Latest news with #Arne Slot
New York Times
a day ago
- Sport
- New York Times
Liverpool tour diary: Endo's long throws, Salah's meditation and a vice-captain mystery
Liverpool arrived in Japan for the second leg of their Asian pre-season tour on Sunday, with a match lined up against Yokohama F. Marinos at Nissan Stadium tomorrow. It will be the first time that the club has played in the country since the 2005 World Cup Championship — and The Athletic has been there to follow them. Here is the second part of James Pearce's tour diary (you can read the first, from the Hong Kong leg, here). The searing heat did little to dent the competitive nature of Liverpool's open training session at Tokyo's JFA Yume Field on Tuesday. Temperatures reached 36C close to midday as Arne Slot's squad embarked on some intense possession-based drills. 'Stay focused on closing the lines,' bellowed Slot from under his baseball cap. Advertisement The players were divided into three groups — whites, oranges and greens — with a focus on one-touch and two-touch exchanges in tight spaces. Assistant coach Sipke Hulshoff, who led the session, counted out loud the number of passes each colour managed to complete before they were pressed into conceding possession or the ball went outside the allotted area. Andy Robertson was among the most vocal as he demanded that standards remained high. Liverpool's chief scout, Barry Hunter, and assistant sporting director, David Woodfine, were among those watching on from the shade. There was no sign of sporting director Richard Hughes, who had departed after linking up with the touring party earlier in the trip. His next move in the transfer market is going to be intriguing. After a drinks break, one group of players embarked on some set-piece work overseen by first team individual development coach Aaron Briggs. The rest headed to the other end of the ground, where Hulshoff and new assistant coach Giovanni van Bronckhorst, who replaced Ajax-bound John Heitinga earlier this summer, took charge of a drill involving playing through the lines to create shooting opportunities. The two groups then swapped over. Alexis Mac Allister and Florian Wirtz were among those tasked with taking corners as players waited to both defend and attack them. Briggs had placed six inflatable mannequins across the face of the six-yard box. There was also a focus on long throws being flicked on for a team-mate to get a shot away. The best of them was delivered by Wataru Endo, flicked on by Darwin Nunez and emphatically volleyed home by Mac Allister. Liverpool initially advertised for a set-piece coach last summer. Unable to find a suitable candidate they gave the responsibility to Briggs instead. For the second half of the session, Slot stood in the middle, keeping a watching brief over the drills at either end and barking words of encouragement. With the traffic heavy, the 33km journey back to Liverpool's base in the Minato City area of Tokyo took over an hour. After lunch the players had to attend various events with sponsors before being given the rest of the day off by Slot with some venturing out to do some sightseeing. Liverpool will wear special edition shirts for Wednesday's game against Yokohama F. Marinos in front of more than 70,000 fans at their Nissan Stadium home. As part of the club's partnership with Kodansha, the back of the jerseys will feature names and numbers designed by renowned Japanese calligrapher Riu Akizuki. 'It is a quiet gesture of respect, imagination and connection — delivered from Japan to Liverpool,' says Akiko Kamiya, the deputy director of Kodansha. 'Each letter and number, unique in form, resonates with the others. Together, they speak with quiet strength and harmony — just like a team.' Liverpool Under-15s watched the senior squad train on Monday before getting some words of advice from captain Virgil van Dijk. The youngsters are here to play two matches against the J League Under-15s Selection. 'I heard they have a lot of fans coming,' Van Dijk said. 'You guys nervous? You'll be fine. Are you gonna win? You better do. You represent Liverpool, you know?' Ibrahima Konate gatecrashed a joint interview with Wirtz and Jeremie Frimpong at the team hotel. Giving them each a bottle of water, there was a playful dig at the heavy defeat they both experienced at the hands of Liverpool playing for Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League last season. 'How was the 4-0 at Anfield?' Konate chuckled. Wirtz and Frimpong were filming the latest episode of 'Bezzies' for club media, with team-mates tested on how much they know about each other. Frimpong's most annoying habit? He can be too loud. If he could be a champion in any other sport? The NBA. Toughest opponent? Alphonso Davies. They took it in turns to answer questions while the other was wearing headphones and they passed the friendship test. 'We click directly, we like the same things,' Frimpong said. 'Yes bro, good speech,' added Wirtz. The Liverpool squad got their week off to a peaceful start. They visited Tokyo's Ekoin Temple on Monday for a meditation session with local monks. Mohamed Salah is among a group of players who feel they benefit greatly from meditating on a daily basis. On their arrival in Japan the previous evening, Van Dijk, Konate, Endo, Wirtz, Cody Gakpo and Kostas Tsimikas donned happi coats, a traditional Japanese garment often worn during festivals. The idea was to recreate an image from nearly 60 years ago when The Beatles wore them on their arrival here. A post from a fake social media account gained traction online after claiming Robertson had been given the vice-captaincy. It led to the long-serving left-back getting congratulatory texts from friends. 'I've not heard anything,' Robertson insisted after the game in Hong Kong. 'Me, Mo (Salah), Alisson and Virgil are obviously part of the leadership group. The manager has not spoken to any of us yet. The four of us are a tight-knit group in terms of helping the new lads. We've been at this club a long time now. We know what it takes and we also know how hard it is to keep the levels as high as fans expect.' The vice-captaincy is available following Trent Alexander-Arnold's move to Real Madrid. Slot has already made his mind up about who will become Van Dijk's new deputy but is keeping his cards close to his chest. 'I'm not telling everyone yet,' he said. Curtis Jones says Wirtz has made a big impression with his new team-mates on and off the pitch. The £116million signing caught the eye with some sublime touches in the first half of Saturday's friendly defeat by Milan. 'There's this label on him that we've paid this price for him,' Jones said. 'But he just needs to stay calm, go and play his game and not think about the price he's been bought for. 'He's an exciting player but on top of all he's an unbelievable lad who enjoys the game. As you can see, he's found his feet already. This is an unbelievable team but it's like a family as well. It makes the lads feel at home.' (Top photos: Arne Slot at the Ekoin Temple; Liverpool train in Tokyo; Getty Images)
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Wirtz makes first start as Liverpool lose to Milan
Liverpool's record signing Florian Wirtz made his first start for his new club as Arne Slot's side were beaten 4-2 by AC Milan at a sold-out Kai Tak Stadium in Hong Kong. However, there was no place for Darwin Nunez or Luis Diaz in the Reds squad amid speculation they could leave following the arrival of Hugo Ekitike and the pursuit of Newcastle United's Alexander Isak. Slot said after the game that Nunez missed the match because of injury but Colombia forward Diaz was left out as a result of "speculation on his future". Liverpool legend Sir Kenny Dalglish laid a wreath of flowers before kick-off and the players had 'Diogo J 20' on their shirts in tribute to their former team-mate Diogo Jota, who died in a car accident as he and his brother Andre Silva drove through the Spanish province of Zamora earlier this month. The Premier League champions dominated the opening 10 minutes but it was the Italian side who opened the scoring when a counter-attack ended with Rafael Leao smashing past Alisson Becker. Dominik Szoboszlai equalised with a fine curling strike into the top corner of Mike Maignan's goal from the edge of the box. England midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek restored Milan's lead early in the second half as the Reds were again caught short at the back and Noah Okafor made it 3-1 with a brilliant finish beyond Liverpool's new Georgia goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili. Cody Gakpo pulled one back in added time with a header from Ibrahima Konate's pinpoint ball into the box but an awful mix-up between Mamardashvili and Kostas Tsimikas allowed Okafor to net his second. Liverpool now travel to Japan and will play Yokohama F. Marinos on Wednesday. Wirtz comfortable in unusual role Wirtz, a £116m signing from Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen, filled a unfamiliar false nine role against Milan with Nunez and Diaz missing and new signing Ekitike not ready to play. The Germany playmaker had exciting 16-year-old Rio Ngumoha on his left and Mohamed Salah in his usual right wing position. Slot is expected to use Wirtz either as an attacking midfielder behind the striker or a narrow left-sided forward, but in Hong Kong he showed he was capable of linking the forward line from an advanced central role. His speed of thought and first touch kept him a step ahead of his opponents and opened up space for him to drive forward with the ball. There was disappointment when he did not re-emerge for the second half, but fans got a look at Liverpool's other new signings - right-back Jeremie Frimpong and left-back Milos Kerkez - as they were introduced at half-time. Liverpool plan Jota memorial sculpture at Anfield Hey big spenders - Liverpool lead top-four domination of £1bn deals Liverpool look short at the back News broke before kick-off that versatile defender Joe Gomez had flown back to England for work on an Achilles injury and that leaves Liverpool with just two fit senior centre-backs. Liverpool looked exposed in defence in both halves, with Virgil van Dijk starting the first period and Konate taking the captain's place in the second. In the absence of Gomez, Ryan Gravenberch started alongside Van Dijk at the heart of the defence, meaning the usual midfield shield was missing. Liverpool are already a central defender short after Jarell Quansah's transfer to Bayer Leverkusen, with Andrew Robertson used as a centre-back in the pre-season win at Preston North End and now it was the turn of another left-back, Tsimikas, to fill in. However Slot said: "I don't think we have a concern at centre-back. Ryan showed he can play that position - he did it well, although we favour him as a number six. "Wataru Endo can play there. So we have enough options but it is true that Jarell Quansah left and we haven't replaced him yet." With 12 months left on his contract, Liverpool have been linked with a move for Crystal Palace and England defender Marc Guehi this summer and Gomez's injury could increase that interest.
BBC News
4 days ago
- Sport
- BBC News
Wirtz makes first start as Liverpool lose to Milan
Liverpool's record signing Florian Wirtz made his first start for his new club as Arne Slot's side were beaten 4-2 by AC Milan at a sold-out Kai Tak Stadium in Hong there was no place for Darwin Nunez or Luiz Diaz in the Reds squad amid speculation they could leave following the arrival of Hugo Ekitike and the pursuit of Newcastle United's Alexander legend Sir Kenny Dalglish laid a wreath of flowers before kick-off and the players wore a 'Diogo J 20' emblem on their shirts in tribute to their former team-mate Diogo Jota, who died in a car accident earlier this Premier League champions dominated the opening 10 minutes but it was the Italian side who opened the scoring when a counter-attack ended with Rafael Leao smashing past Alisson Szoboszlai equalised with a fine curling strike into the top corner of Mike Maignan's goal from the edge of the midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek restored Milan's lead early in the second half as the Reds were again caught short at the back and Noah Okafor made it 3-1 with a brilliant finish beyond Liverpool's new Georgia goalkeeper Giorgi Gakpo pulled one back in added time with a header from Ibrahima Konate's pinpoint ball into the box but an awful mix-up between Mamardashvili and Kostas Tsimikas allowed Okafor to net his now travel to Japan and will play Yokohama F. Marinos on Wednesday. Wirtz comfortable in unusual role Wirtz, a £116m signing from Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen, filled a unfamiliar false nine role against Milan with Nunez and Diaz missing and new signing Ekitike not ready to Germany playmaker had exciting 16-year-old Rio Ngumoha on his left and Mohamed Salah in his usual right wing is expected to use Wirtz either as an attacking midfielder behind the striker or a narrow left-sided forward, but in Hong Kong he showed he was capable of linking the forward line from an advanced central speed of thought and first touch kept him a step ahead of his opponents and opened up space for him to drive forward with the was disappointment when he did not re-emerge for the second half, but fans got a look at Liverpool's other new signings - right-back Jeremie Frimpong and left-back Milos Kerkez - as they were introduced at half-time. Liverpool look short at the back News broke before kick-off that versatile defender Joe Gomez had flown back to England for work on an Achilles injury and that leaves Liverpool with just two fit senior looked exposed in defence in both halves, with Virgil van Dijk starting the first period and Ibrahima Konate taking the captain's place in the the absence of Gomez, Ryan Gravenberch started alongside Van Dijk at the heart of the defence, meaning the usual midfield shield was are already a central defender short after Jarell Quansah's transfer to Bayer Leverkusen, with Andrew Robertson used as a centre-back in the pre-season win at Preston North End and now it was the turn of another left-back, Tsimikas, to fill 12 months left on his contract, Liverpool have been linked with a move for Crystal Palace and England defender Marc Guehi this summer and Gomez's injury could increase that interest.
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Sport
- Daily Mail
Florian Wirtz will make Liverpool tick, the 16-year-old prodigy ready for the first team - and the one area Arne Slot STILL needs to strengthen: FIVE THINGS WE LEARNED from the Reds' 2-4 defeat by AC Milan
Liverpool fell to defeat in the first match of their pre-season tour of Asia after old foes AC Milan exploited poor defending to beat the Premier League champions 4-2. The Reds fell behind early to a Rafael Leao strike before Dominik Szoboszlai equalised. Noah Okafor scored two after the break and Ruben Loftus-Cheek was also on target for the Italians, while Cody Gakpo scored a consolation goal for Liverpool. Arne Slot's men now jet on to Tokyo for the second leg of their tour and the boss has plenty to ponder – with both positives and worrying signs to come out of this game. Mail Sport's Lewis Steele was in Hong Kong and here are his five key takeaways… Centre back(s) needed at Liverpool Joe Gomez is now back in England after flying home from Liverpool's tour of Asia on Friday night, reporting pain in his Achilles. It was decided that instead of him staying out here for the second leg of the tour in Japan, it would be best for him to travel back to the north west to undergo recovery work. The injury has only been mooted as minor and he is expected back soon – but it is still a worry given the long-serving defender played just 11 minutes in 2025 with two lengthy lay-offs last season. With Jarell Quansah signing for Bayer Leverkusen for £35million earlier this transfer window, that leaves just three senior centre backs – and one is already on the treatment table. Ryan Gravenberch and Kostas Tsimikas, who made a late mistake for Milan's fourth, were both trialled at the heart of defence in this game but neither of them seem like long-term options. Yes, Gravenberch has played there before and has done well, but playing him in defence means you miss his mercurial midfield displays. So, it feels like despite spending £295million and even if Alexander Isak was to make a sensational switch to the club, they are still at least one defender light. And that's not to mention the fact Real Madrid are courting Konate, whose contract is up next summer! Defence looks uncharacteristically open There were some off-brand mistakes from Virgil van Dijk in the first half, all of which can be excused by the fact that it is pre-season. AC Milan's first goal came from makeshift defender Gravenberch stepping too far up and being caught out by diving into a challenge. Then Van Dijk seemed to invite Leao to shoot and he duly obliged, though the Portugal winger still had a lot of work to do. In the second half, when Konate and Tsimikas were the defenders, Liverpool conceded two preventable goals on the counter-attack. One from the left, one the right, they were similar in that the Reds press was evaded and then pacy wingers exploited mass space in behind. Full backs Conor Bradley and Milos Kerkez were perhaps guilty of being on their toes as Leao and Alexis Sealemaekers darted past them and Milan ended up scoring. Again, not a huge worry – but work to be done by Slot on the training ground maybe. Wirtz will make the team tick The 50,000 locals who packed out the Kai Tak Stadium can say they were the first Liverpool fans to see him don the famous red jersey in a game. He played in a behind-closed-doors friendly against Stoke last week but this was his first real outing – and wow, what a player. Liverpool have paid £116m for the privilege of him being their man but he looks like the sort of star who could transform their whole team. The German had some spellbinding moments here and could have registered a couple of assists if his team-mates' finishing was better. His first touch was breathtakingly good and, worrying for defenders of Premier League rivals, his link-up with Mohamed Salah was on point. The pair seemed to be on the right wavelength and, given this is only pre-season, that is pleasing for the coaching staff to see. How did young players fare? Rio Ngumoha is often cited as the best star in Liverpool's academy and labelled as a big prospect for the future. The first part of that sentence is correct but the ending is not: he is not one for the future, he is one for now. The 16-year-old caused all sorts of problems for AC Milan's defenders in the 45 minutes he played, with some mazy runs and eye-catching creative play. Signed from Chelsea a year ago, the kid who wears just 'Rio' on the back of his shirt was tipped for big things and Liverpool believed they had signed a golden gem. Even though he is still 16, it is not a huge surprise to see him progressing as he is in the first team ranks. Ngumoha was caught in possession cheaply in one of his first touches but settled after that. One thing he must work on in the coming years is to know when to play the simple pass and when to embark on one of his dribbles. Sometimes, it feels like he is trying to do too much – but fair play to him, he has a lot in his locker so why not try it? The same, perhaps, can be said about 18-year-old Trey Nyoni, another poached from a rival academy in his mid-teens. Midfielder Nyoni joined from Leicester in 2023 and is thriving in the big-boy picture now, with six first-team appearances to his name. Slot rates Nyoni highly and he had some eye-catching moments here, the most notable being when he danced through the Milan defence but could not find the finish. If he had that chance back, the teenager knows he should have taken on the shot earlier. Is it 'adios' to two South American stars? Two men were conspicuous by their absence. Neither Luis Diaz nor Darwin Nunez were in the 22-man matchday squad for Liverpool as speculation continues about their future at the club. Both are expected to leave this summer despite being on the Asia tour, with Bayern Munich readying a second bid for Diaz after a £58m was turned down. The Colombian is keen to pursue his options elsewhere. Nunez, likewise, has long been expected to depart the club despite clubs being unwilling to cough up the price Liverpool are asking for, which is around £70m. Though Saudi Arabian outfits are expected to return to the table for him, with Napoli previously in talks. The pair were at the stadium but the fact they were not playing was suspicious, and may point to their exits sooner rather than later. Alexis Mac Allister, meanwhile, is back in full training after nursing a long-term problem that he played through last season, while Wataru Endo is also likely to feature in his homeland of Japan after being out with illness.
Telegraph
4 days ago
- Business
- Telegraph
Liverpool v AC Milan: Team lineups and updates from Hong Kong
12:10PM Today's line-ups Liverpool Here's how the Reds line-up in Hong Kong 👊🔴 Watch the game LIVE on All Red Video ⤵️ #LFCPreSeason — Liverpool FC (@LFC) July 26, 2025 AC Milan Team news from Hong Kong 📋 — AC Milan (@acmilan) July 26, 2025 12:08PM Liverpool's busy summer... to be continued? Having built up a reputation for modest spending and measured dealing - relative to other clubs in the top six, that is - it's surprising to see that on top of the signings mentioned below, Liverpool are reportedly ready to spend another £120m on Newcastle striker Alexander Isak. The asking price is £150m, but even if Liverpool do barter down, they'll break Chelsea's record for spending in a summer transfer window. Should that happen, Arne Slot will have to hope his charges fare better. In Todd Boehly's first window, Chelsea signed 13 players for a total of £405m with mixed fortunes. Success stories like Moises Caicedo (£115m), Cole Palmer (£40m), and PSR successes like Djordje Petrovic (£14m, sold for £25m) have been heavily mitigated by disasters like Christopher Nkunku (£53m), and the injury-hampered Romeo Lavia (£58m). Chelsea's PSR navigation has been viewed with contention, so how have Liverpool handled it? You can read in full here. 11:58AM Liverpool's busy summer Liverpool's current summer spend totals a whopping £270m, £300m if you include the fee they paid Valencia for goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili last August - a deal that saw the Georgian immediately loaned back for the season. Should the requisite add-on clauses be triggered, their signing of Florian Wirtz for an initial £100m will become a British-record at £116m. Here are the other signings this summer: Hugo Ekitike - £69m from Eintracht Frankfurt Freddie Woodman - free from Preston North End Milos Kerkez - £40m from Bournemouth Jeremie Frimpong - £35m from Bayer Leverkusen Armin Pecsi - £1.5m from Puskas Akademia 11:48AM New blood in classic fixture Liverpool and AC Milan play their second fixtures of pre-season at the Kai Tak Stadium in Hong Kong this afternoon, as the Premier League champions take another look at a number of new signings as their prolific summer transfer window rolls on. Whilst in attendance, their newest signing, Hugo Ekitike - signed from Eintracht Frankfurt for an initial £69m - is not named in the match-day squad, but there will be a chance for further inspection on Florian Wirtz from the start. Elsewhere new signings Freddie Woodman, Giogri Mamardashvili, Milos Kerkez, and Jeremie Frimpong all feature from the bench, whilst youngsters Rio Ngumoha, Tyler Morton, and Luca Stephenson all start. Meanwhile, Joe Gomez won't feature, instead flying home today to get treatment on an Achilles issue having trained out in Asia earlier this week. Liverpool TV's pre-match coverage have reported that the squad are looking forward to their first 'proper' fixture of pre-season, and whilst today's opponents languished in eighth in the Serie A last season, it's certainly an esteemed fixture. Since the infamous Champions League final in 2005, they've played four times, with Milan avenging that defeat in the 2007 final before three Liverpool wins; twice in 2021 and a 3-1 win in September of last year. Milan's lineup is TBA, but we can expect to see some summer signings of equal stature to Liverpool's, with none other than Luka Modric joining, alongside midfielder Samuele Ricci. They lost in real time, but won on a gratuitous penalty shootout vs Arsenal just three days ago, and have big motivation to prove themselves today after an underwhleming season last year. Kick off is 12.30pm, stay tuned!
