Liverpool fans put their teamsheet together to overturn a dismal first leg loss to Atalanta

Liverpool had 26 players training ahead of their trip to Atalanta in the Europa League, on which they need to overturn a three-goal deficit.

Ahead of Liverpool’s Europa League quarter-final second leg against Atalanta, the squad trained in Kirkby before flying out to Italy for Thursday night’s match in Bergamo.

Dry conditions greeted the team for training as 26 players took part, with Jurgen Klopp keeping a watchful eye over proceedings.

In front of the cameras, the squad warmed up in lines before moving on to some light passing practice. As usual, once the cameras were out of sight, the real session could began.

Klopp has a selection conundrum against Atalanta with several of his go-to names out of form, meaning he could reward the likes of Cody Gakpo and Harvey Elliott for their strong performances from the bench of late.

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The notable names included in the first team squad for training were Jayden Danns, James McConnell and Bobby Clark, all of whom have impressed when called upon this season.

Having played half an hour in Liverpool U21s’ 3-0 win at Old Trafford last Friday, and featured on the bench for the first team the previous night, Stefan Bajcetic was also in training.

His first senior appearance since September is unlikely to come against Atalanta, though, despite Klopp being short in the defensive midfield area.

Conor Bradley was the notable absentee, as expected, with the right-back now sidelined for “up to three weeks,” report Sky Sports.

Thankfully, an initial scan revealed his ankle injury was not as bad as feared.

Ben Doak, Joel Matip and Thiago all remain out with long-term injuries.

Liverpool squad in training on Wednesday

Goalkeepers: Alisson, Kelleher, Adrian, Mrozek

Defenders: Van Dijk, Konate, Gomez, Quansah, Alexander-Arnold, Robertson, Tsimikas

Midfielders: Mac Allister, Endo, Szoboszlai, Gravenberch, Elliott, Jones, Bajcetic, McConnell, Clark

Forwards: Jota, Salah, Nunez, Diaz, Gakpo, Danns

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Latest Liverpool news and gossip as former Reds midfielder Nuri Sahin has opened up on his desire to become a manager and the influence Jurgen Klopp has had on his career

Latest Liverpool news and gossip as former Reds midfielder Nuri Sahin has opened up on his desire to become a manager and the influence Jurgen Klopp has had on his career

Liverpool are bracing themselves for the latest chapter with Jurgen Klopp set to depart at the end of the season

Liverpool are bracing themselves for the latest chapter with Jurgen Klopp set to depart at the end of the season

Ruben Amorim remains the apparent frontrunner to replace Jurgen Klopp as Liverpool manager this summer

Ruben Amorim remains the apparent frontrunner to replace Jurgen Klopp as Liverpool manager this summer

Werder Bremen have suspended Naby Keita for the rest of the season and imposed a “substantial” fine after accusing him of walking out of Sunday’s Bundesliga clash with Bayer Leverkusen.

The 29-year-old former Liverpool midfielder did not feature in a 5-0 defeat at the Bay Arena, with his club claiming he had chosen “not to travel to the ground with the team and decided to go home instead” after discovering he was not in the starting line-up.

A statement on the club’s official website said: “Werder Bremen have suspended Naby Keita until the end of the season. The club have also handed the midfielder a substantial fine.”

Guinea international Keita, the statement added, “will no longer train with the team or be part of the first-team dressing room.”

READ HERE: Naby Keita ‘storms out’ of new club – ex-Liverpool midfielder rejects claims

Bremen’s head of professional football Clemens Fritz said: “As a club, we won’t tolerate Naby’s behaviour.

“He let his team down in a time of difficulty surrounding our recent run of form and squad availability and put his own interests above those of the team. We can’t allow that.

“At this stage of the season, we need full focus on the remaining games and a team who stick together. That’s why we’ve been left with no alternative.”

Leverkusen’s win clinched them the title and left Bremen sitting in 12th place, just five points clear of the bottom three with as many games remaining.

Keita, who had a spell in Germany with RB Leipzig earlier in his career, joined the club as a free agent on a three-year deal last summer following the expiry of his contract at Anfield.

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Liverpool U18s fell to defeat in agonising fashion as they lost 4-3 due to Newcastle U18s’ injury-time winner, meaning they are now winless in their last seven matches.

Newcastle U18s 4-3 Liverpool U18s

U18 Premier League, Whitley Park
April 16, 2024

Goals: Onanuga 16′, Kone-Doherty 62′ (P), O’Connor 74′; Donaldson 46′, 59′, Martin 77′ (OG), Taylor 90+2′

What is it about Newcastle, Liverpool and 4-3 scorelines?

Having played against Man United and Everton in their previous two fixtures, the intensity remained high for this one as Marc Bridge-Wilkinson’s team were embroiled in a frantic encounter in the north east.

Liverpool initially took the lead thanks to a superb left-footed strike from Afolami Onanuga from outside the box.

Full-time.#LFCU18s pic.twitter.com/JuO9rwjMXo

— Liverpool FC (@LFC) April 16, 2024

That was the most clinical the Reds would be for the first half, though, as Trent Kone-Doherty, Kieran Morrison and Joshua Sonni-Lambie all missed guilt-edged chances.

Half time: Newcastle U18s 0-1 Liverpool U18s

The second half saw considerably more action, with six goals being scored in total and a red card getting thrown into the mix, too.

Josh Donaldson equalised for Newcastle almost immediately after the break and scored again on the hour mark to give the hosts the lead.

They didn’t have their advantage for long, however, with Kone-Doherty burying a penalty won by Sonni-Lambie – the Derry boy now has 15 goals for the season.

READ HERE: Danns stunner, Bajcetic returns – Liverpool U21s thrash Man United at Old Trafford!

With both teams going for a winner, the intensity rose and Newcastle‘s Logan Watts was sent off for a late tackle on Liverpool’s penalty scorer.

The Reds’ got their next goal through a lovely piece of play in which their two under-16 substitutes, Joe Bradshaw and Oliver O’Connor, combined for the latter to place a looping header into the top corner.

That would be the end of Liverpool’s joy for the evening, though.

Tyler Martin conceded an avoidable own goal three minutes later, before Matthew Taylor finished excellently in injury time to complete Newcastle‘s second comeback of the match.

On the whole, it was a much improved performance by the under-18s that was undermined by missed chances ultimately costing them – a problem that faces the first team currently, also.

Bridge-Wilkinson’s side are back in the north east on Saturday as they take on Sunderland U18s at the Academy of Light.

Liverpool U18s: Misciur, Pitt (O’Connor, 46), Airoboma, Furnell-Gill, Lonmeni, K. Kelly, Morrison, Laffey, Sonni-Lambie (Martin, 75), Onanuga (Bradshaw, 60), Kone-Doherty

Subs not used: Morana

Next Match: Sunderland U18s (A) – U18 Premier League – April 20, 11am (BST)

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Liverpool have been urged to sign Victor Osimhen as a replacement for Mohamed Salah

Liverpool have been urged to sign Victor Osimhen as a replacement for Mohamed Salah

News of IFAB trials tend to cause a stir. After all, they are proposals to alter the very fabric of the sport we all love — often only in minor ways, but sometimes in surprisingly sweeping reforms.

Generally speaking, any outrage or delight is a little premature. Whatever you make of IFAB, its procedure for introducing new laws is thorough, and even once a trial is approved, it's a long time before Liverpool experiences the proposed measures.

With few exceptions, changes to the law are initially trialed outside of the elite setting. Proposals for 'blue cards' at a higher level were wildly unpopular, although by that stage they had already been tested at various non-league levels — it seems they are destined never to reach the top divisions, although the sin bin procedure could yet be implemented in a different way.

READ MORE: Liverpool urged to sign 'fantastic' Mohamed Salah replacement amid transfer prediction

READ MORE: Liverpool new manager candidate in 'advanced talks' with rivals as director admits approach

The trial of the latest new proposal will initially only be available to competitions not featuring teams from the top two domestic levels (or the 'A'-rated countries on the international stage). As such, it's another one Liverpool doesn't have to worry about for some time, but this rule change should get a more enthusiastic Anfield reception.

On the agenda for IFAB is clamping down on goalkeeper timewasting. Of course, there is already a law on the books to tackle this, but the 'six-second rule' is to all intents and purposes a dead letter.

At this point, some Liverpool fans will be screaming the name Simon Mignolet, but it's hard to bring to mind any other goalkeeper in the last decade or so who has fallen foul of this rule in the highest echelons of the game. Referees simply do not enforce the requirement to release the ball quickly.

Alisson Becker rarely breaks the rule anyway. His natural instinct is to look up and get Liverpool on the attack quickly, although there was a notable exception against Everton in 2022.

Liverpool had been frustrated by Jordan Pickford all afternoon. He was stretching the referee's patience to the absolute limit, hanging onto the ball for orders of magnitude above the six-second limit. When the Reds took the lead, Alisson hilariously copied his opposite number, diving melodramatically on top of the ball and clutching it to his body to run the clock down a little more.

Alisson has had more than his fair share of iconic Liverpool moments. (Image: Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)

It won't quite go down as Alisson's most iconic moment, thanks to a certain header against West Bromwich Albion. But it certainly made the Liverpool faithful love him even more.

Nonetheless, with Liverpool on the receiving end more often than not, it should encourage any change that tackles goalkeeper time-wasting. And per Dale Johnson, IFAB is ready to put one idea to trial.

Football's law-makers are going to test an increase of the holding limit to eight seconds. That might seem counterproductive, but is designed to catch cases where goalkeepers are legitimately delayed in releasing the ball. Having made that adjustment, referees will then be asked to enforce the law — but with a throw-in or corner awarded to the opposing team, not an indirect free-kick.

As Liverpool and Mignolet learned, indirect free-kicks are disproportionately advantageous to the attacking teams. They are also hard for referees to set up and police. But throw-ins or corners are punishments that fit the crime; they turn possession over, and give a small chance of scoring, without going too far.

The referee won't pick between one or the other. Each competition adopting the trial will pick either a throw-in or a corner as the punishment, and will have to apply that uniformly.

Results of the trial will be considered by IFAB in October and November of 2025. The earliest point it could be added to the laws of the game, therefore impacting Liverpool in the Premier League, is the 2026/27 season.

Who knows where Alisson will be by then (hopefully still at Anfield). But unless Liverpool has regressed massively in its style of play, it will always be a side that wants to get the game moving, and so this change should be championed.

Liverpool.com says: As someone who still grumbles about the unenforced six-second rule whenever goalkeepers keep hold of the ball for a long time, I'm firmly in favor of this change. Referees would be instructed to raise their hand when there is five seconds left to release the ball, providing a clear, transparent signal that can genuinely be followed.

To be fair, I'd also happily have given up a corner for the sake of the joy that Alisson moment against Everton brought me. But in general, the clampdown would help Liverpool, and indeed the game as a whole.

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Liverpool faces a big decision over the future of Mohamed Salah this summer, with the Egyptian preparing to enter the final year of his Anfield contract. Salah will turn 32 at the end of the current campaign and is likely to be the subject of fresh interest from Saudi Pro League clubs.

Only three Premier League players have scored more than Salah this season but with Jürgen Klopp's tenure coming to an end, it remains to be seen what the future holds for the Reds icon.

Former Liverpool defender José Enrique believes it is the 'perfect time' for Salah to leave Liverpool, with the club's next manager then given significant funds to strengthen the squad in the transfer window.

READ MORE: Liverpool new manager candidate in 'advanced talks' with rivals as director admits approach

READ MORE:Double Spurs transfer mistake could hand Liverpool $37m bargain once compared to Lionel Messi

Anfield legend Steve Nicol has now suggested Napoli hitman Victor Osimhen as a potential replacement for Salah this summer. He told ESPN FC: "Salah is going to be going this year or next and I think Osimhen would be fantastic for Liverpool.

"The middle of the park, we've just signed Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai, Endō has turned out to be incredible, you need someone who will run all day and give it to Mac Allister, Szoboszlai and Salah, or whoever."

Nicol also suggested that acquiring Osimhen, who has been instrumental in Napoli's recent success, could shift Darwin Núñez to a wider position. Despite showing potential, Núñez has faced scrutiny over his finishing, whereas Osimhen has proven to be a clinical force up front.

The Nigerian forward, who made the switch from Lille in 2020, has scored 15 times this season after breaking the 30-goal mark during Napoli's title triumph last term. He has previously been on Chelsea's radar and has openly admitted that he sees his future in the Premier League.

Speaking to Sky Sports earlier this year, he said: "Of course one day, definitely but for now, I have other plans in my career that I am looking forward to. So when the time comes, everyone knows."

"I am happy with the president. I have a good relationship with him. I cannot lie. He has been with me since I signed for the club in 2020. I have a good relationship with his family also and for me it is always important to make sure we have this good relationship, to make sure there is nothing wrong regardless of what has happened."

Liverpool.com says: There will ultimately come a time when Liverpool has to prepare for life without Salah. The Egyptian will be 32 this summer and cannot go on forever. While Osimhen is an excellent player, he predominantly plays centrally and Liverpool would need to replace Salah out wide on the right. Núñez could do that job but it would not be a great long-term solution.

* An AI tool was used to add an extra layer to the editing process for this story. You can read the original story in the Daily Mirror by clicking here.

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Liverpool are set to appoint David Woodfine as their new assistant sporting director, less than a year after he left the club in his previous role.

With Sporting Director Richard Hughes already appointed, Liverpool are acting to bring in his assistant, with Woodfine set to take on the role.

Reliable journalist Neil Jones reported: “David Woodfine is to return to Liverpool as assistant sporting director to Richard Hughes.

“Woodfine left his role as the club’s director of loan management last year, but has been been brought back as the Reds continue to revamp their football operations department.”

David Woodfine is to return to Liverpool as assistant sporting director to Richard Hughes.

Woodfine left his role as the club's director of loan management last year, but has been been brought back as the Reds continue to revamp their football operations dept.
#LFC ?

— Neil Jones (@neiljonesgoal) April 16, 2024

The returning staff member has a longstanding relationship with Michael Edwards, having worked alongside him at Portsmouth,where Woodfine spent 2005-2010 as a performance analyst then the head of performance analysis.

During that period, the Reds’ new sporting director, Hughes, was a player at Portsmouth.

In 2010, Woodfine left the south coast for West Ham, before he joined Liverpool as the scouting and recruitment coordinator in 2014.

Since, he has worked his way up, eventually becoming the director of loan management in 2020. He left that position in September 2023, but is now to return as the assistant sporting director.

The ex-director of loan management played a big role in Liverpool securing a move for Luis Diaz ahead of Tottenham.

The Athletic’s David Ornstein reported in May that “he flew to Argentina with then-club doctor Jim Moxon after Colombia let the player undergo a medical while on international duty.”

Along with the trio of Hughes, Woodfine and Edwards, though the latter won’t be employed by Liverpool FC, the club have brought in other new faces in a restructure.

Jansen Moreno, a Gibraltar native who studied at Liverpool John Moores, has joined the club as opposition analyst.

It will not be his first time working at Liverpool, either, having gained experience with a voluntary placement at the academy in 2010.

Moreno joins a team led by head of opposition analysis Greg Mathieson and supported by opposition analyst James French, while Daniel Spearritt serves as post-match and elite player development analyst.

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In what has been a terrific season for Liverpool, the last seven days have been hard to process. The crushing 3-0 defeat to Atalanta in the Europa League was followed up with another home defeat to Crystal Palace, with the loss to the London club potentially having huge ramifications in the title race.

Four goals conceded at Anfield within the space of three days, and none in reply, has left many Liverpool fans shocked. It felt like everything was beginning to fall into place for the Reds; the club was still in the title race and players such as Trent Alexander-Arnold, Alisson and Diogo Jota were returning from lengthy injury layoffs, giving Jürgen Klopp extra options and the ability to rotate more.

Yet the defeats to Atalanta and Palace have been huge setbacks. Liverpool must travel to Bergamo now in the hope of overturning a three-goal deficit, and now needs favors from other sides in the Premier League if it is to win it.

READ MORE: Liverpool new manager candidate in 'advanced talks' with rivals as director admits approach

READ MORE: Double Spurs transfer mistake could hand Liverpool $37m bargain once compared to Lionel Messi

How Klopp's men bounce back against Atalanta on Thursday night remains to be seen, and the German could rotate the starting XI with an eye on Sunday's game with Fulham. Here is the latest Liverpool injury news going into the game with Atalanta.

Conor Bradley

The Northern Irish right-back was forced to come off during the defeat to Crystal Palace after suffering an ankle injury.

"Conor overstretched his foot slightly,” Klopp said after the defeat to Palace. “The first moment and what Conor felt didn't look great, [but] now I heard a little bit that it's settled quite quickly.

"I don't know. Is the ligament damaged or not? I don't know, so we will get this information tomorrow or Tuesday, but it was very painful for him so that's not cool."

There has been no official club update on Bradley's injury as of writing, however the BBC is reporting that Bradley could face up to three weeks out and could return for Liverpool's final few league games of the season. Klopp could give a further update in his press conference this evening.

Possible return date: Tottenham on May 5.

Stefan Bajčetić

Liverpool has been given a major boost over Stefan Bajčetić in recent days. The 19-year-old made his comeback for the U21s on Friday night against Manchester United, with the Spaniard getting a 30-minute outing as he aims to return to full fitness after a tough season spent on the sideliines.

The midfielder had been back in training before that He could find himself back in contention for the first team’s final few games of the season, but his full return won't be rushed.

Possible return date: Bajčetić could return before the end of the season for the first team, but much will depend on how Liverpool's season is going as we reach its conclusion.

Joël Matip, Thiago Alcântara and Ben Doak

All three likely won't play again for the remainder of the season. In the cases of Thiago and Matip, they arguably won't play for the club again, with the pair's contracts running down and extensions unlikely.

Matip has been out since injuring his ACL against Fulham in December, and while he's running again, he's far from being termed fit and able to play in matches. Thiago has played only once for Liverpool this season, in the loss against Arsenal, in which he suffered a setback and hasn't been seen again since.

Doak had knee surgery earlier in the year but like Bajčetić, won't be rushed back anytime soon. Next season is more likely for a return to the first team for the Scot, who can target a full pre-season of impressing a new manager.

Possible return date: For Doak next season is more than probable. For Matip and Thiago this is likely the end of the road of their time at the club.

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Latest Liverpool news and gossip as the Reds face Atalanta in the Europa League quarter-final second leg where Diogo Jota will be hoping that history repeats itself

Latest Liverpool news and gossip as the Reds face Atalanta in the Europa League quarter-final second leg where Diogo Jota will be hoping that history repeats itself

For the Europa League quarter-final second leg between Atalanta and Liverpool, the Reds will have under 1,000 supporters in the ground to cheer the team on.

Needing to overturn last week’s 3-0 loss at Anfield, Liverpool won’t be able to lean on the support of the crowd to mount a comeback in this European tie.

Only around Liverpool 750 supporters are expected to be at the Stadio Atleti Azzurri d’Italia, known as the Stadio di Bergamo in UEFA competition or the Gewiss Stadium to sponsors.

This is down to a couple of key factors, mainly the size of the stadium.

Usually, the ground would hold around 21,000. However, work is currently ongoing to redevelop the Curva Morosini to 25,000 seats, meaning the total capacity is currently in the region of 16,000.

In turn, this has lowered the away allocation, so only 750 away supporters will officially be allowed in.

Furthermore, Liverpool FC takes a portion of tickets for family, staff and sponsors which, for this fixture, is a low amount.

Therefore, we can roughly calculate that Liverpool fans will be outnumbered 22 to one during the match in Bergamo on Thursday.

Liverpool supporters should be aware that the usual ticket collection process will be at a location in Bergamo.

It is not unusual in the Europa League for allocations to be smaller than usual, but Liverpool were drawn against the side with the smallest stadium capacity of the final eight.

The 3-0 defeat at Anfield has left Jurgen Klopp‘s side with a mountain to climb on Thursday. Atalanta did, though, show signs of weakness in their most recent league game.

On Monday night, Gian Piero Gasperini’s team went 2-0 up within 20 minutes against Hellas Verona, but conceded two in four during the second half to drop two points in Serie A.

After the match, the manager told Sky Italia: “We saw tonight Verona were able to score two goals in four minutes. I’ve seen Liverpool score three in six minutes in a Champions League Final!

“We knew after Anfield it wasn’t over, but Thursday will be a historic appointment for the city, the club and our players.

“We know another great performance is needed, but the objective is so prestigious that we’ll find the energy.”

The winners of the tie will face either Benfica or Marseille in the semi-finals.

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Бывший главный тренер "Баварии" Нико Ковач опроверг слухи о том, что он может получить работу в "Ливерпуле".

На днях издание Daily Mail сообщило, что "Ливерпуль" включил Ковача в свой шорт-лист кандидатов на замену Юргену Клоппу, покидающему клуб в конце сезона.

Также утверждалось, что недавно 52-летний хорват побывал в Англии, дав знать местным клубам о своей готовности вернуться к тренерской работе.

Однако Ковач поспешил выступить с опровержением — никаких контактов с "Ливерпулем" у Нико нет.

"Насчет этого всегда много пишут, но в данном случае нет ни капли правды", — сообщил Ковач австрийскому изданию Servus TV.

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