Your Liverpool morning digest for Thursday, March 24
Sadio Mane will fear being proven right as Liverpool wait on Mohamed Salah World Cup showdown
Amid the celebrations at his country's historic achievement, Sadio Mane took a moment to seek out Liverpool team-mate Mohamed Salah.
Mane had just scored the winning penalty in the shoot-out to earn Senegal an Africa Cup of Nations final triumph over Egypt in Cameroon last month, Salah left standing as he waited to take the final spot kick that never came given his team had already missed twice.
“I told him that he remains a very great player and it’s a pleasure to play for the same club,” Mane later revealed. "I have so much respect for him and he gave everything for his country. Unfortunately, he didn’t win, but that doesn’t mean it’s over for him. I also told him that he still has many things to win."
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Mane, though, will hope he isn't proven right at the first available opportunity as the duo are back on opposing sides this international break. Senegal and Egypt face off for a place at the World Cup finals in Qatar later this year.
Read the full story from Ian Doyle here.
Liverpool have new transfer strategy and Luis Diaz has proved it
As Liverpool understandably refrain from revealing everything which goes into their excellent recruitment process, it’s always interesting to ponder how exactly the system works.
Sky Sports have conducted an interview with Jurgen Klopp in which the Reds’ manager discusses the immediate impact which Luis Diaz has made since joining the club. “You don’t expect miracles immediately from these kind of players,” he said. “But he is not far away from doing exactly that. Long may it continue.”
The article also includes a section of analysis conducted by AI Abacus, which suggested that Diaz should fit in well at Liverpool on the basis that Porto play in a very similar style.
"In terms of tempo, high press, counter-press, defensive line and build up, the two teams are almost identical," is the verdict of Andy Forrester, product manager at the company, which uses the latest advancements in artificial intelligence to enable smarter recruitment and player development decisions.
