Liverpool FC The Long Term Story (With Rules) Part 2

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After the January transfer window was done I was always coming back for part two, it'll be interesting to see how the season goes as Liverpool losing one of but probably not our best player but we've got Van Dijk, now hopefully he can lock down this leaky defence. Just for those interested these are the rules I will be following in this story as I didn't really disclose them last year, I've added a few too. If anyone wants to try playing like this feel free.

  • Only one first team player allowed per season, players aged 21 and over but doesn't have to be over 21.
  • Young prospects of players 21 and under are allowed as many transfers as you want. Maximum transfer fee must be under £10M.
  • Free Agents are allowed but not as first team players on pre contracts, only as back up options, maybe if I have a young right back i would bring in an experienced one on a free.
  • If a season is played and no first team signing is made it stacks for the following season so you could make two in one season or more.
  • 1 emergency transfer is awarded after completion of every five seasons in game so after five years you can choose to sign two players in one season at any point you choose to.
  • I realised last year that because you can only make limited signings i sold a lot of players who weren't good enough and put buy backs in their deals, with this in mind I'll be allowing myself to sign one player on a buy back at any age every two seasons. Also stacking like emergency transfers and first team transfers so if I play four seasons without using any I will have two buy backs available. Jordon Ibe is one i could bring back but probably won't. I'm calling these comeback transfers.
 
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The World Cup in 2022 is moved to Argentina, no surprise at all for me to be honest. Great news on the club front with Emre Can signing a new deal on 100k a week a big step up but a player we need with just one year left on his last deal. Youngster Rhian Brewster also signed a new deal with the club and I decided to let my director of football handle this one, he didn't give him a very long contract though I should of just done it myself.

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The draw for Champions League Playoff was made and I was eagerly anticipating the draw for Liverpool. AEK Athens was the team we got then and a good draw we should be going through although Liverpool tend to make a habit of struggling in European games we are supposed to win.

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A really good quality pre season from the lads at Liverpool then with eight wins out of eight including our final match which ended 2-0 to the reds against AC Milan at Anfield. I don't usually do this but he definitely deserves a mention with four goals and seven assists in seven games, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has started pre season on fire, lets just hope he can carry that in to the first game of the season. Surely he has to start? Honestly he's been involved in everything, even playing in central midfield in our first two games. Next time find out if we can get past AEK in the Champions League playoff and three tough games around them against Burnely, Bournemouth and Southampton.

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Two very early goals from Roberto Firmino saw us through the whole of the match as we closed out the game and went on to win the match 2-0 in the end. A great start for my first game but the fixtures are coming very quickly, the key will be using my squad the best.

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A debut for Andy Robertson today and honestly a nightmare start to his career at Liverpool too, picking up an early yellow card and then going on to get sent off in just 20 minutes!! I was very disappointed and with Firmino going off early with an injury, I had to make two changes bringing on Solanke and Moreno. I have to say the lads coped well a man down though, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain got his first goal of the season and in the latter stages of the match Dominic Solanke also got his first goal for the club and what a finish it was as well!! A real mix of performances from the new signings then!

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Unfortunately our young right back Alexander-Arnold, quite the prospect picked up a nasty injury this week, keeping him for 2-3 months! It's extremely frustrating to lose a player that definitely would of been rotated in and out with the absence of key player Nathaniel Clyne who's out for half the season. Now we're going to have to manage with just Joe Gomez for the next few months!

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Another goal from one of the new signings today and Van Dijk's first for the club! He opened the scoring with a pass from Joel Matip, who you wouldn't of thought was playing a brilliant long pass to Mo Salah, he dribbled through with ease to set up Dominic Solanke for his second goal in as many games! Burnley won a penalty just before the half time whistle but it was saved heroically by Loris Karius in goal. In the second half, unfortunately we got another sending off with Van Dijk losing his cool after his goal. It was our turn to win a penalty and this time Mo Salah made no mistake and found the net, Jeff Hendrick got a goal back for Burnley but just a consolation goal.

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We were always likely to go through after that win in the first leg at home but I reminded the players that this is another match. They really did produce the goods today, another very early goal from Solanke and his third in three games, what a start to the season he's having! Mohamed Salah with the second from the penalty spot and he wont on to score two more, completing his hat-trick with a brilliant display of goals, the game finished 4-0.

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A tough group in the draw for the Champions League group stage then, it looks like we're going to have to settle for second with PSG in our group and Benfica will provide tough opposition as well. Also drawn in our group were Red Bull Salzburg. Elsewhere in the third round of the Carabao Cup, Liverpool were drawn against Hull CIty.

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Not a whole lot to talk about in this game really, a bit of a stale one and in the end it finished 0-0. In the first half Roberto Firmino struck the post on his return from injury and it wasn't for the want of trying, we went for it in the second half but just couldn't make the breakthrough. Rhian Brewster came on to make his debut in the second half, he couldn't produce anything to seal the win though.

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Although we started with some very winnable games at the start of the season, I still wasn't 100% sure about this team. We got off to a fantastic start with four wins out of four, beating Bournemouth and Burnley in the league and knocking AEK Athens out of the Champions League 6-0 over two legs. Just the one blip at the end drawing our fifth and final game of the update 0-0 against Southampton. Next time we kick off in the Champions League, away to Benfica in Portugal, we also play Hull CIty in the Carabao Cup and Brighton and Stoke City in the league.

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Having a lot of trouble uploading the badge at the beginning of these updates, not sure if it's something to do with the site or just the image I'm using although I have tried using other images, any help would be much appreciated.
 
Having a lot of trouble uploading the badge at the beginning of these updates, not sure if it's something to do with the site or just the image I'm using although I have tried using other images, any help would be much appreciated.
I have been having the same problem, my screenshots are fine just the badge wont upload, strange
 
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I have to say going in to this season I was more worried about scoring goals perhaps more than our defensive issues. With Dominic Solanke starting his Liverpool career in this form there is no need to worry right now though, two more goals today and a brilliant one to open the scoring. So far this season I've been switching between a 433 and 424, the latter has seen Coutinho left, Mane right and Firmino and Salah up front looking like an unstoppable force earlier this season for Liverpool. The plan was to play Ox on the right, Mane left and those two strikers but at the moment Salah playing right and Solanke absolutely deserves to play up front. Perhaps the only concern is defensively we are wide open in this formation, Mo Salah made it two today, followed by Sadio Mane's goal and the fourth from Dom Solanke although we did concede two goals.

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It was a close game out there today really but the lads were more clinical in front of goal, Roberto Firmino opened the scoring and we needed the help of the fantastic Loris Karius magnificently saving a penalty for the second time this season. The Ox made sure of the points with a well timed run and found by Sadio Mane, a big win in this group definitely! Unfortunately the bad news is we lost Mohamed Salah for 3-4 weeks, it's disappointing but it's not the end of the world.

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Another away performance like the one against Southampton were we just couldn't break them down! Dominic Solanke had to go off early on with an injury, Danny Ings coming on and we just didn't look like the same team, Ben Woodburn came off the bench and dramatically hit the post in the 92nd minute with just one minute to go, it just wasn't to be today.

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Ben Woodburn got the nod up front today and what a performance from him! Opening the scoring and adding his second to make it 2-0, Sadio Mane made it three before half time and he's started the season bang on form, two more assists from him today as well! Joel Matip scored twice from set pieces early in the second half and Woodburn went on to complete his hat trick with the best finish of the lot! We did concede two sloppy goals although I was playing Dejan Lovren at right back, using the opportunity here to rest Joe Gomez.

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Another good update from the team this time out but still there is improvements to be made, another away performance that was poor against Brighton, again we drew with a team that we really should be beating. We managed to see off Benfica, Stoke City and Hull City though and perhaps the only cocerning thing overall is we've started letting in a few goals lately. Next time, we've got home games in the league against West Ham and Swansea and now things really start get interesting when we play two massive games against PSG and then away to local rivals Everton.

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Dominic Solanke returned to the side today from injury and I was right to start him, opening the scoring with a header. Unfortunately we lost Sadio Mane early on and he suffered the same injury as Mo Salah just a few weeks ago, a twisted ankle. Van Dijk scored another to add to his tally and Mane's replacement Ben Woodburn complete the scoring with our third goal. Javier Hernandez did get one back for West Ham but not enough to get them back into the game. I've overwritten some of the saves, for this game so the next couple of updates won't have injury screenshots, my bad lol.

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What a start today, Solanke was fouled and Roberto Firmino stepped up to take the penalty and slotted home! Unfortunately our lead was short-lived when Di Maria levelled the score but the surprise of the season, Dominic Solanke restored the lead continuing his remarkable form with a brilliant finish. Oxlade Chamberlain was playing on despite being injured and he didn't seem bothered by it, he whipped in a cross to make it 3-1, Firmino with a perfectly timed header. The Ox made a brilliant solo run shortly after beating about four men from out wide at pace, unfortunately hitting the post but it wasn't long before he got another chance and made it 4-1! Cavani got one goal back but we held on even after Joe Gomez got sent off for a second yellow. I'm absolutely delighted with that, we've given ourselves a real chance of finish top after winning this game! The only trouble is we've lost the Ox for just shy of two weeks so a tough game against Everton coming up.

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Back down to earth for us in this game really, somehow I managed to beat PSG without Salah and Mane but without Ox, who was injured in the last game and those two as well, we just kind of lacked ideas a bit to be honest. Ashley Williams scored with his head, Firmino got one back but typical Liverpool just through it away at the last minute, Letting Tosun get free with just minutes to go is unacceptable from Van Dijk!!

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It was important to get back to winning ways today and with Salah and Ox back in the side I was confident in doing that, the opening goal took a little while coming but a great time to score just before half time, Oxlade-Chamberlain laid in by Mo Salah to make it 1-0. Salah could of made it two in added first half time but his penalty was well saved, Dominic Solanke made sure of the points in a game we always looked like winning, controlling the game and keeping it.

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Another bit of mix in the results although without injuries I feel we could of done better against Everton, a massive win against PSG though and two solid league wins as well. Next time there's a huge game in the league at home to Manchester United, an away trip to Leicester, a home tie against West Ham in the Carabao Cup and a home game against Red Bull Salzburg in the Champions League to look forward to.

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At home we really had to be winning today, plenty of changes with the big game against United coming up at the weekend. Milner was in at right back for the suspended Joe Gomez, I played Lallana and Ox in midfield with Can behind them, plenty of creatitivity and, Sadio Mane also made his return on the left. The African was involved for the first goal, setting up Dominic Solanke for yet another goal this season! Ox whipped in a corner and Ragnar Klavan another change finished it well. In the second half, FIrmino came off the bench to set up Ben Woodburn before finishing well from Oxlade-Chamberlain's cross. Nice to see him pick up form ahead of United, Milner conceded a late penalty but for the third time this season Loris Karius saved another penalty! Pouncing on the ball for the rebound too!

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A really poor performance today, honestly I regret not starting with Solanke up front over Firmino, he's been in form but he is still very young. We just never really got going and playing at home that's disappointing, Jesse Lingard opened the scoring and then Herrera made it two in the second half. I was very disappointed with that but I'm not sure what my best team is yet.

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A nightmare start conceding two early goals from Fernandes and then Hernandez shortly after but the boys showed terrific character to come back and win the game from two down! The two strikers for the day got us back on level terms, goals from both Firmino and Solanke. Sadio Mane completed the comeback and a big goal from Mo Salah late on made sure we got through, a big goal for him considering he's been in poor form since coming back from injury and he was dropped today.

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It was quite a tight affair out there and we probably narrowly edged it and did deserve to win in the end, It was a quick fire double in the end from Sadio Mane, two goals in the space of about 90 seconds, a terrific cross from the Ox to set him up for his second as well. By far our best player so far this season has to be Sadio Mane, those two goals today took his tally to 5 goals and 11 assists in 14 games this season!

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It's extremely disappointing to lose to our fiercest rivals in Man United, particularly at home and by two goals!! We definitely need to improve in the big games, apart from that game we won with four goals against Red Bull Salzburg and West Ham, a solid away league win against Leicester as well. Next time we've got the reverse fixture against Red Bull Salzburg, away in the Champions League, if we can win that and beat Benfica at home that should be enough to top the group. We also have games we should be winning against West Brom and Watford in the league.

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Another close game, Red Bull did have chances but we managed to just about get out of there with a win, the winning goal from Mo Salah. Shut up shop and preserve the lead, we did it well today and that win seals qualification for the round of 16.

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We got off to a good start today, Oxlade Chamberlain whipped in a cross and good pressure from Salah forcing the mistake from Cathcart who put it in his own net. Watford got one back pretty quickly with a goal from Kiko, they had chances but the lads were just more clinical today. The Ox made it 2-1 to continue his good form today and he set up Mo Salah to make it 3-1 as well, beating his man and finding Salah for the cross.

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With an early goal nodded on by Joel Matip finding Dejan Lovren free to score from the corner it looked like we might get a few goals today but it wasn't the case. We held out for the lead, Rondon had the best chance but he didn't look composed, West Brom sit bottom of the league and in the end one goal was enough.

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Another fast start from the team today, we got them early goals to make sure of the win today even though we've already qualified, PSG will still push for top spot in the group. Oxlade-Chamberlain was magnificent today, he supplied the cross to set up Dominic Solanke making it 1-0, who hasn't been playing much recently. Lallana found the Ox well for our second goal and he never looked like missing.

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A great run of results for the lads in this one and we should really be winning all of these games, we did that and closer than we would of liked in some of them. Next time we've got tough games in the league against fellow challengers Spurs and Man City, given what happened against United and Everton we really need to step things up in the big games! Finally we finish with our last game of the group against PSG.

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After defeats to both Everton and United earlier in the season, I really didn't want to lose today. I actually lined up with a front three of Ox, Mane and Salah, pure pace, trying to catch Tottenham on the counter but they seemed determined to do that as well. Unsuccessfully though, about 60 minutes in I brought on Dominic Solanke for Mo Salah and he produced the goods, set free by Oxlade-Chamberlain and a quality finish to win us the game!! Very happy to have won because that keeps us on the chase to the leading pack, at the top of the table. Ox had to go off around 80 minutes, potentially out for next 1-3 days, let's pray that he's fit for the next one away to Man City.

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Good news coming to us, after recently selling one of our best players to Barcelona I expect there to be money to spend. I have some ideas of what I need in the transfer market although some of what I need will halt the progress of some our youngsters, for example our top goalscorer is Dom Solanke, a 20 year old who needs time but the way he's been playing is it even worth bringing in an older striker on big wages.

The way we play is relentless and the pace of Ox, Mane and Salah is magnificent in some games, any one of them could get injured though and have done this season. I could really do with a young player who's play on the wing, pacey and technically good and has a strong head on his shoulders again the trouble is we've got Brewster,who's quick but still very young, there's Woodburn very high potential but probably best as a striker and Harry Wilson to come back from loan, expect to see him next season. I didn't finish posting my 5th season in FM17 but towards the last few months of that season, Brewster just come out of nowhere to light up the league and by the start of the 6th season he was a regular for Liverpool and England. As for left back well I do think Robertson has played well lately and it might be difficult for us to get anyone better, I can see a young left back coming in though.

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This game was huge for the outcome of our season, we sit in 4th with City in 3rd and Arsenal are just one point behind us aswell, we're just two points off City and Chelsea and three points off Man United. They also played Chelsea this weekend and that game ended 3-0 to United. On to the game and Laporte got his first goal for City in the first half and we didn't look great defensively, I set up with the same pacey front three of Salah, Mane and Ox and they looked dangerous once again, Mo Salah could have had two in the first half both times one v one with Ederson but the Brazilian came out on top. Dominic Solanke came off the bench to make the impact in the second half, getting us back in to the game at 1-1. Again it was a Manchester City centre back who scored this time in Vincent Kompany but yet again we managed to draw level, another player brought on making the difference, James Milner ever reliable stepping up and slotting the penalty to rescue a draw.

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In the FA Cup Third Round we drew Preston North End at home and we should be getting through to the next round to be fair.

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A really poor display today after two really solid results previously against top sides but Crystal Palace aren't doing bad this season either, sitting in 7th place. Playing at home they made it difficult for us and Roberto Firmino again didn't have one of his best days, he's been inconsistent so far this season and even Mane has been playing poorly of late. Oxlade-Chamberlain came the closest who has probably been our best player on form, he hit the post from Emre Can's shot which was well saved. I feel stupid for not starting with Ox, he has been playing a lot lately and to be honest I just know he's got a history of injuries. To be fair to some of the younger lads like, Ox, Solanke and Woodburn, it certianly has to be said that Ox on the right has played better than Salah so far and Solanke has played better than Firmino up front, they deserve to start.

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Not much to talk about in this game really, with fifteen points from five games so far in this group and the fact that even if PSG win they can only draw level on points, I mean unless we lose the game by four goals we're finishing top because our goal difference is slightly better. I managed to largely limited the number of chances they created but Cavani did get one just before the half time whistle, I did rest some players today and our best chance of getting back into the match came from off the bench but Woodburn's cross was put over by Sadio Mane.

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A first look at the league table and we're doing okay, we're just about on course for a top four place with City on the same amount of points just behind us in 5th. It was really important for us to beat Spurs and get that late equaliser against City, keeping our season alive. The top three of United, Chelsea and Arsenal look a certainty to finish top four, Spurs might have dropped too far behind to challenge this season as for Liverpool well, we need to start hitting form right now to have any chance of challenging for the title.

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That really does look like a bad run of form and I would guess, it'll be one of my worst this season, although we got a crucial three points against Spurs and a good point away to City too! We have to be disappointed we didn't beat Palace away and we did okay away to PSG, we lost 1-0 but keeping the score down is enough to cement top spot in the group. Next time the big games just keep on coming huge games against Arsenal and Chelsea coming up with a home game against Huddersfield and another home game against Newcastle in the cup.

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Important to get back to winning ways today to keep our season alive and we did that, Solanke leading the line on his ones was spectacular today, his first hat trick for the club and it's only taken him four months. Two headers from him today which has definitely been a theme of his goals this season, his second goal was very tidy indeed. Mo Salah made it four today and Solanke even got the assist, his first of the season, Mounie did get a late goal back for Huddersfield. That hat trick makes it 16 goals in just 15 starts this season from Solanke, he has come on as a sub 7 times but what a record that is. At just 20, I can't wait to see what he can do in a couple of years, I hate to say I told you so but if he bangs in the goals next season for Klopp you heard it hear first.

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Unfortunately we lost Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to a pulled hamstring, he has been playing a lot lately and with his injury record that's probably not the best idea but when he plays like he has this season, I want him on the pitch! The draw for the last 16 of the Champions was here and we drew Borussia Dortmund and to be honest, I'm happy with that. Of course it will be tough but I think we can beat team, definitely.

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Mane's shot was well saved but the rebound fell straight to the feet of Salah, who could hardly miss, It wasn't long before Arsenal were back in the game from Danny Welbeck another goal from a corner but I guess that's Liverpool. I feel like we played counter attacking football really well today and Mo Salah was twice the provider for two Roberto Firmino goals, his first in a while, the second perhaps a little fortunate but we will certainly take it! Arsenal got one back from Aubameyang but it wasn't enough and we left with all three points!

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With the way things are shaping up right now at the top end of the table, these two games against Arsenal and Chelsea are huge if we want to finish top four and potentially push for the title. Dominic Solanke came back in today after a rest and a brilliant finish to open the scoring setting us on our way, Sadio Mane stole the headlines after suffering a bruised thigh against Arsenal he was playing in this game with painkillers and you wouldn't know any different when he scored our second goal and sealed the win!

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A brilliant strike from Adam Lallana today to open the scoring from 25 yards! He's been after more game time lately and providing the assist for Roberto Firmino to make it 2-0 definitely stakes a claim for more football. Firmino also found the net again for another brace, found by Mo Salah. 3-0 and I actually made six or seven changes today but when you've got the likes of Clyne, Lovren, Moreno, Lallana, Milner and Firmino, all International calibre players you should be doing okay and we were at home, which helps as well. In the Semi Final we definitely got the favourable draw against Championship side QPR, with Premier league opposition in the other tie, Arsenal against Bournemouth.

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With those two huge wins against Arsenal and Chelsea we've pushed ahead of City in the race for 4th with a four point gap between us and them now, despite still being in the race for the title, taking points off those sides means that there's also a gap between them and United at the top of the table. Unfortunately for us they look top class this season and if they don't win it, it's gonna be one of us three.

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I've got to be happy about those results, four wins out of four, including an away win against Arsenal. Three wins at home as well, against Huddersfield, Chelsea and Newcastle who we beat in the Quarter Final of the Carabao Cup. Next time I'll be hoping for another four wins out of four again and we need to keep the heat on, chasing the pack for the infamous title victory!

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Another good display today, Roberto Firmino was fouled on the run and Salah stepped up and slotted home the penalty, just about. In the second half Newcastle were unlucky, hitting the post once at 1-0 and then again at 2-0 in added time. Sadio Mane who came back from injury but didn't start the game today, he came off the bench to score a vital goal.

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Nathaniel Clyne assisted Sadio Mane for another goal important goal today as it was the only goal of the game. Clyne has recently come back from injury and probably could of come back for the Chelsea game but it was a big game for him to come back for, having only played a few games for the Under 23s. He's played the last three games now and really did play well today.

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Oxlade-Chamberlain came back from injury for the game against Bournemouth but he only came off the bench for that one, today he started the match and he repaid that faith I put in him with the winning goal today! It was difficult to break Burnley down and they even hit the post in the second half from Nakhi Wells who was one on one with Karius, having said that I do think we fairly came away with all three points in a game we dominated from start to finish.

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Sadio Mane was named as African Footballer of the Year and with more than one assist every two games it's easy to see why, he's even contributed with goals too. He along with Joel Matip were both named in the African XI of the Year, consistency from the defender as always and he was also named as African Defender of the Year.

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Today we won our third consecutive match 1-0 and I never said my team was entertaining to watch but to be fair these teams have all proved difficult to break down, especially today. The two substitutions proved to have the magical touch, Dominic Solanke assisting Roberto Firmino and he had to score that, with the keeper out of play.

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Well four wins from four we couldn't of asked for anymore than that and with every team around us dropping points as well, we've made up a lot of ground on United who dropped four points with two draws and two wins. Chelsea also dropped points with three wins and a draw, Arsenal got four wins out of four and we're breathing right down the neck of United and Arsenal in 1st and 2nd!

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Another four wins again then and after that PSG defeat we're on quite a run of victories in a row and a lot of clean sheets in there which is always pleasing to see. We loved the 1-0 score in this run in, three games in a row and we beat Newcastle 2-0. Next time we've got Preston in the FA Cup Third Round, our first leg against QPR in the Carabao Cup Semi FInal and league games against Brighton and Stoke.

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I was well aware of the dangers of complacent play here so I only made four changes, a front three of Ox, Mane and Salah again. It was Sadio Mane who found Mo Salah and his header found the net to make it 1-0! Preston came out a different team after half time and hit back with a well worked goal immediately, I made some changes but it was Mane again with the assist and Klavan rising high to head home the winner! He hasn't played much but he's played well when given the chance. In the Fourth Round we will face League One side Rotherham at home.

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So we wasted absolutely no time at all then in bringing in our first available signing, Spainish left back Aaron from Espanyol, I was hoping to get this deal completed for under £10M so we could wait until this summer and potentially buy two players, with Naby Keita coming in as well. Unfortunately we paid a little bit over 10 with the £13M but that's a reasonably small price and for someone so young, hopefully we will see that money is well spent. This lad already speaks English which is great, he should fit in very quickly although it will probably be next season when we'll see more of him as he needs time to bed in.

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Going the other way and kind of the reason I had to act so quickly was the sale of Alberto Moreno, AS Monaco came in with a bid of around £25M just hours in to the window opening. I rejected it but with higher bid coming in quickly, I negotiated to around £35M and to be honest I think that's good money for a player of Moreno's quality. I will take it, the only trouble was finding a back up left back and moving fast. I delayed Alberto's transfer going through for a week just so I could sign Aaron a few days before he left.

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Aaron only signed on the Monday with this game on the Wednesday and he's in for this game, Moreno signed for Monaco just hours before this match. Not a whole lot to talk about in this one really and another 1-0, a scoreline we're making a bit of a habit of lately. Emre Can with the goal which was labelled spectacular, I mean it was a good strike no question but the deflection definitely helped it past the goalie, he was actually unlucky earlier in the game striking the post with a much cleaner strike from outside the box! We didn't create much but that will do, we didn't concede an away goal.

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I knew this would be a difficult game, Stoke are 7th in the table and are probably enjoying one of their best seasons in the Premier League. They even managed to take the lead at home, Ramadan Sobhi with the goal. Dominic Solanke pulled one back in the second half and that's how it finished, 1-1. Elsewhere in the early kick off on Saturday Manchester United beat Arsenal 3-1 at Old Trafford and while we've drew level on points with Arsenal, we've slipped three points behind United!

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Friday night football and a chance to set down a marker for the rest of the teams to match our performance, we certainly did that when we got off to a brilliant start, fantastic build up play and Oxlade-Chamberlain found Firmino to make it 1-0. The Ox who was in today for out of form Mohamed Salah, was there to finish to just about get there from a brilliant cross from Andy Robertson. Brighton player Kayal was sent off just before half time and I was looking forward to another goal or two in the second half, though we really didn't create much and Milner even got sent off late on.

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Wow oh wow, just look at that! I don't think you will see a closer title race than that anywhere in the world and that's why we love the Premier League! United just lost 2-1 against Newcastle! The top four are separated only by goal difference with exactly the same points tally of 56 after a total of 24 games each. It was always going to be one of us four who win it and it's the old top four from the early 2000s, this time we just have to try and take advantage!

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We won all of our games apart from one, when we played Stoke and drew 1-1, that's disappointing but the good news is we're still right in the hunt for the headline title win! Next time the games just keep on coming we've got the second leg of our Semi FInal against QPR, a massive league game against derby rivals Everton and also matches against Swansea and Rotherham.

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I know we're only playing QPR but that was a terrific performance on the big occasion today, we even rested a few with a big game against Everton in just seven days. Unfortunately we lost both Sadio Mane and Oxlade-Chamberlain to injury as they seemed to want to just kick us down, their replacements Salah and Solanke came on and you can't kick Dominic Solanke, he'll give you some back. Everything he touched today was in the back of the net, every chance he took and four goals from him today! His first was a rocket, his second goal was probably the best, displacing the defender and scoring with ease. Firmino even got in on the act with our fifth goal of the day in added time, late in the game. Bournemouth await us in the Final!

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Losing two very influential players with pace is extremely frustrating, we've only lost Mane for a few weeks but it's going to be difficult to play our best stuff in the next few games but hopefully we can push on!

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Dominic Solanke turned provider for our first goal, Bringing Salah in to the play with another assist and he's been improving his tally lately. Solanke was set free by Roberto Firmino and finished nicely, our best goal was probably the build up from the third goal Milner finding Salah for his second! Firmino even got on the score sheet late on when substitute Danny Ings won a penalty for the team and the Brazilian converted. Ings probably wouldn't of even been on the pitch but he needed to come on for the injured Solanke in the first half, frustrating thing is we've lost him for the next 3-4 weeks, he's out of the big derby game next week and the Champions League away day against Dortmund. In the Fifth Round we will play Manchester CIty away.

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Everton really did park the bus today and we couldn't create any chances, good build up play and our best chance in the first half came from Roberto Firmino hitting the post from a tight angle on the left, I really feel like Salah was better placed for a tap in, up front. Deadline day signing Riess Nelson on loan from Arsenal, came on along with Lallana and Trent and the young winger did really well to burst past his man and send through Mo Salah to score, 1v1 he never looked like he would miss. I was absolutely delighted, beating Everton is the best feeling ever and what an impact from a player we really need to add competition.

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Getting a quality winger that can cover for Mane, Ox or Salah is going to be difficult especially a young player for under £10M, for now though we've brought in young Reiss Nelson and Arsenal and his people might think he's going to play as a first team player but he won't be. He's just there to add a bit of competition and come off the bench. Woodburn has done that job a lot with plenty of experience off the bench, Brewster a few times as well but neither have performed that well.

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With Solanke and Mane both out our front three of Ox, Firmino and Salah didn't create loads of chances in this game and we conceded early, Jordan Ayew with the goal for Swansea. Frustrating thing is we couldn't really create much, we came close but our good run is over and that's disappointing, we've lost ground on the challengers for the league as well, Ultimately Ox just coming back from injury and missing Mane and Solanke we just didn't have enough going forward today but the team needs to cope better with injuries.

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It's fair to say there wasn't much going on in England over the winter transfer window. Moreno was actually the biggest deal of the window, Jesus Corona swapped FC Porto for Manchester United. Hakim ZIyech left Ajax to join Arsenal and Luan moved from his homeland in Brazil to Spurs. Aaron was actually the sixth biggest deal out there, Chelsea also done their business bringing in Aleix Vidal from Barcelona.

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Around the world, AS Monaco clearly have some money to spend with all those huge deals going through in the summer time, we already know about Moreno but they got another full back, Hysaj from Napoli moved to France. They also went big on Andrija Zivkovic from Benfica for £53M. PSG are not shy when it comes to spending and they also spent big on William Carvalho, finally getting his big move from Sporting over in Portugal.

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Despite that loss to Swansea we are still very much in the race for the big title win, although we have lost a bit of ground, Arsenal have the advantage right now and either them or United look the most likely this season unfortunately. A bit of a gap opening up on Man City as well now of around 10 points, I think we can start thinking about Champions League football for next season now but the job's not done yet.

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Coping with the injuries we've suffered recently wasn't a problem against QPR and Rotherham and rightly so we smashed them to pieces. As for Swansea well not so lucky and that could quite easily have cost us the title! Next time the heat is turned up as we approach the penultimate part of the season, we have two must win league games against West Ham and Leicester, there's a game against City in the FA Cup and we play our first leg in the Champions League against Dortmund.

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Since near to the ending of the transfer window, Ragnar Klavan has been frustrating me with his disruption. He wants to leave because he's not playing enough games but he knows that he's a back up option. I was hoping I could keep him until the summer with the transfer window closing but there was interest from Shakhtar, honestly though when Chinese teams come knocking, £10M for a 32 year old that we didn't spend much on is decent. Ultimately he's hurting the team more than he's helping.

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What a goal from James Milner today! We deserved to go in to the lead, Nathaniel Clyne was magnificent today, he provided the cross for Milner's volley smashing into the back of net! Clyne got his second assist for our second goal, terrifically found was Roberto Firmino and he made it 2-0 late on in the game with Kouyate getting sent off. Incredibly Arsenal lost the North London derby 4-0 against Spurs! Tottenham are 9th in the table, I thought we might of feel behind but that win puts us back in the race!

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We played well in the second half today, the returning Sadio Mane came on shortly after 50 minutes and we looked much better with two strikers and the fresh energy of Emre Can and Gini Wijnaldum. Van Dijk found Firmino from the corner and we took the lead quickly after the changes, Salah was in the right position but it will go down as an own goal by Dragovic. Oxlade-Chamberlain found a good cross and Roberto FImrino got his head on the to the ball for his second of the game, he's starting to hit some form now.

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Van Dijk was unselfishly found By Gini Wijnaldum amongst the mayhem in the box, the centre back finished it like a striker. Borussia Dortmund really didn't create much and Pulisic scored an absolute worldie out of nowhere really, we managed to kick on though. Pushing late on in the game Firmino won a penalty but unfortunately Salah put it straight at the keeper and a poor performance from him today. It wasn't over quite yet though and Firmino found Wijnaldum in space and he smashed it low to score the winner! Honestly not the best season so far from the Dutchman but he always seem to turn it around eventually, he's my favourite Liverpool player after Lucas Leiva left recently, I love the way he plays.

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There wasn't that much to talk about in this one, we held Man City's attack quiet for long periods and it was late on in the 75th minute when Bernardo Silva hit the post and Sadio Mane also did the same thing for Liverpool even later!, Bravo made a terrific save to tip in on to the bar! The sad news is we've lost a really key player at a major part of the season, Roberto Firmino will miss the next 3-4 weeks! If we can make it through in the replay against City, we will face either Swansea City or Sunderland.

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The top four sides are still right up there in the league although to be fair Arsenal and Chelsea have slipped up a bit lately and even though it's very close. United and Liverpool look like the favourites right now, If we win our game in hand and United do too we'll be level on points with Chelsea five points and Arsenal three points behind.

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Two massively important wins in the league against West Ham and Leicester and we needed those points! The lads were brilliant away in Germany against Dortmund, leaving with two away goals and a 2-1 lead to take home, just the one draw in this run but we've got a chance to put that right when City come to Anfield in the next one. Find out next time if we can win our first trophy at Liverpool when we play Bournemouth in the cup final, we only have one league game against Watford and there's also our second leg game in the Champions League against Dortmund.

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I knew we would be in for a tough game today, Bournemouth beating Arsenal 3-0 at home in their second leg semi final, after drawing the first game 0-0. Callum Wilson with two goals who's been in brilliant form this season, he's the danger-man. We struggled to create chances but towards the end of the game we always looked the more likely and Mohamed Salah was the man of the moment scoring the winner in extra time! He's been really poor lately but stepped it up today and hopefully that's the first of many trophies.

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Fantastic to win that trophy and I'm happy with it but the thing is Bournemouth weren't holding the tackles back today, flying in and we've lost two central midfield options in Lallana and Wijnaldum, there won't be much rest for Henderson, Can and Milner in the next few weeks.


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The next generation of Liverpool youngsters arrived at the academy in recent weeks and with the rules I'm limited to over the coming seasons, it's absolutely vital that we bring some of these lads in to the first team. Only one real quality player who stood out this year and Ian Ryder looks quite the prospect, at just 5ft3 he might get bullied a bit but there's plenty of time to work on his game.

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I was more confident coming in to this one than the previous match and rightly so we absolutely dominated the first half, Mohamed Salah got the two goals to open the scoring and Sadio Mane made it three before half time! Gabriel Jesus got one back in the second half but we're through to the next round and we play Swansea away from home.

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Considering the fact that we are 1st in the form table and Watford our 19th, which is also their league position, playing at home I was confident of winning. We lined up with two strikers out there in Solanke and Salah and playing a bit more direct we looked devastating right from the first minute, Oxlade Chamberlain and Mane both got early goals and put the game to bed early really. Salah went on to get two goals, his first from a brilliant timed pass from James Milner, Solanke has to get a mention today with two assists.

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Even though we managed to win the first leg away from home, I didn't want any complacency from the lads and went with a strong team. In the first half we lead the game well from a terrific pass from Sadio Mane in to Oxlade-Chamberlain and he finished it confidently. Unfortunately shortly in to the second half Van Dijk got himself sent off for a second yellow card and that gives Dortmund motivation, although they also got a man sent off when Guerreiro saw his second yellow. They did manage to score in the 70th minute with a fantastic header from Gerard Moreno but they needed one more to take the game to extra time and we held out to advance to the Quarter Finals! Definitely a poor performance but we did the job in the first leg ultimately.

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The league table looks pretty much the same as it did last time to be honest with you, Chelsea have continued to dip in form and it looks to me like they've blown their chance to win it this year. Again we're right up there with United and Arsenal, who still have a chance, they are in the race.

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Another good run for the lads this time, I would of much preferred not to go to extra time but eventually we got the job done and beat Bournemouth to lift the trophy. Solid wins against Man City and Watford after that and we finished with a draw against Dortmund at home but that was enough to go through. Next time the pressure is well on truly on, we play our biggest game of the season against Manchester United and that could be the title decider! There's also the Quarter Final FA Cup game against Swansea and league games against West Brom and Man City.

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It's so so frustrating that we couldn't get the win today, Arsenal and United have dropped points recently and if we could of won today, we would of gone top of the table with a game in hand on Arsenal! Unfortunately we just couldn't find the breakthrough though and even more annoying is we really didn't create anything either. Firmino is back in traning tomorrow, hopefully he can help because we've dipped a bit in form of late and we need to be better.

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This is where the competition gets serious and we're getting down to business now. In the Quarter Final draw we got put up against Tottenham Hotspur and that's a tough game but again I'm happy with that, it won't be easy but hopefully we can make the Semis.

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After that disappointing result I wanted to get back to winning ways and through to the next round of the FA Cup, we got off to a good start when Sadio Mane won a penalty and James Milner stepped up to convert confidently, that pressure continued and Mo Salah added our second, Oxlade-Chamberlain with the assist. In the second half Swansea got one back from Bony to give us a scare but we held out and advance to the Semi FInals. In the Semis then we will play Arsenal and Chelsea will be favourites to make the final against West Brom.

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There wasn't a whole lot to talk about in this game and there was a few chances but both teams really struggled to break each other down, for the large part we managed to hold United but in the last minute of added time we lost our concentration and frustratingly lost a goal! Who else but Juan Mata, against Liverpool, i hate this guy, we cannot afford any more slip ups now, Arsenal have the advantage on us but that's a huge win for United! It's still very close.

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Going in to this one there was no reason not to be confident, we are 3rd in the table, City are way behind in 5th and we're playing at Anfield, we need to win. Honestly today it's was all about one man, Roberto Firmino, he smashed in an early goal and his use of the ball was brilliant out there today. In that first half every time we created a chance we looked like scoring and it wasn't long before Firmino found his second of the game, well found by Clyne. In the second half he banged in his hat trick to take home the match ball, Trent coming off the bench with an assist. Unfortunately Robertson gave away a penalty but even though Yaya Toure converted it, we've still won the game and we deserve it.

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We lost Nathaniel Clyne to injury in the game today, he's out with concussion and he won't be missing for long but the big games are coming very fast! Mo Salah also picked up an injury out there, twisting his knee. While he'll only miss the Spurs game mid week in the Champions League, that's a big one to miss!

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Unfortunately for us it looks like the hugely annoying loss to United could prove pivotal and if they can keep their form going we won't be able to catch them this season. They're still in the Champions League and two tough games against CIty to come might help us but the worrying thing is we've got some really challenging games still to come in the league and they really don't, apart from perhaps Chelsea away. Meanwhile Arsenal are still just about there as well.

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We seemed to have dipped in form of late and right at the crunch part of the season we can't afford to do that! Though we did get back on track beating Swansea in the FA Cup after a stale 0-0 against West Brom, we've lost one of the biggest games of the season and we could've lost the title despite ending with a win against City. Next time we need to play our best with huge games in the Champions League against Spurs and two must win league games as well!

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This game was really close and to be honest both teams had chances, I just wish we would of taken ours. Son had the chances for Spurs but couldn't beat Karius, late in the game though he whipped in a brilliant cross to find Sissoko of all players and he scored. It's frustrating, we need a few goals at Anfield now.

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Roberto Firmino opened the scoring in the first half and he was well found by Aaron who's only making his fourth start since joining Liverpool but he was really turning on the style today. Firmino was very good at finding his man today as well, our second goal again came from Aaron on the left finding Mo Salah and he had to score this one. Salah could of had about four today and he misses a sitter right before the end again our left back with the cross. Timothy Fosu-Mensah did got himself sent off for a two footer on Firmino in the second half.

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It's fair to say that we didn't perform today both teams had chances and perhaps we were fortunate not to concede. In the second half, a few changes and Mo Salah was sent through from Ox and finished magnificently but what followed was a total lapse in concentration and we concede immediately from Harry Kane's goal. That was that and after those two performances in two legs, we deserve to go out.

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What an incredible display from Mo Salah today it took him less than 23 minutes to complete his hat trick, leading the line up front and the first time we've really had a look at the team playing 4231. Ox was in terrific form today as well, he set up Salah for his first and third goals both with his head. Alex has been owning that right wing like all season, shown in his assists today, Adam Lallana was in the number 10 poisition over Roberto Firmino today and he found Salah well for his second goal, Tom Ince got one back against his former club for Huddersfield and one of the luckiest goals I have ever seen, it was like pinball and it must of come of about six different players still somepne should be putting that out. Dominic Solanke thankfully came off the bench today and netted his first goal in god know's how long, Dejan Lovren finding him well after knocking down the corner ball.

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With only a handful of games to go, its fair to say it's hotting up and there's still three teams in it and we have to take advantage! Arsenal have played a game more, here's the remaining fixtures for them and United, who play Leicester at home in the last game. We definitely have the toughest run, starting with Crystal Palace and Huddersfield and ending with three huge games against Spurs, Chelsea and then Arsenal, we finish the league the game after away to Newcastle. It's fair to say if we bring the league title home this season, it will be some achievement.

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Although we concede another really really frustrating late goal in the first leg away to Spurs, followed by a 1-1 at home the important thing is we won both of our league games. We had to and I guess playing your best team every game in the league at this stage of the season, I expect Europe to be distracting. Next time we've got an FA Cup Semi Final against Arsenal, let's all take a look at Arsenal and United's run in, while we'll find out how Liverpool get on with a nightmare run in to end the campaign!

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