David Usher – Football Scout

Mane an 8/10 after leading relentless Liverpool to bittersweet win

Sadio Mane’s brace against Wolves wasn’t enough for Liverpool to steal the Premier League title on Manchester City on the final day of the season.

Steve Nicol shares his candid thoughts on Liverpool’s second place finish, as their 97 points set a record for the most ever by the runners-up.
It may not have been enough to secure the title but Liverpool ended the season with a 2-0 win and an incredible 97-point haul after a tough encounter with a dogged Wolves side.
Positives
Following their Herculean efforts in midweek to overturn their Champions League tie with Barcelona there were a lot of tired legs, but Liverpool’s players fought through it to get the job done. Even when news filtered through that Manchester City were home and dry at Brighton to clinch the title, Jurgen Klopp’s…

Divock Origi, Fabinho headline list of Liverpool’s heroes in historic comeback vs. Barcelona

Steve Nicol says he feels guilty for doubting Liverpool could pull off a comeback against Barcelona and reach the Champions League final.
There have been many momentous Anfield nights in Liverpool’s European history but this one tops them all. Nobody gave the Reds a chance of overturning a 3-0 first-leg deficit to the mighty Barcelona, but somehow they did it after a pulsating performance saw two goals apiece from Divock Origi and Georginio Wijnaldum send the Reds to a second successive Champions League final with a 4-0 victory.

Positives
Where to start? This was heroic stuff from all concerned. Players, crowd, manager. Liverpool…

Origi’s late goal, Alexander-Arnold’s assists extend Liverpool’s title hopes to final day

Divock Origi scored a late winner for Liverpool at Newcastle, setting the stage for an intense finale in the Premier League title race.

Divock Origi and Trent Alexander-Arnold recap Liverpool’s pulsating 3-2 at Newcastle to keep their title dream alive.
Newcastle gave Liverpool all they could handle  but the Reds once again dug deep to win it 3-2 late on and keep the title race alive. Not for the first time this season, Divock Origi came off the bench to score a decisive goal. Over to you Manchester City.
Positives
It was far from a vintage performance but the character of this team really is something special. Legs were weary, the opposition were inspired by a raucous home crowd, and Liverpool had twice been pegged back after taking the lead….

Robertson ‘sensational,’ Salah misfires as Liverpool cruelly done by at Barcelona

The ESPN FC panel don’t have a bad word to say about Liverpool’s performance but are in awe of the way Lionel Messi almost single-handedly beat them back.
Liverpool need a miracle at Anfield next week despite dominating much of the first leg. The Reds had more of the ball and more of the chances, but they didn’t have Lionel Messi, and ultimately that was the difference in a 3-0 defeat.

Positives
Not many sides will go to Camp Nou and take the game to Barcelona as impressively as Liverpool did. That’s a sign of the progress made by the Reds in the last couple of years, but successful sides score when they need to and Liverpool did not take their…

Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane a pair of 9s in thrashing of Huddersfield

Liverpool cantered past a feeble Huddersfield winning 5-0 at Anfield to return to the top of the Premier League.
Liverpool swept Huddersfield aside with ease in a 5-0 win to return to the top of the Premier League. A record-setting Naby Keita g…

Georginio Wijnaldum, Joel Matip earn top marks as Liverpool handle Cardiff, go top of the table

A Georginio Wijnaldum volley and James Milner penalty gave Liverpool the win they needed to stay ahead of Manchester City in the table.

Alexis Nunes and Paul Mariner share their thoughts on Liverpool’s win over Cardiff which keeps the Reds on top ahead of Man City’s derby match.

Liverpool kept their cool in the South Wales heat and eventually wore down plucky Cardiff in a 2-0 victory. The home side were defending valiantly and the Reds had been wasteful in a first half they dominated, but the breakthrough eventually came via a cracker from Georginio Wijnaldum. A late James Milner penalty then made the game safe and sent Liverpool back to the top of the table.
Positives
The maturity of the side continues to impress. Liverpool’s supporters might be nervous, but the players…

Sadio Mane scores, Fabinho bosses midfield as Liverpool smash Porto to reach UCL semis

PORTO, Portugal — Liverpool comfortably booked their place in the semifinals after seeing off a spirited early onslaught by hosts Porto and then running away with it to win 4-1 for an aggregate score of 6-1. The win sets up a mouthwatering clash with Barcelona and a reunion with former stars Luis Suarez and Philippe Coutinho.

Positives
The front three of Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino all got on the scoresheet and look to be hitting peak form at the perfect time. 
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Negatives
A…

Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane all 9/10 as Liverpool get a big win vs. Chelsea in title chase

ESPN FC’s Craig Burley breaks down what Sunday’s Premier League results mean for Liverpool and Manchester City in the title race.

Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah scored in Liverpool’s dominant victory over Chelsea, moving the Reds back ahead of Manchester City.

A brilliant second-half display took Liverpool back to the Premier League summit. A Sadio Mane header and a stunner from Mohamed Salah had Anfield bouncing and provided the perfect response to Manchester City’s win at Crystal Palace earlier in the day.
Positives
Jurgen Klopp claimed beforehand that what happened in 2014 would have no bearing on this game, and he was right. The fans might be scarred by the memory of that loss to Chelsea, but the players clearly paid it no heed. This was a performance…

Roberto Firmino, Naby Keita star as Liverpool put one foot into Champions League semis

Steve Nicol believes Jurgen Klopp has no choice but to start Mohamed Salah despite his continued struggles in Liverpool’s win over Porto.

First-half goals from Naby Keita and Roberto Firmino put Liverpool in a strong position at 2-0 to reach the semifinals of the Champions League again. Porto played their part in an entertaining game Tuesday and had numerous chances to grab a vital away goal, but having kept a clean sheet, the Merseysiders will now be strong favourites to go through to the last four.

Positives
Not conceding at home is always significant in European competition. Liverpool will expect to score over in Portugal,…

Salah to the rescue in 8/10 showing as Liverpool earn comeback win at Saints

Two goals in the last 10 minutes gave Liverpool a vital 3-1 win at Southampton that sees them move back to the top of the Premier League.

Following Liverpool’s crucial win at Southampton the ESPN FC crew break down the performance of Mohamed Salah who scored his first goal in nine games.

Liverpool ground out another hard-fought win, beating Southampton 3-1 on Friday, to return to the top of the table. For the third game in a row they found themselves in danger of dropping points as the game went into its closing stages, and for the third game in a row they found a way to win.

Positives

Mohamed Salah finally notched his 50th Premier League goal for the club after eight games without scoring. Liverpool will hope that will get him firing again for the title run-in.

Negatives
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