The 26-year-old suffered the injury during the win at Crystal Palace on Saturday but played the whole game.

A Reds statement said “the operation is likely to end” Matip’s “involvement in the remainder” of the campaign.

Liverpool play Manchester City in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final on Wednesday.

The Germany-born, former Cameroon defender has made 25 league appearances this season, scoring once.

Matip’s injury comes after fellow defender Joe Gomez suffered an ankle injury playing for England during the international break.

Midfielder Adam Lallana also suffered an injury against Palace which manager Jurgen Klopp described as “serious”.

–

Source: BBC Sport

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The Egyptian took a touch before firing past keeper Wayne Hennessey after Andy Robertson had crossed in from the left.

Luka Milivojevic had converted from the spot early in the first half to give Palace the lead after Liverpool keeper Loris Karius took out Wilfried Zaha.

And Sadio Mane turned in James Milner’s cross shortly after the break to level.

Liverpool had plenty of chances to score in the first half at Selhurst Park as Salah’s curling effort tested Hennessey and Mane came close with two headed efforts.

Karius’ early error looked costly as Palace clung on until half-time but Liverpool responded within four minutes of the restart when Milner and Robertson combined down the left to set up Mane.

Christian Benteke then missed two clear goalscoring chances in as many minutes before Patrick van Aanholt’s fizzing free-kick was palmed away by Karius.

There were appeals for Mane to be shown a second yellow card – he was booked for diving in the first half – after he picked up the ball on the edge of the area but referee Neil Swarbrick settled for a free-kick.

The Reds then completed the comeback when Salah scored his 29th Premier League goal of the season – equalling the league record of scoring in 21 matches in a 38-game season.

Liverpool headed to Selhurst Park knowing they have an important week ahead.

The Reds host Manchester City in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final on Wednesday before making the short trip to Merseyside rivals Everton in next Saturday’s Premier League derby.

But Jurgen Klopp named a strong starting line-up in his 100th Premier League game in charge despite expectations he would rest several key players.

But Liverpool’s first-half performance did not match the boldness of Klopp’s selection as they lacked intensity and imagination against a stubborn Palace defence.

Mane’s equaliser early in the second half was a good response but Benteke missed two great chances moments later to regain Palace’s lead.

Liverpool had further chances and so did Palace but it was Salah who once again came to the rescue – saving the visitors’ blushes.

Victory takes Liverpool up to second place in the Premier League table – at least for a few hours as Manchester United host Swansea at 15:00 BST.

More missed opportunities for Palace
Roy Hodgson’s side suffered yet another defeat against a team in the top six and, having taken an early lead, this was a missed opportunity.

Palace were the better side in the first half and deserved to be in front after Zaha had won a penalty when he was clattered by Karius.

They then defended well – keeping Salah out of action and frustrating Mane.

Even after Liverpool had responded and equalised, Palace grew in confidence and started to create more in attack.

But Benteke missed two golden opportunities to regain the lead and it ultimately proved costly as Salah showed the required prolificacy at the other end.

Former Liverpool striker Benteke has missed 20 of the 22 big chances he has had in the Premier League this season, more than any other player.

Palace have now suffered five defeats in their last six games and are two points above the relegation zone – with their rivals all yet to play.

After throwing away leads against both Manchester United and Liverpool in the space of a month, Salah’s late winner will come as yet another blow to the south London side.

Major blow for Adam Lallana
Adam Lallana has started just one game for Liverpool this season after struggling with injury.

He came on as a second-half substitute at Selhurst Park in the hope of gaining more match fitness following a 30-minute cameo for England on Tuesday.

But it was not what he or Klopp had hoped for when he hobbled off within three minutes of his introduction.

The 29-year-old midfielder has played just 215 minutes of Premier League football this season and now looks set to spend more time on the sidelines.

“It is not good, he is really down in the dressing room,” Klopp said. “It is really difficult, whatever injury it looks like a muscle one.”

Crystal Palace boss Roy Hodgson, speaking to Sky Sports: “It’s very disappointing for them to get the winning goal so close to the end of the game. It’s tough to take.

“It feels like a groundhog day when we play against the top teams. In the second half we played well and controlled the ball and created better chances but we also conceded both goals.”

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp, speaking to BBC Sport: “It is usual for us that we need to fight here, especially after a difficult start, but it makes it more special at the end. The win was deserved.

On Mane’s booking for diving: “For me, it’s a penalty, it’s clear. He is 0.1 seconds too late going down, but it’s a penalty. With contact, how can that be a dive? I spoke to the referee at half-time.

“There were a few strange situations today and Mane had to go through 80 minutes of being whistled. It was not a Sadio Mane day today. I thought he would be sent off for handling the ball. I did not understand it but am happy he didn’t.”

–

Source: BBC

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Runaway leaders City suffered their only defeat in the league this season at Liverpool on 14 January, while Pep Guardiola’s side beat the Reds 5-0 at Etihad Stadium last September.

The first leg will take place at Anfield on 3-4 April, with the return the following week on 10-11 April.

Holders Real Madrid will face Italian champions Juventus.

That is a repeat of the 2017 final which Real won 4-1 in Cardiff.

La Liga leaders Barcelona, who are looking to win the Champions League for the first time since 2015, face Roma, while Sevilla, who beat Manchester United 2-1 on aggregate in the previous round, take on five-time European champions Bayern Munich.

Clash of the Premier League free-scorers

The tie between Liverpool and Manchester City will be the first meeting between Premier league sides in the Champions League quarter-finals since 2010-11 when Chelsea faced Manchester United.

On that occasion, United advanced 3-1 on aggregate on their way to the final which they lost 3-1 to Barcelona at Wembley.

Friday’s draw means one Premier League club is guaranteed a place in the semi-finals.

City are 21 points clear of fourth-placed Liverpool in the table.

They are the top two scorers in the Premier League, with City finding the net 85 times in 30 games. Liverpool have scored 68 goals from the same number of matches.

Champions League quarter-final draw

Barcelona v Roma

Sevilla v Bayern Munich

Juventus v Real Madrid

Liverpool v Manchester City

–

Source: BBC

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Liverpool 4-1 West Ham

Liverpool took their goal tally for the season to 103 as they claimed second place in the Premier League with a comfortable 4-1 win over West Ham.

Mohamed Salah, with his 31st of the season, again got on the scoresheet, while Emre Can, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane also struck.

West Ham hit the bar through Marko Arnautovic in the early stages, but were outplayed and managed just a consolation through substitute Michail Antonio.

Liverpool, who also won 4-1 at the London Stadium in November, were dominant and could have had more for their efforts, with both Salah and Mane striking the woodwork.

The Hammers, whose supporters wore T-shirts commemorating the 25th anniversary of Bobby Moore’s death, offered little and the result prolonged their manager David Moyes’ miserable record at Anfield.

The former Everton and Manchester United boss has now not won at the ground in 15 attempts.

Brighton 4-1 Swansea

Glenn Murray scored twice as Brighton gave their survival hopes a shot in the arm and brought Swansea’s revival to a halt.

Murray’s double and goals from Anthony Knockaert and Jurgen Locadia helped secure a 4-1 victory and a valuable three points for the hosts, as the Swans’ 10-game unbeaten run in all competitions came to an end.

The World Cup may be a pipe dream for 34-year-old Murray, but he now has 10 Premier League goals this season and only three Englishmen – Harry Kane, Raheem Stirling and Jamie Vardy – have scored more.

With a daunting run-in which sees them face Tottenham, Manchester United and Liverpool in their final four matches, this was a huge victory for Brighton.

They are now up to 11th, four points clear of 18th place, which is occupied by their beaten opponents Swansea.

Bournemouth 2-2 Newcastle

Dan Gosling struck a dramatic late equaliser against his former club as Bournemouth battled back from two goals down to draw 2-2 with Newcastle.

Midfielder Gosling converted into the roof of the net in the 89th minute after Cherries substitute Adam Smith set up a tense final 10 minutes by halving the deficit.

Magpies striker Dwight Gayle looked to have earned the visitors three precious Premier League points on the south coast with two simple, first-half finishes, but they made to pay for their profligacy, which included Jonjo Shelvey missing an open goal at 2-0.

Victory at the Vitality Stadium would have moved Newcastle level on points with their hosts, but Rafael Benitez’s men will continue to look anxiously over their shoulders at the bottom three following their late capitulation.

West Brom 1-2 Huddersfield

Rock-bottom West Brom’s troubles continued as they were beaten 2-1 at home by Premier League relegation rivals Huddersfield, their fifth successive loss in all competitions.

Strikes from Rajiv van La Parra in the 48th minute and Steve Mounie in the 56th put Huddersfield 2-0 up.

Craig Dawson replied with a header in the 64th, but West Brom could not muster anything further as the pressure increased on boss Alan Pardew.

In a contest where Albion fans made their frustration heard in various ways, there were chants of “you’re getting sacked in the morning” directed at Pardew towards the end, and loud boos rang around The Hawthorns at the final whistle.

The result leaves the Baggies – who have won just one of 14 league games under Pardew – still seven points adrift of the safety, with 10 matches left to play.

Burnley 1-1 Southampton

Manolo Gabbiadini’s late heroics earned a point for Southampton which moves them out of the relegation zone.

The hosts had been all set to secure their first win of 2018 through Ashley Barnes’ opener midway through the second half.

But Gabbiadini equalised in the 90th minute to earn the visitors a draw.

– Earlier on Saturday, a howler from Jack Butland cost Stoke City three points against Leicester City.

–

Source: Talksport

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Having won all but two of their league matches this season, Pep Guardiola’s side found themselves 4-1 down midway through the second half and they looked well beaten before a late rally set up a nerve-jangling finale but the hosts held on for a 4-3 win.

The ending of their 30-match unbeaten run, stretching back to April, handed Manchester United the chance to cut City’s lead to 12 against Stoke on Monday.

Having drawn level just before the break when Leroy Sane cancelled out Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s early opener, City were torn apart by three brilliant goals in nine minutes from Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah, although all were assisted by defensive errors.

Substitute Bernardo Silva and Ilkay Gundogan scored late on to raise hopes of an unlikely comeback but Liverpool held on to extend their own unbeaten run to 18 matches, their longest sequence since 2008.

The result helped paper over the cracks in the Liverpool backline where questions are still being asked about their goalkeepers.

Jurgen Klopp picked Loris Karius ahead of established number one Simon Mignolet and suggested the place was now the German’s to lose.

With £75million record signing Virgil van Dijk already missing with a tight hamstring it was a huge call and one, arguably, the Reds boss got wrong with Karius at fault for the equaliser.

Instead of providing a solution it merely reopened the debate about whether either goalkeeper is good enough for a side with future title ambitions.

There cannot be any such argument about Klopp’s attacking resources, particularly as this was their first outing since the £142million sale of Philippe Coutinho to Barcelona.

Oxlade-Chamberlain’s low ninth-minute 20-yard strike was the deserved reward for Liverpool being one of the few sides to take the game to City.

It was his third Premier League goal of the season and the 24-year-old now has as many league goals in 20 games for Liverpool as he scored for Arsenal in the last two campaigns.

City, who had to replace injured left-back Fabian Delph on the half-hour, had speculative shots from Sane and Kevin De Bruyne but Liverpool had better with Firmino’s near-post header going just wide.

However, five minutes before the break Joe Gomez misjudged Kyle Walker’s crossfield ball and Sane skipped past him and Joel Matip and beat Karius too easily at his near post.

Six minutes into the second half Nicolas Otamendi’s header against the bar was the signal for Liverpool to raise their game. The momentum changed in three pivotal minutes which exposed the league leaders like never before this season as both City centre-backs were found wanting.

John Stones was out-muscled by Firmino for Oxlade-Chamberlain’s through-ball and the Brazilian dinked an effort in off the far post before Mane hit the outside of the same upright with a curling right-footer.

But Senegal international Mane was not to be denied when Salah nipped in front of Otamendi and teed up his team-mate to lash the ball into the top corner with his weaker left foot.

Still, Liverpool poured forward and when Ederson miscued a clearance to Salah the Egypt international lobbed it back over the goalkeeper’s head for his 24th strike of the season.

Silva and Gundogan enhanced City’s reputation for late goals but it was not enough.

–

Source: Talksport

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The Reds, without Roberto Firmino and injured duo Philippe Coutinho and Mohamed Salah in their starting line-up, led through Sadio Mane’s second-half strike.

Johann Gudmundsson equalised with a late header, but Estonian centre-back Klavan scored in injury time.

Leicester beat Huddersfield 3-0, with Riyad Mahrez scoring and then assisting Islam Slimani, who was making only his second Premier League start of the season, because Jamie Vardy was out injured. Marc Albrighton scored their late third.

Newcastle beat fellow strugglers Stoke City 1-0, with Ayoze Perez scoring from close range.

Brighton and Bournemouth played out an entertaining 2-2 draw in the first Premier League game of 2018 – in a match with 42 shots, the record for a top-flight game this season. The Cherries twice came from behind, with Callum Wilson scoring a scrappy 79th-minute equaliser.

In the 17:30 GMT game, which is on BBC Radio 5 live, Everton are at home to Manchester United.

Premier League match reports

Brighton 2-2 Bournemouth

Burnley 1-2 Liverpool

Leicester 3-0 Huddersfield

Stoke 0-1 Newcastle

Source:BBC

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The 25-year-old had a transfer request rejected in August, as the Reds turned down three bids from the La Liga club.

“I do not know how the future is going to be,” said the forward, who signed a five-year deal at the start of 2017.

“What will happen in January, we will know it in January. I do not know if there will be an offer.”

Barcelona targeted Coutinho after selling his fellow Brazilian Neymar to Paris St-Germain for a world record fee of £200m.

Liverpool said the playmaker was not for sale and rejected bids of £72m, £90m and one in the region of £114m prior to the transfer deadline in Spain, which closed a day later than in England.

After missing the start of the season through injury, Coutinho has since scored nine goals in 13 appearances – including a hat-trick in Wednesday’s 7-0 thrashing of Spartak Moscow in the Champions League.

He continued: “Last summer there was a job offer in the same way that happens with any employee and I was interested in it. Since I stayed I have played with will and desire.

“Of course a lot happened in the summer but my will is always to play and do the best wherever I am – that has not changed.

“I am here (at Liverpool), we have a lot of games and I try to do my best to help. I always do my best when I have the opportunity to play, respecting the jersey and the supporters.”

–

Source: BBC

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The bid to make the Russia 2018 World Cup failed woefully, the local top flight league is riddled with alleged match fixing, unchecked betting among players and grass root football remains lifeless but yet again a large collection of brains will gather in Cape-Coast for a summit I hope will be more than a tea drinking party to rehash old ideas.

The GFA have managed to bring together all the stakeholders that matter as far as the issue of Ghana football is concerned, now the onus is on them to ensure that deliberations during the three-day summit don’t bypass the establishment of the structures that teach the fundamentals of the game.

It is wonderful that an effort will be made to educate all participants on the modern technologies and trends of the game but none of that makes sense when the factory that will churn out players does not exist.

Nations that are light years ahead of Ghana have taken steps back to do some introspection after they have hit a dead-end but for that to happen the front runners and leaders of the game must firstly admit that the game has gone to the dogs and needs a thorough clean up and restructuring from the bottom up.

It’s great that stakeholders including the National Juvenile Committee, the Ministry of Youth and Sports (MOYS) the Professional Footballers Association of Ghana (PFAG) and Sports Writers Association of Ghana (SWAG) will all be in attendance as the FA seeks to draw a roadmap that attempts to save the game from becoming extinct.

The role of the Sports Ministry in all this will make for curious observation as the State has clearly shown through cutting funding for the Ministry by thirty percent that Sports does not hold a lot of importance in the nation-building agenda.

However, the success stories of countries like the United States and Great Britain where the State participates and takes an active interest in Sports is hard to ignore. This goes beyond the mere provision of funds but also putting together visionary policies and adherence to establishing grass root structures.

While the game still has nostrils let us play our part by feeding it oxygen because I fear that there might come a time when our arrogance and lack of interest to develop the game will attract nothing but tears and black roses.

Red Mess

Which man with genuine intentions to be at his best will look in their wardrobe only to pick out a dirty and crumpled shirt while a clean and crisp one stays hanging as he anticipates a date with a highly coveted woman? German tactician and manager Jurgen  Klopp.

Which General, leaves his elite troops in the background while the enemy gains the advantage and is looking to make away with valuables? German tactician and manager Jurgen Klopp does.

Liverpool football club’s last medal of honour in the last decade remains their tag as the giant killers of the English Premier League but even that is threatening to slip away.

Arsenal can barely be considered giants in the current era of the Premier League so Liverpool’s 4-0 victory against them can barely be an oasis in this context.

However, a humbling 5-0 defeat to Man City followed by an indifferent 0-0 performance against Man United and another disastrous 4-1 defeat to Tottenham have Liverpool trailing league leaders Manchester City by 14 points with their giant-killing rep in tatters.

With the team coming off a soul crashing 3-3 draw against Sevilla in the Champions League in midweek, the team yearned for that one result that had the potential, to jumpstart Liverpool’s season.

What better opportunity to do that than in a match against Chelsea at Anfield.

The team sheets provided the first hammer blow, with Sadio Mane, Liverpool’s most influential player left on the bench accompanied by Roberto Firmino, the club’s most hardworking attacker.

This essentially meant that Liverpool would line up with a midfield three of Henderson, Milner and Oxlade-Chanmberlain who prior to the Chelsea match had never played together, while upfront Sturridge was the preferred choice.

The 1-0 scoreline in favour of Liverpool on the stroke of 64 minutes was misleading as Chelsea had till the point created several clear-cut goal scoring chances while the home side labored in their attempts to tease out their opponents.

Indeed Salah’s goal was as a result of Bakayoko accidentally knocking a ball into the path of the Egyptian and not Liverpool’s creative brilliance.

This was the point in the game when the managers needed to earn their salaries and Chelsea’s Conte came out with a grade A.

He quickly made switches that gave his trailing team a competitive advantage going forward and kept them on the front foot till Willian came through with Chelsea’s equalizer.

The decision to leave Mane out of the starting lineup in itself is an unforgivable crime, but the short-sightedness not to notice his role as a counter-attacking outlet right after taking the lead leaves me puzzled and angry at the same time.

Jurgen Klopp failed to take advantage of a Chelsea team struggling to find consistency and approached the match against Chelsea like one with nothing at stake.

His in-game management has been extremely questionable, and I cannot fault Mane for reacting in a very angry manner to his manager after the match.

Such decisions have the tendency to wreck the chemistry of the dressing room.

While there are those who believe that Klopp’s actions will reinforce his complete confidence in the overall quality of his squad I do believe that his actions will lead the big players in the dressing room to question his ambition, judgment and his commitment to remaining among the league’s elite.

In effect, these results will eventually pile pressure on Klopp himself with the progress made by the club during his nearly three-year stint coming under scrutiny.

The irony of it all is that I don’t believe we have seen the last of Jurgen Klopp and his loony decisions.

Trapped in Dark place

At the peak of his powers Derrick Rose, was arguably the best player in the NBA on certain nights and was emerging as the face of the NBA’s youth movement. Before we witnessed the freakish athleticism of Russell Westbrook and John Wall at the guard spot there was Derrick Rose.

Indeed he would go on to become the youngest ever MVP in the history of the league at age 22 in the 2010/2011 while leading the Chicago Bulls to a league best 62-20 record.

He has however never been the same since tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in the opening game of the playoffs in 2012 against the Sixers.

Ever since, he has been plagued with a plethora of injuries and personal situations that have derailed his once Hall of Fame destined career.

In fact Rose hasn’t played in more than 66 games in a single season since 2011-12 and has sustained an incredible 23 different types of injuries since the 2013 season.

The most complex bit for an athlete with the injury history of Rose is overcoming the psychological hurdle once the recovery process is complete.

The fear of sustaining another injury has the potential to eat away at the confidence of a player but it seemed as if Rose had turned that corner and was determined to play the game his way.

“I can’t think about getting injured every time I get out there on the floor, I just want to play free and enjoy myself,” he told reporters shortly after he had joined the New York Knicks.

Playing in only seven games so far this season, Rose was averaging nearly 27 minutes per game. Minutes that would produce 14.3 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game before disaster struck again.

A sprained ankle sustained against the Milwaukee Bucks has left the former MVP mentally drained and frustrated to the extent where he has asked to be away from the team while he sorts himself out.

It remains true that when he is out on the court he still attacks the basket with the same aggression and his finishing around the hoop remains very assured but how does one find the resilience to return when the body just won’t hold up.

A part of me believes that while Rose spoke of playing without any fear, in his head it was the stark opposite.

What he will have to do is find a way to let out all his frustrations while subscribing to some form of therapy that will convince him to find the joy in the little things surrounding the game.

Talking to other players that have suffered his type of situation could also help immensely but to be honest I won’t pretend as If I truly know what the man is enduring.

He will require the Cavaliers family and especially Lebron James to show him some much-needed affection while he goes through these difficult times.

He could have become the one of the greatest ever and might still be in with a chance of winning a Championship with the Cavs.

I don’t know what the future holds but whatever happens, Derrick Rose, please don’t walk away from the game.

By: Benjamin Nketsia/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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Klopp was trying to bring on Adam Lallana when Willian, who scored twice in a 4-0 win at Qarabag in the Champions League on Wednesday, struck in the 85th minute as what appeared to be a cross looped over Simon Mignolet and into the far corner.

“I was angry because we wanted to change the system but the referee didn’t give us the opportunity,” the German told BT Sport.

“I don’t know what he thought in this moment, he told me something about taking too long, I don’t understand it.

“How can we take too long? We didn’t want to time waste, we wanted to change the system and that’s why I was angry.”

The goal denied Mohamed Salah a dream outcome against his former club after the Liverpool winger had opened the scoring just after the hour with a close-range finish.

That was Salah’s 10th goal in just 13 Premier League games this season in what has been a superb start to the Egyptian’s Liverpool career.

Salah could even have won it for Liverpool in the final minute but his powerful drive was saved by Thibaut Courtois.

Chelsea are unbeaten in their past seven visits to Anfield, a run stretching back to 2013.

–

Source: BBC

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Salah, who left the Blues last year after a brief and unsuccessful spell at Stamford Bridge, raced onto Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s ball to side-foot home the opener in the second half.

It was Salah’s 10th goal in just 13 Premier League games this season in what has been an incredible start to the Egyptian’s Liverpool career.

Chelsea had beaten Qarabag 4-0 in the Champions League on Wednesday but showed only flashes of their attacking quality in this game.

But they got lucky in the closing stages when Willian’s apparent cross drifted over Simon Mignolet and into the back of the net.

Chelsea’s are unbeaten in their past six visits to Anfield, a run stretching back to 2012.

–

Source: BBC Sport

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