LIVERPOOL: Arne Slot said he cannot be distracted by Liverpool’s upcoming showdowns with Real Madrid and Manchester City as the injury-hit Premier League leaders visit Southampton on Sunday.
Slot has made a remarkable start to his time in charge of the Reds, winning 15 of his first 17 games in all competitions.
That has propelled Liverpool into a five-point lead over City at the top of the Premier League and to the summit of the new-format Champions League.
“It would be a bit strange if I tell you I’m not enjoying being in the position we are in now, but we also understand we’re only 11 (league) games in now, so that’s a lot of games to be played,” said Slot at his pre-match press conference on Friday.
A trip to bottom-of-the-table Southampton appears the ideal appetiser to two huge clashes as Madrid visit Anfield on Wednesday before a showdown with City on December 1.
But Slot is wary of the threat posed by the Saints, who have often dominated possession without reward on their return to the top-flight.
“We indeed have incredible fixtures coming up, starting with Southampton,” added Slot.
“It’s not going to be easy even if everyone feels it is (because they are) bottom of the league. (Southampton) do not play at all like this and they made it difficult for teams that are in the top three of four.
“Their playing style is very interesting, it is a joy to watch their games.”
Trent Alexander-Arnold could be back in time to face Madrid, but is unlikely to return from a hamstring injury this weekend, while Alisson Becker and Diogo Jota remain out.
Liverpool’s title rivals received a major boost this week as Pep Guardiola extended his contract as Manchester City boss until 2027.
Slot is a confessed admirer of the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich coach, who has led City to six Premier League titles in the past seven seasons.
“That’s good news for City first of all, and also good news for the league because I think everyone wants to have the best managers possible and the best players over here,” said Slot.
“On the other hand City have so many quality players that if he made the choice to leave the club I would never expect them to be bottom of the league next season.”

LONDON: Arsenal, Manchester City and Bayern Munich all advanced to the Women’s Champions League quarterfinals with with two games to spare on Thursday.

Late substitute Lina Hurtig scored the winner in Arsenal’s 1-0 victory over Juventus in London.

Khadija Shaw scored twice for City in a 2-1 win at Swedish club Hammarby. City stayed perfect in Group D with four victories and reached the last eight for the first time since 2021.

Bayern Munich was held 1-1 at Vålerenga in Norway and still earned a quarterfinal berth after Juventus’ loss.

Arsenal, Bayern and City join Chelsea, Lyon and Real Madrid in the quarterfinals.

Two-time defending champions Barcelona routed Austrian champion St. Polten 4-1. The Catalan club trails City by three points in their group and is in a strong position to advance.

Bayern tops Group C with 10 points, Arsenal has nine followed by Juventus (3) and Vålerenga (1).

Back to winning

Man City responded to their first loss of the season, 2-0 at Chelsea in the Women’s Super League on Saturday.

Still without injured star Vivianne Miedema, Shaw took charge, proving her scoring instincts after half an hour.

The forward scored from inside the penalty area with a deflected shot that flew over goalkeeper Anna Tamminen to frustrate more than 20,000 noisy fans at the Stockholm Arena in the Swedish capital.

Ellen Wangerheim equalized soon after the interval from close range to rejuvenate the crowd but Shaw struck again to restore the lead just minutes later.

This time, she delivered a powerful right-footed finish from the edge of the area.

Bayern and Harder contained

Bayern dominated possession but could not translate it into goals until the 75th minute. It had to rely on substitute Jovana Damnjanovic, who gave the visitors a late lead after connecting on a pass from Giulia Gwinn.

The Norwegians, who have retained their domestic title, equalized in the 88th on Elize Thorsnes’ header following a corner.

Pernille Harder, who found the back of the net five times for Bayern in the previous three games, could not do it again on Thursday and was substituted.

Hurtig’s night

Hurtig came on with 10 minutes remaining and made her presence immediately felt with several headers.

She finally made the breakthrough with a minute remaining in regulation, tapping in from close range after Juventus’ poor clearance of a low cross by Stina Blackstenius.

Hurtig won the Italian title with Juventus in 2021 and 2022 before joining the Gunners.

Juventus seemed to learn a lesson from its 4-0 loss to Arsenal last week as its defense held firm till Hurtig’s arrival.

Putellas scores her 200th Barcelona goal

In an 11-minute span in the first half, Francisca Nazareth netted twice and 18-year-old Vicky Lopez scored once to put Barcelona in control.

Nazareth’s double was followed by Lopez hitting the third with a shot high into the net for her first Champions League goal.

Alexia Putellas made it 4-0 in the second half, finishing a fast attack that tore apart the defense in Vienna. It was her 200th goal for Barcelona and the 100th the club scored in the Champions League’s group stage.

Valentina Madl, an 18-year-old forward, netted a consolation goal for the hosts.

Barcelona have scored 20 goals in its past three games and can still become the first club to win its group in all four years since the introduction of the format.