Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson has declared the Reds desire more than just to regain their Premier League title, insisting they want to win every piece of silverware up for grabs. 

The Anfield club ended their 30-year wait for a league title when they claimed a first Premier League crown in 2019-20, but were unable to defend their status as champions last season as Manchester City usurped them.

Jurgen Klopp's men suffered a blow in their attempts to wrest the title back from City as they fell to a first league defeat of the season just before the international break, losing 3-2 to West Ham and dropping to fourth in the table. 

However, the Reds are only four points behind leaders Chelsea with 11 games played and Alisson says the team want to be the best in every competition, not just the league.

The Merseyside giants are top of their Champions League group after four wins from four and are also into the quarter-finals of the League Cup, with Leicester City their next opponents.

"It's about more than [regaining the Premier League title], to be honest," Alisson told Liverpool FC magazine. "We want more.

"Of course we want to win all the tournaments that we play in. We want to win the Champions League, Premier League, FA Cup, Carabao Cup – all the tournaments that it is possible for us to play in.

"This should be the goal and the target for everybody for a team like us. But we have to take it game by game and we must be focused on our jobs to do 100 per cent what we have to do."

Liverpool's next game after the international break is a Premier League clash against an in-form Arsenal side at Anfield on November 20.

Former Aston Villa midfielder Stiliyan Petrov has hailed Steven Gerrard's "winning mentality" and believes the Liverpool legend is an "exciting appointment" for his old club.

Gerrard, who led Rangers to their first Scottish Premiership title in a decade last season, left his post and replaced Dean Smith at Villa Park on Thursday, handed a reported three-and-a-half-year deal.

Petrov was a Villa player between 2006 and his retirement in 2013, having signed from Rangers' rivals Celtic.

The 42-year-old had a keen eye on developments in Scotland and expects Gerrard to set a high bar at his new club in his unrelenting pursuit of success.

"[Gerrard brings a] winning mentality," Petrov told Stats Perform. "I mean, you can see the way he manages, you can see the way he demands from the club.

"He made Glasgow Rangers a very solid, competitive, aggressive team, which was very hard to beat. Everybody they played against found it really difficult. So I'm sure he's going to do that with Aston Villa.

"The way he manages, the demands he has through the work process, on the training ground and in the games, will set the high targets for not just for the club but for the players, because sometimes you need that kind of manager to demand and set up different targets, a different voice in the club.

"And he showed that he won't stop until he succeeds, and his managerial journey has started very well so far."

Petrov feels Gerrard's character as a player is evident in his approach as a manager and that the 41-year-old's stature and demanding nature can turn Villa's fortunes around in the same way he transformed Rangers.

"It is an exciting appointment, I think," Petrov said. "I think everybody knows Steven Gerrard as a player [and] what he achieved as a player in the Premier League. He became an icon for the Premier League as a player, and he started his coaching journey in a completely different way.

"He wanted to become the best. He took on an incredible project at Glasgow Rangers. I think he kind of succeeded. 

"He managed to change the mentality and the way the club is thinking now is as a club, and he's been given an opportunity to manage another huge team, which is a great opportunity to go back to the Premier League and show what he can do."

Petrov added: "He was a leader. He was a captain. In every interview, he was talking about preparation. He wanted to be the best. He was going through a different mentality in training.

"He was there to compete, to push others to be the best. And I think all these values from being a player, he's kind of implementing it into his coaching abilities because you can see he coaches the same way he was as a player.

"The demands are very high. He demands from himself first, for people that work with him and the players as well, and he makes sure he gets involved in a good project.

"He got involved in a project, Glasgow Rangers, they had a target. They have to stop [Celtic's] 10 in a row. They have to change their mentality, and they have to become successful again.

"He managed to do that in the space of three years. So now we have a completely different task at Aston Villa and I believe that he analysed and he managed to understand what the club stands for and what the targets are."

Gerrard's first game as Villa boss comes after the international break against Brighton and Hove Albion on November 20.

Raheem Sterling's future at Manchester City remains unclear.

The England winger has only made three Premier League starts this season.

Sterling, who starred during England's run to the Euro 2020 final, could now be on the move.

 

TOP STORY – BARCA RESOLUTE ON RAHEEM

Barcelona are determined to sign Raheem Sterling from Manchester City despite the Premier League club's refusal to let him leave, reports Manchester Evening News.

The Catalans want to bring Sterling to Camp Nou in January on a loan deal, with the forward open to a move after losing his regular starting spot at City.

Sterling still has 18 months remaining on his City contract and the English champions have no intention of accepting an offer for him.

 

ROUND-UP

Manchester City are set to launch a new bid for Tottenham forward Harry Kane in January, claims ESPN. City pursued Kane over the off-season but the Spurs skipper ultimately remained in London after Tottenham declined their approaches.

- El Nacional reports Real Madrid head coach Carlo Ancelotti has told the club to sell or release Gareth Bale. The Wales forward has only made three appearances this term and is contracted to Los Blancos only until the end of the season.

Hakim Ziyech is unhappy at Chelsea and could be lured to Borussia Dortmund, claims The Mirror. The Morocco winger could move in January, having been unable to re-discover his best form at Chelsea after moving from Ajax in 2020.

Norwich City are set to offer ex-Aston Villa boss Dean Smith their vacant manager role, according to Sky Sports. Smith was sacked as Villa coach this week.

- The Daily Record claims former Feyenoord coach Giovanni van Bronckhorst will hold talks with Rangers about taking over as manager after Steven Gerrard's departure for Villa.

Harry Maguire insists his goal celebration in England's 5-0 win over Albania "was not directed at anyone" following stinging criticism from Roy Keane.

Maguire raced off after scoring the opening goal at Wembley Stadium, sliding on his knees in celebration before cupping his hands beside his head and putting his fingers into his ears.

Former Manchester United midfielder Keane labelled Maguire's celebration as "embarrassing" in light of his recent performances at club level which have drawn criticism.

"When a player scores and puts his hands to his ears, he's like 'shutting the critics up'. But I think that's embarrassing," Keane said on ITV.

"He's been a disgrace the last few months at Man United. He thinks he scores there and he's gonna shut his critics up. Embarrassing."

Maguire was adamant that the gesture was not about silencing any critics, nor aimed at anyone.

"The celebration was a knee slide, it just came naturally to me," Maguire told Sky Sports News. "It's an amazing feeling to score for my country.

"It wasn't directed at anyone, it just came naturally to do that and open the scoring for England and get the important three points."

England manager Gareth Southgate also defended Maguire, who missed last month's international window due to a calf injury.

Is he a Hulk Hogan fan? I don't know what the celebration was for," Southgate said during his news conference. "He's a fabulous player, two months ago he was in the Euros team of the tournament.

"He's rushed back because he's the sort of player who has a huge conscience to help his club. You get lots of players who hide in the treatment room when pressure is on. He hasn't done that and I have massive respect for that but you can go into matches not fully fit and you're judged as fully fit in those moments.

"I've had a good chat with him this week, reminded him how important he is for us, he's been able to switch focus and have a few days on the training pitch which has probably helped, and his performance was very good."

Harry Maguire's celebration in England's World Cup qualifier against Albania was "embarrassing" because he has "been a disgrace" at Manchester United, according to a furious Roy Keane. 

United captain Maguire scored the first of five first-half goals for England at Wembley on Friday by heading home a delivery from Reece James. 

The centre-back, who became the most expensive defender of all-time when he moved to Old Trafford in 2019, has come in for significant criticism this season, particularly following his displays against Leicester City, Liverpool and away at Atalanta. 

He responded by celebrating finding the back of the net for his country by cupping his ears and then putting his fingers in them.

However, that decision drew the ire of former United skipper Keane, who won 13 major trophies at Old Trafford and was a key part of their 1998-99 treble-winning campaign.

"When a player scores and puts his hands to his ears, he's like 'shutting the critics up'. But I think that's embarrassing," Keane fumed on ITV. 

"He's been a disgrace the last few months at Man United. He thinks he scores there and he's gonna shut his critics up. Embarrassing." 

In his 13 appearances in all competitions for United this season, Maguire has made three errors leading to shots - more than any of his team-mates and the joint-most among Premier League players.

He also made an error leading to a goal when he gave the ball away ahead of Youri Tielemans' strike in the 4-2 loss to Leicester in October.

Kevin De Bruyne has played through "serious pain" with Manchester City this season but feels his condition is starting to improve.

The Belgium international has had a tough few months due to physical ailments, starting with the collision with Antonio Rudiger in the Champions League final that left him with a fractured nose and eye socket.

De Bruyne was able to recover in time to play a part in Belgium's ultimately unsuccessful Euro 2020 campaign, though he sustained another injury in the last-16 victory over Portugal.

It was ankle ligament damage on that occasion, yet De Bruyne still played Belgium's next game as they were eliminated by eventual champions Italy.

The midfielder was able to have a brief cameo in City's Premier League opener but then disappeared again until September due to the injury, and he says he still has not truly recovered.

"It's going to be a little more difficult this year than usual," De Bruyne said on the MIDMID podcast. "It's not that bad, I think, but it's been a bit difficult physically and mentally.

"I came back with a lot of pain after the holidays, and then at the start of the season I hit a wall.

"I've been in some serious pain, but it's starting to get better. I just needed more time than expected."

Despite opting to play in pain, De Bruyne's influence at City has not dipped much at all in the Premier League this season.

In fact, he is actually having more touches (83.8, up from 81.6) and playing more passes (59.6, up from 56.9) on average per 90 minutes than in 2020-21, while his shooting (3.4 per 90, down from 3.6) and chance-creation (3.2, down from 3.6) frequencies have not changed massively.

De Bruyne is engaging in fewer duels (9.3 per 90, down from 10.8) and committing fewer fouls (0.4, down from 1.2), which suggests he could be taking greater care to not aggravate the problem in physical collisions, though this side of the game has never been his priority on the pitch anyway.

Chelsea head coach Thomas Tuchel has won the Premier League's Manager of the Month award for October, having taken the Blues to the top of the table.

The German tactician guided Chelsea to four straight wins last month, including a 7-0 thrashing of Norwich City at Stamford Bridge.

The Blues conceded just one Premier League goal in October and scored 14 as they bounced back in style from their first top-flight defeat of the season – a 1-0 loss to Manchester City on September 25.

Chelsea beat Southampton 3-1 at home at the start of the month, before keeping three consecutive clean sheets with 1-0 and 3-0 victories away to Brentford and Newcastle United either side of crushing the Canaries.

No side in the division conceded fewer goals (one) or kept more clean sheets (three) in October than Chelsea, while only Liverpool scored as many goals (14). The Blues also averaged the most possession of any team in the league, with 64.7 per cent.

Tuchel fought off competition from Reds boss Jurgen Klopp, West Ham's David Moyes and Crystal Palace's Patrick Vieira to become the third manager to win the award this season.

He continues a trend of managers from London clubs claiming the prize, with Nuno Espirito Santo – recently sacked by Tottenham – winning in August before Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta picked up the gong in September.

Former Bayern Munich president Uli Hoeness mocked Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain for their failure to win the Champions League despite their vast resources.

City were acquired by Abu Dhabi United Group – backed by Sheikh Mansour – in 2008, while PSG were bought by Qatar Sports Investments three years later, with the company's chairman, Nasser Al-Khelaifi, becoming the club's president.

The two clubs have gone on to achieve extraordinary success domestically, with City winning five Premier League titles and PSG claiming seven Ligue 1 crowns since their respective takeovers.

However, neither club has managed to win the Champions League.

Both have gone close in recent years, though City were beaten in the final by Chelsea last season and PSG were bested in the showpiece event by Hoeness' Bayern the year before.

That was Bayern's second success in the competition since 2011, the other occasion being their 2-1 defeat of Borussia Dortmund in 2013 after losing the final on penalties to Chelsea the year before.

Hoeness takes great pride in Bayern pipping their richer counterparts to club football's most coveted European trophy and insisted the Bavarian giants will remain ahead of both sides. 

"So far they haven't won anything," Hoeness said on the 11 Leben podcast. "Nothing at all. The two teams don't have a single Champions League title.

"They will continue to lose against us. Not always, but sometimes. That has to be the goal, and if we win against them, I'm really happy. This is what stimulates me to show them, 'your s****y money, that's not enough!'

"The difference between [PSG president Al-Khelaifi] and me is: I worked hard for the money and he got it as a gift. He doesn't need to work for that. When he wants a player, he will find his emir."

City and PSG were both drawn into Group A of this year's Champions League and the pair are battling for top spot in the table, with Pep Guardiola's men one point ahead of Mauricio Pochettino's side after four matches.

Bayern, meanwhile, have won each of their four group-stage games and are already through to the knockout stages, sitting six points ahead of Barcelona in Group E.

Mohamed Salah has unsurprisingly won the Premier League's Player of the Month award for October after a scintillating few weeks.

The Liverpool talisman has been in irresistible form all season, but he took himself to another level last month as he scored five goals and set up another four.

His five goals came from an expected goals value of just 2.7, highlighting just how deadly Salah was over the period in question.

No one else scored or assisted more than three goals in October, while Salah's total of nine involvements was more than double his nearest challengers Mason Mount, Phil Foden and Roberto Firmino on four each.

In fact, the last player to register as many as nine goal involvements in a single calendar month was Salah himself in December 2018 (10).

Salah's first goal of October was a wonderful solo effort in the 2-2 draw with Manchester City, and he then went on to score a hat-trick in Liverpool's 5-0 humiliation of Manchester United.

That was the first treble scored by a visiting player at Old Trafford since Ronaldo for Real Madrid back in April 2003.

Scoring against United also ensured Salah became only the fourth player for a club within the big five European leagues to score in 10 straight appearances in all competitions since 2017-18, while his exploits at Old Trafford ensured he usurped Didier Drogba as the Premier League's top-scoring African player as well.

Ben Chilwell, Maxwel Cornet, Foden, Tino Livramento, Aaron Ramsdale, Declan Rice and Youri Tielemans were also nominated, though there was only ever likely to be one winner this time.

Salah is the third Player of the Month this season, following on from Michail Antonio and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Senegal head coach Aliou Cisse eased concerns over Liverpool star Sadio Mane following his early withdrawal against Togo, describing his injury as "nothing serious".

The Reds forward was substituted after just 28 minutes on Thursday, with Villarreal striker Boulaye Dia replacing him, and Senegal needed a 93rd-minute equaliser from Habib Diallo to cancel out Pape Abou Cisse's first-half own goal and salvage a draw.

The result ended Senegal's four-game winning streak in World Cup qualifying, although they have already advanced to the next stage as Group H winners.

Mane's enforced substitution sparked worries the 29-year-old could be set for a spell on the sidelines, but his national team boss insisted the move was precautionary.

"The [injury] is nothing serious," Cisse said after the game. "We replaced him only as a precaution, not for anything important."

Mane has been crucial to Liverpool this term, netting eight goals across all competitions for the Reds in 15 appearances, behind only Mohamed Salah, who has 15 strikes to his name.

The Senegal winger has also taken the second-most shots in all competitions for Liverpool (42), with 35 of them coming inside the box – again, only Salah betters both tallies at the club.

Liverpool suffered their first league defeat of the season against West Ham before the international break and slipped to fourth in the Premier League table as a result, but Jurgen Klopp's men are only four points behind leaders Chelsea and still very much in the title race.

Harry Kane has described how criticism of his brother, who is also his agent, has been "difficult to take" after the Tottenham striker failed to secure a move to Manchester City.

After registering 28 goals and 16 assists in all club competitions last season, Kane then netted four times for England in their run to the final of Euro 2020, which they ultimately lost to Italy on penalties as the striker continues to be frustrated in his search for silverware.

As a result, a big-money move to replace the outgoing Sergio Aguero at City appeared to be on the cards for the 28-year-old, with Kane missing a portion of pre-season training as negotiations rumbled on.

However, Spurs held firm and Kane remained in north London, prompting criticism of his brother's handling of the situation – something the England captain found difficult to deal with.

"Whatever the circumstance, whenever there is stuff being written about your family, it's always maybe a little bit difficult to take, especially when it's stuff that's negative," Kane said.

"In the summer, there was a lot of stuff about my brother being my agent. That's where we stick together. I know what he does for me as an agent, I know what he does for me as a brother, and that's all that matters. The rest is just noise.

"When things are difficult, it's important that you talk about it and not just hide it and suck it up. But it's important that you have people around you that you can trust to do that. That's what I’ve got."

Kane has looked a shadow of his former self this term, managing just one goal and one assist in 10 Premier League appearances. 

Nuno Espirito Santo was replaced by Antonio Conte with Spurs ninth in the table, and Kane feels that he is now in the right frame of mind to put an end to his poor form.

"I’ve always tried to deal with things in this way – good or bad, just open up," Kane said. "Overall, I feel like mentally I am in a good place, and I'm really ready to go over this tough period in the winter."

Kane is in Gareth Southgate's England squad for their remaining World Cup qualifiers, facing Albania on Friday and San Marino on Monday.

The Three Lions are three points clear of Poland at the top of Group I, meaning four points would guarantee qualification regardless of other results.

What does the future hold for Kylian Mbappe?

The Paris Saint-Germain forward has long been tipped to join Real Madrid.

Madrid are reportedly preparing another approach for the France forward.

 

TOP STORY – MADRID PUSHING FOR MBAPPE

Real Madrid will make another move for Paris Saint-Germain star Kylian Mbappe, according to the front page of Friday's Mundo Deportivo.

Madrid have made no secret of their interest, while Mbappe – who will become a free agent at the end of the campaign – revealed he wanted to leave PSG for Los Blancos at the start of the season.

With Mbappe's contract winding down, LaLiga giants Madrid are stepping up their pursuit.

 

ROUND-UP  

- Mundo Deportivo and Sport claim Barcelona are closing in on the signing for Manchester City attacker Raheem Sterling. The England international has found himself down the pecking order in Manchester.

Arsenal are interested in Fiorentina star Dusan Vlahovic, but there have been no talks with the Serbia international's agents, reports Fabrizio Romano. Vlahovic is also wanted by City, Atletico Madrid, Juventus, Inter and Tottenham.

- Staying at Emirates Stadium, Gianluca Di Marzio says Arsenal are ready to make a move for Juventus sensation Dejan Kulusevski.

Roma, Milan, Atalanta and Napoli are eyeing Sassuolo winger Jeremie Boga, per Foot Mercato.

- Milan are readying contract renewals for Theo Hernandez, Ismael Bennacer and Rafael Leao, claims Gazzetta dello Sport.

- According to The Sun, Manchester United are hoping to beat Barca to Milan midfielder Franck Kessie on a free transfer. Kessie has also been linked with PSG, Arsenal, Tottenham, Inter and Atletico.

Manchester City star Kevin De Bruyne revealed the Premier League champions only trained for 10 minutes before outclassing neighbours Manchester United in the derby.

Prior to the international break, City completely outplayed United in a 2-0 victory at Old Trafford, where De Bruyne and his team-mates humbled their bitter rivals thanks to Eric Bailly's own goal and a Bernardo Silva effort.

Pep Guardiola's City – who have won more away Premier League games at Old Trafford than any other team (eight) – enjoyed 67.4 per cent possession and had five shots on target compared to just one for the Red Devils.

On international duty with Belgium, De Bruyne spoke about City's preparations for the Manchester derby.

"The day before a game we usually train tactically, based on how the opponent plays," De Bruyne told the MidMid podcast.

"But before United, Pep said: 'We don’t know how they are going to play. We shall see'. And we stopped training after 10 minutes or so.

"Often Pep knows how the opponent is going to play. This time he didn’t know, so he didn’t know what to do.

"We have done what we always do, but he didn’t know beforehand if they would play with five at the back, or with four, or with a diamond in the middle, or with three up front."

City are second in the Premier League after 11 rounds – three points behind leaders Chelsea, while United are sixth and nine points off the pace.

England and Tottenham star Harry Kane believes he coped well with the transfer speculation linking him to Premier League champions Manchester City.

Kane was heavily tipped to join City, but a move did not materialise during the previous transfer window and the Tottenham forward has struggled for form this season.

The 28-year-old had initially not returned for pre-season training and while he has committed to Spurs for the time being, Kane has looked a shadow of his usual self in London, where Antonio Conte has since replaced Nuno Espirito Santo in the dugout.

Kane has scored only one goal in the Premier League – last month's 3-2 win over Newcastle United, while he has netted seven across all competitions this term, including five in the Europa Conference League.

On the eve of England's World Cup qualifier against Albania on Friday, Kane was asked about his Euro 2020 hangover.

"Obviously, there's a lot of talk and a lot of speculation over the summer, the first real time that probably happened to me in my career," Kane told reporters after featuring in England's run to the Euro 2020 final, which they lost to Italy.

"But that's part and parcel of learning, that's part and parcel of being a big player, having to deal with those situations. And I think I dealt with it well. And now it's just about focusing.

"There is still a long way to go at club level. And now, for me, it's just about finishing these two games strongly with England and finish off what's been a great calendar year."

Kane – whose Spurs are ninth in the table and six points adrift of the top four during the international break – added: "Whether I'm doing really well or the goals aren't quite coming, it's just to work hard, train hard, work hard for the team. And that's what I've done my whole career.

"Obviously, there's not been many spells, for example, for club not scoring as many as I've scored so far this year. But in terms of an England calendar year, it's been a great year for me personally, and I hope to continue that tomorrow night."

England face Albania in Group I, knowing a win would see them move within a point of qualifying for Qatar 2022, assuming second-placed Poland do not fail to win in Andorra.

Gareth Southgate's England are unbeaten in their last 18 matches in all competitions – their best undefeated run since going 19 in a row without defeat between November 1965 and November 1966.

This will be Southgate's 67th match in charge of England – the joint-most of any England manager since Bobby Robson left in 1990, equalling Sven-Goran Eriksson's tally between 2001 and 2006.

Southgate has already won more games (42) than Eriksson (40), with only Sam Allardyce (100 per cent) and Fabio Capello (67 per cent) having a better win ratio for England than Southgate (64 per cent).

Kane added: "It's always about getting back to the basics, getting back to the training pitch, working hard there and doing my best. Obviously, we play a lot of games throughout the year. There's not much time to recover and reflect on things.

"So any time you can just get on that training pitch, work on a few things, get back to what you know best is important, and that's definitely what I try to do."

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