Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp believes Anfield is a “nightmare” for opposition teams as the ground has once again become a fortress for his side.
The 4-0 Europa League victory over LASK extended their 100 per cent home record to 10 matches this season, in which they have scored 31 goals and conceded just four.
Liverpool have not lost at home in any competition since their Champions League defeat to Real Madrid in February, and domestically it stretches back to October last year.
They have dropped just six points in the Premier League in that time in a run of 18 wins and three draws.
“It is our home, it must, must, must be a difficult place to come,” said Klopp on their Anfield record.
“I said to the boys (before the LASK game), I think for every player, if they are not playing at Liverpool and play in a different country, playing at Anfield is a dream.
“But actually it must be a nightmare and that is what we try to do. It didn’t work out all the time but when our people are at it, it makes a massive difference.
“So it is cool, but I think my best skill is not feeling at all winning streaks. I just don’t feel it because the next game is so important, so different, so difficult.
“That’s why I don’t think they help really, maybe for the other team to think it’s a difficult place to go, but for us each game stays difficult because of the quality of the opponent.”
Fulham, who have scored just 13 times in as many Premier League matches, are the next side to try to break Liverpool’s streak on Sunday.
They may have been given hope by the hamstring injury to goalkeeper Alisson Becker, which has put back-up Caoimhmin Kelleher in line for his longest run in the side, having never played more than three consecutive games for the club.
The Republic of Ireland international, whose appearances this season have so far been limited to the Europa League and Carabao Cup, warmed up with some good saves in the final 20 minutes of the LASK win having not been tested before that.
Klopp has previously described Kelleher as the world’s best number two and he has no doubts about the 25-year-old’s potential to elevate himself further.
“We see him every day in training, he is an exceptional talent,” said the manager.
“Maybe we don’t mention the name often enough but (goalkeeping coach) John Achterberg said to me from day one when I was in that this will be our homegrown boy who will make it.
“We had discussions in the summer obviously about (moving on), but as long as we don’t have a solution we cannot loan players.
“He is homegrown and the first responsibility is to do the best for Liverpool, then we have to see how we can sort it.
“Now obviously for him it is a situation he did not want to have, but obviously because you want opportunities, you want to play, now he will get a few games, definitely. I trust him.”
Kelleher insists he is ready for an extended run in the side and that LASK proved a useful warm-up.
“I know it’s obviously been a long time (since being in the first-choice team) but I’m always training for that, to try and be ready and if something does happen to Ali – unfortunately something has – then I’m ready to go in and try to help the team get some more wins,” he told LFCTV.
“It was a good performance and that gives me confidence to build on and hopefully I can back that up with another good performance on Sunday.”
Bristol City Women 0-4 Man City Women: Hosts relegated as Fowler double inspires WSL leaders
Mary Fowler scored twice to set WSL leaders Manchester City on their way to a 4-0 rout of Bristol City, who suffered relegation as a result, on Sunday.
With Arsenal having drawn with Everton earlier in the day, Man City knew a victory would be enough to take the title race down to two teams.
That victory duly arrived in emphatic fashion, with all four of Man City's goals arriving in the second half.
Fowler's fantastic strike opened the scoring in the 62nd minute, with the Australia international doubling her tally soon after, paving the way for an Amy Rodgers own goal and Alex Greenwood's late header to seal a huge victory.
Arsenal are now out of the title race, with Chelsea - who have two games in hand on Gareth Taylor's team - the only side capable of catching Man City.
The Robins, meanwhile, will be playing in the second tier again next term.
Data Debrief: Bristol heading down with a whimper
Bristol City have failed to score in their last five games in the WSL, a run of 544 minutes without a goal.
They mustered just 0.09 expected goals (xG) to Man City's 3.4, with the visitors having now kept a clean sheet in nine of their 20 league games this season.
De Rossi demands more from 'tired' Roma ahead of crunch run
Daniele De Rossi acknowledged his Roma team may be tired, but he insisted they must not allow themselves to be embarrassed.
Roma fought back to draw 2-2 with last season's Serie A champions Napoli in a pulsating fixture on Sunday.
Tammy Abraham's late header secured a point for De Rossi's team, who took the lead through Paulo Dybala's penalty before going behind to goals from Matias Olivera and Victor Osimhen.
With Serie A set to have five teams in the Champions League next season, Roma occupy fifth spot with four matches remaining, but sixth-placed Atalanta are just two points behind with a game in hand.
There is also the small matter of a Europa League semi-final against Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen on the cards over the coming weeks, and De Rossi set the stall out.
"We drew, it is not a result to throw away, but it is not the result or the performance that we wanted," Roma coach Daniele De Rossi told Sky Sports Italia.
"At times you can steal the ball off Napoli, but we then gave it back again too many times. Napoli had a lot of chances in the first half, we did better in the second, but we have to do better.
"Look, we are tired, but we cannot start thinking that we’re tired and that means we can be embarrassed in the final few weeks of the season."
Roma host Leverkusen on Thursday before taking on Juventus on May 5, with a crunch clash against Atalanta – who are also into the Europa League semi-finals – set to follow after the away leg against Xabi Alonso's team.
Key to a successful end to the campaign for Roma will be keeping Dybala fit. The Argentine has been involved in the joint-most goals (12) in Serie A since the turn of the year, scoring nine and setting up three, level with Juve's Dusan Vlahovic.
PSG's latest Ligue 1 title arrives as Monaco lose to Lyon
Paris Saint-Germain have been crowned as Ligue 1 champions after Lyon overcame Monaco 3-2 on Sunday.
A 4-1 midweek win over Lorient ensured that one more victory would be enough for Luis Enrique's team to get over the line, but PSG failed to get the job done themselves when they faced relegation-threatened Le Havre on Saturday.
That game was the 700th match of the QSI era at PSG, and the club's 1,900th in France's top flight.
However, PSG's wait to win their third straight title did not last long, as less than 24 hours later, Lyon – who will face the Parisians in the final of the Coupe de France at the end of May – came out on top in a topsy turvy encounter with second-placed Monaco.
Substitute Malick Fofana was the matchwinner for Lyon, and ultimately the player who handed the title to PSG.
Wissam Ben Yedder had put Monaco ahead in the opening minute, but quickfire goals from Alexandre Lacazette and Said Benrahma turned the match on its head before half-time.
Ben Yedder netted his second to restore parity on the hour mark, and thought he had sealed his hat-trick when he volleyed in from a free-kick, only to have strayed offside.
With only a win good enough for Monaco to stay in the fight, the visitors were then caught out in the 84th minute, with Fofana racing onto Lacazette's throughball and finishing calmly.
After a dismal start to the season, relegation looked a real possibility for Lyon, but they are now, with three games remaining, still in with a shout of qualifying for Europe.
PSG on the other hand now have 12 Ligue 1 titles to their name, with 10 of those coming under QSI's ownership. Aside from the COVID-impacted 2019-20 season, five of their last six league titles have been secured before the start of May.
It also means Luis Enrique remains in the running for a treble in his first season at the club, with PSG taking on Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League semi-finals next week.
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