Monthly Archives: August 2013

Liverpool have plenty of time to recover, says Mignolet

The Belgian goalkeeper insists that the Reds will not be tired going into Sunday’s match against Manchester United after an extra-time victory over Notts County

Simon Mignolet insists Liverpool have enough time to recover ahead of their Premier League clash with Manchester United on Sunday, despite having played 120 minutes on Tuesday night.

The Reds were involved in a unexpectedly hard-fought contest against Notts County in the Capital One Cup, eventually prevailing 4-2 after extra-time.

And the Belgian goalkeeper does not believe the Anfield outfit will suffer a hangover following the gruelling tie, and says a tough pre-season campaign means they are prepared to play three games in a week.

“We are professionals and we worked really hard in pre-season to get fit for the start of the season so that won’t be an issue,” the goalkeeper told the Liverpool Echo.

“Everybody will rest up and we have a number of days before Sunday. There is enough time to recover.

“It will be a huge experience for me against United and I always look forward to these types of games. It’s going to be a big one and we will try to win the game. We will make sure we’re ready for Sunday.

“We have to look at ourselves rather than focus on who we’re playing against.”

Mignolet is happy to have progressed to the next round of the Capital One Cup, though admitted Liverpool were culpable of switching off and allowing Notts County back into the game.

“We’re just relieved to have won the tie,” Mignolet continued. “We wanted to get through to the next round and in the end we did that.

“Obviously when you lead 2-0 at half-time you hope that things are going to go a lot more easily for you and that’s what happened tonight. That was disappointing and so were the injuries we suffered.

“We made it difficult for ourselves in the second half. I wouldn’t say it was complacency but even if you lead 2-0, no matter who the opponent is, the game is not over.

“We tried to score a third goal but that didn’t work out and then they got a goal from a set-piece which changed the game.

“We have to learn lessons but we’re into the next round and that’s the most important thing. We want to do well in this competition and maybe further down the road we will look back and take the positives from this game.

“We still have a chance to win the cup. At one stage tonight it didn’t look like that would be the case.”

Transfer Talk: Bale finally heads to Spain, but is Eto’o bound for Inter or Chelsea?

Nat Coombs, Peter Staunton and former Chelsea captain Dennis Wise discuss the major talking points from the summer market

One of the longest running saga’s of the transfer window is coming to a close, as Real Madrid look finally set to get their man, Gareth Bale.

The Tottenham forward is set to complete his ‘dream’ move to Spain after the clubs agreed a world-record £86 million fee earlier this week.

Meanwhile in England, Chelsea’s pursuit of Wayne Rooney was spiced up a little further after their 0-0 draw away to Manchester United, with Jose Mourinho asking the striker to publically confirm his intentions – either to stay at Old Trafford, or move to London.

To discuss these stories and much more, Nat Coombs is joined by international football writer Peter Staunton, and former Chelsea captain, Dennis Wise.

Remember, to pose a question to next week’s panel, leave your comment below or Tweet us by using the hashtag #askgoal.

Chelsea swoop for Liverpool target Atsu

Jose Mourinho is set to beat Brendan Rodgers to the €4 million signing of the 21-year-old Porto winger but may be prepared to let the Ghana international leave on loan

By Paul Clennam

Chelsea are set to beat Liverpool to the signature of Porto winger Christian Atsu.

Jose Mourinho, who has already stolen Brazil international playmaker Willian from under the noses of Tottenham this summer, will now look to finalise a move for the highly-rated Ghana international.

Liverpool were in pole position to sign the 21-year-old before displaying a reluctance to meet the Portuguese club’s €4 million asking price for a player who has just a year left to run on his current contract.

Espanyol had also been in the running to sign Atsu and were willing to match the Portuguese club’s valuation but were unable to better the contract offers on the table from the Premier League giants – though they may yet get their hands on the player on a temporary basis this season.

Competition for places is intense at Stamford Bridge, particularly in the wide and attacking midfield positions, even ahead of Atsu’s imminent arrival.

Already this season the likes of Victor Moses and Juan Mata, two players who were crucial to Chelsea’s Europa League success last season, have struggled to force their way into Mourinho’s plans this term.

Mourinho, whose side have begun the season by claiming seven points from a possible nine available and face Bayern Munich in Friday’s European Super Cup, may well be willing to allow Atsu to leave on loan with Espanyol a potential destination.