Centre-back excelled on debut against Southampton Arne Slot predicts Leoni will be out for ‘around a year’ Arne Slot has confirmed Giovanni Leoni will miss the rest of the season after tearing an anterior cruciate ligament on his Liverpool debut. The 18-year-old central defender, signed from Parma last month for £26m, sustained the injury towards the end of an assured performance against Southampton in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday and immediate concerns over a lengthy layoff have been realised. Leoni, recently called up to the Italy squad for the first time, faces surgery and an extensive rehabilitation period. Continue reading...

⚽ Latest updates from Merseyside derby (12.30pm) ⚽ Live scores | Top scorers | Follow on Bluesky | Mail Barry David Moyes: “This has always been an incredibly difficult fixture for me because I’ve always come up against really good Liverpool teams,” said Everton’s head coach in his pre-match press conference. “I think it’s easier if you’re the team that has the stronger squad, but we’re up against it so we have to go there and fight for everything.” On his opposite number, Arne Slot: “He has done a brilliant job. They have gone out and bought some top players, which has strengthened them again. They have definitely looked to improve even more than last season.” Continue reading...

Liverpool boss Arne Slot enjoys a dramatic birthday as record signing Alexander Isak samples Anfield's Champions League power, says chief football writer Phil McNulty.

Swede is not a classic central striker, but could his signing herald tactical tweaks and what does it mean for Salah? On the face of it, it’s not hard to see why Liverpool would want Alexander Isak. He will not turn 26 until later this month and has scored more than 20 Premier League goals in each of the past two seasons, something matched only by Erling Haaland. But he offers more than just goals; he’s a very modern centre-forward. Thirty or 40 years ago, when 4-4-2 was still the dominant formation, strike pairings tended to come in two forms: either target-man and finisher, or creator and finisher. These days, the very best centre-forwards combine traits of all three. This is not entirely new: the days of Kenny Dalglish and Ian Rush or Niall Quinn and Kevin Phillips are long gone and football has been familiar for some time with players of the ilk of Didier Drogba, Andriy Shevchenko and Radamel Falcao, forwards with pace and some blend of physicality and technical ability. Continue reading...

Isak signs six-year contract and ‘wants to create history’ Deal for Crystal Palace’s Marc Guéhi falls through Liverpool broke the British transfer record to sign Alexander Isak for £125m from Newcastle on deadline day but were foiled in an attempt to end a stunning window with a deal for Marc Guéhi. On a contrasting day for the Premier League champions, Isak underwent a medical on Merseyside before signing a six-year contract worth around £300,000 a week. Liverpool also stepped up efforts to sign the Crystal Palace captain, Guéhi, who had a medical in London in anticipation of joining Arne Slot’s side after Steve Parish, the Palace chair, accepted £35m plus £5m in add-ons for the defender. Continue reading...

Steve Parish decided he could not lose defender for free Oliver Glasner was determined to hold on to club captain Crystal Palace have reluctantly accepted Liverpool’s £35m offer for Marc Guéhi, with the England defender set to complete his medical on Monday and complete his long-anticipated move before the transfer deadline. It is understood that the Palace chairman, Steve Parish, had considered manager Oliver Glasner’s plea not to sell his captain on the final day of the transfer window because the FA Cup winners had not brought in a replacement in time. But having admitted after their victory over Arne Slot’s side in the Community Shield that he would probably have to be sold this month to avoid losing the 25-year-old for free next summer, Parish dramatically agreed to sanction Guéhi’s departure hours before the 7pm deadline. Continue reading...

Head coach says team must improve to defend trophy ‘Most wins were only by one goal and we had to fight’ Arne Slot has said Liverpool should not fall into the trap of romanticising last season’s title triumph as a convincing stroll, when the reality was a hard slog that required a change in style. The Liverpool head coach insists he had to modify his team’s approach this season to implement the improvements necessary to defend the Premier League title. Liverpool won the league with four matches to spare and a 10-point cushion over Sunday’s opponents, Arsenal, but Slot has warned his players not to forget how difficult it was to break clear. The additions of Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitiké – and quite possibly Alexander Isak before the transfer deadline – were designed to make Liverpool a more dominant force. Continue reading...

Manager Arne Slot says "he is not too sure he saw a football match" as he questioned Newcastle's tactics during Liverpool's 3-2 win at St James' Park.

Liverpool manager Arne Slot admits he is "relieved" after seeing his side score a 100th-minute winner to beat 10-man Newcastle 3-2 in a thrilling encounter at St James' Park in the Premier League.

This was a long way from the controlled Liverpool of last season, with new signing Milos Kerkez in particular struggling against his old team To take a side who have just won the league and make four major changes cannot be anything but a risk. There will always be at least some process of adaptation, particularly given the slight change of shape the arrival of Florian Wirtz has entailed. The danger for Liverpool is that they give up points that could prove costly if this is a tight title race. While that transition goes on, results perhaps matter more than performances, so long as the trend of those performances is towards a greater cohesion. Continue reading...

Liverpool head coach Arne Slot says it is clear "we never want to see this in football, let alone at Anfield", after the Premier League match against Bournemouth is halted after the forward reported being racially abused by a member of the crowd.

Arne Slot praised Federico Chiesa after the Italian scored his first Premier League goal to help Liverpool beat Bournemouth 4-2 at Anfield in the opening match of the new Premier League season.

Latest news and updates before Premier League opener Previews | Barney Ronay on Premier League | Mail David Florian Wirtz makes his Premier League debut tonight. With his control, vision, movement and weight of pass, he’s a delightful footballer and it’s easy to see why Liverpool paid the big bucks. Arne Slot is thrilled to have the German on board but offered a tinge of realism in his press conference. Continue reading...

Liverpool have agreed a deal to sign 18-year-old defender Giovanni Leoni from Parma, Reds manager Arne Slot reveals.