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Celtic went ahead after 28 minutes when Arne Engels sent Nick Pope the wrong way from the penalty spot after being brought down by Joe Willock inside the box.
Keeper Pope made a major error to gift the hosts a second just before half-time, rushing off his line and failing with an attempt to head a long ball clear to allow Johnny Kenny to pass it into the empty net.
The starting point of Liverpool’s move for Ekitike arrived at the end of last season.
They’d just lifted their second Premier League trophy – scoring 86 goals in the process, the most of any top-flight club that campaign.
Mohamed Salah, their main source of goals, had just signed a new contract, as well.
So there seemed little logic in spending heavily on a new goalscorer. But Arne Slot had other
As shown in the graph above, in the three seasons prior to 2024-25 Liverpool made net transfer spends of -£17.8m, £92.5m and £49.8m.
For context, Manchester United have had a net spend of £119m, £133m and £190m over their past three campaigns.
“Liverpool have been outside the top-10 spenders on player signings since 2019, but their model is a classic case of being smarter rather than bigger,” said Maguire.
“Liverpool’s
Isak, 25, joined Newcastle from Real Sociedad in 2022 for £63m.
He is their record purchase and Newcastle supporters will tell you he has been worth every penny.
Over the past three seasons he has scored 54 league goals and that strike rate has led to him regularly been linked with a move.
During the second half of last season Ekitike, like Isak, played as a lone striker. The 23-year-old
Possibly the easiest choice of all time for a player’s inclusion in a statistical team of the season, Salah enjoyed one of the finest individual seasons in Premier League history. Many of his astonishing records from 24-25 may not be beaten for many years.
The Egyptian was involved in 47 Premier League goals (29 goals, 18 assists), a record in a 38-game campaign to overtake the 44 goal and assist
William Saliba (Arsenal), Ezri Konsa (Aston Villa) and Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool): Three exceptional centre-backs and leaders – it’s not necessarily about picking captains but figureheads from a defensive point of view. The team will only be as good as these three guys defend. Van Dijk obviously won the league, and signed a new Liverpool deal. In my opinion, he’s the best centre-back in world football. Konsa is growing
Emi Martinez, Aston Villa, keeper, £5m – Nottingham Forest (h)
The Argentine kept just his fourth clean sheet of the season in Wednesday’s win at Brighton but he is a differential keeper option for this week and the rest of the season.
Villa face goal-shy Southampton next week before a double in 33.
Forest are not an easy opponent for Villa but they are definitely not as threatening without injured
Portsmouth have signed free-agent defender Alexander Milosevic on a deal until the end of the season.
The 33-year-old former Sweden international had a short stint at Nottingham Forest in 2019 and has been without a club since leaving Swedish side AIK last year.
“The injuries we’ve suffered means we’re short on defensive options going into the final stage of the campaign,” Pompey boss John Mousinho said., external
“We scoured
Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool): This is the first time you’re going to hear me say this and probably the last. I was at the game and I would pay a huge amount of money to watch that. He was incredible: passing range, fitness, endeavour, defensive work as well as attacking work. He hit the bar. I thought he was excellent. Player of the weekend by a country mile.
Josko Gvardiol (Manchester
Life could hardly be much better for Newcastle fans right now.
The Magpies are on a club record-equalling nine-match winning run in all competitions, they have one of the hottest strikers in world football at their disposal in Alexander Isak, and they are back in the top four of the Premier League for the first time since September.
In-form Isak became the first Newcastle player to score in eight successive