Liverpool

Dutch football writer Elko Born has been discussing Liverpool's "huge move" for Feyenoord manager Arne Slot, after the Reds agreed a compensation deal worth up to £9.4m with the Eredivisie club.

"Last year, Arne Slot came close to joining Tottenham, and people expected him to take that job," Born told the Euro Leagues podcast. "That didn't happen, but I don't think a lot of people saw Liverpool coming.

"It feels like a huge move for Slot. It is a very big club for him to manage, that is kind of beyond what people expected."

Born also gave some insight on Slot's managerial journey at Feyenoord: "After Erik ten Hag left Ajax, they were a shambles. Arne Slot joined Feyenoord from AZ Alkmaar and, looking back, Ajax would have wanted Slot to succeed Ten Hag.

"But they were dozing off, they were asleep. They didn't see that they had this very talented young manager right near them.

"Feyenoord took him and he turned things around because, even though - budget wise - Feyenoord are the third biggest club in the Netherlands, he made them champions in 2022-23. This season, they have still performed really well.

"To go from the Eredivisie to the Premier League, as a player and a manager, is a huge leap to make.

"So it remains to be seen what will happen there."

Lastly, the Dutch football writer commented on Slot's personality: "Arne Slot is a guy with a lot of charm. He is quite funny sometimes when you talk to him in press conferences.

"What is especially striking about him is that he's able to clearly explain his reasoning behind certain actions.

"Slot is usually able to really articulate his thoughts and he has a clear idea of what he wants his football to look like."

Image source, BBC Sport

Jurgen Klopp's final few months in charge have been building up to a potential fairytale ending but in the space of just a few weeks that has all come crashing down.

Back-to-back defeats and now a draw at London Stadium leave Liverpool third in the Premier League, two points off Arsenal in top spot before they face Tottenham on Sunday and one point off Manchester City, who have two games in hand.

Their hopes of any sort of title challenge now rest on both of their rivals slipping up and, from the reactions of the players after their recent results, it is clear they don't see that as a likely scenario.

In the first half against West Ham, Liverpool did not look like a side who were ready to bounce back from their Merseyside derby defeat in midweek but one who were tired and lacking intensity as they went behind when Jarrod Bowen headed home.

They improved in the second half and came back with goals thanks to Andy Robertson and a West Ham error but still failed to put the fixture to bed and were punished for missed chances when Michail Antonio equalised.

It has been a thrilling title race but it seems Liverpool's involvement in it is all but over and, in turn, the reign of Jurgen Klopp at risk of ending with a whimper.

Image source, Getty Images

Former Liverpool striker Peter Crouch has been discussing Jurgen Klopp and Mohamed Salah's touchline discussion on TNT Sports: "It didn't look good, I don't think it looks good for the club.

"Mo Salah is a player who has started the majority of games for Liverpool and he will be fuming to be on the bench.

"But no-one likes to see this between a manager and a key player."

Former Rangers striker and manager Ally McCoist also added his thoughts on the situation: "You see Salah coming back to have another bite and one of his teammates looks like he has to intervene.

"That stuff should be for behind closed doors.

"I do [think Salah will leave]. He has been one of the best players we have seen in this league, nothing short of fantastic for Liverpool, but his form has dipped and it looks to me like he might be moving.

"It might suit both parties - it will suit Salah to move on and Liverpool to reinvest the money they get for him."

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has been speaking to TNT Sports following the game: "Very disappointed, obviously. I think everyone can see that only one team wins the game, and that is us. The chances we created, the possession we had, all the things we did. It was a tough one at the end of a four games in 10 days period, but I think the players did really well.

"We just conceded out of nothing, needed a few more chances and [they were] kind of scrappy goals in the end to score twice.

"When we are 2-1 up, we should control it. Still, as I said, in a lot of moments [we were] playing really well but the final situation we didn't take. That has been the story of the last four weeks."

On whether it is unlucky that a few of his attackers are out of form: "It is what it is. You see the games. We are together and we go through that together, that is all. The boys want it, they fought hard, gave absolutely everything. For some of them, it was definitely too hard today, and yes that is it."

On the second half reaction: "Very pleased. It was very good and it was what we needed. The early goal helped, obviously. We find chances always, you see in the first half we had a lot.

"What I don't understand is that with each chance we miss, everyone is there throwing arms. But a chance is the closest you can get to a goal, so we have to be more positive there, accept these kind of things happen, and then do it again and again and again.

"We played well but didn't finish the situations off. Now we have to acknowledge and carry on."

On his exchange with Mohamed Salah on the touchline: "No [I can't say what was said], but we spoke about it already in the dressing room. That is done."

On the title race: "I'm not in the mood to talk about that, to be honest, or to look at that at all. We had to win here, we knew that, and we didn't.

"Now we have a little bit more time between now and the next game. We will try to get the boys ready again and we will go again."

Here are the key facts and figures following Saturday’s game between West Ham and Liverpool in the Premier League.

• Jarrod Bowen's opener (his 16th league goal of 2023-24) saw him become the joint-top goal scorer in a single Premier League campaign for West Ham United, equalling Paolo Di Canio’s haul of 16 goals in 1999-00.

• Despite also leading in this game, Liverpool have won 28 points from losing positions in the Premier League this season, with only Newcastle United (34 points in 2001-02) and Manchester United (31 points in 2020-21 and 29 points in 2012-13) rescuing more points from behind in a single campaign in the competition.

• The Reds have won just one of their past five Premier League games (D2 L2), keeping just a single clean sheet in their last 14 matches in the competition.

• The Hammers have won just one of their past nine home Premier League games (D6 L2), going winless in five matches at London Stadium since a 4-2 win against Brentford in February.

• Only Sheffield United (6) have scored more own goals than West Ham (4) in the Premier League this season, while no side has benefited from more own goals in the competition this term than Liverpool (5).

Liverpool forward Cody Gakpo has been talking to TNT Sports following the draw: "The result was not what we wanted. We came for three points. We played a good game, we controlled the first half and then conceded.

"It is tough to come back, but we scored two goals and then we needed to stay more calm and keep the ball. We needed to play and not concede, but we did."

On what Jurgen Klopp's half-time message was: "We just have to go for it. We have done it a lot of times this season, bouncing back from a goal against [us]. That was the message - just give it our all."

On not converting their chances in front of goal: "The ball is not going in. That is a thing we've had to improve for a pretty long time now. If we knew why [it was happening] we would solve the problem. I don't know."

On the title race: "We are in a very, very difficult position. If Arsenal win it is five points [gap], and Manchester City have some games in hard.

"It is going to be difficult, not impossible, but very difficult."

Liverpool's Premier League title hopes seem all but over as Michail Antonio scored to rescue a point for West Ham at London Stadium.

Jarred Bowen opened the scoring just before the break when he rose highest to meet Mohammed Kudus' cross into the area, as Liverpool showed little evidence that their Merseyside derby loss in midweek had done much in the way of spurring them on.

But the visitors were much improved in the second half and Andy Robertson equalised when he scored from Luis Diaz's low pass into the penalty area.

They were then rewarded for their pressure when Cody Gakpo's effort from a corner bounced off Angelo Ogbonna, Tomas Soucek and Alphonse Areola before finding the back of the net.

It looked like they were on their way to bouncing back from back-to-back defeats in the league until Antonio's thumping header put the Hammers back on level terms.

Liverpool sit third in the table with three games remaining, two points behind leaders Arsenal, who face Tottenham on Sunday, while Manchester City are second but have two games in hand.

Liverpool's title hopes appear to be all but over, with the Reds relying on both of their title rivals to slip up to get back in the race.

Were you at the match or did you follow it from elsewhere?

West Ham fans - let us know your thoughts on the game here

How did you rate the side's performance, Liverpool fans?

Follow all of the reaction here

Chris Sutton is making predictions for all 380 Premier League matches again this season, against a variety of guests.

For this weekend's games, he takes on Andy Bell and Steve Queralt from Ride, who support Arsenal and Tottenham.

Sutton's prediction: 1-1

I always felt Everton's season depended a lot on Dominic Calvert-Lewin but it felt like he was in the wilderness for months before he put in such a brilliant performance against Liverpool on Wednesday.

He was such a handful all game and showed what a good a player he is. I was left thinking where have you been for so long?

You have to wonder how much Everton have got left in the tank after their efforts to win the Merseyside derby but a lot of the pressure is off them now.

It is the same for Brentford after their run of results - both of these teams are almost safe because Luton would need a miracle to catch them.

I am not sure what is going on with Bees striker Ivan Toney, because he was on the bench for a couple of games before missing the win over Luton with a hip injury, but they don't seem to need him at the moment.

This is a hard one to call because a win would effectively cement survival for whoever gets it, but a draw is also a decent result for both teams - and that might mean this is quite a cagey affair.

Andy's prediction: 2-3

They have both been winning games and again they are next to each other in the table so I am going for a barnstorming Brentford win.

Steve's prediction: 0-2

I have a bit of a soft spot for Brentford because I live quite close to their ground. So, I'm backing them, just based on that really.

Read the rest of their predictions here

Chris Sutton is making predictions for all 380 Premier League matches again this season, against a variety of guests.

For this weekend's games, he takes on Andy Bell and Steve Queralt from Ride, who support Arsenal and Tottenham.

Sutton's predictions: 1-2

Earlier this month, when Liverpool lost to Crystal Palace on the same day Arsenal were beaten by Aston Villa, it was Grand National weekend and I made an analogy about how both of them had hit the third-last fence hard, but could both still recover.

Well, Arsenal have responded really well to get their noses in front, but Liverpool stumbled badly again against Everton and, to continue the horse-racing theme, their only hope now is to hope that the Gunners and Manchester City both fall at the last.

I don't see that happening but Liverpool have just got to look after themselves now and try to beat West Ham.

Who knows what kind of Hammers performance we are going to get after all the noise around the talks they have had with Sporting Lisbon boss Ruben Amorim this week.

I know clubs have to make plans, but for that to come out the way it did that was really disrespectful to West Ham boss David Moyes when the club have not made an announcement about his future.

So, how do I call this when we don't know what the mood in their camp will be like? It's also hard to back Liverpool, because Mohamed Salah is out of form and Darwin Nunez's finishing has been so terrible.

I have a feeling the Reds will edge it but, like I say, they are out of the title race now anyway.

I'm sad about that, because I don't want Jurgen Klopp's time as Liverpool manager to end like this.

Klopp is a fierce competitor and he came in with that 'heavy-metal' brand of football... but it seems his spell at Anfield is going to finish with him just tinkering around on the piano, with nothing to play for.

Steve's prediction: 1-2

Liverpool are going to be wounded after Wednesday, but I still think they will win.

Andy's prediction: 0-2

I agree, and I am basing this on West Ham's recent form too

Read the rest of their predictions here

Seven matches make up Saturday's Premier League action and we will bring you every moment.

Follow live text updates and listen online here

BBC Radio 5 Live commentaries:

Manchester United v Burnley - Listen on BBC Sounds from 15:00

Everton v Brentford - Listen on BBC Sounds from 17:30

Here is a selection of the key facts and figures before Everton host Brentford in the Premier League on Saturday, 17:30 BST.

• Everton are looking to complete only their second league double over Brentford, previously doing so in the 1952-53 second division.

• None of the 10 league meetings between Everton and Brentford at Goodison Park have ended in a draw, with the Toffees winning seven of these to the Bees' three.

• Brentford have won their past two Premier League games, as many as they had in their previous 18 combined. They last won three in a row in October and November.

• Bryan Mbeumo has been involved in nine goals in his past 10 Premier League starts (four goals, five assists), while Brentford have won 39% of their league games when the Cameroon international has started this season, compared to 12.5% when he has not.

• Brentford's Yoane Wissa has scored five goals in his past five Premier League away games, as many as he had in his previous 29 appearances on the road in the competition.

The reaction from Liverpool fans to the Arne Slot news thus far has not exactly been universal excitement.

In a way, that is to be expected. Such is the void that Jurgen Klopp is leaving behind, it would be hard for Reds to be together in being overwhelmingly optimistic about what comes next.

However, having firmly placed our eggs in the Xabi Alonso basket initially and then mentally pivoting towards Sporting’s Ruben Amorim - after some time and persuading - it is no wonder that seeing neither take to the dugout is an idea that is hard to warm towards.

And, indeed, it now seems likely to fall to the manager of the second-best team in the Netherlands!

Look at it this way though Liverpool fans. If Amorim was the right man for the job based on his character, temperament, taking a non-fancied club to a league title and overseeing European and domestic cup runs, then Slot also ticks all those boxes.

Without getting all “Sam Allardici” about it - though the name may not come across as quite as flashy as the previous two favourites, Michael Edwards has been nothing if not smart and particular about decisions made towards recruitment at Liverpool up until now.

Whoever the next name is through the door deserves universal support.

Josh is from The Anfield Wrap, external