Erling Haaland has "a lot of margin to improve" with Manchester City, according to Pep Guardiola.

The Norway international made the move from Borussia Dortmund to the Etihad Stadium ahead of the new season, as a flagship signing for both the club and the Premier League.

Despite drawing a blank in the Community Shield loss to Liverpool, the Leeds-born star responded with a brace on his league debut for the club last weekend against West Ham.

For Guardiola, however, Haaland still has plenty of scope to get better at City, suggesting he must work more to find the ball and bring himself into the thick of the action.

"In the process to score a goal, I do not like the striker just waiting for balls to come," he said ahead of Saturday's home clash with Bournemouth.

"If he wants to drop, he can do it. Erling has a lot of margin to improve. I would not make out he is done. He can be a better player and [he] has the will to do it.

"He likes to play football. I [have] never seen a player, [except] maybe [Lionel] Messi, who is a finished article. Always, you can improve.

"We will try to make him a better player, all our players have a lot of margin to be better. That is the reason why we are here, to try to help them."

Guardiola also touched on the title rivalry his side have shared with Liverpool over the past few seasons, framing their relationship as something that pushes City forward to new heights with each year.

"We were able to create this rivalry," he added. "The biggest opponent we face is Liverpool [and] it is an honour. Sport like this, individual [or] collective, you need someone to [make] you better."

Liverpool have announced Harvey Elliott has signed a fresh long-term contract with the club, reportedly running until 2027.

The 19-year-old only penned his previous deal last year and fresh terms come due to his continued development, which has seen him become established in Jurgen Klopp's first-team plans.

"It's always nice to know that I'm going to be here for many more years, which is always a great thing with it being my boyhood club and there is nothing in this world that makes me more happy and more excited than this," he told the club's official website.

Arriving at the club from Fulham in 2019, Elliott caught the eye during a loan spell with Blackburn Rovers in the 2020-21 season and begun to make an impact in the first team at the start of last season.

The teenager missed a large chunk of the campaign after sustaining an injury against Leeds United in September, marking his return with a goal in the FA Cup against Cardiff City in March.

Elliott came off the bench in the Carabao Cup final victory over Chelsea, scoring in the penalty shoot-out, and was introduced as a substitute in last weekend's 2-2 draw with his former club Fulham.

James Milner believes the addition of Darwin Nunez means Liverpool have a "fantastic mix" in attack this season.

Nunez, signed from Benfica for a fee of £64million (€75m), with a further £21.4m (€25m) in potential add-ons, marked his first Premier League appearance for the Reds at the weekend with a goal in the 2-2 draw at Fulham.

That followed his goal in the 3-1 Community Shield victory over Manchester City a week earlier.

Nunez joins Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino, Luis Diaz, Diogo Jota and fellow new signing Fabio Carvalho in attack as Liverpool look to mount Premier League and Champions League challenges again this term.

Milner is excited by what Nunez offers and believes Reds boss Jurgen Klopp has a tantalising group of forward players to choose from.  

"I think he'll have an impact the whole time he's here, to be honest," Milner told Liverpool’s official website.

"Since he's been here, he's been impressive on the field, worked hard, makes great runs and is desperate to put his head on the ball in the box.

"If you put a ball in there, he'll do everything he can to get on the end of it – good finisher, both feet and he's different to the other boys up there.

"We've already got some very exciting attacking players who can cause problems, so he's a great addition. He'll be fantastic for us.

"You want options up there, you want to cause people problems, and you want to have options to play different ways because obviously teams are going to watch us and try to stop us, so it's important we can do everything.

"With the options we have up there, I think we have a fantastic mix."

Liverpool are next in action on Monday when Crystal Palace visit Anfield in the Premier League. 

Bernardo Silva is frustrated about Manchester City players apparently not getting as much credit as they deserve.

City have won four of the past five Premier League titles, a feat only previously managed by Alex Ferguson's Manchester United.

Pep Guardiola's arrival in 2016 has undoubtedly had an impact on their domination, with the Catalan coach quickly establishing a team identity that has made them one of the most entertaining and ruthless sides in Europe.

But Bernardo, who joined a year after Guardiola, thinks City are not as appreciated as they should be, with the Portugal international suggesting the end-of-season awards are evidence of this.

Last season, the Professional Footballers' Association's (PFA) Team of the Year contained only three City players – including Bernardo – to Liverpool's six and Jurgen Klopp took the managers' award, despite City winning the title.

While that does appear to be an anomaly, with City boasting the most Team of the Year representatives and Guardiola claiming the managers' prize in each of their previous three title-winning campaigns before last season, Bernardo still feels the champions are judged differently to the rest.

Asked specifically if he gets the praise he deserves, Bernardo – who took the opportunity to go off on a bit of a tangent – told ESPN: "From Man City fans, definitely. I feel a lot of support, and they show a lot of appreciation for what I do.

"From outside, it's difficult. I'm not complaining here, but I feel like other clubs get a lot more credit than Man City for doing less.

"For example, when I was at Benfica – a huge club in Portugal with more fans, more everything – you do something nice and they make it look like it's great. Here at Man City, you do something great and they make it look like it's just good.

"Again, I'm not complaining, but playing in the Premier League and winning four titles in five years and checking the Premier League Team of the Year every year and knowing that we're never the team that has the most players.

"We don't have the best manager, we don't have the best players, but we still win four Premier Leagues in five years? It just doesn't make sense. It probably shows that Man City players don't get as much credit as they should.

"For me, it doesn't matter honestly. I'm happy with the titles that we have and with the memories that in the last five years, we won four times. Of course, we don't get the credit that we deserve."

Erik ten Hag can improve Manchester United's fortunes but will need time to affect change, according to former Ajax and Liverpool midfielder Jari Litmanen.

Ten Hag was appointed manager at Old Trafford in April after a successful period in charge of Ajax, but he suffered a chastening 2-1 home defeat to Brighton and Hove Albion on Sunday in his first Premier League game at the helm.

Litmanen had two spells with Ajax during an illustrious playing career, winning five Eredivisie titles, three KNVB Cups and a Champions League crown.

Speaking to Stats Perform at the UEFA fan park in Helsinki ahead of Wednesday's Super Cup, Finland great Litmanen joked when asked if he believed Ten Hag would be a success at United: "I am for Liverpool, so hopefully not!

"I hope the best for Erik. He is a good person and a good coach, he showed that at Ajax, but he needs time.

"They are a big club, and they will get back to the top, but they need time. Competition is high in England so it is going to be difficult, but Erik is a good manager."

Litmanen also raised the possibility of Cristiano Ronaldo staying at Old Trafford, despite reportedly asking for a move so he can play in the Champions League this season.

"We will see if he can get the best out of Ronaldo," Litmanen added. "I haven't spoken to Erik so who knows? Maybe Cristiano stays the whole season, he showed he is one of the best goalscorers in history and if he leaves, then someone else will have to take that responsibility."

Litmanen also had an 18-month spell at Liverpool, where he was part of a squad that won the EFL Cup, FA Cup and UEFA Cup treble in the 2000-01 season.

Although he was used sparingly at Anfield, he did play alongside Reds icon Steven Gerrard, who is now manager of Aston Villa, and Litmanen expects his former team-mate to succeed as a coach in the Premier League.

"Stevie G [Gerrard] is a big name in English football and Liverpool history and he for sure has something to give English football [as a manager]," he said. 

"I was happy to play with him for one and a half years and he is someone who has a great personality."

Georginio Wijnaldum has revealed former Liverpool team-mate Mohamed Salah was among those who advised him to join Jose Mourinho's Roma.

Having left Liverpool for Paris Saint-Germain on a free transfer last year, Wijnaldum headed to Roma on a season-long loan deal last week.

Wijnaldum lifted the Champions League and Premier League trophies during a successful five-year spell at Anfield, but his impact was limited during a frustrating 2021-22 campaign in the French capital.

While the Netherlands international made 38 appearances in all competitions for PSG last season, fellow midfielders Danilo Pereira (2,623), Marco Verratti (2,621) and Idrissa Gueye (2,043) all played more than his total of 1,992 minutes for the Ligue 1 winners.

After becoming the latest arrival of a busy transfer window at the Stadio Olimpico, Wijnaldum said former Giallorossi winger Salah, alongside Kevin Strootman and PSG wing-back Achraf Hakimi, encouraged him to move to Italy.  

"First of all, I wanted to come because of the effort the club put in to sign me as a player," Wijnaldum told a news conference on Tuesday. 

"Also, I spoke with Mo Salah and Kevin Strootman about Roma, about the club and the city, and I only heard good stories about it. 

"I even spoke with Achraf Hakimi about it, even though he played at Inter Milan, he said [Roma] was a beautiful club and a beautiful place and I would be happy here. So that convinced me a lot.

"I know the club, we played them twice when I was at Liverpool [in the Champions League in 2018], and the atmosphere at the Olimpico was amazing – so I knew that I would be playing for a club with a great atmosphere and beautiful supporters.

"But that was basically the only thing I knew, so I asked for some advice from Mo and Strootman and they had good stories." 

Wijnaldum has joined the likes of Nemanja Matic and Paulo Dybala in signing for Roma ahead of the new Serie A campaign, and added the influence of Mourinho was another factor in his decision to head to Italy.

"When I arrived, we spoke more about football things. I think his record as a manager speaks for itself," the midfielder said of the former Chelsea and Real Madrid boss.

"The things he did in football, the prizes he won and the clubs he managed, it's unbelievable. 

"I think every player wants to work with him and I am the same. From the moment I spoke to him, I told myself I really wanted to join the club – but that was the case even before.

"I think the thing that convinced me the most was the amount of effort the club, through Mr [director of football, Tiago] Pinto and the manager, put in to sign me. At that moment I felt really wanted and appreciated by the club and that helped me make the decision."

Fulham's social media admins were able to have some fun at Jurgen Klopp's expense on Sunday, as they took a cheeky swipe at the Liverpool manager's post-match comments.

Klopp lamented Liverpool's display in their Premier League opener at Craven Cottage, with the early kick-off on Saturday finishing 2-2.

He told BT Sport: "The best thing about the game is the result, that we got a point from a really bad game for my side. Now the question is how can that happen."

However, Klopp – who has a previous track record of using pitch or weather conditions to excuse a slightly below-par display – couldn't help but mention that "the pitch was dry".

A throwaway comment it may have been, and in the wider context it was clear Klopp was far more frustrated with his team than the pitch, but that did not stop the comments going viral on social media.

On Sunday, Fulham took the opportunity to crack a joke, tweeting a photo from prior to kick-off on Saturday at Craven Cottage, showing sprinklers watering the pitch with the accompanying caption: "The Craven Cottage turf looking absolutely lush yesterday."

Fulham's jibe might well be used against them when they travel to Anfield later in the season - ask Brighton and Hove Albion how social media posts can be reversed for likes and  retweets - but they at least took the chance to get one over on Liverpool's manager.

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag remains keen to bolster his squad before the end of the transfer window.

The Dutchman, who took over at Old Trafford this off-season, wants to improve his front-line options, along with his midfield with Fabian Ruiz and Frenkie de Jong linked.

Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Anthony Martial along with Cristiano Ronaldo will likely lead the line for United this campaign.

TOP STORY – UNITED IN SURPRISE BID FOR BAYERN'S SANE

The Mirror reports that Manchester United have made a shock move to sign Bayern Munich's former Manchester City forward Leroy Sane.

United have made an enquiry with the Bundesliga champions about the 26-year-old Germany international's availability.

Sane's role at Bayern has been jeopardized by Sadio Mane's arrival, clouding his future, with Liverpool also interested in him according to the Liverpool Echo.

ROUND-UP

–  Manchester United may use Donny van de Beek in a swap deal in their pursuit of Barcelona's Frenkie de Jong, claims the Express. Goal reports that the Red Devils are also considering Napoli's Fabian Ruiz as an alternative if they fail to win De Jong's signature.

– United are set to miss out on target Benjamin Sesko who has decided to stay with Austrian champions Salzburg, according to Sky Sport Austria. Chelsea and RB Leipzig were also keen on the 19-year-old Slovenian.

– Real Madrid are plotting a move for Bayer Leverkusen's teenage Spanish forward Iker Bravo, according to Marca. Atletico Madrid are also interested in the 17-year-old who made his Bundesliga debut last year.

– The Sun claims that West are in for free agent Dan-Axel Zagadou amid interest from Roma. French defender Zagadou left Borussia Dortmund at the end of last season.

– Free agent Edinson Cavani will join Argentine giants Boca Juniors claims Fabrizio Romano. The Uruguayan left Manchester United in the off season and has been linked with Villarreal among other clubs.

Jurgen Klopp has ruled out any panic buying from Liverpool after Thiago Alcantara suffered a hamstring injury in the 2-2 draw at Fulham.

Thiago had to be withdrawn early in the second half of the Reds' first game of the Premier League season at Craven Cottage on Saturday.

Liverpool face an anxious wait to discover the extent of the damage the Spain international sustained in London.

Klopp has already lost fellow midfielders Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (hamstring) and Curtis Jones (calf) to injury, while Naby Keita missed the clash with the Cottagers due to illness.

The Reds boss says there will be no knee-jerk reaction if Thiago is facing a lengthy absence.

He told reporters: "I know what will now come up, it's clear. We said we don't need a midfielder because we have enough – and we actually have enough, but the problem now is we get punished for something that is not our responsibility really because things like this can happen. 

"Nobody could image that Curtis gets the thing he gets; it is nothing serious, but he is a young boy and it is a kind of stress reaction. Bodies are like this.

"Naby is only ill and he will now be back definitely next week again. Oxlade happened early and now with Thiago that is, of course, not good and we will see. 

"Look, a transfer must make sense now and in the long-term; we have midfielders, we have still enough midfielders. It is not that we lack midfielders, but it's just some of them are injured. 

"This is not a good situation, I don't like it at all, but we have to see how we react on that – but for sure not panicking."

Liverpool twice came from behind to salvage a point against Marco Silva's promoted side, Darwin Nunez coming off the bench to score on his Premier League debut and laying on a goal for Mohamed Salah following an Aleksandar Mitrovic double.

Jurgen Klopp conceded Liverpool must be happy with a point after "a really bad game" against Fulham.

The Reds, who looked sharp in defeating Manchester City 3-1 in last week's Community Shield, were unable to hit their best form on Saturday as they opened their Premier League campaign with a 2-2 draw at Craven Cottage.

Aleksandar Mitrovic scored Fulham's opener in the first half, but Liverpool hit back through substitute Darwin Nunez's first Premier League goal.

Mitrovic then became the first player to score twice for a promoted team on the opening day of a Premier League season since Steve Mounie for Huddersfield Town in 2017 when he netted from the penalty spot after drawing a foul from Virgil van Dijk.

Yet Liverpool had the resolve to restore parity for a second time, Nunez involved again when he perhaps inadvertently nudged down to Mohamed Salah, who swept home his eighth goal on the opening day of a Premier League campaign, the joint-highest total along with Alan Shearer, Frank Lampard and Wayne Rooney.

Liverpool have now gained 115 points from losing positions under Klopp in the Premier League, the most of any side since the German took over in October 2015, but he was far from pleased with what he saw in west London.

Klopp told BT Sport: "The best thing about the game is the result, that we got a point from a really bad game for my side. Now the question is how can that happen.

"The energy was not right in the beginning, then we wanted to fight back but it is not easy. The pitch was dry, we played really into their hands most of the time. When we found a bit of direction and ended up in front of their goal, we had the bigger chances.

"The result is fine, I don't think we deserved more than that, the performance… massively improvable.

"We cannot always hug the boys. We do that usually when they deserve it. When you start a game in a specific way that was opposite to how we wanted to start, really completely opposite, we didn't find direction. Everyone was under pressure, we couldn't break the lines, which was a clear message. We never had momentum.

"We could have won the game, we had the bigger chances, but that would probably have been a bit too much today."

Liverpool had some complaints about Fulham's opener, with Jordan Henderson claiming he had been fouled by Joao Palhinha in the build-up, though VAR did not intervene.

"It doesn't have to be deliberate, I think it's that they don't go back that far, that's the thing," said Klopp when asked about the incident.

"This result was not about the referee, but we discussed the situation in a Premier League meeting that the refs don't want to go that far back. I'm not sure how far back it was. If it was a foul, it would have been nice, but he saw it differently."

While Nunez became just the third player in Premier League history to both score and assist off the bench on his debut in the competition, Mitrovic has now scored 45 goals in English league football since the start of last season, 16 more than any other player.

Mitrovic managed only three top-flight goals in the 2020-21 season, but Fulham boss Marco Silva was thrilled with the striker's performance.

"Mitro is not just goals, if someone thinks that, forget [it]," Silva said on BT Sport. "The job he did this afternoon, for the team, his pressure, helping the midfielders, the back line… after that, if you deliver for him, he'll score.

"I have to congratulate him, the work he did without the ball he did was fantastic. He knows that, I demand that from him."

Darwin Nunez scored one goal and set up an equaliser for Mohamed Salah as Liverpool twice came from behind draw 2-2 at Fulham in their first Premier League game of the season.

Aleksandar Mitrovic headed top-flight new boys Fulham into a deserved first-half lead, but Nunez came off the bench to equalise at Craven Cottage on Saturday.

Mitrovic restored the Cottagers' lead with a penalty after he was upended by Virgil van Dijk with 18 minutes remaining, but Salah poked in from close range after Nunez laid the ball into his path to salvage a point before Jordan Henderson hit the woodwork in stoppage time.

It is a record six consecutive seasons Salah has scored in Liverpool's opening match of a Premier League season, but they did not do enough to win it and also lost Thiago Alcantara to a hamstring injury.

Manchester United are reportedly willing to meet Salzburg's £41.8million asking price for 19-year-old Slovenian striker Benjamin Sesko.

Sesko, who does not turn 20 until next May and measures in at 195cm tall, scored 11 goals in 37 games last season, and he opened the new Bundesliga campaign with a goal and an assist in a 3-0 win over Austria Vienna.

According to The Athletic, United decided against signing Sesko for £2.5m as a 16-year-old, and they will now have to pay up to secure the services of the in-demand forward.

TOP STORY – UNITED PLAN BIG MOVE FOR TOWERING SLOVENIAN STRIKER

The report from Express calls Sesko "a priority target" for new boss Erik ten Hag, but also mentions that the Austrian club is extremely high on him as a prospect – going as far as comparing his future to that of former Salzburg man Erling Haaland.

Meanwhile, Sport Klub claims Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain are also monitoring the situation, and that Sesko and Salzburg will be meeting in the next week to make a firm decision on his future.

Sesko is also Slovenia's youngest-ever international debutant, having debuted one day after his 18th birthday, and became their youngest international goalscorer a few months later.

ROUND-UP

– Calciomercato claims Tottenham are set to sign 19-year-old defender and Manchester City target Destiny Udogie from Udinese for a deal in the range of £25m.

– The Mirror is reporting that Everton have swooped in to land West Ham target Amadou Onana from Lille with a fee of £33.7m.

– Leeds United are making a £22m bid for Paris Saint-Germain forward Arnaud Kalimuendo, according to the Sun.

– A Sky Sports report states Crystal Palace are interested in bringing back defender Aaron Wan-Bissaka from United.

– Liverpool are exploring a potential £50m move to bring in Leroy Sane from Bayern Munich, according to 90min.

From a false nine to a true nine, Manchester City will roll out Erling Haaland as last season's Premier League champions show off their marquee addition.

City won the 2021-22 Premier League with 93 points despite lacking a target man, pipping Liverpool on the final day of the campaign.

Liverpool, unlucky to come home second on 92 points, have made a big investment in buying Darwin Nunez from Benfica, a penalty-box predator like Haaland.

The 90-point mark is widely seen as a benchmark for a team's greatness, but managers always see room for improvement.

Here, Stats Perform looks at how 90-point-plus teams from seasons past have bolstered their ranks, and how they got on afterwards.

100 POINTS

Manchester City are the only team in Premier League history to hit the 100-point mark, doing so in 2017-18, and they offloaded former kingpins Joe Hart and Yaya Toure at the end of that campaign, making just one big investment by signing Riyad Mahrez (£60million) from Leicester City.

Already a Premier League title winner with the Foxes, the Algerian winger has added three more league medals in Manchester, including one in his first season.

99 POINTS

Liverpool denied City a hat-trick of consecutive titles by triumphing in the coronavirus-interrupted 2019-20 championship, finishing 18 points clear of Pep Guardiola's team. The Reds then spent the thick end of £75million to acquire Thiago Alcantara from Bayern Munich, Diogo Jota from Wolves and Kostas Tsimikas from Olympiacos.

They recouped around half of that by selling Dejan Lovren, Ki-Jana Hoever and Rhian Brewster, before finishing with 30 fewer points in the following campaign.

98 POINTS

City's encore to their ton-up season was made remarkable by the fact Liverpool were hot on their heels, finishing just one point back. This 2018-19 title-winning effort by City was followed by captain Vincent Kompany taking flight for Anderlecht, while Danilo, Eliaquim Mangala, Fabian Delph and Douglas Luiz also said goodbye.

Guardiola invested wisely as Rodri (£62.8m from Atletico Madrid) and Joao Cancelo (£60million from Juventus) arrived. Both became staple members of the City side, but their first season on Premier League duty, as Liverpool romped to glory in front of empty stadiums, was probably best forgotten.

97 POINTS

Liverpool must have wondered what it would take to topple City after the seismic 2018-19 campaign, although the Reds' Champions League win showed they were firmly on the right track. This 97-point haul is the highest total any Premier League runner-up has secured.

Jurgen Klopp decided no big adjustments were required, investing in Takumi Minamino from Salzburg (£7.25m) and Harvey Elliott from Fulham (£1.5m, rising to £4.3m). He had done his serious spending the previous year, securing Naby Keita, Fabinho and Alisson.

95 POINTS

When big-spending Chelsea landed a then-record 95 points in the 2004-05 campaign, the response from the Blues, in the headiest phase of the Roman Abramovich era, was to splash more cash.

Shaun Wright-Phillips (£21m) and Michael Essien (£24.4m) were newcomers as Jose Mourinho evicted Mikael Forssell, Scott Parker, Mateja Kezman and Tiago. The result of that trading? A second consecutive title as the Premier League points mercury rose up into the 90s again.

93 POINTS

Two teams have had 93-point seasons: Chelsea in 2016-17 and Manchester City in 2021-22. Chelsea's post-season dealings were especially notable for captain John Terry moving on to Aston Villa. The club cashed in as Juan Cuadrado went to Juventus, Nathan Ake and Asmir Begovic left for Bournemouth and Nemanja Matic joined Manchester United. They acquired Antonio Rudiger (£31m), Tiemoue Bakayoko (£40m), Alvaro Morata (£60m), Davide Zappacosta (£23m) and Danny Drinkwater (£35m). The spree didn't help much, though. Chelsea trailed in fifth in 2017-18, Antonio Conte sacked despite an FA Cup win.

City made Haaland their priority this year but also added England midfielder Kalvin Phillips (£42m) and goalkeeper Stefan Ortega (free), while Julian Alvarez (£14m) arrived after being signed in January. Fernandinho, Gabriel Jesus, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Raheem Sterling left.

92 POINTS

Manchester United were the first Premier League side to top 90 points, in 1993-94, albeit in a 42-game competition. After that title, United's second in succession, Bryan Robson left to become player-boss at Middlesbrough and David May (£1.4m) was bought from Blackburn Rovers. United went chasing a hat-trick of titles in the subsequent season but found big-spending Blackburn too strong. The record £7million arrival of Andy Cole midway through the campaign could not rescue Alex Ferguson's side, who tallied 88 points, one fewer than the champions.

Liverpool's 92-point season came last time out. It remains to be seen how Nunez (£64m) copes with the Premier League spotlight. Among a string of departures was Sadio Mane, who left for Bayern Munich. Mane scored 90 goals in 196 Premier League games with Liverpool.

91 POINTS

Manchester United followed their treble campaign with a 91-point haul in 1999-2000, before signing up France goalkeeper Fabien Barthez (£7.8m). They tallied 80 points in 2000-01, enough to finish 10 clear of second-placed Arsenal.

With Wright-Phillips and Essien on board, Chelsea notched 91 points in 2005-06. At the end of that season, the Blues swooped for Michael Ballack (free), Andriy Shevchenko (£30m), Arsenal's Ashley Cole (£5m, plus William Gallas) and John Obi Mikel (£16m). They were second best to Manchester United in the following season's Premier League, but enjoyed FA Cup and EFL Cup wins.

90 POINTS

Two teams have scraped the 90-point mark, Arsenal doing so in their 'Invincibles' season of 2003-04, with 26 wins and 12 draws. They signed young Dutchman Robin van Persie (£2.75m) towards the end of that campaign and he arrived in the summer. Newcomer Mourinho led Chelsea to the following year's title, with Arsenal runners-up.

Manchester United got to 90 in 2008-09 – Cristiano Ronaldo's last season before his £80million Real Madrid switch. Manager Ferguson then brought in Antonio Valencia (£16m), Michael Owen (free), Gabriel Obertan (£3m) and Mame Biram Diouf (£4million), with Valencia the only one to become a regular. With Ronaldo gone, Chelsea edged out United by a point for the following year's title.

Mohamed Salah is ready to light up the Premier League again after committing his long-term future to Liverpool, claims Jurgen Klopp.

Last season's Golden Boot joint-winner, who shared the prize with Tottenham's Son Heung-min, signed a three-year contract last month to calm fears he could quit Anfield.

Salah's previous deal was due to expire at the end of the 2022-23 season, when he would have been able to walk away as a free agent.

Now that Liverpool have him tied down to fresh terms, the player and club can focus on chasing more trophies, having lifted the FA Cup and EFL Cup last term.

"Knowing where he will be for the next important years of his career – I wouldn't say for the rest of his career because he can play much longer – that gave all of us a boost, him as well," Klopp said.

"It's much better than if there was any contract [to resolve] next summer."

Thirty-year-old Salah's new deal served as a pick-me-up for a club who were pipped at the post for the Premier League and Champions League titles in late May, dashing hopes of an unprecedented quadruple.

There is likely to be at least one new challenger for the league's top scorer prize in the new season, with Erling Haaland having arrived at Manchester City after racking up 86 goals in 89 games for Borussia Dortmund.

Liverpool's new recruit Darwin Nunez may also have an eye on the honour, but Klopp suspects Salah will only be interested in the Golden Boot when the season nears an end.

"People are motivated by different things and i think Mo's biggest motivation is to win football games and to score," Klopp said.

"I don't think he looks about other players and how many they've scored. That may be in May when he has hopefully 34 or 35 and the other two have 32. Then maybe, but before that I can't see that."

Klopp has no doubt Salah would have been motivated to perform even if he had just months left to run on his Anfield deal, but the Liverpool manager accepts there would have been incessant talk about such a scenario.

"Mo would have been the same person, I'm 100 per cent sure he could have pushed that aside as long as he was only with us," Klopp said. "But the world does not stop asking, and that's a problem we are constantly facing.

"It helps, it's much better to know as much as possible, even about the season after."

Salah could match a record in their opening game of the season, with Liverpool tackling Fulham on Saturday.

He has scored in Liverpool's first Premier League game in each of the past five seasons and has seven matchday-one goals to his name, meaning he stands one short of a competition record that is held jointly by Alan Shearer, Frank Lampard and Wayne Rooney, who managed eight each.

The former England trio are three of the Premier League's all-time goalscoring greats, with Shearer's 260 strikes putting him top of the pile. Rooney (208) and Lampard (177) sit second and sixth on the Premier League era goals list.

Salah has scored 118 Premier League goals in 180 outings for Liverpool, putting him 10 away from matching Robbie Fowler's club record in the competition.

Jurgen Klopp believes "massive talent" Fabio Carvalho can dazzle in the Premier League with Liverpool ahead of the teenager's Fulham reunion.

The first Saturday of the English top-flight season sees Liverpool travel to tackle last season's Championship winners, who return to the elite after a traumatic 2020-21 relegation.

Fulham have yo-yoed between the Championship and Premier League over recent years, having two single-season spells among the big boys and three promotions.

Portuguese winger Carvalho scored 10 goals and had eight assists in 36 Championship games for Fulham last season, leading to a £5million switch to Anfield.

"He's a top player. I really love it," said Klopp. "He's a massive talent and a really good kid. I'm really happy to have him, it's very important for us because we count on this age group as well.

"We don't wait until they're 22, 23, or whatever, and then we use them. He's ready like Harvey [Elliott] is ready, in a similar age group.

"And that's really good. We all need luck in life with injuries and stuff like this, but without that he will be a really important player for us."

Midfielder Elliott also joined Liverpool from Fulham, three years ago in his case. Both players are 19, with Carvalho coming up for his 20th birthday on August 30, and Klopp quipped that Liverpool's buys from the Cottagers carry echoes of a former spending habit.

"It's like with Southampton in the past," Klopp said, harking back to deals for the likes of Sadio Mane, Adam Lallana and Virgil van Dijk.

Carvalho had a fleeting introduction to the Premier League as a fringe figure with Fulham in their relegation campaign, and will hope to be more involved with Liverpool.

Saturday's game might look like a mismatch, but closer examination suggests Liverpool will need to be sharp to avoid an early slip-up.

Two seasons ago, when bossed by Scott Parker, Fulham became the first side to fail to reach double figures for goals in home league games in English league history, netting just nine in 19 games in their relegation campaign.

They are winless in their last 10 Premier League games (D2 L8), yet their last top-flight victory came against Liverpool in March 2021.

Indeed, Fulham also managed a 1-1 home draw against Klopp's team in that campaign, as Liverpool suffered a hangover from their previous title-winning season.

The Cottagers' four points against the Reds was their joint-most against any opponent, with Fulham also taking four against Sheffield United and West Brom, who joined them in tumbling into the second tier.

Encouragement for Liverpool comes in knowing that on the five previous occasions Fulham have been promoted to the top flight, they have then lost their first league match of the season, doing so in 1949-50, 1959-60, 2001-02, 2018-19 and 2020-21.

Some will expect Marco Silva's team to be easily picked off by Liverpool, who were runners-up to champions Manchester City in May, but Klopp does not see it that way.

"Fulham is doing really well and did extremely well last year," Klopp said.

"I met Marco at a managers' meeting in London. Getting promoted but playing football is one of the harder things to do in the Championship. He gets all my respect and that's what Fulham did."

Klopp lost his first Premier League meeting with Silva in February 2017, with his side beaten 2-0 away at Hull. Since then, though, Klopp is unbeaten in his last four against the Portuguese in the competition (W2 D2), with the most recent being a 5-2 win against Silva's Everton.

Liverpool secured Mohamed Salah on an extended contract during the off season, and the Egyptian will be looking for a familiar fast start to a season.

He has scored in Liverpool's Premier League opener in each of his past five seasons with the club, the only player in the competition to have ever put such a run together. Salah has seven goals in all on matchday one in the competition, one shy of the record held jointly by Alan Shearer, Frank Lampard and Wayne Rooney.