-week Portugal international (Capology) played against Jurgen Klopp’s side on Saturday, with the two teams sharing the spoils at the Etihad Stadium.

Reflecting on the match afterwards, the 29-year-old said (via 90min): “I think we should have won. But when you play a team like Liverpool, this season they are back being very competitive again.

“We expected it after a tough [2022/23] season for them. We knew their energy was going to be back so it’s going to be tough, not just with them but Arsenal, Spurs. But we are also ready to fight.

“We enjoy it more when we win but it’s nice for the Premier League and fans when it’s this tight and there is emotion.”

READ MORE: ‘Wouldn’t be surprised if…’ – Reporter teases January transfer ‘possibilities’ for Liverpool

READ MORE: Jude Bellingham drops glowing two-word praise of Liverpool ace who won 5 duels v Man City

Silva has experience of Liverpool twice going toe-to-toe with Man City during his time with Pep Guardiola’s side, so while he’s certainly felt the rivalry which has evolved between the two clubs over the past decade, he also seems to have plenty of respect for the Reds.

The contrast between our current position and where we were at the same juncture last season is striking – from languishing in eighth place on 19 points (15 behind leaders Arsenal and 13 adrift of City) after 13 games in 2022/23, we’re now third and, along with the Manchester side, within two points of the table-topping Gunners.

Saturday’s game against the reigning champions was always going to be a strong acid test of where Klopp’s side are at in terms of title contention, and while the home side may’ve had twice as many shots overall, LFC were good value for the draw they ultimately earned.

If we can go one better and defeat City at Anfield in March, whilst still being within arm’s reach of the Premier League summit, that’d be a sure sign of the Reds being potential champions next spring.

EOTK Insider with Neil Jones: Liverpool could repeat Diaz January transfer trick, the No.6 transfer conundrum, Man City review and much more!

The post Liverpool fans will revel in what £300k-p/w Man City ace has said about Jurgen Klopp’s side appeared first on The Empire of The Kop.

Trent Alexander-Arnold suggested that Manchester City had a ‘gameplan’ to stifle his influence as much as possible during Saturday’s 1-1 draw against Liverpool.

The home side led at the Etihad Stadium as the 80-minute mark approached, and just as the visitors seemed to be running out of time and ideas, the 25-year-old popped up with a calmly-taken equaliser to ensure a share of the spoils.

Speaking to Sky Sports after the match, the Reds’ number 66 seemed to hint that Pep Guardiola had set up his team – and Bernardo Silva in particular – to do a ‘man marking’ number on the England international.

Trent said: “I think there was potentially a gameplan to stop me from getting the ball in midfield. At least that’s what it felt like, especially in the first half.”

When asked to elaborate on that comment, the Liverpool man replied: “A little bit of a man marking [job], I think Bernardo was very close to me a lot when I was pulling inside. I could be completely wrong. I could just be talking nonsense but I’m pretty sure that was the gameplan.”

The 25-year-old ended the afternoon with 28 successful passes and 66 touches, with both tallies well below his season averages of 44.4 and 77.9 per game respectively (Sofascore).

However, City clearly didn’t do enough to curb Trent’s influence today, as the Scouser popped up with the clutch moment to ensure that the Reds came away from Manchester with a result.

You can view Trent’s comments below (from 2:14), via @SkySportsPL on X (formerly Twitter):

"I think there was potentially a game plan to stop me from getting the ball in midfield"

Trent Alexander-Arnold says it wasn't a great performance from Liverpool but they'll take the point pic.twitter.com/HbmcmEqInh

— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) November 25, 2023

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Diogo Jota has named one Premier League player who he’d love to have as a teammate at Liverpool.

The 26-year-old partook in a Q&A with That’s Football when he was asked which of his international colleagues he’d most like to bring in at Anfield, and he mentioned a player who’s been a direct rival of the Reds for the past few years.

Jota replied: “Bernardo, Bernardo Silva for me. Probably one of the most intelligent football guys I’ve known. The way he can hide the ball from opponents is special, I think I’ll go for him.”

While the Manchester City player’s qualities as a footballer are beyond question, Liverpool fans mightn’t be overly keen on having him at Anfield due to a long-standing rivalry with the Reds.

Between his half-hearted actions during the guard of honour for LFC, his dig at Kopites who revelled in City’s exit from the Champions League in 2020 and his complaints that Pep Guardiola’s side get inferior recognition to Jurgen Klopp’s men, the 29-year-old has clearly had it in for us over the past while.

In any case, the chances of the Manchester club selling him to us would be remote in the extreme, so Jota will have to be content with playing alongside him at international level.

You can see the Liverpool forward’s comments below, via @ThatsFootballTV on Twitter/X:

"One of the most intelligent football players I've known!"

Diogo Jota discusses what rival player he would take at Liverpool! #LFC pic.twitter.com/T0Z6x1AvP9

— That's Football! (@ThatsFootballTV) September 15, 2023

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Liverpool fans will be aware that our club isn’t the richest in world football and it’s already been hard enough for us to attract the biggest players because of this but now Jamie Carragher has voiced concerns over a big issue.

Taking to his Twitter account, the Scouser wrote: ‘Bernardo Silva is in his peak years & has been one of the best players in Europe for the last five years!

‘I wasn’t worried about the Saudi League taking players in their 30’s, a touch worried with players below the elite (Neves) but if this happens it feels like a game changer

READ MORE: (Video) Luis Diaz unleashes beautiful no-look pass for Colombia

‘Saudi have taken over Golf, the big Boxing fights & now they want to take over football!!. This sports washing needs to be stopped!’.

When you see players like Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema head to the Saudi Pro League, it makes sense as elder players have always been tempted by a last pay day whilst being aware that their powers were on the decline.

However, players like Ruben Neves and Bernardo Silva are in their prime and playing for Premier League teams regularly but are being tempted to make the move to the middle east.

There’s no reason why another nation shouldn’t be able to compete with the might of European football but when this nation has highly questionable human rights laws – it begins to become an issue.

That’s before we even go into the fact that Newcastle and Chelsea seem to have ties with the main source of money for the league and shortcuts around FFP may soon be seen because of all this.

If everything is fair, legal and above board – then best of luck to the new and exciting brand of football that will come to Saudi Arabia but until we learn that everything is okay, there’s going to be a lot of skepticism.

You can view Carragher’s comments via his Twitter account:

Bernardo Silva is in his peak years & has been one of the best players in Europe for the last five years!

I wasn’t worried about the Saudi League taking players in their 30’s, a touch worried with players below the elite (Neves) but if this happens it feels like a game changer… https://t.co/hcDUbkGp30

— Jamie Carragher (@Carra23) June 21, 2023

#Ep76 of The Empire of the Kop Podcast: Liverpool Transfer Committee Show!

The post ‘Sports washing needs to be stopped!’ – Carragher’s passionate plea after ‘game changer’ Silva rumours appeared first on The Empire of The Kop.

Back in 2012, Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero openly discussed his feeling that non-English Premier League players were treated more harshly by officials.

“Here in England, there are almost as many foreign players as English players and it’s not right that some have a privilege that others don’t,” he told SI in 2012.

“There is a little bit of privilege with players who come from that country, but that is normal.

“We just play our game, and the referee’s job is to know who is tricking him and who is not.”

We wonder what Aguero would have made of Anthony Taylor’s decision not to award Mo Salah multiple freekicks on Sunday against his old club…?

The Egyptian doesn’t get the freekicks he deserves. This is a stat and cannot be denied. He is a dribbler – someone who is constantly taking on opponents who try to stop him – but for some reason; he wins far, far less freekicks than English counterparts who operate in a similar part of the field.

Per touch, Jack Grealish is given four times more freekicks than Salah. That is not because he is a better footballer and more adept at winning them – it is because he is treated differently.

MoSalah has been “fouled” every 89 touches over the last 5 seasons

Grealish 22
Kane 24
Sterling 26
Rashford 31

— SimonBrundish (@SimonBrundish) October 16, 2022

Bernardo Silva’s foul on Salah in the closing stages against City was ridiculous. He grabbed his shirt and performed a wrestling-style barrel-roll. As Silva got up, he backed into Liverpool’s no.11 and kicked him. Neither the initial incident was given as a foul and the VAR ignored Silva’s second infringement, too.

No wonder Jurgen Klopp lost the plot and ended up being sent off. He deserved it, by the way. You can’t shout in someone’s face like that. But my word, his frustration was at least warranted.

“There’s a statistic that Mo is the one player who has the least fouls against him. But not that he didn’t get fouled, just we don’t whistle,” Klopp told reporters in March.

“If you compare him to other strikers it’s crazy, absolutely crazy, how low his number is of fouls against him that the ref whistles [for]. Madness.

“So it means he constantly has contact, going down, you have to get up again and stuff like this.”

But with the referees this season deciding to let the game flow, much to the delight of many dinosaurs in TV studios, who played the game at half the pace it is now 40 years ago, Salah is getting even less.

In the first-half, his legs were hacked in the buildup to an Erling Haaland chance, and still, he got nothing. The ref saw it all. He knew it wasn’t a dive. The opposition player, without taking the ball, caused Salah to fall to the floor. It’s a foul. This is what fouling is. The FA rulebook defines it as impeding an opponent with contact, yet with Salah, the ceiling for a foul is undeniably higher than others.

Why?

Last year, Peter Walton admitted that research is done going into games on certain players and that there is a determination on how to handle them.

“Referees do study players and formations ahead of a game. They are aware that certain players need to be dealt with proactively,” he told the Times.

Laughably, Walton continued and claimed that in a match against Liverpool, Harry Kane wasn’t sent off because of his excellent reputation.

“Kane does not fall into this category. It has been ten years since his last red-card.”

During Salah’s success in England, there has been a huge attempt to discredit him by rivals and label him a diver. It’s laughable. He tries to stay on his feet more than nearly any other attacker, simply because he knows he won’t get a whistle. Yet the stats show refs have eaten up this nonsense propaganda and are judging him because of it. Walton’s admission almost confirms as much.

In the Champions League, Salah is given a foul ever 60 touches – not great – but far more often than in England.

The refs in England are a closely-knit, private club. They have their own rankings. They compete with each other for the best games. They speak constantly on WhatsApp groups. It would be mighty interesting to see what they say about Salah, because the evidence is damning.

The Silva foul on Salah not being given due to the officials attempting to keep an already brilliant game flowing is sheer stupidity.

It says a lot about Salah’s mindset and temperament that he still manages to keep a cool head and win huge matches like he did for us at the weekend in these circumstances.

The post Editor’s Column: Refs treat Mo Salah differently and it’s getting ridiculous appeared first on The Empire of The Kop.

Dejan Lovren popped online to share his thoughts on Bernardo Silva’s frustrating treatment of Mo Salah in Liverpool’s 1-0 win against Manchester City.

The former Red joked ‘there is a waiting list for his shirt’ on Instagram over a snap of the midfielder grappling onto the No.11 for dear life.

It’s a wonder how the former Chelsea hitman managed to keep his cool while the No.20 repeatedly attempted to antagonise his opponent throughout the encounter, though we’re glad he got a chance for payback with the match-winning goal.

You can catch the photo below, courtesy of Dejan Lovren’s Instagram account and story:

The post (Photo) Dejan Lovren ruthlessly mocks Bernardo Silva over Salah shirt-tug snap appeared first on The Empire of The Kop.

Jurgen Klopp seemed absolutely delighted with Thiago Alcantara’s display of physical prowess during Liverpool’s meeting with Manchester City in the Community Shield.

The Spanish international was seen clattering Bernardo Silva on the sideline to let the ball go out for a Reds throw, much to the enjoyment of the German tactician who could be seen grinning on the touchline as the cameras panned over to the technical area.

Really coming into his own in the prior campaign, this has all the makings of a season to remember for the former Bayern Munich man if he can manage to stay consistently fit and available throughout the term.

You can catch the clip below, courtesy of @itvfootball (via @PassLikeThiago):

Klopp’ reaction to Thiago leaving Silva on the floor
pic.twitter.com/rhEXKxxRhS

— – (@PassLikeThiago) August 1, 2022

The post (Video) Watch how Klopp reacts after Thiago bodies Bernardo Silva in 3-1 win appeared first on The Empire of The Kop.

Luis Diaz made a mockery of Fernandinho and Bernardo Silva with his close control during Liverpool’s meeting with Manchester City in the FA Cup.

The Colombian international beautifully controlled an airborne ball before avoiding the challenges of both Cityzens stars with some quick feet.

The Reds went into the half-time break with a three-goal lead courtesy of two efforts from Sadio Mane and an opener from Ibrahima Konate.

You can catch the clip below, courtesy of @MoLFC5:

https://twitter.com/MoLFC5/status/1515347345814269958

The post (Video) Luis Diaz makes a mockery of two Man City players with delicious piece of skill in FA Cup semi-final appeared first on The Empire of The Kop.

Paul Robinson has refuted suggestions that Manchester City are feeling any kind of pressure in the title race, despite the fact that Liverpool could cut the deficit to a point with a win against Arsenal.

Speaking after the Cityzens’ goalless stalemate with Crystal Palace, Bernardo Silva suggested that proceedings remained very much in his side’s favour, with the Merseysiders due to pay a visit to the Etihad in April.

“Bernardo Silva quite rightly pointed out that Liverpool still have to go to the Etihad,” the former England No.1 told Football Insider. “Make no mistake about it, Man City are still in the driving seat.”

Regardless, to bring up Jurgen Klopp’s men unprompted does arguably suggest to a degree that the second-placed outfit in the English top-flight is in the minds of the 27-year-old and his teammates to some degree.

“It’s unfair to suggest they are feeling the pressure. They are in pole position to win the title,” Robinson added. “It’s a massive challenge for Liverpool to go and win at the Etihad. Bernardo Silva knows that and that’s why he said it.”

READ MORE: Klopp may have revealed Liverpool’s next transfer target in pre-Arsenal presser

Nonetheless, no matter how concerned City are about the threat we pose in the title race, the message from the former Mainz boss will not change – ‘one game at a time’ will remain the mantra.

Given that we were missing the likes of Mo Salah, Sadio Mane and Naby Keita for much of the month of January, however, it’s certainly impressive how we’ve managed to keep the pressure on the league leaders since.

If we can continue to take things a step at a time and keep up our superb form since the resumption of domestic football, there’s no question that we’ll be there or thereabouts at the top of the table come the final kick of the season.

#Ep39 of The Red Nets Podcast: Should we be worried about Mo Salah? Previewing Brighton… and more!

The post Pundit disagrees with ‘unfair’ Man City claim after Bernardo Silva fired Liverpool warning appeared first on The Empire of The Kop.

Bernardo Silva took to the cameras after Manchester City’s draw with Crystal Palace and couldn’t help but mention Liverpool.

Speaking with Sky Sports, the Portuguese international was asked about how much of a set back the draw was and he turned his answer onto the Reds.

The 27-year-old said: “We wanted to win, we wanted to have an advantage of six points to Liverpool, with them having one game in hand.

READ MORE: (Video) Gary Neville on “the difference’ between Liverpool and Manchester City that gives the Reds the edge in the title race

“Four points, they play Arsenal – we go and rest to play Southampton in the FA Cup”.

It’s funny how a question about how costly dropped points could be for his team, turns into an answer about Jurgen Klopp’s squad and it’s nice to see how concerned the former Monaco man is about us.

The phrase ‘living rent free inside his head’ comes to mind and let’s hope this level of worry is spreading throughout the Etihad Stadium, whilst our players remain focused on themselves and take it one game at a time.

You can watch Silva’s comments on Liverpool courtesy of Sky Sports (via @footballdaily on Twitter):

"We're going to be there, we're going to fight as usual for the title."

Bernardo Silva comes out fighting in his post-match interview after Man City draw to Crystal Palace pic.twitter.com/QpZKCyQTv1

— Football Daily (@footballdaily) March 14, 2022

#Ep39 of The Red Nets Podcast: Should we be worried about Mo Salah? Previewing Brighton… and more!

The post (Video) Bernardo Silva brings up Liverpool in post-match interview, despite them not being mentioned appeared first on The Empire of The Kop.

Manchester City star Bernardo Silva has jokingly apologised to supporters of Pep Guardiola’s side for selecting players from rival teams as he selected his dream Portuguese Premier League XI.

The former AS Monaco man selected players from Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool – including one of Jurgen Klopp’s main men and the Premier League’s second top goalscorer.

“I’m going to with the right-winger, Nani. Striker, Diogo Jota and then on the left I’m going to go with Cristiano. I have two Chelsea players, two United and one Liverpool, so I’m sorry,” Silva told Manchester City’s YouTube channel (via HITC).

You can’t blame the 27-year-old for selecting our No.20.

Jota has been exceptional ever since he joined the club from Wolves in 2020 and has registered 33 goal contributions in 62 appearances for Jurgen Klopp’s side.

READ MORE: Lijnders shares 10-word verdict on UEFA’s decision to move UCL final amidst Russia-Ukraine conflict

He’s performed better than Cristiano Ronaldo this season, the man that many claim is the best in the world, but Klopp will be sweating on the fitness of the Portugual international ahead of Sunday’s Carabao Cup final at Wembley.

The 25-year-old’s goals in the semi-final against Arsenal ensured the Reds progressed through to the final and with the way he’s been performing this season, the Reds may feel the effect of his absence.

Pep Lijnders confirmed that Bobby Firmino will miss the final, but claimed it will be a ‘challenge’ for Jota to be fit.

He may have to settle for a spot on the bench and we may therefore need him to act as a super sub.

Let’s hope Mo Salah, Sadio Mane and Luis Diaz have enough creativity to help us defeat Thomas Tuchel’s side at the weekend.

#Ep36 of The Red Nets Podcast: Is Thiago the one we can’t do without? The title race… and more!

The post ‘I’m sorry’ – Bernardo Silva apologises to Manchester City fans for naming Liverpool star in his dream Portuguese Premier League XI appeared first on The Empire of The Kop.