Liverpool

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Dutch journalist Marcel van der Kraan joined the Football Daily Podcast to discuss what Feyenoord manager Arne Slot could bring to Liverpool should he be given the job this summer.

The Reds are in talks to appoint the Dutchman as a replacement for Jurgen Klopp, who will depart at the end of the season.

Slot led Feyenoord to the 2022-23 Eredivisie title and this season they have won the Dutch Cup and are second in the league.

So will they let him go?

"Feyenoord understand they can no longer stand in his way of leaving," said Van der Kraan. "But they want some form of compensation because it is the best manager they have had in many years.

"This man has brought such entertaining, almost sexy, football to the Dutch league. He is a manager that Liverpool fans can look forward too and I am just hoping that he can make it through the high level of expectation.

"I really want this manager to make an impact because too many Dutch managers have not had the grip of Premier League football. Being brilliant in Holland is great for Dutch fans, and yes we like to play in football, but to be a real success in England you have to really step it up.

"I just wish Arne Slot had experienced English football as a player because those that have seem to understand the intensity better."

Although unproven in the Premier League, Van der Kraan believes he has the key attributes to succeed in England.

"Liverpool fans should be confident because Slot does not lack any confidence and he will play the way he wants," he said. "He has a super attacking style and it is very similar to that of Pep Guardiola.

"He will not adapt against any opposition. Slot is like Guardiola and it is attack, attack, attack. He demands so much from his players."

"He has a personality where he knows he can carry a club because he has done that with smaller clubs and Feyenoord.

"He is charismatic and if Liverpool have done their homework and studied him, then they will know he is so similar to Klopp. He is full of energy and that is good for the Liverpool team because the players will not see much difference."

Listen to the full discussion on BBC Sounds

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Former Manchester United goalkeeper Raimond van der Gouw believes Arne Slot's style of play "will suit" Liverpool if he is to join the club.

The Reds are set to open talks with Feyenoord over their manager Slot succeeding Jurgen Klopp as Liverpool boss.

The 45-year-old has had both league and domestic cup success with the Eredivisie side is known for a high intensity, attacking style of play.

"If it is possible, he will try to press high and all the players know what to do. I think he plays in an attractive way and it's nice to watch for the supporters," Van der Gouw told BBC World Service Sport Today.

"It's difficult to compare [with Liverpool's current style of play] as he has his own style.

"But you can also say they try to play with the same intensity, with a lot of energy and I think that would suit Liverpool as well. The team is always working hard."

Despite having spent all his footballing career in the Netherlands, Van der Gouw does not feel Slot will be affected by the pressure of managing a Premier League club like Liverpool.

"Liverpool is a massive club with a lot of supporters who are very good, but he's coming from Feyenoord and the supporters from Feyenoord are so fanatic," he added.

"He deals with it very well, so I expect he will do the same thing with the supporters from Liverpool."

Listen to the full interview on BBC Sounds

Here is a selection of the key facts and figures before West Ham United host Liverpool in the Premier League on Saturday (12:00 BST kick-off).

• West Ham have lost 12 of their past 14 Premier League games against Liverpool, with both exceptions in this run coming at home (1-1 in February 2019, 3-2 in November 2021).

• The Reds have already beaten the Hammers 3-1 in the league and 5-1 in the Carabao Cup so far this season. This is the 11th campaign in which the two sides have faced each other three or more times, but Liverpool have never managed to beat them three times.

• West Ham have won just one of their past eight league home games (D5 L2), beating Brentford 4-2 in February. They lost against Fulham last time out but have not been beaten in consecutive home league games since a run of three in November/December 2022.

• Mohamed Salah has scored 11 goals for Liverpool against West Ham, only netting more against Manchester United (14) in his Reds career.

• Jarrod Bowen has scored in both meetings with Liverpool so far this season – the only Hammers player to score in three different games against the Reds in a campaign is Geoff Hurst in 1964-65.

Losing derby matches is tough to take. It is even more difficult to come to terms with when it becomes something that rarely happens. When you then factor in the harm it does to your Premier League title ambitions, it becomes a cocktail for catastrophe.

As expected, Liverpool had large periods of the game where they dominated the possession. They created some really good opportunities, notably for Luis Diaz and Darwin Nunez in the first half, but both chances were squandered.

Once again Mohamed Salah looked a shadow of the player who has been the scourge of Premier League defenders for such a long time. He is not lacking in terms of appetite, but his ability to change games in an instant has gone missing. Perhaps the injury he suffered during the Africa Cup of Nations proved more difficult to overcome than we imagined.

Diaz was as hungry as ever to contribute but you could perhaps tell it was not to be his night when he struck the post with a magnificent curling shot in the second half. By then, the damage had been done and Everton were 2-0 in front.

The defeat for Liverpool owed much to their inability to cope with Everton’s aerial prowess at set pieces. Their dominance of the far post was almost total, yet Liverpool failed to alter a tactical plan that was not working.

For Darwin Nunez, it was another night where he failed to make the most of chances afforded to him.

Earlier on in the campaign Liverpool were scoring goals from all over the pitch. Missing chances did not really matter, but now when the goals from elsewhere have dried up, it really does. Nunez needs to bring more composure to his finishing and he has to be more clinical.

While the defeat comes as a devastating blow to Liverpool’s title ambitions, it is worth remembering that at the start of the season, very few Reds fans saw their team as realistic title contenders. Given the seismic changes to the squad during the summer, this still has to be viewed as a season of progress and one that still ended with silverware in the trophy cabinet.

The onus on the players now is to make sure the season does not drift away. They have to get back on track and rediscover their desire and determination. Their season is not over yet. It cannot be.

They still have to battle for every point, starting at London Stadium on Saturday lunchtime.

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Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp rarely looks a beaten man - but he looked close to it after his side suffered a harrowing night in defeat against Everton at Goodison Park.

Klopp apologised to Liverpool's fans and admitted the performance in an electric atmosphere had simply not been good enough.

Liverpool are still only three points behind leaders Arsenal but The Gunners have a vastly superior goal difference while Manchester City are only a point behind with two games in hand.

Klopp looked shell-shocked in his technical area as Everton fans subjected their old rivals to taunts of "You Lost The League At Goodison Park" near the end of their first Merseyside derby win at home since October 2010.

And Klopp had to reflect on a Liverpool display that was desperately poor in both penalty areas, Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate suffering in defence while their attack misfired once more.

Darwin Nunez is now reaching the stage where he can now longer be forgiven for his wayward finishing because he causes "chaos". It is currently only wayward finishing that makes him stand out, not any chaos he may cause.

Mohamed Salah is also going through the most indifferent spell of finishing of his Liverpool career, guilty of more misses at Everton.

The title race is not over but Liverpool's run of two losses and a draw in their past four league games has left them relying heavily on unlikely results elsewhere.

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Liverpool's front line faced scrutiny following their 2-0 defeat by Everton on Wednesday, which left the Reds three points off league leaders Arsenal.

Jurgen Klopp's side had 23 shots, seven on target, but failed to put any of them past Jordan Pickford.

A graphic from Wednesday's Match of the Day showed all three of Liverpool's forwards ranking inside the top 10 for big chances missed this season.

"It's not Liverpool-like," former Manchester City defender Micah Richards told Match of the Day. "They've got so much quality and normally in these games they put away these big opportunities.

"Especially Darwin Nunez. He has missed 26 big chances and only scored 11 goals. You can say that other players have missed big chances, but they are also scoring more goals.

"I think Liverpool will be ruing that."

Watch highlights and analysis on BBC iPlayer

We asked for your views on Everton's 2-0 win over Liverpool on Wednesday.

Here are some of your answers:

Karen: Season over as far as I am concerned. Their passion has fizzled out. Always making it so difficult by conceding early goals. This team achieves such a high percentage of possession but too many chances are wasted. Too many drawn fixtures and too many losses against teams in games that should be a comfortable win. We have so much quality, but little substance.

Claude: Well it is all over now. No chance Liverpool will win the league this season. Poor performance from the boys. There was no desire or focus in how to win. Poor performance in front of goal. Typical situation we have seen too often. Need an overhaul of the squad in the summer and a manager who won’t accept failure. Bring in [Ruben] Amorim.

Matthew: Liverpool looked done when they scraped a win against Sheffield United. Over achieved with this squad. Mohamed Salah and Darwin Nunez both need to go and better replacements found. Salah has been a club legend but time seems to have caught up with him. Nunez is just not good enough.

Hemanth: The fatigue of going behind in almost every game throughout the season and then playing catch up has well and truly caught up with us. The defence will need to be strengthened during the summer. Will be a sad, sad way to give a send off to Klopp.

Graeme: In 60 years of watching Liverpool, I cannot remember ever seeing them play with so little sparkle. They lost possession frequently. They seem indecisive in front of goal and Salah and Nunez seem to be really struggling up front. Something is seriously wrong in the camp. They seem disjointed and out of ideas.

Ben: The title race is now a two-horse race. Yet again Liverpool promise, yet again they fall away. Klopp said he no longer has the energy to do the job - clearly neither do the players. A big clear out in summer is needed starting with Nunez and [Cody] Gakpo. It may be the end for Salah as well. New defenders will also be needed. One win in four is not acceptable.

Gary Lineker introduces highlights and analysis from Wednesday night's four Premier League fixtures as well as the goals from Tuesday's game.

If you missed Match of the Day, you can catch up on the action on BBC iPlayer.

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On the latest episode of BBC Radio 5 Live's Football Daily podcast, former Premier League midfielder Michael Brown has been considering why Liverpool's form has tailed off in recent weeks.

"At the start of this season, I felt their transition came quicker than expected," said Brown. "I did not think they would be fighting near the top of the Premier League.

"But I would have thought they would have been okay against Everton because of the fight and desire that comes with a derby game.

"Has the Atalanta result derailed them? Or is because Jurgen Klopp is leaving at the end of the season?"

However, ex-Nottingham Forest and Republic of Ireland winger Andy Reid was unconvinced Klopp's impending exit is to blame.

"It would be easy to point the finger at Klopp's departure, but I am not sure it has had much of an impact," he said.

"I am just still surprised by the timing of it because they are building a core team with a great base of players. It will be interesting to see who takes it on and what they will do.

"Historically when big players have left it is really difficult for clubs to pull themselves back."

So if it is not Klopp's departure on the minds, why have Liverpool stumbled in recent weeks?

Ex-Everton defender Conor Coady believes it is down to an inconsistent starting eleven.

"Liverpool still change a lot of players. I know they have had injuries but you do not know who will be playing in key positions game-to-game.

"Arsenal and Manchester City have nailed down their team at the business end of the season which can only be a good thing."

Listen to the full discussion on BBC Sounds

Liverpool are interested in 28-year-old Real Madrid left-back Ferland Mendy, with Arsenal also being linked with a move for the Frenchman. (L'Equipe - in French), external

Feyenoord have identified FC Twente boss Joseph Oosting as one of their top managerial targets, should they lose Arne Slot to Liverpool. (Mirror), external

Want more transfer news? Read Thursday's full gossip column

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Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp, speaking to Sky Sports: "I'm very disappointed. We let it happen exactly the game that Everton wanted.

"Two goals from set pieces. They are really strong. We created a lot and didn't score. We were in a rush, not really clear enough. They scored the second goal with the routine they do all season. They had free kick after free kick, but we weren't good enough."

On poor form: "I didn't expect that today but it happened. It's not the greatest moment we are in but we have to play so we have to fight through. We had that after the Fulham game but the two strikers who were in form, one is now injured and one is now hopefully a father. The game was always interrupted by free kicks for them and they go long. It's tricky to defend."

On losing: "It's not the first time that will happen in a football game against passionate, fighting opponents. Harvey [Elliott] came on and had a direct impact. In the end, it's just not good enough.

"We all know the situations were we pretty much shot at [Jordan] Pickford or shot over the goal. We had moments to turn it around but we didn't use them so it is really tricky."

On title race: "They must come in a very bad moment. I don't know. I can only apologise for today to the people. We should have done better and we didn't and that's why we lost."

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Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk, speaking to Sky Sports: "Listen, very disappointed in so many ways. Everyone has to look in the mirror and look at their own performance and think if they gave everything.

"Do they really want to win the league? If you play like this overall in the game and not win any challenges and give the referee an opportunity to give a free-kick away then we have no chance to win the title.

"It is a tough one and obviously we have to do better against a side near the relegation, it is time to focus.

"Eventually we were not good enough and we all have to do much better. We have to do much better in every sense. It is a tough one to take.

"We are in a situation as we have been consistent all season and players who have come in and contributed - we have to do much better."

On being outplayed by Everton: "These games are always a big fight and something that we shouldn't have lost in my opinion,

"But, we did. Now we have to pick ourselves up and be ready for an early kick-off Saturday."

On title race: "If you play like today we have no chance to consider ourselves in the title race."

Here are the key facts and figures from Everton's 2-0 win over Liverpool in the Premier League on Wednesday night.

• Everton have beaten Liverpool at home in the Premier League for the first time since October 2010 (also a 2-0 win), ending their 12-game winless run in Merseyside derbies at Goodison Park (D9 L3 before tonight).

• Liverpool have lost two of their past three league games (W1), as many defeats as in their previous 42 matches in the competition combined (W28 D12).

• Jarrad Branthwaite (21y 302d) became Everton’s youngest goalscorer in a Premier League Merseyside derby since Romelu Lukaku in November 2013 (20y 194d) and their youngest Englishman to score in this fixture since Francis Jeffers in April 1999 (18y 68d).

• Liverpool have made 99 changes to their starting XI's in the league this season, with only Brighton (121) making more. The six changes tonight from Sunday's win at Fulham was their most for a Merseyside derby since April 2016 (nine changes in a 4-0 win at Anfield).

• Only Arsenal's David Raya (14) has kept more Premier League clean sheets this season than Everton's Jordan Pickford (11). Indeed, only in 2018-19 has the Englishman kept more shutouts in a top-flight campaign (14).

• Dominic-Calvert Lewin has scored three goals in his last four league games for Everton, as many as in his previous 28 appearances in the competition.

Everton took a giant step towards Premier League safety and delivered a huge blow to Liverpool's title aspirations with a thoroughly deserved victory at a raucous Goodison Park.

Jurgen Klopp's side were aiming to go level on points with leaders Arsenal, but another off-key performance now sees them chasing Mikel Arteta's side with four games to go.

Jarrad Branthwaite netted in the first half, squeezing an effort in at the near post and the Toffees doubled their lead in the second period courtesy of Dominic Calvert-Lewin's towering header.

The Reds looked to get back into the game but could not find a way past an inspired Jordan Pickford, who made crucial saves to deny Darwin Nunez and Luis Diaz, with the Colombian also rattling the post.

Everton would already be assured of safety had they not been deducted eight points, but Sean Dyche's side lie eight points above the drop zone.

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