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Liverpool fans hailed Dejan Lovren after an excellent display against Leicester City on Saturday.

The Reds defender made his first Premier League start of the season on Saturday, as Brendan Rodgers’ men visited Anfield.

The Foxes, of course, beat Newcastle United 5-0 last weekend and have also claimed the scalp of Tottenham Hotspur this season.

However, they struggled to break down the Reds at Anfield, with Sadio Mane scoring the first goal of the game. James Maddison did equalise but that was as a result of a poor piece of goalkeeping from Adrian, continuing to deputise for the injured Alisson Becker.

James Milner scored a late penalty to give the Reds all three points and Lovren enjoyed a genuinely exceptional display.

Per WhoScored, he tallied 57 touches throughout the game, and also had a pass completion rate of 88%, the highest of any Reds player to start the match.

Spectacularly, he also won a total of five aerial duels, one more than defensive partner Virgil van Dijk, and made two tackles, as well as eight clearances and two interceptions.

And fans were impressed with his performance.

Take a look at the best of the reaction below!

Rangers completed a comfortable 5-0 win over Hamilton at Ibrox on Sunday and what was more impressive was that it was achieved with a host of first choice and international players sitting out as they hit the top of the Scottish Premiership.

The squad depth assembled by departed Director of Football, Mark Allen and Steven Gerrard has seen Rangers go into the international break top of the Scottish Premiership and qualify for the group stages of the Europa League in a run of form that has seen just two defeats from twenty-two games.

What is noticeable this season is that the Ibrox club has still been picking up points domestically whilst coping with the rigours of European football. Compared to this time last season, Rangers are seven points better off.

There is also the manner of the two defeats that the Gers have suffered this season, each time, against both Celtic and Young Boys respectively, they were victims of their own defensive mistakes. They weren’t out-played or out-classed in either of these games but coughed up gilt-edged opportunities through lapses of concentration. Another sign of improvement, Rangers appear to have their destiny in their own hands.

Sunday’s starting XI had a few notable absentees; Filip Helander, Nikola Katic, Ryan Jack, Joe Aribo, Andy King, Ryan Kent, Jordan Jones and Alfredo Morelos. Only one of these players isn’t a full international and he cost £7.5m.

As Gerrard alluded to at the weekend, they have managed to get these results and have players coming back to fitness. Rangers ran out of steam at several points last season, relying on Kyle Lafferty, Andy Halliday and Gareth McAuley to rotate the squad, few would argue they are of the same quality as Jermain Defoe, Glen Kamara and Filip Helander.

The competition for places and gentle rotation of the squad has been the key difference in improving on last year’s form. Fans accept that it won’t be the same starting XI every game and as long as the “back-ups” like Defoe, Greg Stewart and George Edmundson continue to produce performances like they did at the weekend then the groans when the team is announced an hour before kick-off will get quieter and quieter.

Just how good a transfer window was summer 2019? Join the discussion by commenting below… 

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This article is part of Football FanCast’s In Numbers series, which takes a statistical look at performances, season-long form and reported transfer targets…

While Bernd Leno is currently Arsenal’s number one, it is fair to say he has not been too convincing so far this season.

The Germany international has conceded 10 goals in his first six Premier League matches of the campaign, and he has been at fault for one of them already this term.

It follows on from a disappointing season last time out, where he made the joint-most errors that led to goals.

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Perhaps with this in mind, it has been said that Arsenal are continuing to target Newcastle United’s Freddie Woodman, who is currently on loan at Swansea City in the Championship – Arsenal fans should keep their eye on the Swans’ match against Reading this weekend to see him action.

The 22-year-old has had a fantastic season so far. He has started all eight of Steve Cooper’s side’s matches, and has conceded just five goals. With the Welsh side second in the table, only Leeds have shipped in less in the second tier.

In terms of clean sheets, he tops the Championship list with four alongside Kiko Casilla and Christian Walton. And Woodman can certainly claim to have had a big role in that. His 77.3% save accuracy has been beaten by just two shot-stoppers, Casilla and Brice Samba, in the Championship.

Leno, meanwhile, has an accuracy of 74.4%, meaning he is slightly edged out by the former England U21 international – albeit playing at a higher level.

With his feet, too, Woodman is slightly better than the former Bayer Leverkusen man. He has a passing accuracy of 76.1% compared to Leno’s 75.9%. There is not much in it, true, but it is still a difference all the same.

So far this season, Reading have averaged 14.5 shots per game, with only three teams managing more.

Therefore, it is likely that Swansea’s number one will be busy between the sticks. It will be the perfect opportunity for Arsenal fans to see him action.

He is young, homegrown and is performing well. If he can continue like this, then the north London outfit may well formalise their interest.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s (KSA) Public Investment Fund (PIF) are now reportedly eyeing up a move to bring Ismaila Sarr to Newcastle United.

The Lowdown: Interest remains

The St. James’ Park faithful were reportedly interested in signing Sarr when he was playing in the EFL Championship with Watford, and it seems as if that interest has resurfaced now that he is back in the Premier League.

Of course, he may be more difficult to sign now that he is in the top flight, but the new owners will no doubt be confident that they will have any amount of money it takes to sign him – the Tyneside chiefs have a net worth estimated at £320billion.

The Latest: Sarr eyed

As per The Daily Mail, PIF are now eyeing up Sarr as their first transfer target following the completed takeover in the North East.

However, the Hornets are unlikely to sell their prized asset in the January transfer window, because they know how key he is for them to stay up.

Watford believe that Sarr has a similar potential to that of Jack Grealish, who left Aston Villa to join Manchester City last summer in a big money move worth £100m.

The Verdict: Sign

Described as ‘frightening’ with ‘phenomenal’ acceleration by his teammate Ben Foster (The Daily Mail), Sarr’s arrival would mean the Tyneside outfit boast a big threat on both flanks with Allan Saint-Maximin on the left-hand side.

Comparing his stats to the likes of Miguel Almiron, Ryan Fraser and Joelinton in the Premier League so far this season, Sarr already has four goals, and averages more shots, dribbles and crosses per game (WhoScored) – he would definitely be an upgrade on the current company around Callum Wilson and Saint-Maximin.

If they can persuade the Hornets to let him join in January, he could well be key for the Magpies to stay up in their own relegation battle.

In other news, find out who NUFC have been alerted to the possibility of signing in January here!

Glasgow Rangers fans have been reacting to the news that UEFA are looking into the events from the Gers’ Europa League match against Sparta Prague last week.

The Gers were in action in the Czech Republic last week in the Europa League. It was not the best game for the Ibrox outfit as they were beaten 1-0, while Glen Kamara was also sent off.

However, the game was marred by boos directed at Kamara throughout the clash (BBC). The Finland international was subject to racist abuse against Slavia Prague in last term’s competition.

As per PA (via Andrew Dickson), UEFA are to looking into “potential discriminatory incidents” that occurred during the clash. Last season, of course, Ondrej Kudela received a 10-game ban after being found guilty of abusing Kamara (The Guardian).

The news was shared on Twitter by Dickson, and it attracted plenty of attention from the supporters. They took to the social media platform to share their thoughts.

Let’s see what the fans had to say about the Europa League news below

“Expect nothing. These chancers should be doing something to stop racism. Cowards.”

Credit: @billyni99933742

“Another little slap on the wrists for Sparta at the worst. Uefa are a sham.”

Credit: @boblangbank

“There needs to be a stance taken by the big League Associations. The real racism is eminating from Eastern European countries. The big Assoc. have to reject or at least threaten to boycott playing in UEFA competition for a year…UEFA will soon take note; hit them in the pocket.”

Credit: @Slartib41835438

“That doesn’t mean that @UEFA will do anything about it. They had a chance to put a marker down & a substantial ban for Kudela but bottled it & handed out a totally inadequate & laughable 10 game ban.”

Credit: @JosephC51533972

“Sweep, sweep, sweep…and then fine #Rangers presumably. #uefa really need to start taking #racism seriously. It is still fairly widespread in football, but certain countries appear to have an endemic problem – which they are ignoring !! And are being allowed to ignore.”

Credit: @andyjd747

“I won’t hold my breath on strong Uefa response and action!”

Credit: @4ladshadadream

In other news, Rangers fans react to this update.

Frank McAvennie has now claimed that Ange Postecoglou will be ‘annoyed’ over the questions that he is being asked in his Celtic press conferences.

The Lowdown: Pressure eased

The pressure has been eased somewhat on the Hoops manager after the 2-1 win at Aberdeen in the Premiership on Sunday, but it still leaves them sixth in the table.

The Australian has been asked questions about his team’s form in recent press conferences, and he even questioned the ‘condescending’ nature of them in one of them (Sky Sports).

The Latest: McAvennie on questioning

Speaking to Football Insider, former Parkhead striker McAvennie (61) has now claimed that Postecoglou will be annoyed at being asked the same questions every week. He stated:

“He must be sick of his life.

“He’s being asked the same questions every week, how could you not be annoyed by that?

“There is so much pressure at Celtic but it’s really early doors. His job is safe, he will get time.

“These problems aren’t Ange’s, he doesn’t have the squad yet. They were being praised a few weeks ago.

“Now it’s all criticism. That happens. Let’s see where we all are in January.

“Postecoglou is in a very hard job. I don’t blame him for having a go.”

The Verdict: Too early

It is far too early for Postecoglou to be asked questions about his future after a difficult start to the season. Yes, the Hoops currently sit sixth in the Premiership and have lost their first two games in the Europa League group stage, but he still needs time to fully implement his ideas, so McAvennie is right to have sympathy for the 56-year-old.

He will not be able to get the club back to where they want to be overnight, and the process will take time. Nonetheless, the win away at Aberdeen should give the Bhoys some fresh confidence ahead of the international break.

In other news, find out which manager the Celts are reportedly ‘considering’ to replace Postecoglou

Fulham manager Marco Silva has dropped an update on Tom Cairney’s recovery from injury.

What’s the latest?

In recent comments cited by West London Sport, the 44-year-old revealed that the attacking midfielder has been making decent progress in his recovery from a knee injury which has kept the 30-year-old sidelined since December.

Speaking about the current condition of the Scotland international, the Fulham manager said: “He made some progress. Not big, big progress to be honest, but he’s on the [training] pitch already. We need to be calm to see him 100% fit.”

Fans will be buzzing

Considering the sheer amount of time for which Cairney has been sidelined, he will undoubtedly feel like a new signing for Fulham when he does eventually return to first team action, while seeing the 30-year-old in action at Craven Cottage once again will certainly have fans buzzing.

Indeed, Cairney proved to be a hugely important part of Fulham’s last promotion-winning campaign, scoring eight goals, providing three assists and creating six big chances over his 39 Championship appearances back in 2019/20, in addition to taking 1.1 shots and making 1.8 key passes per game.

These returns saw the £27k-per-week man earn an impressive seasonal SofaScore match rating of 7.12, ranking him as the club’s second-best player in the second tier in that campaign.

Although the player who Silva’s predecessor Scott Parker dubbed an “outstanding” talent looks unlikely to make a return before the next international break, it would appear a case of the sooner Cairney returns for Fulham the better, as the midfielder will undoubtedly strengthen their already healthy-looking promotion credentials even further.

In other news: Fulham dealt fresh injury blow ahead of Bristol City clash, Silva will be gutted

Ange Postecoglou is fighting a seismic battle at Celtic right now with the Hoops enduring their worst start to a campaign for over two decades.

It has been a slog for the Australian who’s had to revamp the playing squad but is now suffering from a number of injuries.

A Europa League tie with Bayer Leverkusen on Thursday will serve as a nice distraction from their league struggles but a heavy defeat could damage morale and confidence even more.

Celtic were at their best from an offensive point of view against Real Betis, going 2-0 up before the Spaniard’s fought back and won 4-3 last time out in Europe.

That match should provide them with plenty of food for thought, particularly if they want to take the game to Leverkusen on Thursday evening.

In order to do that, how could Celtic line-up? Here’s the XI we’re predicting from Postecoglou…

We are tipping the boss to make three changes from the side that drew with Dundee United last Sunday.

Josip Juranovic picked up an injury problem in that clash and although the diagnosis isn’t as bad as first feared he misses out tonight.

Therefore, the first change is at left-back where teenager Adam Montgomery is preferred over Boli Bolingoli. We’ve championed the idea of the youngster earning more minutes so he should start again here, as he did vs Betis.

There is another alteration in the middle of the defence where Carl Starfelt is given the night off with Stephen Welsh coming into the starting XI.

Starfelt has had a troubled start to his Celtic career, being mercilessly hounded by fans and pundits for his performances. Consequently, we reckon Postecoglou should take him out of the firing line in a high pressured game.

The final change is in midfield. It’s expected that Callum McGregor will miss out again so it’s James McCarthy and Ismaila Soro who start at the base.

Soro hasn’t started a game since the clash with Betis but with Tom Rogic underperforming, he is axed.

Their £11k-per-week Ivorian hasn’t had the best of campaigns either but it would be preferable if Celtic operated with two more defensive-minded midfielders tonight.

Kyogo Furuhashi remains injured so Albian Ajeti continues up front.

AND in other news, Possession lost 21x: Celtic must ruthlessly axe “majestic” £16k-p/w gem tomorrow…

Aston Villa and Spurs transfer target Mikkel Damsgaard is now in talks with Serie A giants Inter.

What’s the story?

Reports over the course of the summer transfer window suggested that Dean Smith’s side were one of a number of clubs, both domestically and from abroad, who were interested in signing the Denmark international.

A deal however failed to materialise, and the winger ended up staying at Sampdoria.

Now, Italian publication Calciomercato claim that Inter have held talks with Sampdoria over signing Damsgaard, and have received a positive response in their negotiation attempts.

Imagine him and Bailey

The £18m-rated winger was hailed as “phenomenal” by Denmark teammate, Kasper Schmeichel, for his performances during EURO 2020 over the summer – Damsgaard of course was the man who struck that superb free-kick in the semi-finals against England at Wembley Stadium.

As per Whoscored, Damsgaard averaged an impressive 1.8 shots, 1.2 key passes and 1.8 dribbles per game during the competition – all evidence of someone who’s direct, forward-thinking but also has the creativity to pick out his teammates and set them up.

Despite landing Leon Bailey from Bayer Leverkusen in the summer, a move for Damsgaard may be the icing on the cake for Villa, especially when you consider how the two could actually work together on the pitch.

Like Bailey, Damsgaard has got an abundance of pace, and according to Norwegian football expert, Martin Mikkelsen, he is “dynamic and can go both ways.”

And, former Arsenal striker Kevin Campbell added to his list of lengthy admirers, saying “he looks very sharp on the ball and has an eye for goal too.”

With Damsgaard right-footed, and Bailey left, Villa could have two inside forwards operating at the same time and cutting in for devastating effect.

Having the duo wreak havoc on either side could cause real nightmares for Premier League sides coming up against them, and give Smith a terrifying tandem to work with at Villa Park.

Meanwhile, fresh details have emerged on this Aston Villa swoop…

Everton’s academy has always had a history for churning out some of the brightest young talents around.

A quick flick through the history books will remind you of plenty of names at Goodison Park; particularly Wayne Rooney and Ross Barkley.

Although those two eventually departed the Toffees in costly deals, the club’s academy players now appear to be leaving before they’ve earned regular chances in the first team.

Thierry Small is the latest name to leave Finch Farm behind as he rejected a new contract and headed to Southampton.

He is joined in the same boat as Dan Rose who went to Schalke but the leading example is Mohamed-Ali Cho.

Everton spotted the teenager when he was just a young boy but they weren’t able to bring him to Merseyside until 2015.

The exciting winger enjoyed five years in the academy but was eventually prised away by French side Angers.

Marcel Brands and co likely didn’t think much of him when he departed. After all, he was nowhere near making a first-team breakthrough at Goodison Park.

Yet, since leaving English football behind, he has thrived. Much like Jadon Sancho did, Cho is now tearing it up on the continent where he is making a huge splash in Ligue 1.

He has been ever-present for his new club this term at the tender age of 17 and has scored his first senior goal along the way too.

“He has been a revelation as Angers defy expectations,” French football expert Jonathan Johnson told The Athletic.

“He is earning rave reviews and is really starting to catch the attention of big European clubs.”

Indeed, after arriving in France, his market value, per Transfermarkt, has soared from £720,000 to £3.6m, an almighty increase of 400%.

Possessing the ability to play in a number of offensive roles, primarily as a second striker, Everton could have had another Richarlison in their ranks had they kept him at Goodison.

Describing the forward during initial scouting, one source commented: “He had superb dribbling ability and a great shot… like a rocket.”

For example, his average carry distance of 14.7m so far this season places him ahead of the great Kylian Mbappe.

At a dribble rate of 1.4 per game, it’s evident he’s got a particularly exciting trait in his locker, just as Richarlison does.

Sadly for Rafa Benitez, he won’t get to utilise the 17-year-old. This is very much one that got away for the Toffees.

AND in other news, Everton could find a new Barkley in rarely-seen 17 y/o who has “a bit of everything”…