Here is your Liverpool morning digest for Tuesday, February 22.
Jurgen Klopp proven right about Luis Diaz
It’s set to be a busy week for Liverpool as they host Leeds United on Wednesday in their Premier League game-in-hand before travelling to Wembley for next weekend’s League Cup final clash with Chelsea.
The Reds come into it full of confidence at least, after last weekend’s comeback victory over Norwich City saw them close the gap on Man City at the top of the table.
Unbeaten from their 11 matches in 2022, winning nine including their last eight in all competitions, Jurgen Klopp’s side could close the gap on Pep Guardiola’s men further to just eight points if they are to beat Leeds, following City’s dramatic loss to Tottenham on Saturday.
With the Liverpool squad in good spirits in training on Monday as a result, here’s what we learned from their latest session at the AXA Training Centre.
READ MORE: Luis Diaz signing hints at Liverpool's next big transfer target
READ MORE: Liverpool's controversial transfer stance explained by Ibrahima Konate
Duo train as normal
While Firmino and Jota were absent from training after missing Saturday’s win, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Curtis Jones were back in action alongside their team-mates.
Klopp had confirmed the full-back’s absence from his squad to face the Canaries was purely down to his own decision to rest the England international, yet his presence at the AXA Training Centre will have reassured any absent onlookers.
Meanwhile, the midfielder has been missing from the last three matchday squads since Liverpool’s victory over Leicester City, but that decision too has been down to the manager it seems.
Klopp wasn’t asked about Jones’ absence from the squad against Norwich City, but his participation in training confirms that he is fit and available.
Alexander-Arnold is almost certain to start against Chelsea at Wembley, if not Leeds, with his place in the Reds’ strongest starting XI secure, but Jones faces a busy week as he looks to catch his manager’s eye and force his way back up the pecking order.
READ THE FULL STORY HERE.
Liverpool could follow Man City decision
Manchester City are seeking to be the first football club to truly embrace the power of the metaverse by constructing the world's first virtual football stadium, writes Dave Powell.
In a bid to engage with fans around the world and better monetise that relationship with a global audience, City are working with virtual reality experts at Sony to create a virtual Etihad in the metaverse that would allow fans to watch games through virtual reality, according to inews.
The report claims City have inked a three-year deal with Sony to develop the software with the goal being to fill the Etihad virtually and create another potentially lucrative revenue stream into the club, who became the first Premier League club to outstrip Manchester United for revenues when they posted their 2020/21 financial results last month that saw them generate £569.8m in revenues despite the impact of the pandemic and a season of fans being unable to attend games.
It is the latest move from City to add to their commercial portfolio and create new avenues to bring money into the club in a bid to try and create greater distance between themselves and the rest when it comes to financial power, leveraging their position as English football's team to beat.
Finding ways to better monetise global fan bases is something that clubs have toiled with for some time.
Liverpool have one of the sporting world's most passionate, and large, global fan bases and the Reds have been seeking ways to try and use that to aid their own revenue generation and, in turn, aid their chances of investing in success on the field.
The Reds operate as one of European football's most sustainable big clubs, with the Reds one of only two Premier League clubs to be in economic profit over the past five years, the other being struggling Burnley.
But with the club reliant on the financial health of the business to drive forward their ambitions on the pitch, what City are doing is something that will be on the radar of the Reds and, in time, commonplace among major football clubs.
READ THE FULL STORY HERE.
