Liverpool will aim to swiftly get over their Champions League disappointment in Sunday's Carabao Cup final, while Jim Ratcliffe has dared Man United fans to dream.
LIVERPOOL GETTING OVER PSG LOSS
It will be of no consolation to Liverpool fans to know that they need a maximum 19 points from their last nine games to win the English Premier League.
In all likelihood it will be less than that, because that would mean Arsenal will have to win all their remaining 10 matches. Liverpool can theoretically end on 97 points – two fewer than their 2019/20 title-winning effort – although 89 (probably less) would get the job done.
They are champions-elect, but won’t be feeling the spirit just yet as they digest exiting the Champions League at the hands of PSG in midweek. But, winning Sunday’s Carabao Cup final will help lift spirits.
KLOPP: REGRETS? I’VE HAD TWO
Former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp was visiting Cape Town for a fifth time last week and entertained Hout Bay United FC by attending their fundraiser.
He named two players that he regretted not signing for Liverpool during his near nine-year career as manager. “I don’t even remember why we didn’t sign him (Heung-min Son).
I saw him in the Premier League and just thought: ‘My God, you were so stupid’.” The other was Kevin de Bruyne. “I wanted him when I was at Dortmund already and Jose Mourinho didn’t let it happen.
Once again to the Dortmund fans: we were very close to a deal with Kevin de Bruyne,” Klopp told the gathering.
RATCLIFFE DARES UNITED FANS TO DREAM
There’s reason to cheer if you’re a Man United fan. Although the visuals of a new £2-billion 100,000-seater stadium have been labelled a “circus tent”, the ambition from owner Sir Jim Radcliffe has been laid out this past week.
The billionaire also said that “United will be the most profitable club in the world in three years” (that’s 2028), and “Mission 21′ is to deliver a 21st’s top-flight title to United in time for their 150th anniversary. That’s 2028 as well.
The obvious question is: how much money will Radcliffe release to be able to rebuild a squad that is languishing in 14th spot in the English Premier League? Two hundred million pounds? Three hundred million? More?
‘SUPERCOMPUTER’ TIPS BARCA FOR TROPHY
Officially known as “The Opta Supercomputer”, it can also be dropped in the folder called “Bollocks”. Following the draw for the quarter-finals of the Champions League, the “Supercomputer” has given Barcelona a 20.4 percent chance of winning the trophy, followed by PSG (19.3%) and Arsenal (16.8%).
Is that really rocket science? The betting lists Barcelona as 3-1 favourites, followed by PSG at 33-10 and Real Madrid at 7-2. The Supercomputer also gives Aston Villa a 2.8% chance of winning the trophy and Dortmund 1%. Here’s the reality from a human being. They’ve both got zero chance.
PALMER’S DOCUMENTARY ‘REVELATIONS’
Behind the scenes documentaries are all the rage but they’re not a good idea when delving into the lives of footballers. Soon to be screened is England’s Lions: A New Generation.
Here’s a trailer: Cole Palmer and his influencer girlfriend are filmed having dinner in a London restaurant. Among the nuggets offered by Chelsea and England’s rising star, he says of his move from Manchester: “No one knows each other in London because it’s so big.
Even on my road, if that was Wythenshawe, people would be stood in the garden in pyjamas and that, you know what I mean? Just chatting to each other and having a cup of tea. But obviously here it’s completely different.”
PSL LANDMARKS RARE AT ONE CLUB
There were two landmarks reached in the Betway PSL this week, both of which serve to show how longevity isn’t something one gets to associate too often with clubs in the South African top-flight.
The first was Peter Shalulile, who became only the second striker to score 100 goals for a single club. Shalulile joins Daniel Mudau (also Sundowns) as the only players to reach the mark with one club.
The other is that when Jose Riveiro took charge of the glamour outfit Orlando Pirates, it was his 120th game at Pirates, the most of any coach at the Buccaneers.
