The Government has been asked to reveal what steps it has taken to investigate whether Manchester City owner Sheikh Mansour assisted wealthy Russians it has sanctioned in moving their assets to the United Arab Emirates.
Lawyers acting on behalf of a Ukrainian activist – who wishes to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals from Russia – have written to Foreign Secretary James Cleverly to ask whether investigations have been carried out to determine whether Mansour, the UAE’s Deputy Prime Minister, should be identified as a ‘designated person’ subject to financial sanctions under the Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019.
As of last week, the UK Government said more than 1,800 individuals had been sanctioned under the regulations, with more than 1,600 of those sanctioned since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
That number includes former Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich. His assets, including Chelsea, were frozen, with a consortium led by American businessman Todd Boehly taking over last summer.
The request for an update on Sheikh Mansour follows an initial letter from the lawyers, Rhys Davies of Temple Garden Chambers and Ben Keith from 5, St Andrew’s Hill Chambers, on behalf of their client which was sent to Cleverly in September last year.
The Foreign Secretary can only designate a person if he has reasonable grounds to suspect that the individual is “an involved person” in the destabilisation of Ukraine.
Involvement is defined as someone who is responsible for, engages in, provides support for, or promotes any policy or action which destabilises Ukraine or undermines or threatens its territorial integrity.
If Sheikh Mansour was designated as an individual subject to Government sanctions, it would disqualify him as an owner under the Premier League’s updated rules on its owners’ and directors’ test which were published in March.
The new letter, sent to Cleverly on Thursday and seen by the PA news agency, states: “Sheikh Mansour is a particularly high-profile individual and as the owner of one of the United Kingdom’s most celebrated football clubs, is a person who ought to be subject to reasonable scrutiny by the UK Government.
“For the avoidance of doubt, we make no allegations as to any particular conduct of Sheikh Mansour. Nevertheless, in light of the wealth of evidence in the public domain tending to link Sheikh Mansour with the accommodation of wealthy Russians in the UAE, we respectfully suggest that there is a prima facie basis for the UK government to conduct an investigation.”
The new letter has been sent as the UAE prepares to host the COP28 climate change conference between November 30 and December 12 and notes that Sheikh Mansour is likely to play a “visible role” in the event.
“The bloodshed caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues,” the letter stated.
“You are asked to note that, as set out in our earlier correspondence, notwithstanding the robust nature of the British response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, many Russian oligarchs appear to have found a home for their wealth in the United Arab Emirates, with Dubai and Abu Dhabi apparently being particularly attractive to those individuals.
“In light of the global attention which will be focused on both the UAE and Sheikh Mansour at the forthcoming COP28 event, we write to you to enquire what steps you have taken further to our request of September 30, 2022 to open an investigation into the conduct of Sheikh Mansour.
“You may recollect that we invited the UK government to consider whether or not the conduct of Sheikh Mansour is such that he is a suitable person to be designated, pursuant to the Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019.
“In the circumstances, it is critical that the UK Government takes all necessary steps consistent with its statutory and international obligations.”
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, the UAE’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Manchester City have all been contacted for comment.
Chicago Bears have paid tribute to “the ultimate Bear” Dick Butkus following the death of the Hall of Fame middle line-backer at the age of 80.
The Bears led a moment of silence before their win over the Washington Commanders on Thursday.
Born in Chicago, Butkus played his entire football career in the state of Illinois and in his nine years with the Bears, being the third overall choice in the 1965 NFL Draft, he was a five-time first-team All-Pro selection and an eight-time Pro Bowl honouree.
Butkus’ 49 total career takeaways from turnovers rank second in the franchise’s history and he was renowned as one of the fiercest tacklers in the NFL.
A right knee injury forced him to retire at the age of 31 following the 1973 season. Butkus was named in Hall of Fame All-Decade Teams for the 1960s and 1970s. In 1979, Butkus was added to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
“Dick was the ultimate Bear and one of the greatest players in NFL history,” Bears chairman George H McCaskey said on www.chicagobears.com.
“He was Chicago’s son. He exuded what our great city is about and, not coincidently, what (former head coach) George Halas looked for in a player: toughness, smarts, instincts, passion and leadership.
“He refused to accept anything less than the best from himself, or from his team-mates.
“His contributions to the game he loved will live forever and we are grateful he was able to be at our home opener this year to be celebrated one last time by his many fans.”
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell paid tribute, with a post on X – formerly known as Twitter, reading: “Dick Butkus was a fierce and passionate competitor who helped define the line-backer position as one of the NFL’s all-time greats.
“Dick’s intuition, toughness and athleticism made him the model linebacker whose name will forever be linked to the position and the Chicago Bears.”
Following the Bears’ 40-20 victory on Thursday night – which ended the longest losing streak in the franchise’s history – wide receiver DJ Moore added a heartfelt message to Butkus.
Moore, who finished the game with 230 receiving yards and three touchdowns, posted on social media: “R.I.P Dick Butkus. Was looking over us Tonight”.
What the papers say
Liverpool have identified their prime target when the January transfer window opens. According to the Daily Mirror, Fluminense’s Brazilian midfielder Andre Trindade will be at the top of their list.
Manchester City are turning their attention towards keeping hold of their talent. The Daily Telegraph reports the treble winners plan to open contract talks with striker Erling Haaland, 23, with Real Madrid showing interest.
Chelsea are also looking to secure one of their young stars, according to the Daily Mail. They are planning talks with Conor Gallagher, 23, as the England midfielder nears the final 18 months of his contract.
And Everton are also close to tying up Jarrad Branthwaite to a long-term deal, reports the Daily Mirror. Manchester United had reportedly been interested in the 21-year-old defender.
Social media round-upPlayers to watch
Jarrod Bowen: Liverpool and Newcastle are watching as contract talks for the England forward, 26, move slowly at West Ham.
Xavi Simons: Manchester City are expected to face a fight from Barcelona for the Netherlands midfielder, 20, from Paris St Germain next summer.
England captain David Beckham scored a last-minute free-kick on this day in 2001 to salvage a 2-2 draw against Greece and secure his country a place at the upcoming World Cup.
Sven-Goran Eriksson’s team were losing 2-1 entering stoppage-time at Old Trafford and heading for a World Cup play-off with Ukraine when Beckham rescued his team.
Beckham curled home a trademark free-kick in the third minute of added time to send England to the World Cup in Japan and South Korea and help the midfielder earn redemption for his red card at the 1998 World Cup.
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The sending-off of Beckham for kicking out at Argentina’s Diego Simeone during England’s last-16 penalty shoot-out defeat in France three years earlier had resulted in a huge public backlash for the then-Manchester United winger.
Beckham would go on to help United win the treble in 1999 before he became permanent captain of his country upon the arrival of Eriksson as England manager.
Ahead of England’s final World Cup qualification match against Greece, the Three Lions were still vying with Germany for top spot in Group Nine.
Greece took a shock lead at Old Trafford through Angelos Charisteas and while England substitute Teddy Sheringham levelled in the 68th-minute, the hosts’ joy was short-lived.
Demis Nikolaidis immediately put Greece back in front and England were – at this point – set to finish a point behind Germany, who were being held by Finland.
Beckham was desperate to lead his country to the 2002 World Cup and after several failed set-piece efforts, he found his range in the third minute of second half stoppage time with a stunning strike to spark wild celebrations at his home ground.
News filtered through around the same time of Germany’s draw with Finland, which meant England finished top of Group Nine and were assured of their place at the tournament in Japan and South Korea.
The Chicago Bears finally ended the longest losing streak in the franchise’s history with a dominant 40-20 victory over the Washington Commanders.
Dating back to last season, the Bears had lost 14 straight games heading into Thursday night’s clash.
But you would not have known that based on how they started against Washington, scoring three touchdowns and two field goals en route to a 24-point advantage at half-time.
The Commanders were able to offer some challenge in the third quarter, a touchdown and field goal closing the gap to 27-14.
However, Chicago found their offensive groove again in the fourth, clinching the win on a 56-yard completion from quarterback Justin Fields to wide receiver DJ Moore.
Having struggled through his first four games of the season, Fields was back to his brilliant best against Washington.
The 24-year-old threw for four touchdowns – including a hat-trick to Moore – without a turnover.
Washington’s Sam Howell had 388 passing yards and two touchdowns in the losing effort.
England boss Gareth Southgate believes VAR has not done anything to resolve controversial refereeing decisions.
The off-field decision-making process has come under renewed fire this week after Liverpool were denied a fair goal in their defeat at Tottenham when VAR Darren England mistakenly thought the on-field decision was onside and inadvertently validated the linesman’s offside call, with play restarting before the mistake was noticed.
There has been a huge fallout from the gaffe, with Reds boss Jurgen Klopp calling for the game to be replayed while the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) has announced a review into VAR and its practices.
Southgate has always been against it and says nothing has changed from when on-field decisions were final.
“Well, all I would say is everybody used to go to the pub and moan about the ref and they still go to the pub and moan about the ref,” he quipped.
“So I’m not sure what we’ve resolved, really. I don’t like it, never have, so I have sort of dismissed it.
“I just was always brought up as a kid that the referee’s decision was final. You might agree or disagree but we have to get on with it.
“I didn’t ever feel we were going to resolve every issue.
“I think we are probably too far down the line now to go back but I didn’t like it from the off.
“Once you open up a technology opportunity, you are normally going that way and you have got to refine and improve on what happens. But yes, I don’t like it.”
The PGMOL has taken unprecedented steps in recent times of retrospectively releasing audio of the decision-making process, including England’s expletive-filled mistake at the weekend.
But fans in the stadium remain in the dark at the time, often left waiting for up to five minutes while decisions are scrutinised in Stockley Park.
“When I am at games I am always conscious that the only people who don’t know what is going on are the people who have paid to go,” he said. “I find that really difficult.
“I am sitting in the stadium next to people and I am lucky as I normally get a free ticket and other people pay a lot of money and haven’t got a clue or are on the phone to someone at home asking what’s going on.
“The frustration, you can feel it in the stadium, you can feel the view.
“I know if we didn’t have it people would go back to, ‘well this could be resolved’, but when I am in the stadiums my sense is they don’t necessarily want 14 minutes of added time or a decision by something that they are not totally across the process of.”
Meanwhile, Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou has said he does not know if he likes “where the game’s heading” in the wake of the VAR controversy.
Speaking to the Sydney Morning Herald, prior to the audio emerging and Klopp’s suggestion of a replay, Postecoglou questioned the game’s pursuit of “perfection”.
He told the paper: “It seems like we’re now heading towards that space of trying to find perfection in a game where the beauty of it is the imperfection.
“What makes our game different from any other game is that the goal – the actual goal, the scoring of a goal – is that most precious commodity. It’s the flaws in the game that creates goals.
“Sometimes we think it’s the brilliance – yeah, it is the brilliance, but mostly on the back of somebody’s flaw, either an opposition player or your own teammate or a referee.
“We’re trying to make this perfect game, which the other codes do – but they have to, because goals in their game don’t mean anything, so they try and create this perfect product. And that’s not football.
“Football is Maradona putting it (in with) his hand. I don’t like it, but that’s the game, and if you want to eliminate that? Yes, OK, but if you’re searching for perfection within football, I just think you take away from what the essence of it is.”
Peter O’Mahony feels a degree of embarrassment at joining Ireland’s “hugely inspirational” list of centurions and hopes even greater moments are to come as he targets Rugby World Cup glory.
Munster captain O’Mahony will become only the 10th Irishman to reach 100 caps when he lines up for Saturday’s pivotal Pool B showdown with Scotland in Paris.
John Hayes, Brian O’Driscoll, Ronan O’Gara, Paul O’Connell and Rory Best were the first five players to achieve the feat, followed by current internationals Cian Healy, Johnny Sexton, Conor Murray and Keith Earls.
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O’Mahony, who made his debut against Italy in 2012, grew up idolising some of those greats and never envisaged emulating their longevity at Test level.
“I’m still kind of surprised,” he said.
“It’s almost a little bit embarrassing with the names that are ahead of me to be honest, people I grew up following and supporting, hugely inspirational characters.
“To be the 10th, it’s going to take some time to settle in. It’s nothing I ever expected or dreamed of. We all talk about having dreams but that one was way off the radar.
“I’m just trying to prepare as if it’s another Test match.
“I’m hoping there are going to be bigger moments in my career than this one – and hopefully in the near future.”
Ireland departed their group-stage base city of Tours for good on Thursday morning and will spend the remainder of the tournament in Paris.
Head coach Andy Farrell has consistently made a big deal of landmark appearances and O’Mahony’s wife, children and parents were guests at the current team hotel on the northern outskirts of the French capital.
O’Mahony, 34, concedes he is no longer physically able to keep up with younger players in training and therefore devotes his efforts to being in peak condition come match day.
Ireland will qualify for the quarter-finals, a stage they have never before gone beyond, with a win or draw at Stade de France this weekend, while a marginal defeat may also be sufficient.
Lifting the Webb Ellis Cup at the same venue in just over three weeks’ time remains the ultimate goal, with O’Mahony wary of suffering early elimination at the hands of the Scots following a statement success over South Africa.
“It’s our be-all and end-all and I’m not going to say that lightly,” he said of winning the tournament.
“Every team that makes this competition is in this country to win it and we’re no different and certainly people talking about us not being able to get past certain hurdles, this is the biggest hurdle of our tournament so far and that’s the way we’re considering it.
“We’ve had some good performances but we’re considering Scotland as the team they are: an incredible threat to our campaign and our journey.”
Visits to Paris are bittersweet for O’Mahony.
His former Munster head coach Anthony ‘Axel’ Foley died in his sleep at a hotel in the city in October 2016 ahead of the team playing against Racing 92.
“Myself and Johnny (Sexton) had a conversation about it, I think it was on the way to the South African game actually, about sometimes it is weird to be in Paris and to think about Axel and what happened,” said O’Mahony.
“It certainly is an incredibly sad memory, particularly for that Munster team who were in Paris that week.
“I’m not going to go into it now but Johnny made a couple of lovely gestures to the family afterwards but Axel is always somebody who is certainly in my head on a very regular basis and when you come to Paris he certainly comes to mind.
“I’ve the fondest memories that we had together and the amount of inspiration he gave, not to just to me, but to lots of young kids in Munster and Ireland.”
Chicago Bears legendary linebacker Dick Butkus, one of the most intimidating players in NFL history, has died. He was 80.
According to a statement released by the team, Butkus’ family confirmed that he died in his sleep overnight at his home in Malibu, California.
Butkus spent his entire nine-year career with his hometown Bears after he was selected third overall in the 1965 draft out of the University of Illinois.
Though his career was shortened due to multiple knee injuries and forced his retirement at age 31, Butkus still racked up 1,020 tackles, 22 interceptions and a franchise-best 27 fumble recoveries in 119 games with the Bears.
Named to the NFL’s All-Decade teams in the 60s and 70s, Butkus garnered a slew of individual awards with six All-NFL selections, two Defensive Player of the Year Awards and eight Pro Bowls.
His hard-hitting style of play earned him several nicknames, including The Maestro of Mayhem, The Enforcer, The Animal and The Robot of Destruction.
He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1979 in his first year of eligibility and the College Football Hall of Fame in 1978.
His No. 51 jersey was retired by the Bears in 1994.
Butkus only experienced two winning seasons in the NFL and never made the playoffs.
In 1985, the Butkus Award was established to honor the top linebackers at the high school, college and professional levels.
He also had a career after the NFL, playing off his tough-guy image and appearing in commercials for Miller Lite, Prestone, Schick and Visa, as well as film roles in “Any Given Sunday,” “Hang Time” and “The Last Boy Scout.”
Butkus is survived by his wife, Helen and three children.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp hailed Ryan Gravenberch’s “obvious talent” as the midfielder paved the way for the 2-0 win over Union Saint-Gilloise with his first goal for the club.
The Netherlands international, a £34million summer signing from Bayern Munich, made only his third start of the season and after impressing in the first European outing another all-round performance was capped with what he described as “the easiest goal of my career”.
Gravenberch capitalised on an error from goalkeeper Anthony Moris, who fumbled Trent Alexander-Arnold’s shot to present a tap-in for the 21-year-old a minute before half-time.
It was a crucial goal as Liverpool had wasted a number of chances prior to that and although they were rarely in trouble Diogo Jota’s goal in added time at the end of the second half secured a second successive Europa League victory.
“It is really obvious how good he is, the talent he is,” said Klopp of a player who arrived on transfer deadline so has had to be gradually introduced to English football with three Premier League substitute appearances.
“He is enjoying the situation and it is very important the confidence back, that is really good to see.
“We thought he might be able to play 90 (minutes), we wanted to give him 90 but we saw he dropped a bit so that’s why we took him off.”
Jota responded to Saturday’s sending off for two yellow cards – which means he is suspended for Sunday’s trip to Brighton – with his fourth goal of the season.
“How should he deal with it? I knew it would be difficult. That (controversial defeat to Tottenham) is long ago and we are over that and Diogo is over it as well. We are not children.
“From a focus point of view, it was not a problem to focus on the game, in the game it was a problem to keep being focused because that was how it looked a little bit.
“We got a bit sluggish, I didn’t like that too much but that was nothing to do with the last game or the last week. That’s the challenge in football any way.”
Two successive wins puts Liverpool two points clear at the top of Group E and victory over Toulouse, two points behind, in three weeks’ time would put them on the verge of qualification for the knockout stages.
But it was far from the sort of free-flowing performance seen by the side this season as they missed a number of chances and then started to lose their way in the second half.
“(I liked) the start and the result. The goals, the chances we created. What I didn’t like is we lost rhythm after 25 minutes,” Klopp added.
“It’s very difficult to keep rhythm in games like this but it’s important. We should have scored earlier but got the second in stoppage time.
“We should use our chances better more often if we want to be successful in competitions but I’m not angry or concerned, it’s just how it is. We know we have to do better.
“It was a mature professional performance, we got the result we wanted but know we can do better.”
Union coach Alexander Blessin knew his side were up against it before a ball was even kicked but was disappointed they did not gain more confidence from keeping their hosts at bay for almost the entire first half.
“In the end I’m proud of the team, but we saw the strength of Liverpool,” he said.
“I had the feeling that the game changed (after Liverpool’s start) and in those moments you need it to go your way.”
England manager Gareth Southgate says he would never risk Bukayo Saka’s long-term fitness by selecting him to play when he is not fit.
Saka was included in Southgate’s 26-man squad for forthcoming games against Australia and Italy, despite limping out of Arsenal’s last three games.
He is being assessed ahead of this Sunday’s Premier League clash with Manchester City before the squad is due to meet up early next week.
Southgate says he wants his best players available for the biggest games, with a crunch European Championship clash against Italy at Wembley on October 17, but never to the detriment of their health.
“I can only go via what Mikel (Arteta) has said about the last few games,” Southgate said regarding Saka’s fitness. “He is in contention for the weekend so we’ve obviously got a very important qualifier.
“We look after the players as well as any country. There’s always a focus on our players because they are playing their club football, in the main, in England and then we are playing here as well.
“Whereas all the other countries call the players that are playing in the Premier League and nobody looks at how they look after them and how they train them.
“When we have really good dialogue with all of their clubs, I think they pretty much all would agree that we probably give better feedback than every other nation.
“They have trust in us that we make decisions that are right for the long-term whenever we can. We only have 10 matches a year. And there’s been times when … Bukayo, for example, we haven’t always played.
“But there are certain key games where if it’s possible to have your best players then you do want to have them. So we’ve got that responsibility of qualifying for the country but … I’ve been a player … I’ve never ever taken a risk on a player’s physical wellbeing. And nor would I.”
Raheem Sterling was left out again, with Southgate explaining his side are no longer reliant on the Chelsea forward to supplement Harry Kane’s goals.
The England boss continued: “We know what Raheem is capable of and (Jarrod) Bowen has got five (goals) in seven (games), so in terms of the opportunity opened up with (Eberechi) Eze and (Callum) Wilson out, (Ollie) Watkins and Bowen are both in a hot streak of form. That’s the thinking.
“In the end, we’ve got brilliant competition for places in several areas of the pitch.
“There is a battle now, without a doubt. For a long period of time Raheem was the one that was scoring goals for us and his club.
“We now have goals from Saka, (Phil) Foden, (Marcus) Rashford. Rashford’s always been a scorer with us.
“(Jack) Grealish is a different type of wide player, so now we’re getting goals from Jude (Bellingham).
“We’re not just reliant on Harry Kane. For a long time it was Harry and Raheem that were knocking up the goals. But there’s a different competition in place.”
Dan Burn realised a dream he never imagined would come true when he scored in Newcastle’s Champions League triumph over Paris St Germain.
The Magpies defender was earning £9 an hour collecting trolleys when he got his break in football as a 17-year-old YTS trainee with Darlington.
On Wednesday night, his header put his side 2-0 ahead in their Group F clash with the French champions at St James’ Park, and they went on to secure a famous 4-1 victory to give themselves a genuine chance of qualification.
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Asked afterwards if he had ever dreamt of scoring in the Champions League, the 31-year-old said: “I dreamt of it. I never thought it was going to happen.
“I don’t think it’s really sunk in. The next few days once I’ve watched it back about a hundred times and managed to celebrate with my family, it probably will.
“But (it was) just a special night all round for the city.”
Burn’s big moment, which came after Miguel Almiron had fired the home side in front, was surrounded by drama after he headed home Bruno Guimaraes’ cross and immediately saw the flag go up to spark a lengthy VAR check.
But the 6ft 6in defender eventually got the answer he craved to spark wild celebrations on and off the pitch.
He said: “It spoiled it a little bit because as soon as I scored, I looked up and saw the offside flag and you’re a bit deflated.
“But as it went longer and longer, you think it might be a goal and just to have the lads jumping on you and looking around, and I’ve got all my family here as well…
“To be able to say that I’ve scored in the Champions League for Newcastle is amazing.”
Much of the talk before the game centred on how a Newcastle defence shorn of the services of key man Sven Botman would handle the threat of Kylian Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele, Goncalo Ramos and Randal Kolo Muani.
In the event, Burn, Kieran Trippier, Jamaal Lascelles and Fabian Schar – who also got his name on the scoresheet – coped admirably to blunt a potentially lethal attack.
Asked about Mbappe, Burn said with a smile: “He stayed on the left side, so I was quite happy, to be fair. But even to say I was playing against Mbappe is crazy.
“As I said, he kept over to Tripps’ side more, so I was happy with him.”
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The Magpies will resume their campaign after the international break with another home tie against Borussia Dortmund, but will do so having made a significant statement about their prospects.
Burn said: “We don’t fear anyone. We worked very, very hard to get to this point and we want to enjoy it, but we’ll only enjoy that playing the way that we play.
“We’ve just got to keep the momentum going.”
Ryan Gravenberch benefited from an error by Union Saint-Gilloise goalkeeper Anthony Moris to score his first goal for the club as Liverpool laboured to a 2-0 Europa League victory to maintain their 100 per cent record in Group E.
For all the attacking firepower at their disposal – and it was considerable with Mohamed Salah, Darwin Nunez and Diogo Jota boasting 248 goals between them – it was a 21-year-old former Ajax and Bayern Munich midfielder who had scored just nine in five years who popped up with the breakthrough at a crucial moment a minute before half-time.
That two of the front three were replaced at the interval was more down to a prepared plan rather than a reflection of their first-half contributions but if either had been anywhere close to their sharpest the game would have been out of sight before Gravenberch’s intervention.
Jota remained on for the whole game and scored the second with a breakaway in added time to ease any late nerves.
Salah’s first Europa League start for the club would have led to speculation about just how much devastation he could inflict, especially after his 16-minute cameo in their first European game produced a goal, an assist and a couple of other chances.
In his 150th game at Anfield he should have added to the 103 he has scored already on this ground as early as the fifth minute.
The excellent young centre-back Jarrell Quansah, deputising for rested captain Virgil van Dijk, won the ball high in midfield and released the Egypt international through the middle but he could not beat the goalkeeper.
It was the beginning of a long list of chances ultimately concluded by Gravenberch’s close-range effort and while Liverpool never looked in any real danger after Gustaf Nilsson had headed over Union’s best midway through the first half until the latter stages the game was more of a grind than it should have been.
Nunez’s 10th-minute rebound goal from Gravenberch’s shot was flagged offside and, on this occasion, UEFA’s VAR officials swiftly made the correct call.
A video replay only increased the Uruguay international’s embarrassment with his next effort, however, as he screwed wide from six yards having opted to go with his right instead of left foot for Salah’s cross after Harvey Elliott had carried ball effortless through the Union midfield.
A weak Salah header straight at the goalkeeper, a Jota penalty claim turned down and a Nunez shot tipped around the near post from Ibrahima Konate’s diagonal pass all followed as chances came and went.
After all just about withstanding all that in-your-face pressure Union were undone from their own attacking corner as captain-for-the-night Trent Alexander-Arnold broke down the left, cut inside on his right foot and drilled in a low shot which bounced in front of Moris.
It was not the most vicious of strikes and the Luxembourg international should have done better than to spill the ball a couple of yards in front of him.
It was all the encouragement Gravenberch needed and he popped home the rebound from close range.
A triple half-time substitution brought an end to the participation of the misfiring Salah and Nunez and also midfielder Wataru Endo as Jurgen Klopp sent on Luis Diaz, Curtis Jones and Alexis Mac Allister – who was made to wait 45 minutes to face his brother Kevin in the opposition defence.
After an early scare when Alisson Becker missed his punch at a corner and almost turned the ball into his own net only for Quansah to sweep up behind him.
Moris tipped over a Jota header and did even better denying Gravenberch a second from a curling shot and even when he was beaten by Diaz his left-hand post came to his aid, while Jones narrowly missed the target with a low shot.
Jota’s goal made the game safe and victory over Toulouse, two points behind, at Anfield in three weeks will go a long way to securing qualification to the knockout stages but Liverpool cannot afford to be so sloppy if they want to enjoy comfortable progress.
David Moyes saluted his “maverick” forward Lucas Paqueta after the 2-1 Europa League win at Freiburg, even though he drives him mad.
Freiburg’s nickname is the Breisgau Brazilians due to their flamboyant style of play, but it was West Ham’s Samba star Paqueta who stole the show.
He put them ahead after only nine minutes with a towering header from a cross by Jarrod Bowen, celebrating his return to the England squad.
Paqueta then spent the rest of the evening tormenting the hosts with his array of flicks, tricks and occasional theatrics.
“It was a bit of an old-fashioned goal, down the side with a good cross, and then a great header like an old-fashioned centre forward. I really enjoyed watching it,” said Hammers boss Moyes.
“Jarrod played well but Lucas was terrific. He drives me mad sometimes but everybody who watched him would have said this player has got incredible talent.
“There is a word that goes around, a maverick. He is that for us.
“It is really important we get him in and adapt to him and accept some of his things he may not do, things which I would say are conventional.
“But we are really enjoying him at the moment and he is terrific at taking the ball under pressure – but also there are moments when I say: ‘what are you doing’?”
The match may have taken place on the edge of the Black Forest, but it was never going to be a piece of cake for the Hammers against a side eighth in the Bundesliga.
They were also up against 34,000 noisy fans, with no away supporters allowed to attend following incidents during West Ham’s Europa Conference League final triumph in June.
Freiburg equalised after half-time through Roland Sallai, but Nayef Aguerd’s header from a James Ward-Prowse corner made it two wins from two in Group A and a 17th match undefeated in Europe, a record for an English club.
“It’s a brilliant achievement, I’ve said to the boys we need to keep it going. Winning the game tonight was most important,” added Moyes.
“I’m really pleased. We played very well especially, in the opening 20 or 30 minutes.
“They came back, which I expected. They got better and we had moments when we played very well but we mainly won the first half. We had to then be good defensively.”
Interim boss Steven Davis insists he retains confidence in the Rangers squad as he called for unity following the 2-1 Europa League defeat by Aris Limassol in Cyprus.
The former Light Blues midfielder was asked to take over after Michael Beale was dismissed at the weekend following the 3-1 loss Aberdeen at Ibrox which left the Gers seven points behind cinch Premiership leaders Celtic.
Rangers had beaten Real Betis in their Group C opener at Ibrox but found the Cypriot side too much, losing the first goal after nine minutes to defender Alex Moucketou-Moussounda.
Striker Shavy Babicka added a second goal in the 59th minute before Light Blues attacker Abdallah Sima pulled a goal back for the Ibrox men but the visitors could not complete the comeback.
Ahead of the trip to St Mirren on Sunday, Davis said: “I still believe we have some real quality players. Obviously, confidence has been hit.
“You go through these periods in your career and it’s a really difficult moment.
“As I say by sticking together you make sure to do the basics right in terms of hard work and application which they have been doing.
“It’s important we continue that and things will turn because I believe in the qualities of the squad.
“We’ll get players back which will help. The most important thing is right now is us being a group together.
“It was a really difficult night because we felt a real opportunity to come here and build on the Betis game.
“I think we caused a lot of our own problems in the game. Obviously, with the two goals we give away we’re really disappointed with and when that happens you have a mountain to climb.
“Firstly I’ve got to take some responsibility. In the first half we kept trying to play in the middle of the pitch when it wasn’t really on, they were good at getting transitions from that with the pace they had up front which caused us problems all night.
“Whenever you go behind in a second half you must throw some caution to the wind at certain points.
“We tried to simplify the game really, trying to get the ball in behind, get it wide and cross the ball into the box and ultimately we didn’t do enough to take something from the game.
“In terms of the effort of the players, I thought they tried to keep going till the end and in terms of the energy they put in, I couldn’t ask for any more in that respect.
“There wasn’t a lack of effort, we’d never question that from the dressing room but it is a really difficult moment that everyone is in.
“When that happens you maybe start to make the wrong decision and things like that.
“Sunday’s coming up and it’s a really quick turnaround. We’re hurting from tonight but it’s important as a group we stick together.”
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