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An inexperienced West Indies top order rose to the occasion to trigger a strong comeback in Mirpur after Bangladesh had enjoyed the better of the drawn first Test in Chittagong

The Report by Siddhartha Talya29-Oct-2011
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Kieran Powell made a fluent half-century•Associated PressAn inexperienced West Indies top order rose to the occasion to trigger a strong comeback in Mirpur after Bangladesh had enjoyed the better of the drawn first Test in Chittagong. On a track that promised plenty of runs and just as much discouragement for the bowlers the trio of Kieran Powell, Kraigg Brathwaite and Kirk Edwards struck half-centuries to lay the foundation for a substantial first-innings score. But the performance was undermined, somewhat, when Bangladesh grabbed three wickets in the final session to give themselves hope of thwarting a West Indian attempt to bat them out of the Test.It didn’t take long for the Bangladesh bowlers to discover that there was no swing, hardly any movement off the pitch and not much turn. It didn’t help that the hosts were also missing Elias Sunny, who grabbed seven wickets on debut in the opening Test on a supportive pitch, due to a stomach upset. The attacking fields quickly grew defensive, spin was introduced as early as the sixth over and opportunities created were largely a result of the batsmen’s own misjudgement. The West Indies approach was cautious for much of the day, largely devoid of risks and reliant on quiet accumulation.A back injury to Lendl Simmons meant a game for Powell, and he, along with Brathwaite, shrugged off some early moments of discomfort to bat out an entire session with assuredness and solidity. Both were just a Test old before this game but capitalised on a flat track to help themselves to individual landmarks that should only boost their future Test prospects. There was little room for error on the part of the seamers early on and the pair was prompt to dispatch any bad balls that came its way. Rubel Hossain and Shahadat Hossain were often guilty of bowling too short, and kept providing periodic openings for the batsmen to break free.Brathwaite was also at ease when the ball was pitched up. He drove Shahadat through the covers and past mid-on, worked the strike by clipping the ball through the leg side and later slashed him through point. He’d been a little vulnerable against Rubel, who persisted with an off-stump line against him and should have had him when he cut one just wide of gully before lunch. He finally had his man, who chased a slightly wide delivery once too often, caught on 50.At the other end, Powell looked more fluent. His shots lack flourish but the stand-out feature of his batting is his timing. His maiden half-century was laced with languid punches and drives through the off side with a minimum of effort and unlike Brathwaite, who was restrained against spin, Powell was more authoritative in his treatment of the slower bowlers. He got going, pulling Shahadat through square leg before driving a meaty full toss, stood tall to crack the ball through the gaps on the off side and reached forward to drive the spinners when they pitched up. He looked good for much more than 72 – after adding 100 with Brathwaite and 55 with Edwards – but was bowled playing inside the line to debutant left-arm spinner Suhrawadi Shuvo.Edwards had been scratchy in Chittagong but was at greater ease against the minimal turn and made a committed effort to use his feet, get to the pitch and play through the line. He collected plenty of runs, driving through mid-on, when the slow bowlers offered flight and even stepped out to clear the in-field on one occasion. Like the others, he was more confident against pace. Rubel was pulled for successive fours, Shahadat clipped through fine leg. Shahadat was taken for runs by Marlon Samuels as well, after Bangladesh fought back post tea.West Indies had been going along well at 180 for 2, Darren Bravo having settled in with a couple of boundaries. But like Powell he too misread a straighter one, and was trapped lbw by offspinner Nasir Hossain who kept the batsmen in check through his round-the-wicket line. Among the spinners, he managed to turn the ball the most and got some extra bite with the second new ball that was enough to induce an edge from Shivnarine Chanderpaul that was feathered to the keeper. Nightwatchman Kemar Roach had no answer to an arm ball from Shakib Al Hasan two overs later, and the two quick wickets just prior to stumps kept a check on a far-improved West Indies batting effort.

Durham skipper Phil Mustard will consider trying to do a deal with Hampshire’s acting captain, Jimmy Adams, on the final day of the rain-ruined County Championship match at Chester-le-Street

12-Aug-2011
Scorecard
Durham skipper Phil Mustard will consider trying to do a deal with Hampshire’s acting captain, Jimmy Adams, on the final day of the rain-ruined County Championship match at Chester-le-Street. After only 30 overs were bowled on the first two days, play began at 1pm and Hampshire moved on from 77 for 3 to 230 for 6 before bad light ended play at 4.58pm.”I think they are quite keen to do something,” said Mustard. “We were tempted to try for full bonus points, which would have put us 17 points clear at the top.”But we don’t have time to get them and our rivals have games in hand, so we would like to go for a win if possible. It’s in our favour that we are batting last and we would try to knock off a target.”Despite a fine innings of 90 by Neil McKenzie and a brisk half-century from Dimitri Mascarenhas, Hampshire’s overall run rate is 2.77 runs an over. The one batting point they have gained still leaves them 49 points adrift of safety and if they are to have any hope at all of avoiding relegation they need to win.Hampshire suffered an early setback today when James Vince retired on 19 after trying to soldier on following a back spasm. Sean Ervine made only 3 before pushing the ball into the covers and failing to beat Mark Stoneman’s direct hit.McKenzie began the day by leg glancing the sixth ball from Callum Thorp for four, taking him to 50. It was the third of his nine boundaries to come from that stroke. Vince drove Graham Onions’ first ball to the cover boundary but after surviving a big lbw appeal when a yorker hit him on the foot he was soon in trouble and needed treatment from the physio.When Chris Rushworth replaced Onions his first ball was greeted by a short-arm pull as McKenzie took two fours off his first over. The South African continued to dominate and had made 90 out of a total of 143 when Rushworth moved one away from a perfect length to have him caught behind.Wicketkeeper Michael Bates then dug in to help Mascarenhas add 72. The former England one-day man drove strongly, hitting nine fours in his 64-ball half-century before edging Mitch Claydon to Mustard. Bates reached 28 off 99 balls and needs three more to equal his best score.

ESPNcricinfo previews the final of CLT20 2011, between Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore

The Preview by Sidharth Monga08-Oct-2011Match factsMumbai Indians v Royal Challengers Bangalore, October 9, Chennai
Start time 2000 (1430 GMT)The kits will be different, but Mumbai Indians will want similar scenes on Sunday•Associated PressBig PictureThe Champions League will have a new champion. It won’t be a team that won its domestic Twenty20 tournament. It will be an IPL team, but not the one that was being fancied at the start. It will either be a team that we thought would do well to win a match or a team that didn’t look like winning anything halfway through the tournament. It is this ability to surprise, and the compact format – the main draw lasts 16 days, features diverse teams, and five-team groups ensure tough contests for semi-final slots – that the Champions League has going for it.It helps that the eventual finalists – Royal Challengers Bangalore, who lost their first two matches, and Mumbai Indians, who lost half their side to injury and struggled to put an XI on the field – have history. Less than six months ago, led by Chris Gayle’s monstrous hitting – not too different from his exploits in Bangalore last night – the Royal Challengers beat MI in the semi-final of the IPL. Lasith Malinga, who has been winning MI games with both bat and ball in the Champions League, was there too, but was used apologetically, at first change, and Gayle worked around his four run-a-ball overs.Six months is a long time in modern cricket. Neither team looks as assured as it did back then; both have gone a step further in this tournament, now fighting for the biggest financial award in current non-international cricket. The Royal Challengers have lost AB de Villiers, Luke Pomersbach and Zaheer Khan, and their bowling unit has lost any semblance of confidence. Yet they have managed to retain the winning formula – three big hitters – through Gayle, Virat Kolhi and Tillakaratne Dilshan.MI have lost most of what worked for them in the IPL. They are hardly the same side, losing almost all their match-winners, apart from Malinga. He has now won them all their matches, amid malfunctioning batsmen, support bowlers, floundering fielders and keeper. This time, MI are left with no choice but to use Malinga at the top. It is just as well because incredible as the Royal Challengers top three have been, they have hardly faced a decent yorker in chasing back-to-back 200-plus scores.If the teams have changed in the last six months so has the Chennai pitch. Relaid, it has often been slow and two-paced. The Royal Challengers haven’t played a game here while MI have registered two of their wins at the venue of the final. This unfamiliarity with the conditions should offset the edge given to Royal Challengers through cricket’s inherent bias: Malinga can bowl but four overs.Watch out for …Malinga v Gayle, Dilshan and Kohli. MI will have to win this particular contest comprehensively if they have to win the Champions League. Royal Challengers will happily take four overs for 24 runs and no wickets. Malinga will have to make it more dramatic.The captains, the two most successful Test bowlers among active practitioners, two men who have of late found more success in limited-overs cricket than Tests. Will they continue to be restricting men or will they attack? As captains they have made glaring errors in this tournament, but both are coming off inspirational and eventually decisive moves in the semi-finals. Daniel Vettori opened the bowling with Dilshan, who went for 10 runs in his four overs on a 10-an-over night. Harbhajan Singh surprised all by tossing the ball to James Franklin in the crucial 19th over of his semi-final: seven runs and two wickets later he stood vindicated.Team newsMI have a non-functioning wicketkeeper and a near non-functioning middle order, but they have neither time nor replacements. They should go with the same XI that beat Somerset on Saturday.The Royal Challengers face a familiar dilemma. S Aravind has now gone for 124 runs in his last eight overs. Although the Chennai pitch will be kinder to him, will the Royal Challengers invest more trust in the man who must be low on confidence by now? They also need to figure out if their policy of stacking the side up with batsmen will work in Chennai. However, if needed, they can always count on Dilshan and Gayle to bowl at least one bowler’s quota if not more.Stats and triviaAt 252 runs, Gayle is 76 behind the leading run-getter of the tournament, David Warner. Gayle, though, has hit 24 sixes to Warner’s 20. During the course of this tournament Gayle has taken his overall T20 six count to 155, behind only David Hussey and Ross Taylor.MI lead the Royal Challengers 6-4 on the head-to-head.Malinga has made a late surge on the wickets tally, but he is still behind the leading man, Ravi Rampaul, who ended his tournament with 12.With five dismissals, Arun Karthik is the joint-leader among keepers with most scalps. Among non-keepers, Owais Shah and Arul Suppiah have finished the tournament with six catches each. With three catches to his name, Kohli comes closest among the fielders still alive in the tournamentQuotes”There are a lot of disappointed bowlers in the room. We have to make sure we’re better than that on the Chennai wicket. It’s probably going to be a little easier for the bowlers, but we’ve got to be better, we’ve got to support the batsmen.”
“Hopefully Malinga will get Gayle first ball. If he does, that will be great.”

Wasim Akram, the former Pakistan fast bowler, has questioned the PCB’s decision to appoint 36-year-old Misbah-ul-as Haq as the limited-overs captain

ESPNcricinfo staff21-May-2011Wasim Akram, the former Pakistan captain, has questioned the PCB’s decision to appoint 36-year-old Misbah-ul-as Haq as the limited-overs captain in place of Shahid Afridi, saying the move is “at best a stop-gap arrangement.””The present Test skipper Misbah-ul-Haq is on the wrong side of 30 and I don’t see him leading the side beyond six to eight months”, Akram told on Friday. Earlier this week the PCB decided to hand Misbah the reins for the two ODIs against Ireland at the end of the month, but chose not to offer a reason for the move. It is likely, however, that the decision came after the board decided they had had enough with Afridi’s penchant for awkward public statements. The latest situation arose when Afridi returned from the Caribbean and hinted at unhappiness with coach Waqar Younis over matters of selection.Out of 34 ODIs, Afridi had won 18 and lost 15; a stretch which included tough series against England and South Africa, and took Pakistan to the semi-finals of the 2011 World Cup, and Akram believes those results mean it was wrong to sack Afridi over such “trivial matters”.”Arguments between captains and coaches are not new in Pakistan cricket,” Akram said. “Afridi was hailed as a national hero after the World Cup, and came back from the West Indies after winning the ODI series only to find out he has been sacked. What is the PCB up to?”It is a wrong step taken by PCB, and only [chairman] Ijaz Butt is to be blamed for this. In Pakistan, the coach wants all the power and when it doesn’t happen, the fight begins.”Akram was not the only one critical of the board’s decision. Abdul Qadir, former Pakistan legspinner, felt the board should not have been so quick to change captains. “Afridi should also be careful in giving media statements,” he told . “But the fact is changing the captaincy is a cricketing decision and this one is not a sagacious one. Dropping Afridi as captain and retaining him in the side to play under Misbah appears a bad move,” he said.And former chief selector Salahuddin Ahmed said the PCB was to blame and called for the government to intervene. “Players are the ones who bring in money for the board and attract people to the sport. Afridi didn’t commit a crime if he spoke about problems he was facing as captain. Instead of listening to him the board sacked him as captain this is unjust and unfair and the government should take notice of this.”

Johan Botha’s best Twenty20 bowling figures helped Northamptonshire to a 40-run win which ended Warwickshire’s unbeaten start

05-Jun-2011
ScorecardJohan Botha’s best Twenty20 bowling figures helped Northamptonshire to a 40-run win which ended Warwickshire’s unbeaten start to their Friends Life t20 campaign at Edgbaston. The South Africa off-spinner took 4 for 16, including two wickets in his first over, as Warwickshire were dismissed for 110, their lowest Twenty20 total.Botha found a slow pitch, on which Warwickshire’s New Zealand off-spinner Jeetan Patel had taken three for 19, to his liking and he stifled Warwickshire’s chase as they tried to keep up with the Duckworth Lewis rate as steady rain threatened to curtail their innings.Botha may have taken the individual honours but the fact that Northamptonshire reached 150 for 8 and had a total to defend in the first place was due to Jack Brooks and David Willey, who shared a Twenty20 world record-equalling ninth-wicket stand of 59.Northamptonshire were in danger of being dismissed for under 100 when they limped to 91 for 8, but Brooks and Willey rode their luck to equal the record stand of Lancashire’s Glen Chapple and Peter Martin at Leicester in 2003.Brooks, who had made only seven runs in the competition before this innings, struck out boldly and lifted Neil Carter for a straight six in his breezy unbeaten 33 from just 19 balls.Left-hander Willey also lifted Carter for six over long on in making 22 from 15 balls which helped Northamptonshire recover after they had struggled against Patel and seamer Steffan Piolet, whose three for 25 constituted competition-best figures. Piolet took two wickets in his first four balls including Alex Wakely, who was lbw working to leg after he had clobbered six fours in his 35.Warwickshire’s response was timid and they ran into trouble against Botha after Carter was run out trying to take two to Chaminda Vaas at short third man. William Porterfield, who made half centuries in the wins over Durham and Yorkshire, carved to point and Warwickshire captain Jim Troughton went lbw in Botha’s first over.Botha then snared Darren Maddy and Varun Chopra playing across the line and Hall ended a mini-revival by bowling Keith Barker and Tim Ambrose, whose seventh-wicket partnership of 23 was the best of the innings, in the space of four balls.

It was only a run-a-ball 27, but for Paul Collingwood it felt like riches and he hopes the innings at Adelaide will kick-start his search for career-saving form

Andrew McGlashan in Brisbane 27-Jan-2011It was only a run-a-ball 27, but for Paul Collingwood it felt like riches and he hopes the innings at Adelaide will kick-start his search for career-saving form. He has had an awful tour of Australia with the bat, making 83 runs in the Ashes before retiring from Test cricket, and lost his one-day place at the beginning of this series until Kevin Pietersen’s groin strain gave him an early return.When he came back into the line-up at Sydney he was bowled second ball by Xavier Doherty from a delivery that hardly spun, which confirmed the seriousness of his problems. It was his bowling that kept him in the team for the next match and he batted at No.7, but he at least managed to feel the ball on the bat during a vital 56-run stand with Michael Yardy.The fact England took the batting Powerplay also meant Collingwood had no choice but to try and free himself up rather than dwell on his troubles. “It was a nice situation for me to come in, I had to be positive,” he said. “It was just good to get past 20. I hadn’t done it for a while. It was a good feeling and obviously contributing with the ball later on. I was happy with my game.”I’m the first to admit that I haven’t been in great form and that’s my role in the side,” he added. “I’m trying everything possible to get back into good nick. I know from past experience that getting back into a good run of form can be pretty immediate. Maybe after an innings like yesterday when I hit a couple out of the middle of the bat it might just click. I’m really confident it is just around the corner.”There was one moment that reminded people of what Collingwood is capable of when he swung Brett Lee over midwicket for six. The strong bottom hand came in, as it has so often during his career, and Collingwood believes even just one shot can make a huge difference.”Things like that can click you back into form,” he said. “The mental side of the game is huge. David Boon, when he was at Durham back in 1998, he came out with a quote that international cricket is 90% mental and 10% technique and at the time I didn’t understand what he meant by it.”But the more I’ve played international cricket the more I understand that statement. Confidence is a huge factor, all the things that you take into your batting is very mental. Hopefully there will be less tension going out into the middle next time around and more confidence and that can do me the world of good.”Collingwood’s bowling, the main reason he was picked at Adelaide, was also vital to England’s 21-run victory as he bowled seven overs for 22 and claimed the wicket of Michael Clarke, who is struggling almost as badly as Collingwood. However, he doesn’t want his mixture of medium-pace and cutters to define the closing stages of his international career and is desperate to move himself back up the order to where he has scored most of his 5006 runs.”Hopefully I can get back into better form and gradually get back up the order. That would be the ideal team,” he said. “But whatever way you can contribute to England winning you go out there and do it. I guess I was just happy to be in the side, the way that the form has been going with that bat. I feel as though I can do a fifth bowler role, I have done in the past. I’m just happy to be in the side and contributing well.”

Zimbabwe batsman Tino Mawoyo insists he is ready for the challenge of the World Cup after receiving a surprise call-up to replace Sean Ervine

Liam Brickhill28-Jan-2011Zimbabwe batsman Tino Mawoyo insists he is ready for the challenge of the World Cup after receiving a surprise call-up to replace Sean Ervine, who pulled out of the squad for the tournament due to personal reasons.”I was both excited and a bit surprised when I got the news,” said Mawoyo. “I was disappointed to have been left out at first just like all the players that have not been included, but despite having been left out I have been working hard all along so I think I will be as ready as the other guys when the World Cup starts.”Mawoyo, an opening batsman who played two one-day internationals against Bangladesh in 2006, has been one of the more consistent batsmen on the domestic limited-overs scene over the past two seasons. He furthered his claims for national selection with some impressive innings in the unofficial Test series against New Zealand in October last year, and his entry to the World Cup squad will also give the team more options at the top of the innings.”There is a slight change in the dynamics of the side as we lost a batsman we could have got some seam from,” explained national coach Alan Butcher. “On the other hand now we have a batsman who is used to opening the batting. I was comfortable with the options we had in that regard but now we have somebody who is used to taking the new ball at the top order and whose natural inclination is to play shots.””Tino has done well to improve on his fitness, as asked to, and he has had some rewards for his hard work,” added Butcher. “He has shed some weight and we can push that along for the next few weeks. Let’s hope that he takes to our regime for people to become fit and strong and at the same time compete in that way against other teams. We’ll get a good idea about how his attitude and mind work by the end of the tournament.”Mawoyo was in ebullient mood after being asked to join the squad and suggested that if Zimbabwe play to their strengths they could upset some of the bigger teams at the tournament. “We have always shown we are a good team,” he said. “We can get positive results against some of the big guns in our group if we apply ourselves fully. Everybody is excited and raring to go so I have a feeling it will be a successful outing for us.”Mawoyo’s words will have pleased Butcher, who expressed his hope that the Zimbabweans would approach the World Cup with a spirit of fun and adventure. “Pressure and opportunity are different sides of the same coin and I hope our people will look at it as an opportunity and an adventure rather than being under pressure,” he said.”There are other teams in the world cup that will be under more pressure than Zimbabwe and that is purely because their expectations will be greater. We have our own expectations but the more we can look at it as an opportunity to showcase individual and collective talent, rather than something that should stop us from performing, the better.”National team assistant coach Steven Mangongo added that he expected Mawoyo, who he suggested had been unlucky to miss out on selection in the past, to make the most of this opportunity. “It’s a big opportunity for him to finally get his international career going,” said Mangongo. “I always thought he was one player that had been left out who deserved to be in the squad. He is one of the few specialist openers that we have and we hope he takes this opportunity with both hands and does the job.”

Manchester City are back in Premier League action this evening after their exhilarating 4-3 victory over Real Madrid in the Champions League.

This time, Pep Guardiola’s side travel to Elland Road to take on Jesse Marsch’s Leeds United, with the visitors looking to add as many points as they can to their tally and potentially retain the league title.

The previous meeting between the two teams saw City put seven goals past the Yorkshire club back in December, when the Whites still had Marcelo Bielsa at the helm.

Heading into today’s clash, it seems as though the away side will have to take on Leeds without two of their key players.

What’s the news?

Speaking in his latest press conference, Guardiola revealed that Kyle Walker and John Stones will not be fit enough to play against the Yorkshire club.

Walker picked up an issue during the second leg of City’s Champions League clash against Atletico Madrid last month, whereas Stones was forced off in the first half against Carlo Ancelotti’s Real Madrid in midweek.

At such a crucial stage of the season where every point matters and the games are coming thick and fast, having two defensive options unavailable is undeniably a big blow for the team and terrible news for Guardiola.

Throughout the current league campaign, the duo have racked up a combined total of 38 interceptions, 20 tackles, 234 recoveries and 69 aerial duels won.

This highlights just how important the England pair are for City at the back and why they will be a big loss for today.

Leeds are currently unbeaten in their last five league games, scoring nine goals in the process, so it could be a tricky day for the visitors, especially given that they will be without Stones and Walker.

Moving forward, Guardiola and every City fan will be hoping that the other defensive options who will be fit enough to play this evening will do their bit in helping the Premier League champions to emerge victorious from Elland Road.

Looking beyond today’s showdown, the City manager will surely have his fingers crossed that the injured defensive pair will be able to feature at some point before the season ends and potentially secure the Premier League and/or Champions League titles.

In other news: In talks: Behind-scenes development emerges, it’s great news for Man City supporters

Alex Neil has given a post-match update on injury issues on two defenders in the team and it’s bad news for Sunderland.

What’s the latest?

The Black Cats boss confirmed that Dennis Cirkin will be out for the last two games and gave an update (via Northern Echo) on Carl Winchester who was forced off the pitch against Cambridge early into the first half of the game.

“It’s an injury issue with Dennis. In terms of his return, providing we extend the season (get into the playoffs), then I’d be very hopeful that Dennis would play a part.”

“Winny has hurt his groin, but the extent of it, I can’t tell you at the moment,”

“If Dennis and Winny are going to be missing now, there may well be an opportunity for Callum to play.”

Bad news for Sunderland

Losing two key players at such a crucial stage of the season will certainly be bad news for Sunderland supporters and the team ahead of their final push for a playoff spot for a chance at promotion to the Championship in the last two games.

The Mackems are currently fourth in the League One table following their win over Cambridge United, however, the top six is so tight that there is only a point difference in Sunderland’s current position and the seventh spot currently occupied by Sheffield Wednesday, who like Alex Neil’s side have an extra game to play compared to the rest of the top six.

Winchester has only missed four games over the entire season and has been heavily relied upon by his new manager since his arrival in February playing every single game in the eleven-game unbeaten run Sunderland are enjoying right now. Thus, his loss will definitely be felt in the team if he won’t be available to play in the remaining games.

Cirkin has just missed eight games this season due to groin surgery earlier in the campaign but has again been heavily involved in the success since Alex Neil’s arrival, playing the full 90 minutes in every single game the Scotsman has managed so far. That has seemingly taken its toll in the final throws of the season as he is likely to be completely ruled out for the rest of the term.

With that being said, losing two crucial players in the backline will surely be a devastating blow for the side but Neil will be hoping that Sunderland have enough to take them over the line to secure a playoff spot over the final games.

Liverpool have been boosted by the news that Villarreal key player Gerard Moreno could miss both Champions League semi-final clashes with the Reds.

The Lowdown: Liverpool one step from Paris

Jurgen Klopp’s men overcame Benfica in the quarter-finals, following an exciting 6-4 win on aggregate, booking their place in the semis in the process.

It is Villarreal who Liverpool are up against next, following their surprise win over Bayern Munich, with a place in the final in Paris now within touching distance.

With the first leg at Anfield arriving on April 27th, a key injury update has emerged from Spain.

The Latest: Moreno could miss out

Taking to Twitter on Monday, journalist David Lynch shared confirmation that Moreno has picked up a hamstring problem that could rule him out of both legs of the tie:

“Villarreal confirm striker Gerard Moreno has suffered a hamstring strain. No timescale but that doesn’t bode well for his chances of facing Liverpool.”

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/latest-liverpool-transfer-news-29/” title=”Latest Liverpool transfer news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

The Verdict: Undoubted boost for Reds

Moreno has arguably become one of Villarreal’s most important attacking players, so the idea of him missing both legs is undoubtedly a positive for Liverpool.

He has scored nine goals in 14 La Liga starts this season, as well as picking up the all-important assist for Samuel Chukwueze’s goal away to Bayern earlier this month.

It is worth stressing that Moreno hasn’t officially been ruled out yet but the current news suggests Liverpool’s hopes of reaching the Champions League final have been boosted.

In other news, one Liverpool player has been backed to leave this summer. Find out who it is here.