Liverpool will not be in action this weekend, with their trip to Stamford Bridge to play Chelsea on Sunday postponed ahead of the Queen’s funeral on Monday.
The Reds bounced back from their 4-1 defeat by Napoli in the Champions League by beating Ajax 2-1 on Tuesday night at Anfield. Jurgen Klopp’s side now won’t play until October 1, when they host Brighton on Merseyside after the international break.
The rest will do Liverpool a world of good following an injury-hit start to the season, which has impacted central midfield the most. Before many Reds head off to international duty, Mirror Football brings you the latest headlines, including some good injury news and updates on Sadio Mane and Jude Bellingham.
Injury boost in under-21s win
Fabio Carvalho and Arthur Melo both played the full 90 minutes in Liverpool under-21s’ 1-0 win over Leicester on Saturday afternoon.
Carvalho has missed Liverpool’s last two matches with a dead leg, while Arthur has been struggling for match fitness since joining on a season-long loan from Juventus on deadline day.
The midfielders got valuable minutes in the Premier League 2 fixture as a first-half goal from Layton Stewart gave Barry Lewtas’ side a 1-0 win.
Arthur played in a midfield three alongside Jake Cain and Stefan Bajcetic, while Carvalho operated further forward in his more unusual position with Stewart and Bobby Clark.
Mane’s struggles continue at Bayern
Sadio Mane’s poor form for Bayern Munich continued on Saturday as the German champions suffered a 1-0 defeat against Augsburg.
Bayern have now gone four matches without a win in the Bundesliga while Mane’s run of four goals in his first four games now feels long gone.
He has now gone six matches without another strike for the German giants, who are now fourth in the table, three points behind leaders Borussia Dortmund.
Former Liverpool and Bayern midfielder Didi Hamann has claimed Mane isn’t happy. He said earlier this week : “He is not integrated. I saw him at Liverpool, where he played through the middle. That is not his position. Now he’s taking that position at FC Bayern as well. He is at his best when he comes from the outside. He doesn’t look happy to me.”
Bellingham race hots up
Chelsea have joined the race for Dortmund star Jude Bellingham, who now has four clubs – including Liverpool – queueing up to try and sign him next summer.
Manchester United competed with Dortmund for his signature in 2020 and are known admirers, like Liverpool, who are thought to be the favourites. Real Madrid are also keeping tabs on his situation while Chelsea are now ready to challenge the trio.
Dortmund stood firm to keep their star midfielder this summer, having already lost Erling Haaland to Manchester City. But Bellingham's continued growth means a transfer away from Dortmund is likely a matter of time, with a fee of over £100million likely.
