Ahead of Liverpool's vital Premier League clash with Southampton, here's your Liverpool FC morning digest for Tuesday, May 17.
Chelsea star ‘refused’ to play against Liverpool leaving team-mates 'stunned' before FA Cup final
Chelsea’s plans for their FA Cup final against Liverpool were apparently majorly disrupted by one of their own players.
The Reds won their eighth FA Cup thanks to a penalty shootout victory over Chelsea at Wembley Stadium on Saturday. The match finished goalless after extra time, with Kostas Tsimikas scoring the winning spot-kick.
During the game, though, Liverpool were hampered by potential injuries to Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk. Jurgen Klopp afterwards confirmed that he hopes the duo are both fine, with Fabinho already on the sidelines with a hamstring injury.
For Chelsea, they were reportedly forced into a rather late change to their preparations for the final thanks to one of their own players. Andreas Christensen is said to have told the club on the morning of the match that he would not be available to play.
According to the Evening Standard, the defender informed Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel on the morning of the game of his intention not to play against Liverpool, despite originally being pencilled in to start. It is said that Christensen was not injured, with the decision leaving his team-mates “stunned” over the situation.
Read the full story HERE.
'Could win 55-0' - Paul Merson makes brutal Liverpool title claim ahead of Southampton
Paul Merson insists that it doesn't matter what score line Liverpool can conjure up against Southampton on Tuesday evening, they have absolutely no chance of winning the Premier League title.
Pep Guardiola's pace-setters gave the Reds a glimmer of hope on Sunday after drawing 2-2 at West Ham United - coming back from two goals down at half-time but also missing a late penalty that would have put one Sky Blue hand on the Premier League trophy.
The newly-crowned FA Cup winners can cut City's advantage to a single point going into the final day of the season, should they beat Southampton at St Mary's tomorrow evening, but Sky Sports pundit Merson believes there will be no chance of a final day leapfrog by Jurgen Klopp's men.
Writing in his weekly Sky Sports column, Merson said: "Liverpool could win 55-0 against Southampton on Tuesday night, it wouldn't make a difference. They have no chance of winning the Premier League title now. Manchester City's result at West Ham was a massive point, now they have to beat Aston Villa at home on the last day of the season - and you would take that a million times out of a million. All you have to ask for at the end of the title race is for it to be in your hands and you're at home.
"If Man City had lost that game, I could have seen Liverpool putting a lorry load past Southampton. It would have been a five-goal swing had West Ham beaten Man City 2-0 - and Southampton can let in goals for fun. It could have been four then and you would have had a shootout at the end of the season. But that point was huge in the end, absolutely huge. For me, Manchester City win the Premier League."
Read the full story HERE.
