⚽ Champions League updates from the 8pm GMT kick-off ⚽ Live scores | David Squires on Salah | Follow us at Bluesky Arne Slot makes four changes from the 3-3 draw at Leeds: Andy Robertson, Joe Gomez, Alexis Mac Allister and Alexander Isak replace Milos Kerkez, Conor Bradley, Florian Wirtz and Cody Gakpo. Liverpool have named only eight of a possible 12 subs. Cristian Chiva sticks with the Inter side that hammered Como at the weekend. Continue reading...

Virgil van Dijk must not be written off - but he looks a shadow of his usual imperious self, writes Phil McNulty.

Ajax are forced to halt their Dutch League match against Groningen and later abandon due to supporters igniting fireworks and flares.

Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk concedes a penalty after handling the ball and Ivan Perisic scores the resulting penalty to give PSV the lead at Anfield.

Coach’s assistant in tough time at Feyenoord sees parallels with issues his former boss needs to deal with at Anfield Just over five weeks after Arne Slot’s Feyenoord had lost a tight Conference League final by a goal to Roma in 2022, they suffered a 7-0 home defeat by Copenhagen in their first pre-season friendly. Some of the Dutch club’s internationals were on holiday, seven of their starters from the final would leave that summer and Copenhagen were well ahead in preparations, but even so, the scoreline was bruising. It felt as if Slot had to start all over again. “I can remember it like yesterday,” says Marino Pusic, Slot’s assistant at Feyenoord and earlier at AZ. “The score could have been even higher – that says enough.” Copenhagen’s then coach, Jess Thorup, described it as more akin to “a training session than an actual friendly match”. Two weeks later a stronger Feyenoord side lost 4-0 to the Belgian club Union Saint-Gilloise. Then came home defeats by Lyon and Osasuna. Continue reading...

⚽ Updates as action continues in European groups ⚽ Get in touch! Share your thoughts with Daniel A question: can Germany or the Netherlands win the World Cup? My sense is no, not a chance; the winner will come from Spain, France, England, Brazil, Argentina, with it being hard to look past the first of those. Of course tonight’s big dogs could beat any of them in a one-off, but I can’t see them winning four knockout matches. They don’t have the gamebreakers or options of the best, nor anyone transcendental who can render everything but them irrelevant. Northern Ireland are, as we said, into the playoffs via the Nations League, but will want to build momentum going into that tonight. They fought hard against Slovakia, only to concede a winner in injury time, but they did beat the same opposition at home and, in Ethan Galbraith, have a very modern midfielder doing brillaintly at Swansea. Continue reading...

Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk says he called a squad meeting on Monday to discuss the club's poor form - but insisted it was not a "crisis" summit.

Netherlands forward Memphis Depay will be late for international duty because his passport was stolen in Brazil, where he plays for Corinthians.

While they do keep finding a way to win, blowing leads and a lack of ruthlessness are not signs of a successful season The feeling of euphoria that comes with a late winner is addictive, as Liverpool have found out, but it is not a sustainable plan. Virgil van Dijk was the fifth player to settle a match in dramatic fashion in as many games for the Premier League champions this season but his 92nd-minute goal against Atlético Madrid was only the fourth-latest in the team’s series of extraordinary climaxes. Jan Oblak was left helpless in the Atlético goal after his teammates had staged a glorious fightback from 2-0 down and shown a dogged determination to hold on. It had a familiar ring: Rio Ngumoha downed Newcastle in the 100th minute and Mohamed Salah slammed home a penalty in the 97th to break Burnley hearts, having scored in the 94th minute against Bournemouth to seal that 4-2 victory. The more crushing blow for Bournemouth had been delivered by Federico Chiesa in the 88th minute. A relatively early winner at home to Arsenal came in the 83rd minute. It indicates Liverpool are battle-hardened, fit and mentally strong. It is, however, not viable over what could be a 60-match season. Continue reading...

Liverpool manager Arne Slot says his side will always 'push one more time' to win matches and praised his squad's mentality after Virgil Van Dijk scored in stoppage time to secure victory against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League.

It should have been a lot easier than this for Liverpool but the 92nd-minute roar to celebrate Virgil van Dijk’s winner against Atlético Madrid made the hardship worthwhile. After scoring twice in the opening six minutes through Andy Robertson and Mohamed Salah, Liverpool were galloping to victory but were pegged back by two goals from Marcos Llorente, only for their captain to head home a late corner and send Anfield wild in the process. Continue reading...

Bolivia, Peru, struggling Nigeria and flagging Italy face an uphill struggle, but others have reason for optimism There are only three automatic places available via the Concacaf World Cup qualifiers because the USA, Mexico and Canada have secured their spots as hosts, although the two best runners-up head into the inter-confederation playoffs. Suriname have made it to the final round of qualifying only once before and will be hoping to kick off their campaign with a victory when they host Panama in Paramaribo on Thursday. Managed by the former Netherlands goalkeeper Stanley Menzo, they have been steadily climbing Fifa’s rankings since allowing players born in the Netherlands with Surinamese heritage to represent the national side and have the Huddersfield defender Radinio Balker in their ranks. Continue reading...

Experts believed club had 1% chance of survival Ties to Roman Abramovich led to KNVB’s investigation Vitesse Arnhem have been dealt a dramatic reprieve after an appeals court ruled against the Royal Dutch Football Association’s (KNVB) decision to revoke their professional licence. Vitesse looked doomed after a civil court in Utrecht judged in favour of the KNVB last month, appearing to confirm the 133-year-old club would be kicked out of the Netherlands’ second division. Many supporters were resigned to at least one season in the cold after no arrangement to continue in amateur football could be reached, but they will now be able to watch their team again after a shock turnaround on Wednesday. Continue reading...

Liverpool forward Cody Gakpo signs a new long-term contract and says he hopes to create "many more beautiful moments".