Liverpool are already through and sorted in Europe, but the Premier League marathon goes on. One more match, then another irritating, interrupting international break.
Clamour begins again for Trent to get Three Lions nod
Depending on your allegiances, preferences and opinions of international football as a whole, Trent Alexander-Arnold should either be one of the first names on the teamsheet for England or else never anywhere near a squad – saving him for the Reds.
Every time he’s in – or indeed out – of an England squad, Gareth Southgate is told he must make the Scouser a first-choice weapon, with those calls coming through loud and clear this time around.
In the former footballer world, ex-Red Mark Lawrenson says he’s a weapon England “cannot afford to waste” and urged Southgate to watch back the Atletico game. Gary Lineker has similarly spoken about Trent in glowing terms and put forward his own voice to say he has to be a fixture of the team.
In the media world, it’s much the same. Chris Bascombe of the Telegraph is today’s columnist asking the question of why Southgate keeps dodging the decision, but he’s not the only one and won’t be the last – especially if our elite No66 doesn’t play, and show his worth, in the upcoming games against relative minnows.
Southgate will have to convincingly answer those questions eventually, one way or another.
Midfielders making their mark…on and off
- Jordan Henderson joins Trent in the England squad as the Reds’ only two regular representatives these days
- Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has played very nearly as many minutes in the last week and a half as he did all of last season. No joke. He says he needs rhythm to do his best work on the ball and it’s no surprise he got better as the game went on against Atleti
- Curtis Jones has been great or absent so far this season and it’s the latter again for now – a freak eye injury in training means he’ll miss the West Ham match this weekend
Latest Liverpool FC news
- We’re safely through top of the group, but Jurgen Klopp says he won’t needlessly rotate the team for the last two as the prizes on offer are huge
- Four clubs including the Reds are through to the last 16 already – and here’s how the national and online media saw the Reds’ win over their Spanish rivals last night
- And the boss subbed off Sadio Mane for his own good against the champions of La Liga, but admitted he “hated” doing so with the No10 sparkling
Latest Premier League chat
- Philippe Coutinho is going to swap Europe’s most dreadfully-run, broke team for England’s most dreadfully-run, richest team: Barca to Newcastle
- Kingsley Coman was linked with a nonsensical £90m move to Anfield last summer – now he’s apparently likely to do one to Chelsea instead in summer
- Wolves want to make Hwang’s loan a permanent deal in January, which is decent, and they’ll also go for Renato Sanches too, which is less decent considering other clubs he is linked with. Like Liverpool!
Tweet of the day and match of the night
Tsimikas and Robertson are two players I've looked at in great depth. Both are really strong. But it's important to remember one is in Klopp's core group and the other is finding his place.
What Tsimikas best represents right now is the versatility and quality within the squad.
— The Tactical Times (@Tactical_Times) November 4, 2021
Tonight has to be Conte’s first game in charge, doesn’t it? 8pm against the mighty Vitesse in the fake Europa.
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