by 6:38 pm
Cody Gakpo arrives at Anfield
Obviously not eligible until next year:
6:36pm
There will be a minute’s silence for Pele tonight
And players will wear complimentary black armbands.
Here’s the big man from Stanley Park at Goodison in 1966:
6:31pm
There was a fire alarm at Anfield earlier
The ground was evacuated after a smoke detector went off but everything was checked and cleared. All the early risers (liver) are back in now.
4:56 pm
Have a good evening
Martin O’Neill had many qualities as a manager, but the one that endeared him to Leicester City fans was simply his ability to win games when he was eclipsed by talent and investment. In four visits to Anfield from 1996 to 2000, O’Neill’s Foxes beat Liverpool three times and drew once; in 11 successive Premier League away games he has lost nine and drawn two. No doubt O’Neill was a better strategist than Gerard Houllier, but to think he got his final victory there with goals from a 34-year-old Tony Cottee and perennial fourth-choice centre-back Phil Gilchrist against a side that contained Michael Owen, Robbie Fowler, Emile Heskey, Didi Hamann, Sami Hyypia, Jamie Carragher and others, a team that would go on to win three cups the following season, spoke volumes for O’Neill’s cunning.
How could Leicester do with some of that today. Brendan Rodgers appeared to have thrown in the towel on Boxing Day with his side selection and with 3-0 down at half-time against Newcastle he must have feared a bombardment. Having won four of their previous five before the World Cup break, taking them from bottom of the table to 13th, how much they rely on James Maddison for their creative spark was only underscored by his enforced absence through knee injury. Sadly won’t be back tonight. The 2021 purchases also continue to disappoint.
As for Liverpool, they were worthy winners at Villa Park, where the interplay of their full-backs, Trent Alexander-Arnold’s stunning range of passes and sharp finishing eliminated an Aston Villa side causing them, and especially their habitually high defense. line, some problems. There was an encouraging first start to 10 months for Alex Olxlade-Chamberlain, Darwin Nunez was hurt even though his finish wasn’t up to his efforts and Stefan Bajcetic showed why there was such a fuss for him to be more involved.
I can’t find anyone, not least bookmakers, who expect anything other than a comfortable home win. I suppose Rodgers, who, like most ex-Liverpool managers apart from Kenny Dalglish in 1993, struggled on his return to Anfield, unable to be ruthless due to the tug at their heartstrings, may have been holding something back the Boxing day for tonight’s game. But to this observer he looks like a man already preoccupied with the window and hurrying to get there as fast as possible.
