Every Salah goal from Liverpool's 2024-25 season
Hürzeler: 'I'm very grateful for working with this team'
Fabian Hürzeler looked back on his first season at Brighton ahead of the final home game of the 2024-25 season against title winners Liverpool.
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Germany 1 Portugal 2 – Ronaldo the hero as 137th international goal seals place in Nations League final
Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 137th international goal to help Portugal beat Germany for the first time in 25 years and qualify for Sunday's Nations League final. The Portugal captain scored the winning goal in the 68th minute, staying onside and tapping home from close range after being set up the brilliant Nuno Mendes. Advertisement Germany had led shortly after the break through Liverpool target Florian Wirtz, the Bayer Leverkusen midfielder nodding home following a lovely dinked assist from Joshua Kimmich. But Martinez's team were level when Francisco Conceicao, son of Portugal great Sergio — who scored three the last time they beat Germany back in Euro 2000 — glided past a couple of challenges and whipped a shot past Marc Andre ter-Stegen. Portugal will face the winner of tomorrow night's semi-final in Stuttgart between Spain and France in the final in Munich on Sunday. Tim Spiers and Seb Stafford-Bloor analyse the key talking points… It looked like it wasn't going to be Cristiano Ronaldo's night. One half chance went begging, then another, then he sent a free header over the bar, then he couldn't divert Pedro Neto's cut-back goalwards. An accusation levelled at the 40-year-old in recent years (fairly, given his record) is that Ronaldo scores for fun in the qualifiers (10 goals in nine games qualifying for the Euros, five in five in the Nations League group), but comes up short in the big tournaments (no goals in five at the Euros, one in five at the World Cup) and the really important matches. Well, here he was, in a big international semi-final, scoring the winning goal. Sure it was a tap-in, but the movement which preceded it was excellent. He lurked in behind the Germany defence after a previous attack had broken down, then sprung into action as Nuno Mendes dovetailed beautifully with Fernandes, playing a one-two and then picking out the Al-Nassr striker, whose club future is unclear with his contract expiring this summer. He timed his run to perfection to stay onside and finish. It was his 137th goal in his 220th cap and Ronaldo, for the umpteenth occasion, was Portugal's hero. Tim Spiers Wirtz got his goal and given how much attention was on him — and how aware of that he probably was — the relief in his celebration was understandable. It was a nice goal, too; a bit fortunate, but still typical of how effective his pass-and-move game can be in tight spaces. This was not an easy night for Wirtz. Firstly, because he has not been in his best form since recovering from the injury he suffered against Bayern Munich in March and was only really playing himself back into form and fitness when the German season ended. Advertisement Also, this was an unfamiliar German attack that he was placed in the centre of. Nick Woltemade was making his debut and played well but has positional traits that often overlap with the role of a No 10 and need adapting too. At times, they got in each other's way and will need time to properly develop their understanding. In the past, Wirtz has played alongside Jamal Musiala for the national team, as one of two No 10s behind Kai Havertz. This was a very different situation; there are few similarities between Musiala and Leroy Sane, for instance. Still, for a player with a major transfer hanging over him, this was still an instructive showing. Wirtz was cavalier with possession at times and was occasionally too forceful in trying to create opportunities, but he moved the point of Germany's attack well, was bright and light-footed in possession, and skipped through a few tackles. Was it classic Wirtz? No, his wattage was down on what it usually is. But that player — with all his slashing ambition and dynamic ball-carrying — will probably re-emerge after a full pre-season. Seb Stafford-Bloor Bruno Fernandes endured a frustrating and fairly anonymous evening in Munich. That was little surprise, seen as after a gruelling season of 64 appearances for club and country he was playing his fifth match in his fifth different country in the space of just 15 days. His recent run of matches, including on Manchester United's post-season tour to Asia, reads… He played 90 minutes in the first two games, then 45 minutes in each of the friendlies, plus 90 minutes here. Plus 15,000 miles of travel, not to mention making one of the biggest decisions of his career in spurning the advances of Al-Hilal. Anyway, he looked absolutely cooked in Munich in a dreadful first half; no shots, no key passes, no accurate crosses from three attempted and he lost possession eight times. Advertisement Fernandes' opening 45 minutes also included picking up a painful knock just before half-time when being unintentionally caught on the ankle by Florian Wirtz's boot, which required treatment and led to lots of limping and head shaking. He rallied in the second half and produced a moment of brilliance with a shot that deflected inches wide, then turned on the charm with some sublime touches including in the lead-up to the winner. Where he found the energy reserves from is unclear. But the guy undoubtedly needs a few weeks off. Tim Spiers Germany had a strong cast of missing players. No Musiala, no Havertz, no Nico Schlotterbeck and no Antonio Rudiger. Evaluating where they are without those key components, on the performance of an experimental side, feels quite mean spirited. And yet there are still concerns with the World Cup now a year away. Both Portuguese goals were the result of the kind of systemic breakdowns that have plagued Julian Nagelsmann's team at bad moments in the past. The one conceded to Ronaldo was especially sloppy and had no place in international football. Yes, the Nations League is nobody's priority and these are tired players, at the end of a season in which many of them have been competing domestically and in Europe. But Germany consider themselves among the favourites next summer and there is great deal of optimism already. But what is the confidence based on? The body of work that suggests that they are a contender is quite slender, consisting really just of the wins over France and Netherlands in early 2024, and a relatively strong tournament performance in last summer's European Championship. The harder truth, as this game showed, is that there are still too many fringe players who cannot be depended upon and Nagelsmann will need all of his first-choice players available next summer if he and his team are to live up to expectation. Advertisement Beneath this team's top soil, things are not that healthy. Seb Stafford-Bloor Portugal's trio of Champions League-winning Paris Saint-Germain players could have been forgiven for having an off-night here, just four days after they enjoyed the best night of their careers in the same stadium in Munich. On the contrary, Nuno Mendes, Joao Neves and Vitinha all played a key role in Portugal's comeback victory. Mendes in particular was exceptional, taking up his typically advanced position in the opposition half, combining nicely with Pedro Neto who enjoyed a fruitful first 20 minutes, and then later setting up Ronaldo's winner with a give-and-go, a surge into the box and a perfect pass. Joao Neves played at right-back, a position he has occasionally frequented for PSG under Luis Enrique. He was tidy enough defensively without the ball, then when Portugal were in possession he sauntered into midfield and was at the heart of Portugal's best moments in the first half, with Germany not knowing how and where to pick him up. Vitinha came off the bench in place of Ruben Neves and it was his introduction, along with goalscorer Conceicao and full-back Nelson Semedo on 57 minutes, which turned the game back in Portugal's favour. The midfield maestro upped Portugal's tempo and positivity, getting them on the front foot and asking questions of the Germany defence. Roberto Martinez deserves credit for an intriguing team selection which foxed Germany, and then making the bold early substitutions to turn the tide after the break. 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Yahoo
38 minutes ago
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Liverpool have FINALLY found their €100m striker
The most obvious role for Florian Wirtz in this Liverpool team is on the left side of the attack. The 22-year-old played there primarily for Bayer Leverkusen, albeit in a different formation. Under Xabi Alonso, the 2023/24 Bundesliga champions played a 3-4-2-1 shape with Wirtz on the left of the two behind the striker. Advertisement He was given the freedom to drift into wide areas but also operate fairly centrally, safe in the knowledge that Alejandro Grimaldo would keep the width as a marauding wing-back. Liverpool don't have an identical position in their team. But if you had to position the German maestro somewhere in the team that allowed him a bit of freedom, it'd be on the left side of the attack. The central players do a lot of the running. Dominik Szoboszlai put in a shift as an attacking midfielder, doing a lot of the defensive work for Mohamed Salah. What went under the radar a little was how much of a shift the centre-forward also put in. Diogo Jota, Darwin Nunez and Luis Diaz all did the hard yards with Szoboszlai when deployed as the striker. And this, by default, alleviated some of the burden on the left-sided attacker. With Milos Kerkez likely to be added to the squad, the left-sided attacker is in a comfortable position. The Hungary international can do a lot of the running on the outside while the striker covers central areas. Advertisement It doesn't mean Wirtz won't have to do defensive work, it is part of his appeal, but it frees him up to play his natural game. © Tacticalista This made the most sense with the links to a new centre-forward. Why else would you spend north of £60million on a striker if you just wanted them to sit on the bench while Wirtz and Szoboszlai spearheaded the attack? Szoboszlai, as far as I'm concerned, is a key part of Slot's XI. Yes, people want more goals and assists from him but we don't win the title without his graft in that role. I'm not entirely sure he's cut out for a deeper role either. He may have scored against Brighton but he struggled off the ball. He's also got a bit of a trampoline first touch, which is a problem in that part of the pitch. If you look at Curtis Jones, Alexis Mac Allister and Ryan Gravenberch, they're all assured with the ball. They bring calm to proceedings. They suit the deeper, double pivot role much more than Szoboszlai does. If we drop the No8 back, we're basically highlighting his weaknesses and hiding his strengths. There's something else to consider too. Dropping him means you're making changes to the spine of a title winning team. Unnecessary changes at that. Whereas if you're able to keep Alisson, Virgil Van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate, Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister and Szoboszlai in their roles, you have a good base to retain the title. Advertisement Moving Szoboszlai in a deeper role means you're starting the new season with two new central players, Wirtz and a forward, spearheading the press. It is a gamble. It has to be Szoboszlai and one other leading the line for the Reds. The one other could well be Wirtz. He could, after all, be the Diogo Jota replacement. There's a world in which he's the replacement for Diaz the false-9 rather than Diaz the left-winger. Things need to happen for this to come to fruition though. Firstly, the centre-forward Liverpool bring in needs to be a back-up rather than a bonafide star. You can't spend £60million or more on a Plan B, can you? The Reds also need to either keep both Diaz and Cody Gakpo, or replace whichever of them is sold. Advertisement With that in mind, the links to Rafael Leao now make a little more sense. Liverpool won the league essentially playing with a false-9. Wirtz has the traits needed to be a world class false-9. He's the heir to Roberto Firmino, if we want him to be. And against Man City last season, away at the Etihad, the Reds went with dual false-9s. © Sky Sports You can see the shape above. Liverpool had Salah and Diaz holding the width. Then Szoboszlai and Jones played as a two-man attack, backed up by Alexis Mac Allister and Ryan Gravenberch. On paper, it was a 2-4-4 shape. Liverpool dominated central areas with their No8 and No17 dropping back into midfield when required. There was a fluidity to the team that just worked. Advertisement And we've seen it a few times this season. Against Crystal Palace on the final day of the season, it was a 2-4-4 system with the ball, as shown in the average touch map courtesy of WhoScored. © WhoScored Why couldn't Wirtz slot into the Diaz role here? He wouldn't need to be prolific. Think Roberto Firmino under Jurgen Klopp. If he chips in with 20 goal involvements in the Premier League, he's done his job for the team in that role. The potential is there for him to do just that. He finished with 22 goal involvements in the Bundesliga last term and his underlying numbers were just as impressive. The Germany international had an Expected Goals total of 9.4 (from an average of 2.98 shots per 90) and an Expected Assists total of 9.44. Advertisement There's no reason that Wirtz couldn't replicate those numbers if given the environment and the platform to do so.
