Liverpool will be hoping that tomorrow’s final against Chelsea does not go to penalties again. A tense affair at Wembley back in February ended in triumph after 22 spot kicks, with Caoimhin Kelleher eventually earning hero status. It will most likely be Alisson between the sticks in the FA Cup — and while he will want to avoid another shootout, club psychologist Lee Richardson has highlighted one crucial Chelsea mistake that can be exploited (and no, it’s not the goalkeeper substitution). After

Liverpool put in their best performance of the season by some margin against Manchester City, thwarting Pep Guardiola’s side in a hard-fought contest that had something of everything. Narrow though the victory was, it was infinitely more pleasing than the midweek rout of Rangers. Jürgen Klopp used that win as something of a template, with Mohamed Salah playing through the middle from the outset. That left Harvey Elliott to reprise his right midfield role. Meanwhile, injuries left James Milner

LeBron James recently converted his two per cent stake in Liverpool into a one per cent stake in FSG, but it’s fellow basketball superstar Michael Jordan who provides a glimpse into the future for Jürgen Klopp’s team. The Last Dance was a documentary about Jordan, and the events surrounding the remarkable 1997/98 Chicago Bulls season in the NBA. Many of the same circumstances that coalesced to produce the riveting campaign are beginning to gather at Anfield. Georginio Wijnaldum is perhaps the s

Manchester City and Uefa have learned of the full reasoning in the judgment from the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas). City were appealing against a ruling that found them guilty of breaching Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations by “disguising” cash injections from the ownership as sponsorship payments, specifically from Etisalat and Etihad. The case brought by European football’s governing body was ultimately thwarted by the time-barring of two key payments, and the lack of evidence...

You have to journey as far as Tennessee to find the secret to Liverpool’s success this season. Late goals against Wolves, Monterrey, Crystal Palace, Aston Villa, Arsenal, Manchester United and Leicester have all proved decisive during the course of a remarkable campaign – and it turns out the Nashville Supporters Club is to thank. Jonathan Slape, president of the group, revealed a long-standing tradition: when the team needs to score late in the game, all of the assembled fans switch to drinkin

This feature is part of Duology “Dennis Bergkamp! Dennis Bergkamp! Dennis Bergkamp!” The Dutchman cannot be mentioned without this immortal piece of commentary from the 1998 World Cup coming to mind, but at club level his name was seldom heard without being closely followed by that of his strike partner, Thierry Henry. At the same tournament, the young Frenchman was bursting on to the international scene. At just 20 years of age he would end up as top scorer for his country, who of course went

A year ago, Fabinho Tavares was in Monaco. The man hailing from Campinas in Brazil only arrived at Liverpool in the summer: now, arm-in-arm with his diaspora of teammates, he sings the club anthem as passionately as any of the supporters on The Kop in celebration of the most unlikely of triumphs against Barcelona. With this team, at this moment, the message conveyed by the song is symbiotic: it is a pledge by those wearing the shirt that they will always give everything for the fans

Andy Murray will make his hotly-anticipated return to tennis on Wednesday when he takes to the court at Queen’s. The Scottish icon has not played since featuring in the Australian Open in January and later underwent major hip surgery in a final attempt to consign his injury woes to the past. He will compete in a relatively unfamiliar format, partnering Feliciano Lopez in the doubles. The choice of doubles was intended to ease Murray, 32, back into competitive action, although this has been some

There has been much talk recently as to the potential effects of Brexit on football. It is certainly possible that leaving the EU could have consequences for the sport – that the two are interlinked was emphatically confirmed in the seminal 1995 Bosman ruling. This is so well-known that ‘Bosman’ has become synonymous for ‘free transfer’, but the facts and nuances of the case are still relatively obscure to many. Most are entirely unaware of the element of the ruling related to nationality requir

It’s rarely a dull week in football, but a seven days that has given us a spying scandal and multiple goals from keepers has to go down as eventful even by the usual standards. Just to top things off, the greatest player ever to grace the game reached yet another personal milestone. There is precious little Tyne-Wear action since Sunderland’s freefall from the Premier League, but there was a derby of sorts this week in the Checkatrade Trophy. Newcastle are one of the top tier sides to have agre

There is nobody who handles losing quite as well as Liverpool. This is a taunt thrown our way by rival fans, who would undoubtedly have traded their seasons in a heartbeat to take our place in the Champions League final, but there is also a ring of truth about it. Defeat in Kyiv was cruel, and it was painful, but supporters left the stadium singing. You’ll Never Walk Alone proved as cathartic as ever, while Allez Allez Allez took on a defiant note: mark our words, we’re never going to stop. Soon