Kloop : Can injury not as serious as thought.

An injury to Emre Can threatened to sour Liverpool’s evening following their EFL Cup win at Burton but Jurgen Klopp has allayed fears.

Can came off midway through the second half of Tuesday night’s 5-0 victory after going to ground somewhat innocuously in some discomfort.

The Germany international eventually regained his feet and was helped from the pitch, rather than having to be carried off on a stretcher, but immediately after the game it was too early to know the exact problem or its extent.

Asked about Can, Klopp said: “I have no idea. He had a little pain in his ankle without any touch – I couldn’t see any contact. It was a long leg, then a little bit floppy and then he had pain.

“But it is not that serious. It’s not that big [of a] pain any more, but it’s the ankle he had problems with at the end of last season, so he’s a little bit worried.
“Hopefully it’s nothing too serious.”

Can departed with Liverpool having all but won the tie, leading 3-0 following two quick first-half goals from Divock Origi and Roberto Firmino and a second-half own goal by Reds fan Tom Naylor.

Substitute Daniel Sturridge netted a late double as Klopp’s side blew away the cobwebs of Saturday’s surprise 2-0 defeat to Burnley.

Against the Clarets Liverpool were laboured in their build-up, particularly in the first half, and careless and wasteful in possession and Klopp demanded more cutting edge from his players.

He felt it was a step in the right direction at the Pirelli Stadium, saying: “There were still a few situations where we were missing a bit of sharpness but the main problem was, it was unbelievable, our build up and style of play at Burnley – one more pass but 15 times we are completely free in the box.

“So we needed to use this game and that’s what we did and it was better.”

Origi marked his first start of the season with a goal while Sturridge will also hope to have given Klopp something to think about when making his team selection for the Premier League trip to Tottenham at the weekend.

“Of course in the end we have to make decisions but what I have to do is pick the right players to make the right solutions,” said Klopp.

“The job the players have to do is be in the best shape. It is clear what both sides have to do but they are difficult decisions.”

Burton boss Nigel Clough, a former Liverpool striker, knew the size of the task facing his side side was enormous but his focus was always the Championship clash at home to neighbours Derby on Friday night.

“It’s difficult for our lads to compete with that sort of quality,” said Clough.

“Derby isn’t more important – it’s the only important one. With tonight, we managed to get through in the last round and got a great draw.

“With this being 72 hours before the Derby game, our focus was always with that one.

“It was (invaluable experience). When you think we finished with a couple of teenagers and a 20 or 21-year-old, you could train with them for a couple of seasons and not gain the experience they’ve got tonight.”

Jose Mourinho already pressing his mark at old Trafford.

There have already been sweeping changes at Old Trafford since Jose Mourinho replaced Louis van Gaal as manager of Manchester United. The stats gurus at WhoScored.com take a look at the difference Mourinho has made so far…

Manchester United have only played two Premier League matches this season, but you can already see that Jose Mourinho has succeeded in doing what David Moyes and Louis van Gaal failed to do in the three years before him in restoring the excitement and swagger that has been absent since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013.

“I think anyone can see there are differences in relation to the last two or three years,” Mourinho boldly told reporters after United’s 2-0 win over Southampton on Friday. Mourinho’s bullishness with the press has been synonymous with his entire managerial career and it’s one of the contributing factors that has helped transform the mentality at United over the summer.

While Moyes failed to comprehend the enormity of the job, Van Gaal was simply deluded into thinking fourth place was something that should be celebrated. Mourinho, meanwhile, hasn’t tried to dampen expectations; he’s embraced them.

United have only won away to Bournemouth and at home to Southampton, but those were fixtures that United lost last season. It’s damning on the previous regimes at United that comfortable wins over these two south coast sides have contributed to the growing air of optimism around Old Trafford, but we are already seeing clear signs of improvement.


While Mourinho was never going to completely release the shackles on United’s forwards, the transition between defence and attack has been much better. Only Aston Villa (638 passes per goal) and Swansea (443) averaged more passes per goal than United in the Premier League last season (436), whereas no team is finding the back of the net with fewer passes than Mourinho’s side this time around (194).

Of course, we’re only two games into the new season, but the initial performances are encouraging. United are already averaging nearly twice as many shots on target (6) per game than last season (3.8) despite the fact there has only been a marginal improvement in chances created (8.5 per game) compared to last season (8.2). They are also the most clinical team in front of goal (21.7% conversion rate), accentuating their statistically calculated WhoScored.com strength of ‘finishing scoring chances’.

There hasn’t just been an improvement in attack, either. No team conceded fewer goals in the Premier League last season than United (35) but their defence was rightly earmarked as an area of concern at the start of the summer. Van Gaal’s conservative and uninspiring possession-based football, coupled with an average of 55.9% possession – the second highest in the league last season – explains why they were so effective at shutting teams out, although the same couldn’t be said about their ability to defend set pieces.

Only Swansea (40%) conceded a greater proportion of their goals from dead ball situations than United (36.4%) last season, which would have played a part in Mourinho’s decision to make an imposing centre-back his first signing. A £30m signing from Villarreal, Eric Bailly joined as the only one of Mourinho’s four summer signings that was not one of WhoScored.com’s top rated players in Europe’s big five leagues last season. However, Bailly’s early season performances have been colossal and his physical approach to defending has already seen him draw comparisons to United legend Nemanja Vidic.


At either side of Bailly, the two full-backs – Antonio Valencia and Luke Shaw – have been equally impressive. Sterner tests await, but the sight of both taking advantage of the space further forward vacated by the inside movement of Juan Mata and Anthony Martial has been a hallmark of United’s opening displays. In fact, only Paul Pogba (9) has completed more dribbles than Valencia and Shaw (both 3) for United and their use of the flanks has already become a st

José blocks Phil Jones move.

Man United defender Phil Jones is reportedly not looking to leave Old Trafford, while Jose Mourinho will not allow him to join Arsenal.

The Gunners emerged as a shock target for the 24-year-old, who has also caught the attention of Stoke City after failing to feature in any of Mourinho’s squads so far this season.

Jones has not started for Manchester United since January, but The Guardian believe that Mourinho still sees him as a valuable first-team player and will get his opportunity to stake a claim for a starting spot in the coming weeks.

The England international still has four years left on his £100,000-a-week deal at Old Trafford and Manchester United officials are not ready to give up on the 24-year-old just yet.

The report also states that Jones is not overly concerned by his lack of first-team football at the moment and is willing to fight for his long-term at the club.

Big Sam to meet Pep over Hart future.

Sam Allardyce is ready to stick with Joe Hart for now – but insists it is “critical” that he plays first-team football in the long-term.

Hart, 29, has lost his place as City’s first-choice stopper since the arrival of Pep Guardiola and has been on the bench for their first three games of the season, with Willy Caballero preferred in goal.

Guardiola has told Hart he is free to leave the Etihad Stadium if he desires but Allardyce said on Monday that the former Shrewsbury youngster will definitely be in the first squad he names since being appointed England boss a month ago.

That squad will be announced on Sunday, a week before Allardyce’s Three Lions take on Slovakia in their World Cup qualification opener in Trnava.

While Allardyce is ready to retain the services of Hart for now, the 61-year-old has warned that he must be getting regular football to continue to be selected.

“Eventually, in the end it is critical,” Allardyce said when asked how important it was that Hart was in the Man City side.

“If it’s a short period of time, maybe not. Then they come back in the team and everything goes fine.

“If it goes for a longer period of time then I think it’s difficult then to select them, based on how they feel, never mind from a training point of view. Can they go and play at that level having not played for their own team for a considerable amount of time? So it is a concern.

“At the moment, it’s a difficult decision in the goalkeeping area, there’s no doubt about that. It’s one I could have done without but you have to deal with it.”

Allardyce said he will seek to talk to Guardiola around his decision to drop Hart, for which he cited the goalkeeper’s perceived poor footwork as a reason for opting with Caballero.

“Well I’ll go and speak to them about that, Pep and Joe, sooner or later,” he said.

“If I can get the chance to go and see Pep I’d like to listen to him anyway, never mind just about that. I like the two full-backs coming inside, that’ll be the next generation of ‘who’s going to copy that?’.”

Like his predecessor Roy Hodgson, and as proved by his revelation that Hart will be in his first squad, Allardyce has come to the realisation that some of the players he picks may not be automatic choices with their clubs.

But he did single out Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford, who burst onto the scene last year and was a surprise inclusion in Hodgson’s squad for Euro 2016, as an example of someone who may have to take a step backwards before earning a spot in his England set-up.

Asked if he knew what his starting XI would be in Slovakia, Allardyce said: “No, I know the basis of it but I don’t know the team. I don’t know it all just yet. There’s other people to consider as well as the European squad that went to the Championships.

“There’s other people who have started this season who were not in the Euros squad that we’ve got to consider as well. I’m not going to say specifically say who they are at this moment. They will all come into play for the possible squad selection for the first get together.

“Rashford is not playing now. It makes it harder for me now to select him, as exciting as he was last year and how he burst on the scene.

“At such a young age, do I say ‘go play in the Under-21s. Get used to international football there, play regularly there and it will help you eventually, hopefully break into Manchester United’s team and then break into the England senior team.’ You’ve got all those scenarios to consider.”

Allardyce has also yet to reveal whether Wayne Rooney will retain the captain’s armband in his new set-up, after admitting at his unveiling last month that he was still unsure who his skipper would be.

He is still not ready to announce who England’s new captain will be, saying: ”We will announce the squad then we’ll meet up and the first thing I would probably choose to tell the public and the media would be who is going to be the captain so we can get that one out of the way. The team sel

Kloop hit out on media on transfer talks.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has hit out at the media’s obsession with transfers and is looking forward to the summer window closing.

The German was once again facing the press ahead of the Reds’ EFL Cup clash against Burton and his latest comments come after stating that he would be an ‘idiot’ to make transfers based on one defeat at Burnley.

“I wait for the day when the transfer window is closed,” he said at his pre-match press conference. “I can’t believe how obsessed you all are with this.

“What will happen we will see, I don’t know in this moment, but we do not have a preferred position to sign players.”

Klopp admitted that the players are still hurt from the shock loss at Turf Moor, but will ultimately learn from the experience.

(They learned) different things. It doesn’t feel good and it still doesn’t feel good,” he added. “The first goal was too early. Development never works like you actually want it to, you have to take the knocks sometimes.

Klopp was also asked about whether Divock Origi would play a more prominent role in the side at Burton, but the German is wanting to see improvement from the Belgian international.

Klopp said: “Physically, he can make another step. But on the other side, he has no rhythm in the moment, which you can see.

“Saturday [against Burnley] was clear, we could have played another 20 minutes and not scored. He needs to find that rhythm again.

“He is so skilled, but he needs to use them all in the right moment. He is not a very experienced player, he needs to sort all of his skills. He needs to use the right skill in the right moment.”

Benteke is not lionel messi says teammate.

Damien Delaney has talked down Crystal Palace’s new arrival Christian Benteke by insisting: ‘He’s not Lionel Messi’.

Palace have smashed their club record transfer by spending £27million to bring in Belgium striker Benteke from Liverpool.

Manager Alan Pardew will assess the 25-year-old’s fitness before deciding whether to hand him a debut against Blackpool in the EFL Cup at Selhurst Park on Tuesday night.

Palace’s struggles in front of goal have continued this season as they are yet to find the net, losing both their games 1-0 to West Brom and, on Saturday, Tottenham.

But defender Delaney has warned Benteke will not be the answer to their goalscoring problems unless the rest of the team provides him with chances.

“We’re not signing Messi, he’s a good player but he’s not a player who is going to get the ball and make things happen,” Delaney told the Evening Standard.

“We’ve got to work on the midfield players, wide players, defenders, full-backs and have better service and a better way about us.

“He brings a presence, he’s a handful, but Connor Wickham is as well. It’s time we stop talking about things and go and win games.

“We have to get some ammunition for him, get some crosses in the box, give him supply. You can say we’re not scoring goals, but we’re not creating enough chances and that’s coming back to the midfielders and defenders, it’s up to us to get better service.

“If we were missing a whole host of chances, you just want finishers, but I don’t remember (Tottenham goalkeeper Michel) Vorm really doing anything if I’m honest with you.

“It’s not the centre-forwards’ fault, it’s a team game.”

Pardew could also hand a debut to French goalkeeper Steve Mandanda, who joined from Marseille over the summer, against the League Two Seasiders.

Barbosa to decide future soon.

Santos and Brazil forward Gabriel Barbosa is ready to think about a move to Chelsea or Man United following the conclusion of the Olympics.

The 19-year-old helped Brazil win the Olympic football tournament for the first time in their history and will head back to his league club Santos to hold talks with his representatives.

Barbosa told reporters: “Up until now, I haven’t really had the time to think about anything because my attention was completely on the Olympics.

“Now I will celebrate with my family, then I will return to Santos and think about what I should do.”

Barbosa’s agent has previously dismissed Manchester United’s interest as nothing but “pure speculation”, but Santos president Modesto Roma has also revealed that he has spoken to the Red Devils, as well as two other clubs.

“We had productive conversations,” Roma said.

“We didn’t come to buy or sell players, neither in London or Madrid. We came to build up relationships.

“There weren’t offers, but we did talk about partnerships. I talked to Manchester United, Chelsea and Atletico Madrid.”

Allardyce : i will try to bring Terry back.

New England boss Sam Allardyce has admitted he may talk to former captain John Terry about returning to international football.

The Chelsea defender retired from England duty in 2012 having twice been stripped of the captaincy and was never considered an option by previous manager Roy Hodgson.

But, with 78 caps to his name, Terry – now considered a veteran at 35 – could make an unexpected return if Allardyce opts to offer him an opportunity to do so.

Allardyce said he would want to be fully aware of any lingering politics surrounding Terry’s past, which saw him lose the captaincy first in 2010 following stories over his private life and again in 2012 after allegations he racially abused QPR’s Anton Ferdinand, but the former West Ham and Sunderland boss revealed a conversation may take place in the future.

Asked if Terry was back in the England equation, the Three Lions manager replied: “I don’t know what the political side of that might mean, if there is a political side. I’ll have to have that conversation if I feel that John Terry may be a possibility.

“I think it depends on what John said. Maybe if I get the opportunity, I might have to give him a ring. But until I come to that selection or that process, we’ll wait and see.”
Allardyce, 61, will name his first squad on Sunday ahead of a World Cup qualification opener in Slovakia a week later.

He has yet to name his captain but has confirmed Joe Hart will remain part of his squad for the moment despite the goalkeeper falling behind Willy Caballero in the pecking order at Manchester City under Pep Guardiola.

Another City player fully expected to be involved in recent signing John Stones, with the centre-back having started all three games since joining from Everton earlier in the month.

While Allardyce wants instant results rather than the promise of potential from his squad, he said the 22-year-old has already shown he is good enough for the job.

“See there’s that word then, we don’t want potential do we. I want the thing, and right now,” he said when asked about Stones.

“Potential is something that’s going to be great in the future. I want it right now and I think he’s got a great chance of becoming right now working with Manchester City.

“With all due respect to Everton, working with Manchester City and the level he has to get to because you don’t realise he (Guardiola) does focus quite a lot on defending – not just wining the ball back.

“(Gerard) Pique was a little similar at Man United until he went to Barcelona then he became a good defender as well as a great attribute for Barcelona in possession. So he had both. That’s why he stayed there for so long.”

Leicester and Arsenal settle for draw.

Arsenal and reigning champions Leicester City produced an entertaining encounter but had to settle for a goalless draw at the King Power Stadium.

Both teams remain winless after their opening two Premier League games, with Leicester frustrating the visitors for long spells on Saturday evening.

Theo Walcott threatened, but Foxes goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel was rarely forced into serious action.

It only added to the growing calls for Gunners boss Arsene Wenger – who was urged to spend by the travelling fans – to find a new striker as the visitors never capitalised on their territorial dominance.

For the hosts, Danny Drinkwater had strong penalty claims dismissed as Jamie Vardy, who rejected Arsenal over the summer before signing a new deal with Leicester, and his team-mates fired blanks.

Arsenal, the only visiting team to win in the league at this venue last term, bossed the first half without ever looking like they would score.

Comfortable in possession – with the Foxes clearly missing N’Golo Kante following his move to Chelsea – Arsene Wenger’s team were left trying to thread the ball through Leicester’s massed ranks.

Hector Bellerin and Walcott wriggled free down the left twice in the opening 25 minutes but there was nothing to seriously trouble the hosts and, for all of Arsenal’s delicate play, they again looked to lack punch even as Leicester struggled to impose themselves.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain bent a shot wide from 25 yards before Santi Cazorla almost opened the scoring on 31 minutes when his floated free-kick had to be scooped away by Schmeichel.

The goalkeeper claimed Cazorla’s 25-yard effort soon after but there was little cutting edge to the Gunners.

All of the supposed danger came from outside the area, with Alexis Sanchez often lost in a sea of blue shirts and isolated.

But Vardy and Leicester suddenly woke up three minutes before the break when the striker burst on to Riyad Mahrez’s pass.

Petr Cech smothered at his feet and the ball fell to Drinkwater, who went down under Laurent Koscielny’s challenge but referee Mark Clattenburg was unmoved.

Leicester lost debutant Nampalys Mendy just six minutes into the second half when he fell awkwardly and was replaced by Andy King.

But it was a lively restart from the Foxes and Mahrez fired a free-kick over as they looked to shake off their tepid first half.

Bellerin then tested Schmeichel and Walcott had the ball in the net after 58 minutes but had been ruled offside.

Vardy had endured another quiet half but his chance came with 20 minutes remaining when Marc Albrighton forced an error to send the striker clear.

He raced down the right and cut inside but, under pressure from Koscielny, only managed to shoot wide from the angle.

Walcott, the Gunners’ biggest threat, then fired at Schmeichel and was denied by Wes Morgan with 10 minutes left when he burst through.

Schmeichel was finally tested two minutes later when he saved at the feet of Mesut Ozil, but it was a standard save during a routine match for the Denmark goalkeeper.

It was the start of a frantic finish as Ahmed Musa was denied a penalty when he went down under Bellerin’s challenge and Cech saved Mahrez’s effort after the winger had tricked his way into the box, but there was to be no breakthrough.

Lacazette rule out Arsenal move.

Alexandre Lacazette has appeared to rule the possibility of moving to Arsenal this summer after scoring two more goals for Lyon on Friday.

Lacazette was the subject of a £29m bid from the Gunners in July, one which Lyon promptly rejected.

The striker himself hinted that he was open to offers from elsewhere, while it was revealed earlier this month that an extra £10m on top of Arsenal’s initial offer could secure the Frenchman’s services.

Lacazette has started the season in blistering form, scoring each of Lyon’s five goals in 3-0 and 2-0 Ligue 1 victories, and the 25-year-old says he is happy in France.

“Concerning my personal situation, I do not think there will be a departure from Lyon,” he said after scoring twice against Caen. “Everything is going well here.

“I would like to pass the bar of 100 goals in all competitions. I would like to do that at the Parc Olympique Lyonnais.”