Virgil van Dijk’s first-half strike set the Reds on their way before Dominik Szoboszlai made sure of the victory late on to send them back to within two points of the Gunners. An even bigger boost was on the way though.
Manchester City’s recent slump continued as it fell to a third defeat of the season at Aston Villa leaving Pep Guardiola’s side four points off Liverpool and six away from the current leaders. The manner of City’s defeat will no doubt breed confidence as well, with Villa fully deserving of its victory. There is, of course, a long way to go before we can start thinking of a potential title for Liverpool this season. As we draw closer to 2024 though, there is certainly plenty of encouragement for Klopp and his side — here are two Liverpool.com stories that you can’t afford to miss.
Diogo Jota boost, January transfer agreed in ideal Liverpool scenario There is still plenty more football to get through before we enter 2024, and there’s plenty that Liverpool will be hoping goes its way in the meantime. Injury boosts for Alisson Becker and Diogo Jota would certainly go down well, as would any dropped points for Arsenal before Mikel Arteta brings his side to Anfield. It would also be nice if, like Virgil van Dijk and Cody Gakpo previously, a January transfer could be lined up even before 2024 starts. Read more from Matt Addison here.
Jörg Schmadtke could strike again to land bargain as quick as Alphonso Davies Should he be placed in charge of finding more recruits for Liverpool though, it’s probably a good bet he will raid the Bundesliga again. That became something of a trademark in the summer, with all of the signings made on his watch arriving from Germany. And should he follow that path, there is a player excelling for Xabi Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen side that could fit the bill nicely. Jeremie Frimpong has become one of the key men in Leverkusen’s unexpected title charge, and he has a release clause of $44m (£35m/€41m) that looks like a steal. Rea
It wasn’t quite the perfect performance Jürgen Klopp would have hoped for, but Liverpool made sure it kept pace with Arsenal at the top of the Premier League table with a 2-0 win over Sheffield United.
We’re getting close to the end of 2023, and the year is certainly ending better than it started for Liverpool. After a disappointing campaign last time out, the season already looks so much brighter for the Reds.
While his long-term future is unclear, Jörg Schmadtke looks set to stay on into January for Liverpool. How much longer he will hang around for after that though is up in the air, especially considering he came out of retirement during the summer.
