Real Madrid are hoping to convince Neymar to join them over fierce rivals Barcelona by offering him an astronomical salary.
Brazilian superstar Neymar
That’s according to Spanish outlet Sport, who claim Madrid president Florentino Pérez is willing to offer the Brazilian superstar a whopping €40m-a-year after tax to move to the Bernabeu.
If true, that would represent a pay-rise on what Neymar currently earns at Paris Saint-Germain and would make him the world’s second highest paid player, behind only Lionel Messi.
The contract length would reportedly be for five years.
But Sport say at the moment, Neymar’s preference is still to return to Camp Nou and be reunited with his friends Messi and Luis Suárez.
The 27-year-old is said to be tempted by Madrid’s offer, but he will wait to see if Barça’s interest materialises until the final hours of the transfer window.
Whether PSG will allow him to return to his old club remains to be seen, however.
Reports last week claimed the French champions are determined to block Neymar from rejoining the Blaugrana but would be willing to sell him to any other club.
Madrid would seem the forward’s most likely destination, especially considering they are apparently willing and able to offer players like Gareth Bale, Keylor Navas, Luka Modrić and James Rodríguez as part of the deal.
Whatever happens, it seems highly likely Neymar has already danced his last tango in Paris.
Chelsea have been handed a boost in their quest to win the UEFA Super Cup as Liverpool star Alisson Becker is set to miss Wednesday’s clash with the Europa League winners after sustaining a calf injury against Norwich City on Friday night.
The Brazilian goalkeeper was forced from the field after 38 minutes of the Reds’ 4-1 win over the Canaries in the opening game of the 2019-20 Premier League season. Alisson was replaced by new signing Adrian between the sticks and will undergo a scan to determine the extent of the issue in the coming days.
However, Jürgen Klopp has confirmed the Brazilian will be ruled out of the trip to Istanbul next week. The German tactician told his post-match press conference: “There is actually nothing bad to say about the game apart from Ali’s injury. That is, of course, not good for us, but we have to see how serious it is and then we have to deal with it.”
“It’s the calf and that’s it. He couldn’t carry on, that’s not a good sign. We have to see. Wednesday [in the Super Cup], he will not play – with all my experience, I can say that already. He is injured, for sure, so we have to see how much.”
Alisson’s injury presented Adrian with a debut for Liverpool, having tied up his free transfer to the club on Monday following Simon Mignolet’s departure. Klopp is confident the Spanish ‘keeper has the necessary attributes to step up in the absence of the Reds’ No.1.
“He is a very confident guy and he came in and I don’t think he wanted to sit only on the bench for the next couple of years,” the manager continued.
“He made himself ready. It is a situation, but if you are in a situation like this you want to have somebody who has played the league and who is experienced,” Klopp said.
“He is 32, a calm guy, emotional as well, good with his feet – how we saw – and that’s really important for us. There are a lot of good things, but you still don’t want to have a situation where one goalie is fit. That’s how it is, but we have to see.”
Liverpool are likely to turn to Caoimhin Kelleher as Adrian’s understudy for the Super Cup fixture, with the youngster having recently returned to training following a broken wrist.
Klopp said: “Caoimhin is not [injured], he is back in training but not at 100 per cent. We have to see how he reacts now. “One of the very young ones is not even allowed to play, he is only 16 [Jakub Ojrzynski], and the other one [Vitezslav Jaros] had an elbow injury early in the pre-season, so we’re a bit short in that position.”
Liverpool began their season in emphatic fashion with a 4-1 win over Norwich and would be hoping to bring their incredible form to Istanbul on Wednesday when they take on Chelsea at the Vodafone Arena. The UEFA Super Cup would kick off at 9 PM (Nigerian Time).
Maguire wants to make Old Trafford a fortress (Picture: Getty)
Harry Maguire demanded concentration from his Manchester United team-mates even after Daniel James scored their fourth goal against Chelsea.
United got their new season off to the perfect start in front of their home fans, hammering direct rivals Chelsea 4-0 at Old Trafford in their Premier League opener.
Marcus Rashford scored twice with Anthony Martial and summer signing James also on target, but Maguire insisted it was important to claim a clean sheet.
He said: ‘It’s a great start for myself and the team. We rode our luck a bit in the first half but in the second half we were a lot better and I think we thoroughly deserved the three points.
James came off the bench to score (Picture: Getty)
‘I was reiterating on the pitch even at 3-0 and 4-0 that we wanted a clean sheet. We have to make this place a fortress and a hard place to come and score.’
Maguire joined United from Leicester City in an £80million deal this summer and was awarded the man-of-the-match for his display on his debut.
‘It is a great start for myself and the team. We rode our luck a bit first half but second we were much more ourselves,’ he said.
United struggled to keep clean sheets last season (Picture: Getty)
‘It is the first game at Old Trafford so I think there were nerves. We gave the ball away in dangerous areas.
‘We moved it nicely second half and our front three are so dangerous on the break.
‘We knew there were only two clean sheets last year here. We need to make it a fortress.
‘I felt good. I’ve only had three or four days with the lads. I am going to get fitter and better.’
Pepe made his first appearance for Arsenal off the bench on Sunday (Picture: Getty)
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is excited at the prospect of playing with Nicolas Pepe once the Arsenal summer signing is fully up to speed.
Pepe signed from Lille in a £72million deal and came off the bench in Arsenal’s opening day victory over Newcastle.
Unai Emery wants to ease Pepe into his starting eleven, but after scoring the winner against Newcastle, Aubameyang hopes his fellow attacker will soon be in the starting line-up.
‘I’m looking forward to it, because he’s a really great player,’ he said.
‘He’s already shown in training that he’s capable of doing great things with us. Hopefully he will start soon.’
Aubameyang was the difference in a close game against Newcastle, with neither side creating much clear-cut chances.
Newcastle hit the post twice and Aubameyang converted the one real opportunity to score Arsenal mustered at St James’ Park.
Aubameyang scored the winner in a 1-0 victory over Newcastle (Picture: Getty)
Aubameyang finished last season as the Premier League’s Golden Boot winner, sharing the award with Liverpool duo Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah, and the 30-year-old is already dreaming of repeating the feat.
‘As a striker of course it’s in the mind,’ he replied when asked about the race for the Golden Boot.
‘But first of all, as I’ve always said, the most important is the team. I’m really happy that the goal could help us to win the game.’
Pepe could be given his full debut for Arsenal in their next match, which is scheduled for Saturday against Burnley in the Gunners’ first home game of the new campaign.
Manchester United kicked off their Premier League campaign with a 4-0 win against Chelsea that revealed a lot about how both teams will set up for the coming season.
United were ruthless and took advantage of fundamental structural flaws in the way Chelsea were set up by Frank Lampard. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer also made crucial decisions to ensure the win.
Sportsmail has put together a tactical breakdown of the game and taken a look at where it was won and lost.
Manchester United made a storming start to the Premier League, beating Chelsea 4-0
Chelsea’s midfield wasteland
This game was won and lost on the transition and Frank Lampard’s structure really struggled to cope with how Manchester United countered.
Every single goal involved a counter-attack. The first, which came about because Kurt Zouma dived in on Marcus Rashford, began with the ball being won back in midfield by United and Zouma being left one-on-one with the striker.
Chelsea’s defensive structure completely fell to pieces when United charged at them through the middle.
There was so much space for United whenever Chelsea lost the ball in the middle of the parkKurt Zouma was completely isolated with Rashford because Chelsea could not resist the breakIt led to Zouma fouling Rashford in the box and giving away the penalty for the opening goal
The other three relied on Chelsea losing it high up the field and United countering through Paul Pogba, Rashford and their other players with pace.
What was of note, though, was that once United had got the ball back from Chelsea, they met very little resistance.
This was because of the way Lampard had set his team up. There was a huge gap in the middle of the park whenever Chelsea went forward and United exploited it when they won the ball back.
Zouma endured a day to forget in Frank Lampard’s first match in charge of ChelseaThere was a huge gap in the centre of the pitch when United counter-attacked against Chelsea
For example, for the second, when Rashford picked up the ball after Tammy Abraham lost it, he had three players in support against four United men.
That vast expanse of space to move into in the middle gave others time to join the attack too, allowing them to load the box when Rashford’s initial pass sent Lingard too wide. Andreas Pereira also had the time to move up the field and play in the cross.
The fourth was similar. Pogba was in his own third when he collected the ball and behind the halfway line when Martial played a one-two with him. Yet there was no resistance until he played in Daniel James, who overcame a bad first touch to score.
Lampard played a 4-2-3-1, but Jorginho and Mateo Kovacic were not enough of a shield in front of the defence, especially with Cesar Azpilicueta and Emerson marauding forward.
United¿s fourth came through a rapid counter-attack up the pitch met with little resistancePaul Pogba had acres of space to lead United¿s counter-attack for their fourth goalHe teed up Daniel James, who had the freedom of the right wing and joined the counter-attack
Solskjaer’s structural shift
While United’s opener came against the run of play but swung momentum in their favour, Solskjaer’s best moment of the game came from acknowledging the momentum had turned against his side again.
Throughout the opening hour, Rashford had stayed high up the pitch and left his full-back to deal with any Chelsea attacks. Presumably, this was to allow direct balls from back to front to launch counters.
But Chelsea were on top and the defenders needed a hand. So Solskjaer asked both to drop in and defend. United switched to a 4-4-1-1 when Chelsea had the ball and kept a rigid shape. That stopped Chelsea from creating much.
During the first hour of the game, Rashford stayed forward on the left and did not help out Luke Shaw, leaving Cesar Azpilicueta (circled) free to attack down the right and double upRashford (circled) tracked back brilliantly when Solskjaer asked him to, giving more structure
It also meant that United’s counters across the length of the pitch came through players driving forward with the ball at their feet rather than passes. And it worked for three of their four goals.
If anything, it was the better approach. Solskjaer deserves credit for spotting the issue, making the defensive change and figuring out a way to use it to improve his attack.
United ended up with an organised 4-4-1-1 to make themselves tougher to break down
Zouma’s defensive woes
It is easy to forget that Kurt Zouma was in a Stoke side that were relegated from the Premier League two seasons ago.
Lampard has seemingly decided that he will be in his group of three central defenders for this season, along with Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger. And while he had a good season with Everton last campaign, there might be a quality gap there.
It was silly from Zouma when he gave away the penalty, although it felt as though he needed to do something to stop Rashford, but that was not the only warning sign.
In the sixth minute, he played the ball straight to an oncoming attacker when passing to Christensen, although United failed to convert from the left side of the box.
Individual errors are not a good sign at that early stage and it only got worse from there.
Kurt Zouma made errors throughout the game. Early on, he lost the ball passing at the backOnly a poor finish from Anthony Martial stopped United from taking an early lead as a result
Quality gap might hurt Chelsea
There were good moments for Chelsea, and they do have players on the sidelines through injury, but they were undermined by a lack of individual quality at crucial points.
They have lost their most important player this summer – Eden Hazard – and sold others. A starting line-up that had two fine players in Mason Mount and Tammy Abraham reflected that.
Mount and Abraham have bags of potential but it must be remembered they were plying their trade in the Championship last season. They are probably not yet at the level of a Chelsea.
Mason Mount is a promising player but needs patience as he adjusts to the Premier LeagueThe same applies to Tammy Abraham, who squandered a good chance early in Sunday’s game
That reared its ugly head when Abraham hit the post early doors.
It would be unfair to overly hammer them at this stage. But while Chelsea looked, in the words of Graeme Souness, ‘nice and tidy’, they may not have the players this season to turn their play into something of value at the other end.
That is where individual talent comes in.
Martial has his moment
A problem United have had over the last few seasons is that managers have consistently signed players to solve areas that are not necessarily problem positions.
Anthony Martial has shone with relative consistency since he joined from Monaco. Yet in that time he has had to deal with competition for a central striking berth from Radamel Falcao, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Romelu Lukaku and Rashford.
The worst moment for that was probably when he had to hand his shirt number over to Ibrahimovic on the Swede’s arrival. That’s no vote of confidence from his manager.
Anthony Martial is back as United’s No 9 and looks set for a proper chance in that role
Rashford is still there but the selection on the opening day suggests Martial will get his shot – and a proper one at that – in the No 9 role.
The Frenchman has scored 49 goals since he arrived – more than anyone else in a United shirt.
Sunday showed that he has that clinical touch, turning in a cross despite being wrong-footed. Solskjaer should now stick with him.
Sunday’s 4-0 triumph was the perfect start to the campaign for Ole Gunnar SolskjaerBut for Frank Lampard, it was a gruelling start to life in the Premier League as Chelsea boss
After Gareth Bale’s world-record wage offer from Jiangsu Suning broke down, which players make the top ten biggest earners around the world?
Gareth Bale looked set to become the highest earner in world football following the offer of a £1 million ($1.2m) a week wage at Jiangsu Suning.
Discounting bonuses, sponsorship deals and the like, it would have seen Bale leap up football’s high earners list, but the deal appears to have fallen through, alas.
With a number of high-profile signings around Europe already this year, that list has nevertheless seen a significant shake-up with some familiar faces dropping out of the top 10.
With further movement expected and wages shooting up every year, the list could well look very different in the near future.
Goal takes a look at the highest earners in football, based on annual salary.
10. Matthijs de Ligt & Frenkie de Jong – €16 million (£14.4m/$17.8m)
Following their high-profile exits from Ajax this summer, Netherlands internationals Matthijs de Ligt and Frenkie de Jong are reported to be earning similar basic wages at Juventus and Barcelona respectively.
These figures will be inflated by different bonuses with De Ligt in particular in line to boost his wage with significant add-ons, should he meet performance targets after fulfilling his ambition of playing in Italy.
The pair just squeeze Bale – on his Real Madrid salary – as well as his new team-mate Eden Hazard and Barcelona’s Philippe Coutinho out of the top ten.
9. Luis Suarez – €16.7 million (£15m/$18.6m)
Suarez turns 33 this year and may be coming to the end of his time at the very top level of the game, but he will have plenty of cash to set aside for his eventual retirement.
The 2018-19 season saw his worst return in a club season since his early days at Liverpool. He isn’t exactly a spent force, though – this relative downturn still saw him fire 25 goals in 49 appearances.
Closing in on 200 goals in all competitions for the Catalans, few would claim that Suarez hasn’t been worth the significant outlay the club have made to make him part of the furniture at Camp Nou.
8. Antoine Griezmann – €17 million (£15.3m/$18.9m)
While Antoine Griezmann’s transfer from Atletico Madrid to Barcelona is still likely to face some legal scrutiny, what isn’t up for debate is the wage hike the France international has earned from the move.
Some have suggested the move wasn’t as shrewd as it first appeared on Barca’s part. His tally of 15 La Liga goals was bested by seven players last season and, turning 29 this season, he is heading towards the end of his peak years.
The second-youngest player on this list after De Ligt, Kylian Mbappe turns 21 this season. With Paris Saint-Germain desperate to keep him and half of Europe’s super clubs desperate to sign him, it would be surprising if he is still as low as number seven in two years’ time.
Surely one of the heirs to Messi and Ronaldo’s Ballon d’Or throne, Mbappe’s remarkable statistics prove he is worth every penny of his hefty wage, with 39 goals and 17 assists in all competitions last season.
Whether French football will satisfy him for much longer remains to be seen.
6. Ezequiel Lavezzi – €23.1 million (£20.8m/$25.7m)
The first surprising name on the list, formerNapoli and PSG winger Ezequiel Lavezzi hit the jackpot when he moved to the Chinese Super League and Hebei China Fortune back in 2016.
Whether the deal has been worthwhile is up for debate. Though he hit 20 goals in the 2017 season, he didn’t score at all in his first year and he hasn’t helped deliver any silverware to the club based in Langfang, south of Beijing on China‘s East Coast.
Lavezzi’s international career also stopped dead upon his move to China – but, having pocketed more than £60 million in basic wages since his move, he can presumably watch highlights of his 51 Argentina caps on a pretty large TV.
5. Andres Iniesta – €27 million (£24.3m/$30.1m)
Another former international star earning mega money in Asia, Andres Iniesta became Japan‘s best-paid player when he joined Vissel Kobe last summer.
Playing alongside former Barcelona teammates David Villa and Sergi Samper, as well as Germany‘s Lukas Podolski, the veterans haven’t necessarily proven the best acquisitions on the field.
Nevertheless, they seem to be enjoying themselves in Japan. After one of the most successful careers imaginable in football, the 35-year-old Iniesta can be forgiven for taking an extra payday at the end of his career.
4. Alexis Sanchez – €28.8 million (£26m/$32.1m)
If some of these players have question marks surrounding whether they have truly earned their wages, there is little debate surrounding Alexis Sanchez. In terms of performance against wage, he might well be the worst-value footballer of all time.
After gazumping Manchester City to bring him in during the January transfer window in 2018, Sanchez soon looked more like a monetary millstone around Manchester United‘s neck rather than a sign of better times to come.
3. Cristiano Ronaldo – €31 million (£27.9m/$34.5m)
And so, onto the megastars. Cristiano Ronaldo took a pay cut when he moved from Real Madrid to Juventus in 2018, but his wallet hasn’t suffered spectacularly.
In all, Ronaldo scored 28 goals in all competitions in 2018-19. That was his lowest total in a decade, since the 26 he bagged in his final year at Manchester United.
2. Neymar – €36.8 million (£33.2m/$41m)
Neymar might not be the happiest player in the world right now, but he is certainly one of the richest. PSG made him the jewel in their crown as they looked to establish a new football dynasty at the top of the European game.
They haven’t gotten close to doing that yet, but their star man has more than pulled his weight. Fifty-one goals and 29 assists in two seasons have justified the outlay, though the accusation that he has gone missing in the Champions League still lingers.
PSG would rather not lose Neymar – it would represent a significant loss of face, and leave them needing to replace one of their top two players – but it would certainly free up the wage budget a little.
1. Lionel Messi – €40 million (£36m/$44.6m)
Lionel Messi turned 32 at the end of the 2018-19 season. Just before that, he racked up 51 goals and 22 assists in 50 Barcelona games.
He may be approaching the twilight years of his career, but he shows little sign of a waning appetite for success and with Barca rumoured to be putting together a new contract offer to keep him at the club until his retirement, these figures could yet still be going up.
Is he the best player ever? Maybe. Is he the best-paid ever? Certainly. For now, at least.Open Opera News to see comments
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Manchester United are resigned to keeping Alexis Sanchez as they approach the final weeks of the European transfer window. The Premier League giants sold star striker Romelu Lukaku to Inter Milan on the deadline day of the English transfer window but Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side did not make another addition to their ranks as they prepare for the first game of the season.
Alexis Sanchez has failed to make an impact at Old Trafford since he made the switch from North-London as his career has been punctuated with injuries. Sanchez, 30, returned to the club’s Carrington training complex last week but did not participate in either of their friendlies against Kristiansund in Norway or the penalty shootout win over AC Milan in Cardiff.
The former Arsenal man played 65 minutes in a behind closed door friendly against Blackburn but is highly unlikely to be considered for selection in the Premier League opener against Chelsea at Old Trafford on Sunday.
In his pre-match press conference ahead of the Chelsea clash, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer revealed that he expects the attacking players currently at the club to come up with the goals needed and he made a declaration concerning Alexis Sanchez as well.
“Alexis has come in and trained well, he is, of course, four or five weeks behind the boys,” Solskjaer said. “And he has not played apart from the one behind closed doors here, so I think he’ll see this as an opportunity as well to make his mark. I do expect him to stay yeah, there’s a striker there we think is going to be able to score some goals.”
”Of course, Rom [Lukaku] has a good record and good stats,” Ole admitted. ” He’s one of the top number nines around when you want to play with that kind of striker, and he’s that target man.”
“For me, I’m very confident that we’ll get goals from Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford. Dan James will come in and create. I’m sure Jesse Lingard will get more goals, so we do have a different attacking set-up this season,” Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
“You do have players that you think are going to make an impact and Mason Greenwood’s pathway would have been a lot more difficult, of course, if we had another forward there.”
“So, for me, I believe that Mason’s going to be playing and involved a lot, and, when he is, he’ll score goals,” the Manchester United boss concluded.
Kylian Mbappe equalled a record held by Barcelona’s Lional Messi when the French forward scored a goal and provided another to help Paris Saint-Germain get their Ligue 1 title defence to a flying start in a 3-0 win over Nimes on Sunday.
Brazilian star, Neymar, was missing from the PSG squad as goals from Edinson Cavani, Mbappe and Angel di Maria saw Thomas Tuchel’s men ease to victory at the get their French league title defence underway with a 3-0 win over Nimes.
Mbappe’s strike was his 21st in the French top-flight in 2019, the most goals scored by a player in any of Europe’s top five leagues along with Messi.
Playing in the absence of Neymar, whose exit from PSG looks closer to becoming a reality, the French champions made light work of Nimes, with Cavani breaking the deadlock at the Parc des Princes with a 24th minute penalty.
Mbappe doubled the advantage just before the hour mark from close range before turning provider as Di Maria found the bottom corner moments after coming off the bench for Pablo Sarabia with 20 minutes left in the encounter to go seal victory for the Red and Blues.
The result leaves PSG joint top of the French top-flight with rivals, Olympique Lyon, who also started their campaign with a 3-0 win over 10-man AS Monaco on Friday night.
Lyon will next face third-placed Angers at home on Friday while PSG will pay Stade Rennes a visit next Sunday, just two weeks after coming from a goal down to beat the French Cup holders 2-1 in the Trophees des Champions in China.
Anthony Martial’s new number in the Manchester United squad has been confirmed by the Red Devils on Friday afternoon, with the French striker handed the number 9 shirt by the club for the new season.
Number 9 shirt to be worn by Anthony Martial for the new season.
Martial previously wore the number when he joined from French side, AS Monaco ahead of the 2015/16 campaign, which saw him open his account for the Red Devils with a goal on his debut against arch-rivals Liverpool at Old Trafford.
However, the Frenchman lost the number to Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who joined the club from Paris Saint-Germain ahead of the 2016/17 season, while Romelu Lukaku took the number after arriving Old Trafford from Everton in a £75 million deal.
The squad number update was confirmed in a statement on the club’s official website. “Our new no.9 Anthony Martial has become the third Manchester United player in the era of squad numbers to reclaim a former position,” the statement said.
It added: “The Frenchman initially wore it at Old Trafford, following his move from Monaco, but switched to no.11 when Zlatan Ibrahimovic arrived at the club from Paris Saint-Germain in 2016.”
The club went on to say: “His return to his old number tallies with the more central role he has been filling during some of the pre-season campaign under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, even if we have been fielding a fluid attacking line-up.”
Meanwhile, Martial signed a new long-term contract with the Red Devils at the end of January, and got goals against Leeds United and Tottenham Hotspur during Tour 2019 in pre-season.
He is expected to be in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s starting line-up when Manchester United come up against Chelsea at Old Trafford in the Premier League on Sunday.
Liverpool began the 2019/20 English premier league season in emphatic fashion with a comprehensive 4-1 win against newly-promoted Norwich City. However, the Reds opening match was marred by an injury to first-choice goalkeeper Alison Becker.
Goals from Salah, Van Dijk, and an own goal from Grant Hanely handed Liverpool a comfortable lead in the first half before Alison Becker got injured while attempting to take a goal kick.
Divock Origi extended the lead before half-time before Teemu Pukki got a goal back for Norwich in the second half.
The European champions left 2019 Africa Cup of Nations Silver medallist, Sadio Mane on the bench as he just resumed at the club from his extended holiday earlier this week. He came off the bench in the second-half to get a run out ahead of Wednesday’s clash with Chelsea.
Jurgen Klopp went with an attacking trio of Mohammed Salah, Firmino, and Divock Origi. The rest of his selection was not surprising as Joe Gomez partnered Van Dijk in the heart of the defence.
Norwich managed to keep most of the players that helped them secure the Championship last season.
Teemu Pukki led the line with Marco Stiepermann in the number ten role as Daniel Farke aimed to upset the runners-up of last season’s Premier League. Tim Krul, who has a vast amount of experience in the English top-flight started in goal for the Canaries.
Liverpool got their opener in the seventh minute after some lovely footwork from Divock Origi at the edge of the box created a goalscoring chance with a low cross.
His ball aimed for the penalty spot where Salah and Firmino were lurking was deflected by Norwich defender, Hanley into his own net.
The Reds extended their lead through the incredible Mo Salah before the half-hour mark following a defensive error from the Canaries.
They failed to clear a loose ball in the box on time and it fell to Brazil international Firmino who played Salah through on goal. The Egyptian controlled the ball calmly before passing the ball into the net past Tim Krul.
Mo Salah’s assist, Virgil Van Dijk’s goal. The 2 best players in the league working together for a 3rd for Liverpool.
Van Dijk extended the lead with a thumping header from a corner kick to secure the victory even before the end of the first half.
The Canaries were outclassed and completely outplayed by the Reds but Allison Becker gave Jurgen Klopp something to worry about when he picked up a serious-looking injury that required substitution. Origi got his own goal from a header before half-time.
The second-half had a delayed start after the communication device of one of the linesmen malfunctioned. Norwich got one back through Teemu Pukki after he got on the end of a through pass in the box.
He continued his prolific goal-scoring record of last season with a sublime finish that Adrian could not stop.
Liverpool continued to press the newly-promoted side but could not press their advantage and add to their advantage.
Norwich would be hoping that they do better in their next game when they welcome Newcastle to Carrow Road next weekend and Liverpool would take on Chelsea in the UEFA Super Cup on Wednesday.
Lineups
Liverpool Alisson (Goalkeeper), Trent Alexander-Arnold (Defender), Joe Gomez (Defender), Virgil van Dijk (Defender), Andrew Robertson (Defender), Jordan Henderson (Midfielder), Fabinho (Midfielder), Georginio Wijnaldum (Midfielder), Mohamed Salah (Forward), Roberto Firmino (Forward), Divock Origi (Forward)
Norwich City
Tim Krul (Goalkeeper), Max Aarons (Defender), Grant Hanley (Defender), Ben Godfrey (Defender), Jamal Lewis (Defender), Kenny McLean (Midfielder), Tom Trybull (Midfielder), Emiliano Buendia (Midfielder), Marco Stiepermann (Midfielder), Todd Cantwell (Midfielder), Teemu Pukki (Forward)
World of Sports 