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Alexander-Arnold not to blame for goals conceded – Slot

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Liverpool manager Arne Slot says he recognises patterns in the goals his side concede – but they are not down to right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold.

Alexander-Arnold was heavily criticised following the Reds being held to a 2-2 draw by Manchester United on Sunday.

United scored their first through Lisandro Martinez with an attack down Liverpool’s right and their second came from Amad Diallo converting a cross from the right.

According to football statisticians Opta, Liverpool’s opponents are having 44% of their touches in the left third in the attacking areas – this would be Liverpool’s right-hand side – which is the highest ratio in the Premier League.

The percentage of opposition chances from Liverpool’s right is 35.7% while it is 38.1% from the middle third and 26.2% from the Reds’ left.

“I do see a certain pattern in the goals we concede but I don’t see the pattern if it is about Trent. Not at all,” said Slot.

“Trent has had one difficult game for us [in Sunday’s 2-2 draw with Manchester United at Anfield] and maybe a few that were OK to good. Mainly, he has had great games when he played for us this season.”

Alexander-Arnold, who is out of contract in the summer and has been linked with a move to Real Madrid, came on as a substitute after an hour in the first leg of Liverpool’s Carabao Cup semi-final at Tottenham.

The England international had a shot cleared off the line in a game the Reds lost 1-0.

“I know there is a lot of focus on him at the moment but I would also like to highlight the focus on how well he did when he came on in the last half hour [against Tottenham in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday] and how our fans reacted to him. That is what pleased me even more during that game.”

Liverpool host Accrington Stanley in the FA Cup third round on Saturday (12:15 GMT) and, while Slot is expected to rotate his squad for the game, he knows his team will have to be prepared for the challenge of facing the League Two side.

“I think every team that plays against us, it is a special occasion but especially for a lower league team,” said the Dutchman.

“They will be up for it, they have looked forward to this game for many weeks.

“If you go to a Champions League final, everyone is completely hyped up and ready and, for them, that will feel like it is the Champions League final, so we have to be aware of that.

“It’s up to us to be ready for them wanting to play the best game of their lives and that is what we have to do as well.”

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Havertz online abuse has terrible consequences – Arteta

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Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta says the online abuse of striker Kai Havertz and his wife has “terrible consequences” and needs to be “eradicated from the game”.

Havertz was criticised for his performance in Sunday’s FA Cup defeat by Manchester United, after he missed a glorious chance to win the game in normal time and then had his penalty saved in the shootout as United won 5-3 on penalties following the 1-1 draw.

The German’s wife Sophia shared screenshots of the “shocking” abuse she received on social media amid the game, including threats to the couple’s unborn child.

Arsenal have reported the abuse to the police and are working with a specialist data firm to identify the culprits, but Arteta says more must be done as he spoke before Wednesday’s north London derby against Tottenham.

“It’s incredible, honestly,” he said. “We really have to do something about it, because accepting that and hiding this has terrible consequences.

“It’s something we have to eradicate from the game because it’s so cynical and dependent to a result of an action.

“There is no other industry like this. When we played Ipswich on December 27, we won 1-0 and Kai Havertz scored. The whole stadium after that is singing the ‘Waka, Waka’ (his chant). That was 20 days ago. Where is the perspective?

“We are all responsible. That’s a really serious matter. It affects me. It affects him and everybody that is in the industry.

“We can accept it and say ‘that’s our job’, but there are certain limits and the line has to be drawn. We put a lot of attention on technology and what is next in football.

“What is next in football is that this should be prohibited. It cannot happen. That’s it.”

Meta, who own Instagram, removed the content for violating its policies.

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I will not be the coach of a Red Bull team – Klopp

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Jurgen Klopp says he has made a “clear commitment” that he will not become manager at one of the Red Bull clubs after starting his role as the organisation’s head of global soccer.

The former Liverpool manager was named in the role last year before officially starting at the beginning of 2025.

He has not had a managerial role since leaving Anfield last summer following a highly-successful nine year spell.

Klopp’s new role sees him take more of an oversight role across a number of clubs including RB Leipzig, Red Bull Salzburg and New York Red Bulls.

But when asked at a media conference on Tuesday whether he might be tempted back into day-to-day management if a role at one of the clubs becomes available, Klopp said emphatically said “no”.

“I will not be the coach of a Red Bull team,” he said. “That is a clear commitment. As much as you can give a guarantee, I will not be a coach at all.

“I am probably the only person in this room who will be asked where are you in five years, I don’t have a clue.

“But I will not be a replacement of one of the Red Bull coaches.

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Rising star Fonseca knocks out ninth seed Rublev

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Joao Fonseca had a Grand Slam debut to remember as he knocked out ninth seed Andrey Rublev in the first round of the Australian Open.

The 18-year-old Brazilian thrilled the crowd as he caused the biggest upset of the tournament so far with a 7-6 (7-1) 6-3 7-6 (7-5) victory against Rublev.

Fonseca was playing in his first main-draw match at a major, having come through three rounds of qualifying without dropping a set in Melbourne last week.

The victory extends his winning streak to 14 matches – but who is tennis’ latest rising star?

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