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The much anticipated coronation party on Merseyside didn’t quite pan out as expected at the weekend.

In the managerial encounter between the former allies, it was the master that resoundingly triumphed over the apprentice. Jose Mourinho played the role of pantomime villain perfectly as his “shadow” Chelsea side dented Brendan Rodgers’ hopes of delivering Liverpool’s first league title since 1990.

But it was also a defeat which perfectly illustrated the gap between Liverpool and their title rivals. While Chelsea and Manchester City have an embarrassment of riches at their disposal, Rodgers is betrayed by a lack of genuine quality beyond his first XI. With the demands placed upon the elite clubs, modern football is very much a squad game. And unfortunately for Liverpool, they learnt that lesson the hard way against Mourinho’s much-changed side.

With the millions invested at Stamford Bridge by Roman Abramovich over the years, it is difficult to truly label any XI which the “Special One” can select as a “shadow” side. Tomas Kalas was handed a Premier League debut but the Blues were still able to call upon the experience of the likes of Ashley Cole, Frank Lampard and Jon Obi Mikel.

But true to Mourinho’s word, it was a much-changed team. For one reason or another, it was an XI deprived of a number of key individuals. Petr Cech, Samuel Eto’o, Eden Hazard and John Terry were all ruled out through injury. Ramires was suspended whilst Gary Cahill, David Luiz, Oscar and Willian were all rested or dropped to the bench ahead of the visit of Atletico on Wednesday.

It was a team selection which ultimately still secured the victory whilst still managing to prioritise the Champions League.

In contrast, Rodgers named an unchanged eleven from the side that secured a 3-2 victory at Carrow Road to record their eleventh consecutive Premier League victory. In the absence of any European commitments, Liverpool have benefited enormously from a relaxed schedule in their domestic pursuits.

Aside from the suspended Jordan Henderson and Daniel Sturridge, Rodgers arguably selected his strongest team. Due to the conditions of his loan agreement, Victor Moses was ineligible but having failed to impress in his stint at Anfield so far, the Nigerian would likely have only occupied a spot on the substitutes bench.

For all of Liverpool’s possession and territorial advantage, the Premier League’s top scoring side failed to fashion any clear chances of note over the entire ninety minutes.  Trailing 1-0 and failing to break down the resolute Chelsea defence, Rodgers turned to Sturridge as his only substitute that realistically could have changed the game. When that didn’t work, Liverpool’s hopes were then unfortunately pinned upon Iago Aspas. Inevitably, the flop from Celta Vigo failed to make an impact.

When Plan A failed, Rodgers looked to his bench and realised that he didn’t have a Plan B. Given time to adapt, maybe Aspas and fellow summer recruit Luis Alberto will prove to have something to offer at Anfield in the future. But as it stands, Liverpool don’t possess the same quality within their squad as their title rivals and it is perhaps surprising that this wasn’t exposed until the last weekend of April.

In contast, Mourinho was able to call upon a £50 million replacement for Demba Ba in the shape of Fernando Torres. £32 million summer signing Willian provided fresh legs when the Brazilian replaced Mohamed Salah just past the hour. The crucial goal in the contest was scored by arguably the club’s third choice striker, with Ba finding his opportunities limited under the “Special One.”

How Rodgers must envy the depth of talent his managerial adversary had to call upon.

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It is a defeat which cruelly stripped Liverpool’s destiny from out of their own hands. Twists and turns in the remainder of the title race are still to be expected. But Liverpool need to learn the lessons from this demoralising defeat regardless of the season’s outcome.

With Champions League football beckoning and future title challenges now expected, the club’s owners need to back Rodgers in the transfer market this summer. Liverpool possess a starting eleven capable of mixing it with the country’s finest but without a capable squad, the Anfield outfit will struggle to continually compete with their rivals.

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If ever there was a good barometer for a player’s general respect in this league, perhaps you need to look no further than the fall out from Clint Dempsey’s summer transfer from Fulham to Tottenham Hotspur.

While the American had been linked with a move away from Craven Cottage this past summer, neither Dempsey, his new manager Andre Villas-Boas nor the associated media, appeared to give away any inkling that a move to White Hart Lane was ever in the offing. His subsequent deadline day move to N17 felt something of a marriage of convenience, rather than a victorious end to a hard fought transfer chase.

But with 17 league goals to his name last season, an imperious work rate and an ability to perform consistently in a number of positions, fans received Dempsey’s signature with a warmth that belied his somewhat muted arrival. And from what we’ve seen so far, the American has done exactly what he says on the tin.

Since making his debut for the Lilywhites in the 3-1 win away to Reading, Dempsey, has hustled, harried and even buried the winner for Spurs’ first win at Manchester United in 23 years. But although he’s performed adequately enough since his arrival, is he really a player that fits the needs of this Tottenham Hotspur team?

Because as efficient and as effective as Dempsey may be, it still feels difficult to see where he really fits in within the confines of how Andre Villas-Boas wishes to play. The reality, as harsh as it may seem, was that Dempsey was brought in, as something of a back up to a multitude of other deals that Tottenham didn’t manage to complete on time. The lack of touted speculation and the deadline day timing of the deal, are no coincidence.

And it shows, too. You can’t shake the feeling that Dempsey was brought in the hope that he’d click into the AVB jigsaw, rather than looking at the necessary facts. Because if you were going to construct a shortlist at the beginning of the window of players that would effectively play in the Portuguese’s 4-2-3-1 set-up, the chances are that Dempsey probably wouldn’t be making it very high up. Yet nonetheless, now he’s here, Villas-Boas is making a very good go at trying to eek out the best from him.

The problem with a player like Dempsey, is that it seems extremely cynical to critique a player who hasn’t been playing all that badly. Of course, the American turned in arguably his worst performance since his time at White Hart Lane in the 4-2 defeat to Chelsea. But then again, that statement rings true for a vast majority of his Spurs teammates as well.

Indeed, judging him after five games is hardly offering a fair representation within a team that is still by virtue, still in transition, although watching Dempsey certainly offers some interesting evaluations. He’s been predominantly deployed in the central position of Villas-Boas’ attacking three, behind the lone front man, which has so far been Jermain Defoe. And he’s not done too badly at all.

Keen to join in the build up play with a few neat, if not frenetic touches, Dempsey’s looked an intelligent player since arriving in N17. His solitary goal in a Tottenham shirt may well be the easiest he puts away all season, but he showed a decent bit of nous to carry on his run and take the gamble when Bale took his shot for the third goal at Old Trafford. You don’t get 17 Premier League goals in one ter without a degree of footballing intellect.

Although it feels significant that what was arguably Dempsey’s best personal showing in a Spurs shirt so far, came in the 2-1 win over Queens Park Rangers last month. After a lackadaisical first 45 against Mark Hughes’s side, Andre Villas-Boas switched his side to a 4-4-2, with Dempsey supporting Jermain Defoe and the difference in quality was palpable. Dempsey looked dangerous, offering a genuine goal threat and wielding what felt like far more of an influence than what we’ve seen in his other outings so far.

The distinct problem is of course, that Andre Villas-Boas doesn’t set his team out in a way designed to suit Dempsey. Spurs’ new number two might have scored a lot of goals for Fulham last season, but it’s worth noting that Martin Jol focused his side’s play around him. The American is by no means a poor choice in the central role of Villas-Boas’ attacking unit, but he his game isn’t hugely suited to playing that role, either.

An intelligent player he may be, but he’s not someone who you can perhaps look to directing the play through as an attacking focal point. Again, short, sharp touches, clever late runs into the box and neat attacking bursts are Dempsey’s game. Play to these strengths and you can milk goals out of him. But looking to Dempsey to create the link between the frontman and the rest of the side is asking a lot and although he’s performing the job admirably, it doesn’t feel organic. At home especially, this certainly isn’t helping to the side’s sometimes-labored efforts going forward.

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Playing in that role with Defoe in front of you can’t be particularly easy and despite his goal scoring prowess, the more esteemed all round play of Emmanuel Adebayor, could offer a better foil for Dempsey. He has time on his side to grow into his new position.

Clint Dempsey is a proven commodity in the Premier League and his versatility and reliability, are real assets to Andre Villas-Boas; he gives the Portuguese a number of options and an element of variety in the final third.

But for however admirable his merits are and for however effective he may prove to be, you can’t shake the feeling that he’s a component of compromise, as opposed to one of change.

How do you feel about Clint Dempsey’s place in this Tottenham side? The right man for the position or an awkward piece in the jigsaw? Let me know what you think on Twitter: follow @samuel_antrobus to talk all things Tottenham. 

Portsmouth revealed on Friday that they had completed the signing of versatile midfielder Tom Naylor on a three-year contract.Naylor is still contracted to Burton Albion, but his deal with the recently relegated club will expire at the end of June – when he will officially join Portsmouth.Naylor made the move to Burton in 2015 following three years with Derby County, and scored four times in 37 appearances for the Brewers during the 2017-18 campaign.Just 26 years of age, it is a real coup for a Portsmouth side that finished eighth in the League One table last season.[brid autoplay=”true” video=”252976″ player=”12034″ title=”Watch 21 things that will definitely happen at the World Cup”]Head coach Kenny Jackett revealed his delight when speaking about the new arrival on Portsmouth’s official website.And now the club’s supporters have had their say on the summer acquisition.Securing the services of a player who more than held his own in the Championship last season has gone down well with the Portsmouth fans on social media.A selection of the Twitter reaction to the announcement can be seen below:

Liverpool suffered a disappointing 3-2 defeat against West Bromwich Albion in the third round of the FA Cup at Anfield on Saturday, and Reds fans have urged their club to sign Leicester City attacker Riyad Mahrez before the January transfer window slams shut on Wednesday.

The loss against the Baggies was their second in the space of five days after they were beaten 1-0 by Premier League bottom side Swansea City at the Liberty Stadium on Monday night, and it remains to be seen whether manager Jurgen Klopp could yet dip into the transfer market in the remaining days of the window.

The Merseyside outfit are yet to replace Philippe Coutinho following his move to Barcelona, and it seems as though the Anfield faithful believe that Mahrez, who has scored eight goals and provided a further eight assists in 24 top flight appearances this season, could be the player to fill the void.

Liverpool supporters were quick to have their say on the Algerian winger via social media, and while one said “just sign Mahrez and save us from all these nightmares”, another said “sign him before it’s too late”.

Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…

Liverpool centre-back Martin Skrtel says that he thought about leaving Anfield over the summer, but that he’s “so happy” he chose not to.

The Slovakian international has been a key member of the Reds’ backline this season, however he was expected to move on last year after falling down the pecking order during 2012/13 season under Brendan Rodgers.

The 29-year-old was deemed unable to cope with the Northern Irishman’s playing style, and lost his starting berth to veteran defender Jamie Carragher – who retired ahead of the current campaign.

There were no shortage of potential takers for the Eastern European ace, with Napoli and Zenit Saint-Petersburg believed to have been particularly keen.

However Skrtel elected to stay, and has since been praised by Rodgers for his work rate and determination.

The tough-tackling centre-back revealed to the Liverpool Echo that he thought about an exit, but that he feels he made the right decision to stay put.

“I would be lying if I said I didn’t think about leaving,” Skrtel said.

“It wasn’t easy for me after last season. I was on the bench in the second part of the season and that was something new for me.

“But it is not easy to leave a club like Liverpool because they are still one of the best clubs in the world. After six years here it was not easy to say ‘okay, I’m leaving’.

“Before this season started I just said to myself ‘I will fight and work very hard to try to show people I am able to play and start the games’.

“I tried to work very hard in training every day and when I got a chance to play I tried to do my best to help the team.

“After games like Saturday’s I am just so glad and so happy that I stayed.

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“Liverpool are a massive club and I just wanted to prove to people I am able to play for this club.”

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England captain Steven Gerrard has stated that his side’s point against Poland on Wednesday could be key come the end of the campaign.

The Three Lions’ fixture with the eastern Europeans was postponed from Tuesday night, and Wayne Rooney’s effort put the visitors into the lead.

Despite the disappointment of Poland getting an equaliser, Gerrard feels that a point is not a bad result but that the side’s performance could have been better.

“If you look at this point, hopefully when it comes to the end of the group, I think it will be an important point,” he told Sky Sports.

“I don’t think we played to our level today. It turned out to be tough but I think we’ve got ourselves to blame for that.

“I thought we’d done ok up until the goal; we’d gotten the lead, we’d done the hard stuff, quietened this hostile crowd.

“But then we never built on that. I thought we stopped passing the ball, we gave the ball away too much and we never build on that lead, so that’s the disappointing thing,” he concluded.

Meanwhile, Wayne Rooney feels that the point will go far to ensuring that Roy Hodgson’s men will qualify for the 2014 World Cup.

“It was a hard-fought point. It was a difficult game, a difficult pitch. We weren’t at our best but we dug in and got a draw.

“We know we can play better but this is a difficult place to come. It is a decent point.

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“We knew it was a tough group, but we’re confident. We believe in ourselves and we believe we are the best team in the group, so we are confident of qualifying.

“Do England have to improve to qualify? Yes, of course. We know we can play a lot better than tonight but at least we got the point, so we can take that home,” he explained.

By Gareth McKnight

As reported by The Daily Mail, Arsenal are on the verge of signing Stephan Lichtsteiner on a free transfer after the expiry of his contract from Juventus.

What’s the story?

The 34-year-old has been locked in discussions with the Gunners since last week, according to the paper, with a one-year deal in place to make the move to London.

Now he could become the first signing of the Unai Emery era at the Emirates Stadium.

The Mail say that Arsenal have beaten Borussia Dortmund to his signature, with the player set to act as cover for Hector Bellerin.

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Will he be good signing?

On a free transfer, signing Lichtsteiner has zero risk and he ticks plenty of boxes that could make him an effective signing on a short-term basis.

A 98-cap international with Switzerland, the veteran has vast experience at the top level, not just with Juventus but the likes of Lazio and French side Lille too. He has over 550 professional appearances to his name. That kind of pedigree can prove priceless in a team that is expected to win every week and win trophies.

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It may not be the glamorous star signing that Arsenal fans expect, but he’s a born competitor and will add an edge to Arsenal’s lightweight defence when he plays, providing much needed competition and depth to the right flank, where Bellerin was arguably coasting last season.

This is a solid move in all respects.

Football fans can be fickle when it comes to their players, but for Manchester United supporters there is one man who can do not wrong – David de Gea.

The goalkeeper has established himself as one of the world’s best during his six-year stay at Old Trafford.

In 2015, the North-West outfit almost lost their key shot-stopper when Real Madrid came calling.

De Gea, who was born in Spain’s capital, had pretty much signed on the dotted line when a faxing error forced the transfer to collapse.

Relevant paperwork was not filed before the deadline, meaning that the former Atletico Madrid star missed out on his desired move.

What followed was a U-turn as De Gea ended up signing fresh terms at United and has been the team’s number one ever since.

Rumours about a possible move to the Bernabeu regularly crop up, but so far the goalkeeper has resisted the urge to move.

United’s social media team posted an interview with De Gea, and added that the shot-stopper “has revealed his top priority for 2018…”

Many fans guessed what that priority could be, or rather tweeted what they hoped!

One of the stories of this season’s Premier League campaign is the emergence of Daniel Sturridge as a world class forward. Sturridge has revelled under Brendan Rodgers, forming a formidable partnership with Luis Suarez. Having failed to impress for the most during spells with Man City and Chelsea, many felt Rodgers took a gamble on Sturridge, but the Englishman’s goal tally suggests otherwise.

Sturridge joined City as a youth player and climbed through the ranks to establish himself as a first team player in 2006. While always dangerous from the flanks with his pace and power, Sturridge was erratic in front of goal and only managed 5 in 21 appearances for City. After the club maid big money signings, Sturridge found himself frozen out of the team for some spells and signed for Chelsea in 2009 when his contract with City had expired. At Chelsea, his goal scoring form was equally as modest, striking 13 goals in 63 appearances. He was deployed mainly on the wings as part of a three pronged attack alongside Didier Drogba and Salomon Kalou. Having again failed to impress, Sturridge was sent to Bolton on loan in the middle of the 2011 season. There he impressed tremendously, scoring 8 times in 12 matches and helping the struggling club to escape relegation. Sturridge was mainly deployed up front on his own, with the player himself stating that was his preferred position. He asserted that he wished to return to Chelsea and become the club’s number one forward, but it was not to be as he was sold to Liverpool that summer.

Much of Sturridge’s new found success is in fact due to his position. Sturridge now revels in his centre forward role, and thrives off his partnership with Suarez. He looks to combine and interchange positions, which is limited while playing on the wing. Through the middle, Sturridge can use his pace to run in behind teams and exploit the gaps, picking up the ball in key areas and drawing in defences. This has been evident for Liverpool, with the forward exploring his most prolific season yet. Sturridge became Liverpool’s only player in the Premier League era to have scored a goal in 7 consecutive games after netting against Fulham at Craven Cottage in the week. City and Chelsea will be aggrieved by Sturridge’s turn around, as he is one of the reasons that Liverpool are now a direct challenger for the title.

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FIFA vice-president Jim Boyce wants the FA to have the power to punish players who dive, according to Sky Sports.

The British representative at FIFA wants the “cancer” of diving to be dealt with via disciplinary committees by all of football’s governing bodies and believes such action will make under pressure Premier League referees’ jobs a lot easier.

“I have seen several incidents recently, and I watched the latest Suarez incident two or three times, and to me it is nothing less than a form of cheating.

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“It is becoming a little bit of a cancer within the game and I believe if it is clear to everyone that it is simulation then that person is trying to cheat and they should be severely punished for that.

“It can at times be very, very difficult for referees to judge whether something is a foul or a fair tackle and if players are diving then it makes their job even harder,” he said.Boyce’s comments come in the aftermath of Liverpool’s Luis Suarez’s alleged dive against Stoke City at Anfield last weekend, and he believes something must be done to eliminate cheating from the game.”It can be dealt with retrospectively by disciplinary committees, and it is done so in some associations, and I believe that is the correct thing to do,” Boyce added.