Trent Alexander-Arnold will not be in the England squad for this summer's World Cup with the former Liverpool full-back left out by Thomas Tuchel

Trent Alexander-Arnold will not be in the England squad for this summer's World Cup with the former Liverpool full-back left out by Thomas Tuchel

Liverpool players have been overlooked by England head coach Thomas Tuchel for his World Cup squad

Liverpool players have been overlooked by England head coach Thomas Tuchel for his World Cup squad

The Liverpool manager has faced questions from the press for the first time following Mohamed Salah's controversial social media post.

The Liverpool manager has faced questions from the press for the first time following Mohamed Salah's controversial social media post.

Liverpool transfer news and rumours, including the latest on Bradley Barcola, Jarrod Bowen, Yann Diomande, and others

Liverpool transfer news and rumours, including the latest on Bradley Barcola, Jarrod Bowen, Yann Diomande, and others

The interview with Andy Robertson that Ian Wright has done for The Overlap is well worth a watch if you haven't seen it already.

"The manager and the sports scientists couldn't push us too hard too early because of what we were going through, and they were going through the exact same thing," he said.

"Then the season gets going and you have to then become a footballer. That is part of your life. We all go through grief off the pitch and people have lost family members and have probably played the next day.

"We got off to a good start — five games, five wins — but we were not playing well. It was a bit of a false position, I would say. We knew our performances had to lift, and for whatever reason, we have just not been consistent."

Andy Robertson will bring his Liverpool career to an end this weekend(Image: Getty Images)

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Arne Slot has offered his reaction to the statement that Mohamed Salah posted on social media last weekend, with the Liverpool forward set to play just once more for the Reds

09:07, 22 May 2026

Arne Slot and Mohamed Salah on the Anfield touchline during Liverpool vs Crystal Palace.(Image: Liverpool FC via Getty Images)

Arne Slot says the only thing that matters to Liverpool is qualifying for the Champions League after Mohamed Salah criticized his style of play.

"What I have seen is the team trained really well and we hope to continue, so we are the best possible prepared," Slot said in his pre-match press conference ahead of facing Brentford.

"Mo and I want the club to be successful. What we want is the club to be as successful as we were last season and that is where my main focus is now because the game Sunday can be a good platform for next season."

READ MORE: Harvey Elliott immediately mocks Aston Villa transfer after Europa League successREAD MORE: Arne Slot press conference LIVE: Mohamed Salah reaction, Liverpool transfer news and rumors

Last weekend, Salah took to social media to suggest that Liverpool needs to be playing a "heavy metal" style in order to be successful again, off the back of a difficult campaign in which it has struggled.

"I have witnessed this club go from doubters to believers, and from believers to champions," he wrote in the message, which didn't name Slot directly but appeared to be another jibe."It took hard work and I always did everything I could to help the club get there. Nothing makes me prouder than that. Us crumbling to yet another defeat this season was very painful and not what our fans deserve.

"I want to see Liverpool go back to being the heavy metal attacking team that opponents fear and back to being a team that wins trophies. That is the football I know how to play and that is the identity that needs to be recovered and kept for good.

"It cannot be negotiable and everyone that joins this club should adapt to it. Winning some games here and there is not what Liverpool should be about.

"All teams win games. Liverpool will always be a club that means a great deal to me and to my family. I want to see it succeed for long after I have moved on.

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"As I’ve always said, qualifying to next season’s Champions League is the bare minimum and I will do everything I can to make that happen."

Avoiding defeat against Brentford will ensure that Liverpool finishes inside the top five spots and therefore qualifies for the Champions League.

Depending on goal difference and results elsewhere, it could also lose and still make it. If Liverpool wins and Aston Villa loses, it would move into fourth place, which would then mean Bournemouth coming sixth and entering UEFA's top competition too.

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Alexander Isak will be eager to put a nightmare first season at Liverpool behind him as the Reds prepare to host Brentford in their final home Premier League game of the campaign

Ian Doyle Chief Liverpool FC Writer

08:27, 22 May 2026Updated 08:33, 22 May 2026

Alexander Isak has endured a tough debut season at Liverpool(Image: Getty Images)

There will be mixed emotions at Anfield on Sunday.

However, one Liverpool player in particular will simply be relieved to be saying hello once more. While heartfelt send-offs will be extended, at minimum, to the outgoing Mohamed Salah and Andy Robertson, there will be little hesitation in bidding farewell to a grueling campaign for Arne Slot's squad.

Leading that charge will surely be Alexander Isak, following the most wretched season of his career since his £125 million ($167.8 million) British record move from Newcastle in September. At times, Isak must have wondered whether the transfer was worth all the upheaval, having spectacularly fallen out with the Magpies faithful over his insistence on forcing through a move to Anfield.

READ MORE: Liverpool transfer news as $81M midfielder eyed and clear Mateus Mane message sentREAD MORE: Andy Robertson reveals Trent Alexander-Arnold gift nearly left him in tears before Liverpool exit

Fitness concerns and injuries have limited Isak to just 13 starts and nine substitute appearances, yielding four goals and one assist during that period.

The fanbase's tolerance has indeed been tested in recent weeks, with Isak having sat out two of the past three fixtures - the losses at Manchester United and Aston Villa - due to minor muscular niggles.

With the World Cup — for which Sweden qualified via the playoffs backdoor, having finished bottom of its qualifying group — now just weeks away, suspicions have emerged that the player may be deliberately protecting his fitness ahead of the tournament.

Isak will be expected to perform next season(Image: Getty Images)

In all fairness, a few niggles were always to be expected given the lengthy spell he spent on the sidelines following the broken leg sustained at Tottenham shortly before Christmas.

Nevertheless, it will be crucial for the striker to prove his fitness and secure a starting berth for the Premier League finale at home to Brentford this weekend.

For one thing, while only a highly unlikely combination of results can deny Liverpool a Champions League place, a goal or two from Isak in a Reds victory would go some way toward justifying his transfer fee and helping to secure their spot among Europe's finest.

It would also serve as a timely reminder of precisely why Liverpool invested so heavily in his services, and why next season's squad will be tailored to maximize his goal-scoring prowess.

"Alexander Isak hasn't looked good for Liverpool in their system," said ex-Swedish player Anders Limpar, speaking to Betano Online Casino. "He suffered a horrendous injury requiring operations. Then he came to Liverpool when the team's performance was declining.

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"If a new player arrives when the team is struggling, who are they going to blame? I mean, the biggest signing, Alexander Isak, is being blamed. It's not his fault, it's the whole club's fault if they don't succeed. It's the manager, all the players, and the staff.

"You can't just point to Alexander Isak as the sole reason why Liverpool hasn't been successful. That's not fair, especially with an injury like this. But I would like to see him stepping up."

Sunday, therefore, would mark an ideal beginning. For Isak, the new campaign begins now.

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Arne Slot will face the media in a pre-match press conference for the final time this season ahead of Liverpool's clash with Brentford

Arne Slot will face the media in a pre-match press conference for the final time this season ahead of Liverpool's clash with Brentford

Amid a touching farewell message, Virgil van Dijk has described Andy Robertson as arguably the “best left-back of the last decade.”

After nine years of ups, downs and a lot of laughs, Robertson is leaving Liverpool with the best wishes of supporters and his teammates.

Having arrived just six months after Robertson, who joined the Reds for £8 million from Hull in 2017, Van Dijk has shared the left side of Liverpool’s defence with the full-back on 298 occasions.

Only fellow departing legend Mo Salah has played alongside Van Dijk more often, with 333 games together.

Speaking about the imminent exit of the 32-year-old, Liverpool skipper Van Dijk told All Red Video:

“It’s been a joy to have him on my left-hand side, and since I joined the club he was basically my left-back almost constantly and we know each other’s strengths pretty well and could make use of that quite a lot.

“It’s been an absolute privilege and pleasure to play with him on my left side. He is one of, if not the best left-back of the last decade for sure in the Premier League and definitely in contention as one of the best left-backs of Liverpool.

“It’s all down to him, his hard work, his quality, his drive and something that he showed on a consistent basis.

“It is an incredible journey that he had and it’s great to have been part of his success.”

As well as a friend and great player, Liverpool will be losing their vice-captain in Robertson, a position he has held since Trent Alexander-Arnold‘s departure last summer.

While he may have only officially been vice-captain for a year, Robertson has long been an influential part of Liverpool’s ‘leadership group’.

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Asked about the left-back’s influence in the dressing room, Van Dijk explained: “I think leading always starts by example and over all those years that we’ve been working together, I feel like he’s definitely led by example.

“This year, he’s been my vice-captain. It’s a player with so much experience, it’s someone that obviously always will feel and take the responsibility when needed.

“For me, I can say anything that I want to say to him and the other way around as well, so it was always going to work. And even in a tough season that we had this year, it was always going to be tricky, but we tried to do it in the best way that we can.

“He is a leader in the way he acts and in the way he wants to put the team in front and that’s the bare minimum. I think he did that pretty well.”

Virgil Van Dijk wanted to sign Andy Robertson at Celtic

A marauding full-back with a deadly cross and desire to put his body on the line when defending, Robertson has endeared himself to supporters with his attitude on the pitch.

He was exhibiting some of these traits well before he arrived on Merseyside, though.

Van Dijk remembers asking his former club, Celtic, to sign Robertson after facing the young Scotsman while he was playing for Dundee United.

It is a story the Dutchman has told before, but Van Dijk was keen to bring it up again as he spoke about his teammate.

The centre-half recalled facing Robertson three times in the 2013/14 SPL season: “We spoke about it quite a lot over those years.

“I think I was already, I won’t say a big fan of him, but I was impressed by him and I told the scouts at Celtic to try to get him at Celtic when he was at Dundee United.

“Unfortunately, at the time they didn’t listen, but everything happens for a reason and eventually we got to play together, and I think the rest is history.”

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Liverpool's season comes to a head this weekend as reports continue to swirl on the future of Arne Slot

Mohamed Salah and Andy Robertson will say their goodbyes at Anfield on Sunday afternoon, and our Liverpool jury have been reminiscing about their time in Red

Liverpool's season comes to a head this weekend as reports continue to swirl on the future of Arne Slot

Mohamed Salah and Andy Robertson will say their goodbyes at Anfield on Sunday afternoon, and our Liverpool jury have been reminiscing about their time in Red

Arne Slot has endured a difficult second season at Liverpool