Liverpool urged to maintain momentum
Reds manager pushes team to bounce back against Fulham in Premier League today.
The four teams below Liverpool (second spot) are all within a point, but manager Brendan Rodgers feels his side is on the right track to earn a Champions League spot this season. PHOTO: LIVERPOOLFC.COM
LIVERPOOL:
Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers believes that his team will be close to delivering Champions League football if it can continue its form from the opening weeks of the season.
The Anfield club, who host Fulham in the Premier League today, were beaten for the second time in the league this season when they lost 2-0 at leaders Arsenal last weekend.
But with no European football or League Cup action to contend with, they currently reside in third place with 20 points from their first 10 games of the season.
And Rodgers feels that maintaining that pace will be enough to avoid extending their exile from the Champions League into a fifth season.
“If you look at where we’re at, if you’re averaging two points a game, you would like to think you would get into the Champions League,” he said.
“If we can get another three points, which we’ll be fighting hard for, that would take us above that.
“We’re just treating every game as an important game for us in our quest this year. We just need to keep focusing and keep our concentration.
“We’ve got some players coming back now, like young Philippe Coutinho, who adds a genuine quality to our game.
“We’ve built a platform this year, but we have to keep pushing and moving forward.”
Besides Coutinho and Glen Johnson, Spanish left-back Jose Enrique may return from a knee problem, but forward Iago Aspas and defender Sebastian Coates are long-term absentees.
Eto’o makes case for start against West Brom
Chelsea striker Samuel Eto’o has handed manager Jose Mourinho a selection dilemma ahead of the London club’s meeting with West Bromwich.
Eto’o was brought into the starting line-up for the mid-week Champions League meeting with Schalke in one of six changes as Mourinho reacted decisively to last weekend’s 2-0 defeat at Newcastle United.
Mourinho went public with his criticism of his players, but his actions achieved the right result, with Eto’o scoring twice in a 3-0 victory that revived spirits ahead of the West Brom encounter.
Centre-back Gary Cahill believes that Eto’o, who is vying for a starting spot with Fernando Torres, is nearing a return to his best after a slow start to his Chelsea career following a summer move from Anzhi Makhachkala.
“Now Samuel has found his feet, he is looking sharp and getting goals for us,” said Cahill.
“He has got nothing to prove, but as a player you are always proving something to yourself. He has come to the Premier League for the first time and he wants to perform.”
Published in The Express Tribune, November 9th, 2013.
Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers believes that his team will be close to delivering Champions League football if it can continue its form from the opening weeks of the season.
The Anfield club, who host Fulham in the Premier League today, were beaten for the second time in the league this season when they lost 2-0 at leaders Arsenal last weekend.
But with no European football or League Cup action to contend with, they currently reside in third place with 20 points from their first 10 games of the season.
And Rodgers feels that maintaining that pace will be enough to avoid extending their exile from the Champions League into a fifth season.
“If you look at where we’re at, if you’re averaging two points a game, you would like to think you would get into the Champions League,” he said.
“If we can get another three points, which we’ll be fighting hard for, that would take us above that.
“We’re just treating every game as an important game for us in our quest this year. We just need to keep focusing and keep our concentration.
“We’ve got some players coming back now, like young Philippe Coutinho, who adds a genuine quality to our game.
“We’ve built a platform this year, but we have to keep pushing and moving forward.”
Besides Coutinho and Glen Johnson, Spanish left-back Jose Enrique may return from a knee problem, but forward Iago Aspas and defender Sebastian Coates are long-term absentees.
Eto’o makes case for start against West Brom
Chelsea striker Samuel Eto’o has handed manager Jose Mourinho a selection dilemma ahead of the London club’s meeting with West Bromwich.
Eto’o was brought into the starting line-up for the mid-week Champions League meeting with Schalke in one of six changes as Mourinho reacted decisively to last weekend’s 2-0 defeat at Newcastle United.
Mourinho went public with his criticism of his players, but his actions achieved the right result, with Eto’o scoring twice in a 3-0 victory that revived spirits ahead of the West Brom encounter.
Centre-back Gary Cahill believes that Eto’o, who is vying for a starting spot with Fernando Torres, is nearing a return to his best after a slow start to his Chelsea career following a summer move from Anzhi Makhachkala.
“Now Samuel has found his feet, he is looking sharp and getting goals for us,” said Cahill.
“He has got nothing to prove, but as a player you are always proving something to yourself. He has come to the Premier League for the first time and he wants to perform.”
Published in The Express Tribune, November 9th, 2013.