Sports

Klopp Shocked As Liverpool Concede Seven Goals at Aston Villa

Published

6 years ago

October 5, 2020

Eric

Jurgen Klopp admitted his surprise at Liverpool’s stunning collapse to lose 7-2 at Aston Villa on Sunday.

Ollie Watkins scored a first-half hat-trick as the Reds became the first reigning English champions to concede seven goals in a league match since 1953.

“It was unexpected but it happened tonight,” said Klopp. “We put all our rubbish things and mistakes in one game and hopefully we can start again.”

Liverpool’s high line was torn apart by Villa’s counter-attack, while the absence of goalkeeper Alisson Becker to injury and Sadio Mane due to a positive coronavirus test was notable.

The Reds were not beaten until their 28th league game in romping to the title last season and had won their opening three games of the new campaign.

Alisson’s absence made a telling impact after just four minutes to get Villa in front as Adrian’s poor pass was seized upon by Jack Grealish, who squared for Watkins to score his first Premier League goal.

“The first goal had an impact, but it shouldn’t,” added Klopp. “Adrian made a mistake but we conceded goals like this in the past. We lost the plot then.”

Despite a two-week layoff until they play again, Klopp has little time to make corrections on the training field with most of his squad away on international duty.

On their return, Liverpool travel to top-of-the-table Everton, who will be looking to win a Merseyside derby for the first time in a decade.

“I would love to have a training session tomorrow and Tuesday and to talk about it, but the boys go back off to international duty,” said Klopp. “Hopefully they come back healthy and we use the two days to prepare for Everton.”

‘Wow’
Grealish was again the creator for Watkins’ second with a long ball down the side of the Liverpool defence and the former Brentford striker cut inside before blasting into the top corner.

Mohamed Salah seemed to have got the visitors a foothold back in the match when he slammed home on his trusty left-foot.

But Villa quickly restored their two-goal cushion when John McGinn’s effort from the edge of the area deflected in off Virgil van Dijk.

Liverpool’s high line was being caught out even from set plays as six minutes before the break Trezeguet broke the offside trap to cross for Watkins to become the first player in a decade to score a hat-trick against Liverpool.

“When Jurgen Klopp says ‘wow’ to you you know you’ve done something right,” said Villa boss Dean Smith. “The lads were superb, they executed the game plan perfectly. We were at our best today.”

Fortune favoured Villa’s desire not to just sit on their lead after the break as Ross Barkley’s long-range effort looped over the helpless Adrian to make it 5-1.

Salah remained razor sharp in front of goal to move one away from 100 for Liverpool with a brilliant finish from Roberto Firmino’s pass.

Klopp moved midfielder Firmino into his back four early in the second-half, but it did nothing to stem the flow of Villa attacks cutting through his defence.

Grealish completed a hat-trick of deflected goals when his shot hit Fabinho to wrong-foot Adrian again.

Watkins missed two huge chances to score his fourth as Adrian saved a one-on-one before he hit the crossbar.

Grealish, though, was more clinical when he raced through to round off a remarkable victory.

Villa stayed up by a single point on the final day of last season, but they have now won their opening three games of the new league campaign to move up to second.

“We won’t get complacent but we’ll enjoy tonight because results like that don’t come around too often,” added Smith.

Sports

FIFA Lists Six Females Among 52 Referees for 2026 World Cup

Published

4 weeks ago

April 10, 2026

Eric

FIFA on Thursday unveiled its list of match officials for the June 11-July 19 World Cup, including 52 referees, six of whom are women.

Football’s governing body will also take 88 assistant referees and 30 video match officials, who hail from all six confederations and 50 member associations.

“The selected match officials are the very best in the world,” said Pierluigi Collina, FIFA’s chief refereeing officer.

“They were part of a wider pool of officials that was identified and monitored over the past three years. They have attended seminars and officiated at FIFA tournaments.

“In addition, their performances in domestic and international matches were regularly assessed.”

The World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico will be the biggest in history, with a 48-team line-up and 104 matches to be played.

There are 41 more match officials than at Qatar four years ago, where 32 teams played 64 matches.

“The fact that six women match officials have been selected continues a trend that was started four years ago in Qatar as we aim to further develop women’s refereeing,” Collina said, with six women having already refereed in 2022.

AFP

Sports

AFCON 2025: CAS Overturns CAF Verdict

Published

1 month ago

March 25, 2026

Eric

African football has been plunged into fresh uncertainty after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) provisionally suspended a controversial ruling that stripped Senegal of their Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) title and awarded it to Morocco.

In an interim decision issued on Monday, CAS accepted Senegal’s appeal against the Confederation of African Football (CAF) Appeals Board and ordered a “freeze” on the implementation of its verdict.

The move effectively places the 2025 AFCON title in legal limbo pending a full hearing.

The dispute stems from a chaotic final played in January 2026, where the Teranga Lions of Senegal defeated the hosts, the Atlas Lions of Morocco, 1–0 after extra time. The match took a dramatic turn late on when a contentious penalty was awarded to Morocco.

Although the spot kick was missed, Senegal’s players briefly walked off the pitch in protest, prompting confusion before play eventually resumed, and the match was concluded. Weeks later, Morocco’s federation challenged the outcome, citing provisions within AFCON regulations relating to match forfeiture.

On March 17, CAF’s Appeals Board ruled in Morocco’s favour, declaring that Senegal’s walk-off constituted a breach severe enough to forfeit the match. The result was overturned to a 3–0 victory for Morocco, with Senegal stripped of the title.

Senegal swiftly condemned the decision as unjust and escalated the matter to CAS, arguing that the sanction was disproportionate and undermined the integrity of the on-field result.

CAS has now sided, at least temporarily, with Senegal’s request for urgent intervention.

By granting provisional measures, the tribunal signalled that enforcing CAF’s ruling before a full hearing could cause irreparable harm, particularly in a case involving the revocation of a major continental title.

The immediate consequence is that AFCON 2025 currently has no officially recognised champion. The trophy remains unassigned while legal proceedings continue.

Sports

AFCON 2025: George Weah Urges CAS to Overrule CAF’s Verdict

Published

2 months ago

March 21, 2026

Eric

African football legend George Weah has criticised the Confederation of African Football (CAF) for stripping Senegal of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) title and awarding it to Morocco.

CAF’s Appeal Board overturned Senegal’s 1–0 victory in the Rabat final after ruling that the team’s walk-off during a late penalty incident constituted a forfeit. The result was subsequently recorded as a 3–0 win in favour of Morocco, crowning the hosts as champions.

Reacting to the decision, Weah, a former Ballon d’Or winner and three-time African Player of the Year, argued that match outcomes should be determined on the pitch, not in post-match rulings.

“In football, the referee on the pitch is the final authority. Once a match is completed, the result obtained on the field must stand,” he said.

Weah warned that overturning completed matches sets a dangerous precedent for the sport.

“There is no sporting justification to nullify a match completed under the referee’s authority.

Otherwise, we risk a slippery slope where committee decisions override on-field calls,” he added.

The former AC Milan forward further stated that the ruling undermines the integrity and credibility of African football, raising concerns over fairness and consistency.