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IAN LADYMAN: Alexander Isak used to take penalties for his old club but when Liverpool won one in the 96th minute yesterday, I almost hoped he wouldn't take it. He didn't.
Liverpool's season got off to a stuttering start as they drew 2-2 with Newcastle United, with Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak struggling. The post ‘They’re too nice’ – Neville says Wirtz and Isak must improve after getting ‘free ride’ at Liverpool appeared first on SoccerNews.
Looking to finish the job and officially punch their Champions League group stage ticket on Tuesday night, Celtic will travel to Austria for their second-leg showdown against LASK. With a stacked midweek schedule from across the continent, there are plenty of eye-catching betting promotions available. Verdict: Goal to be scored in both halves Best Odds: […] The post Prediction: LASK vs Celtic appeared first on SoccerNews.
Andoni Iraola must get more out of Liverpool’s expensive signings (Picture: Getty Images) Gary Neville feels it is time for Florian Wirtz to start delivering for Liverpool, telling the Germany international to ‘sort himself out’ after another underwhelming performance. Wirtz arrived at Anfield from Bayer Leverkusen last summer for £116million and has failed to live up to that mammoth price tag since. The 23-year-old started in the 2-2 draw with Newcastle on Sunday and produced another forgettable performance before being replaced by Alexis Mac Allister on 63 minutes. That outing at St James’ Park was his 34th Premier League appearance, during which time he has produced five goals and three assists. Exclusive Premier League previews Get ahead of the start of the season with our weekly football newsletter. Sign up now for free. Neville expects a lot more from Wirtz and from striker Alexander Isak, who was also underwhelming on Sunday, but did have the excuse last season of being injured for a significant amount of the campaign. ‘They’re going to have to start playing sooner or later or else, to be fair, they’re going to get quite a lot of criticism,’ the Manchester United legend told Sky Sports. ‘For a start, they’re too nice, and if you’re going to be nice, you’d better be incredible at football. ‘I don’t see the tenacity in Wirtz in particular. I just see a nice player moving around the pitch, not really ever looking like he’s busting a gut to do anything. Florian Wirtz is yet to justify his enormous transfer fee (Picture: Getty Images) ‘Now, that can happen. Sometimes players have that flow about them, but I want to put a rocket up him. I want to put a rocket up him because there’s ability there, there’s talent there, the understanding of his position.’ He added: ‘Wirtz, he needs to sort himself out. Enough’s enough now, we’ve talked about him enough. He’s young and he’s come to a different country – and I’m all for willing him on. ‘They have both had a bit of a free ride. Obviously Isak was injured last season but Arne Slot loses his job, and Wirtz has played like that, so let’s be clear, this has got me to start some real focus now. Gary Neville feels Isak and Wirtz must step up to the plate (Picture: PA Wire) ‘I can see a real player there, but can’t keep watching this stuff and he’s been subbed after an hour and they need a goal, but they’re 2-1 down, so no that’s not right.’ The former full-back suggested that Wirtz and Isak would benefit from the German playing in a more advanced position, feeling that he drops deep and drifts wide too much. The two could create an excellent partnership, but need to be closer on the pitch to do so. ‘Sometimes I think he moves around too much. Sometimes I don’t think he’s close enough to his striker, I don’t think he understands where the game’s going to be won and lost,’ Neville said of Wirtz. Alexander Isak wasn’t particularly threatening against his old club (Picture: AP Photo) ‘When I played football and No 10s sometimes drifted too deep, or too wide, they would get a right rollicking off our manager. ‘The game’s not going to be won out there, the game’s not going to be won back there, the game’s going to be won in the final third, in and around the box. ‘Combining with your striker, getting crosses in, getting little passes, getting little side passes down the side of the centre-backs, being close enough to your forward so that you can combine with him. And I don’t see him combining with Isak. ‘I just feel like Wirtz has got to think about being involved in the build-up less and think about being a second striker. He’s got to think about his output and what he needs to do, and that is feed Isak with little passes down the side of centre-backs. He might only get the ball two or three times in that position in tight games where teams are lying deep.’ Comment now Comments Add Metro as a Preferred Source on Google Add as preferred source
Oliver Glasner said after victory in Nottingham Forest's friendly against Brest last Sunday that they were working on "two or three" deals. Forest are looking at quality over quantity and moving with precision in the window takes more time, especially in their pursuit of Tottenham midfielder Lucas Bergvall, with the Sweden international now likely to stay in north London. Leeds boss Daniel Farke is the third-longest serving Premier League manager after moving to Elland Road in July 2023 and last season's 14th place gives the German the foundation for success this time around.
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