Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp claimed Wednesday's 7-1 Champions League win away to Rangers has completely changed the mood within the group ahead of Sunday's clash with Manchester City.
The Reds have endured a difficult start to the 2022-23 season, particularly in the Premier League, where they are 10th with 10 points from eight games. Klopp's side also lost their opening Champions League game with a poor 4-1 loss away to Napoli, compounding their issues.
Wednesday's emphatic win in Glasgow, which included a record-breaking Mohamed Salah hat-trick within six minutes and 12 seconds, came after losing 3-2 to Arsenal.
Klopp argued the win had made the mood "completely different" and even joked about getting drunk amid the celebrations.
"It changed the mood, definitely," Klopp told reporters. "It is completely different. We usually drink a beer after away games, but it is that long ago that I drank beer and I probably will be drunk after one.
"It changes the mood completely and that's good, but we all know who we are welcoming on Sunday and this will be a different game. It is better to go into a game with the feeling we've got tonight than any other."
Klopp utilised Salah off the bench against Rangers, coming on in the 68th minute, along with Diogo Jota, who was a 73rd-minute substitute before providing the assists for all three of the Egyptian's goals.
Andy Robertson returned from a knee injury to make his first appearance since Napoli loss in early September as a 67th-minute substitute as well.
Darwin Nunez, Roberto Firmino and Jordan Henderson were among those brought off, although Klopp declined to give much away when asked if the changes were in preparation for City.
"The changes tonight were because we could do it, but Diogo Jota didn't start because I got a call this morning that he feels a little bit his muscle," the German said.
"He could play but he should not play for too long, so it was my decision to decide do I start him for 30 minutes or do we bring him [on] for 20? So that was obviously the right thing to do.
"Hendo played a lot, Darwin now played a lot after not playing that much and you have all of these kind of things in your mind when you do the changes.
"Actually, the first 11 was really good but the changes made gave us the next step with us and that was very, very pleasing. It was good, but that’s it and now we recover and prepare for the next game."
On taking on City, who are second in the Premier League, he added: "We don’t have to make a big thing of it, but the best football team in the world right now is coming to Anfield on Sunday.
"We will see what we can do, but it's not now that we are with a big mouth and telling them come and we are waiting. Not at all. It was for us tonight, for different reasons, incredibly important. Yes, 7-1 is a freak result, we know that."
Carsley 'definitely not' ruling himself out of permanent England job
Interim England manager Lee Carsley is adamant that he has not ruled himself out of the job on a permanent basis after hinting that he was not yet the world-class coach needed.
England responded to their shock 2-1 defeat at home to Greece on Thursday with a 3-1 victory in Finland on Sunday.
While the Three Lions were still not at their brilliant best, it was a marked improvement on their last match. However, conversation was dominated by Carsley's future and questions over who will take the role after the match.
"Definitely not," Carsley said after being asked in the post-match press conference whether he felt it was too soon for him to become the senior manager.
"I tried to make it as clear as I could. My remit was for three camps. The point I was trying to make is it is one of the top jobs in the world.
"I'm not part of the process, but it deserves a top coach. The players we have available, we've got a real chance of winning. That was the point I was making."
Plenty had assumed that the 50-year-old's comments about still being on the path to becoming a world-class coach were effectively him putting himself out of the running for the job.
Among a volley of questions about the future of the job, he was asked directly if that was an incorrect conclusion to draw from those remarks.
"Yeah, definitely. Like I say, it's important that I do the best that I can," he said.
"It's a privilege to do this job. I feel well trusted, it's a great job and, you know, whoever gets it will be fully deserving."
Regardless of his comments in Helsinki though, Carsley does have a track record of being non-committal when asked about the potential of getting the job permanently.
That is, according to him, because he has been deliberately trying to keep an open mind about things after learning from previous experiences.
"I'm definitely reluctant [to say whether I want the job] because in the past, when I've done this caretaker/interim role, I've gone so far down the 'I don’t want the job' [route] that I've actually not done the job," he said.
"One of the things I spoke about when I was asked to take temporary charge is that it's important I keep an open mind because in that case, I’m not being reckless with my decisions.
"I'm thinking thoroughly about how the team should play, the squad I should pick, which is a challenge because squad selection is very difficult.
"The amount of players we have to leave out and what we've got available for us, and I've got another camp to do. It's just a shame we can't play Greece next week."
England's away game in Greece will be their most important in deciding their Nations League fate, with their upcoming hosts top of the group with a three-point buffer to second.
Carsley's side will need to win and then better Greece's result at Wembley if they are to have any chance of returning to the top division in the competition. But the interim manager was ultimately pleased with what he saw on Sunday.
"We won the game, scored three good goals," he added. "It was a shame we couldn't keep a clean sheet.
"I still don't know the players that well yet in terms of the way the team reacts to a defeat and a setback, so I was thrilled with the way they responded."
Vancouver Whitecaps 1-2 Los Angeles FC: Sanchez strike closes gap at top of West
Ilie Sanchez's stoppage-time goal secured Los Angeles FC a 2-1 victory over Vancouver Whitecaps in MLS on Sunday.
Sergi Palencia's own goal had cancelled out Mateusz Bogusz's early opener at BC Place, but LAFC found their winner last on to close the gap to leaders LA Galaxy to just three points in the Western Conference.
David Martinez cut Vancouver's defence open with a throughball to Bogusz, who dinked a lovely finish over Yohei Takaoka from a tight angle on the left just 34 seconds into the match.
Bogusz then thought he had doubled their advantage after springing on a brilliant save from Takaoka to deny Palencia, but it was ruled out for a foul in the build-up.
The Spaniard handed the Whitecaps their equaliser – he gave away a free-kick on the left and got the final contact on Sebastian Berhalter's free-kick to help it past Hugo Lloris.
Having weathered the storm from Vancouver after the equaliser, including a clearance off the line by Timothy Tillman, LAFC found a late winner, with Sanchez firing in from the edge of the box.
And Brian White, who had glanced a header narrowly wide earlier in the second half, squandered the chance for an even later equaliser, flicking another effort off the far post in the dying seconds.
Data Debrief: Quick out of the blocks
Despite their winning goal coming late in the game, it was actually LAFC's quick start that set them up for the win - Bogusz's goal was their fastest in MLS this season, and their second fastest in history.
They have also scored nine goals in the opening 15 minutes of games, with only St. Louis City (12) and New York City FC (11) netting more.
Meanwhile, Vancouver have now lost each of their last three matches, their longest such streak since October 2022-March 2023.
Mbappe needs time to adapt in Madrid, says Kempes
Kylian Mbappe must be afforded time to understand his new Real Madrid role, with differing challenges posed compared to his success with France and Paris Saint-Germain.
Former Argentina international Mario Kempes believes Mbappe will not have faced an experience like the pressure that comes with playing with Madrid.
The France captain has still managed seven goals in just 11 appearances to start his Los Blancos career, including finding the net five times in eight LaLiga appearances.
Yet Kempes, a 43-cap Argentina international, says Mbappe will have to adapt after what he sees as easier challenges when playing for France and Ligue 1 giants PSG.
"I can't talk about being a number nine, because I've never been one. I think it's all a matter of getting used to it, because Mbappe isn't going to come in and score 40 goals," Kempes told Stats Perform at Festival dello Sport in Trento, Italy.
"It's different to play in France or in the national team, it's nothing like playing in Madrid. At Madrid, you have to play 11 players or more every game and sometimes the ball doesn't go in or hits the post."
Mbappe scored 27 times in 29 league appearances for PSG last term, as well as eight goals in 12 Champions League outings.
He has taken to life in Spain with ease, too, also managing five LaLiga goals in September – a tally no player could better last month across Europe's top five leagues.
The 25-year-old has since opted to sit out of France's October internationals with Israel and Belgium, despite declaring himself fit to play for Carlo Ancelotti's side.
That has caused backlash from some supporters in France and former players after Mbappe made his focus clear on his intentions with Madrid, and his sights on a first Ballon d'Or.
His success with Madrid will be dictated by the relationship with his team-mates, says Kempes, who expects Mbappe to need time to impress in the Spanish capital.
"You also have to get to know your team-mates," Kempes added. "They are young and have a lot of desire and are very good, you also have to get to know each other on the pitch.
"There is still a long way to go."
Mbappe and Madrid return to domestic action on Saturday when they visit Celta Vigo.
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