Liverpool's Xherdan Shaqiri celebrates scoring their third goal in a 3-1 win over Burnley at Turf Moor. Reuters
Liverpool's Xherdan Shaqiri celebrates scoring their third goal in a 3-1 win over Burnley at Turf Moor. Reuters
Liverpool's Xherdan Shaqiri celebrates scoring their third goal in a 3-1 win over Burnley at Turf Moor. Reuters
Liverpool's Xherdan Shaqiri celebrates scoring their third goal in a 3-1 win over Burnley at Turf Moor. Reuters

Being bold the best way to keep pace with Manchester City, says Liverpool's Xherdan Shaqiri


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Forward Xherdan Shaqiri believes Liverpool have to continue to be brave in their approach if they are to maintain the pressure on Manchester City.

Jurgen Klopp's side responded to going behind at Burnley by scoring twice in seven second-half minutes as they eventually won 3-1 on a testing night at Turf Moor.

It gave Liverpool their best ever start to a league season after 15 games, with 39 points accumulated.

Klopp knew they had to win against a struggling team who had not tasted victory since September and, at 1-1, sent on Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah, with one tweak seeing midfielder James Milner drop in to replace substituted left-back Alberto Moreno.

It allowed the visitors to maintain their pressure and Burnley cracked again soon after.

Shaqiri believes they have to retain that mindset in every game.

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"We have to be brave in these games. We know we are going to have a lot of possession, but obviously we have to defend well," said the Switzerland international.

"At half time he [Klopp] just said we have to be more in the game, more lively in the game, and to win the ball more because a lot times we played not forward but back.

"They scored - I don't know if it was a foul [on the goalkeeper] or not, but they decided to give the goal.

"We stayed calm and tried to manage the game and stay in the game and in the end we deserved to win.

"We weren't exactly perfect on the ball, but in the second half we did better and we managed the game very well and then we scored three goals.

"It was most important to take three points from here, which we know is not simple, so in the end we are happy."

Klopp made seven changes, resting Salah and Firmino, but the gamble ultimately paid off as the German seeks to manage his squad for 10 matches in five weeks.

Midfielder Naby Keita made his first start since mid-September and showed why Liverpool paid £53 million (Dh248m) and were willing to wait a year for his delayed arrival from RB Leipzig with a commanding performance in the final third after the break.

Considering another summer signing Fabinho, who cost £43m, was on the bench after arguably his best game for the club in Sunday's Merseyside derby, Klopp's options in the centre look strong.

"Definitely," added Shaqiri. "It was a very important game, the coach said that to us, and it gave a lot of players confidence to play this game and we managed it well.

"Obviously it is not simple for the other players who did not play for a long time so in the first half they needed time to come into the game, but after that we managed it well and you can see we have a very strong team where everyone can play."

Klopp hit out at Burnley's physical approach as Liverpool were left with a major injury worry ahead of Saturday's match at Bourenmouth.

Joe Gomez faces a spell on the sidelines after the England defender was carried off early in at Turf Moor.

Gomez will have scans on an injured left ankle following a full-blooded challenge from defender Ben Mee.

"Burnley had a specific plan to be really aggressive and really physical," Klopp said.

"Joe is injured, and probably not only a little bit. We have to see what he's like. We don't know at the moment and we have to see tomorrow. It's his ankle."

Burnley manager Sean Dyche made no apologies for his side's approach as the hosts picked up just one yellow card and played-down suggestions of a spat with Klopp at the final whistle.

"I just said to him 'well done'. That was it," Dyche said.

The latest defeat, Burnley's 10th in 15 games, leaves the Clarets second from bottom ahead of Saturday's match at home to Brighton & Hove Albion.

"The reaction from our supporters at the end showed me they are still very much with us and that display was more like the standards we know we're capable of," Dyche said.

If you go…

Emirates launched a new daily service to Mexico City this week, flying via Barcelona from Dh3,995.

Emirati citizens are among 67 nationalities who do not require a visa to Mexico. Entry is granted on arrival for stays of up to 180 days. 

Premier League results

Saturday

Tottenham Hotspur 1 Arsenal 1

Bournemouth 0 Manchester City 1

Brighton & Hove Albion 1 Huddersfield Town 0

Burnley 1 Crystal Palace 3

Manchester United 3 Southampton 2

Wolverhampton Wanderers 2 Cardiff City 0

West Ham United 2 Newcastle United 0

Sunday

Watford 2 Leicester City 1

Fulham 1 Chelsea 2

Everton 0 Liverpool 0

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Five hymns the crowds can join in

Papal Mass will begin at 10.30am at the Zayed Sports City Stadium on Tuesday

Some 17 hymns will be sung by a 120-strong UAE choir

Five hymns will be rehearsed with crowds on Tuesday morning before the Pope arrives at stadium

‘Christ be our Light’ as the entrance song

‘All that I am’ for the offertory or during the symbolic offering of gifts at the altar

‘Make me a Channel of your Peace’ and ‘Soul of my Saviour’ for the communion

‘Tell out my Soul’ as the final hymn after the blessings from the Pope

The choir will also sing the hymn ‘Legions of Heaven’ in Arabic as ‘Assakiroo Sama’

There are 15 Arabic speakers from Syria, Lebanon and Jordan in the choir that comprises residents from the Philippines, India, France, Italy, America, Netherlands, Armenia and Indonesia

The choir will be accompanied by a brass ensemble and an organ

They will practice for the first time at the stadium on the eve of the public mass on Monday evening 

How to play the stock market recovery in 2021?

If you are looking to build your long-term wealth in 2021 and beyond, the stock market is still the best place to do it as equities powered on despite the pandemic.

Investing in individual stocks is not for everyone and most private investors should stick to mutual funds and ETFs, but there are some thrilling opportunities for those who understand the risks.

Peter Garnry, head of equity strategy at Saxo Bank, says the 20 best-performing US and European stocks have delivered an average return year-to-date of 148 per cent, measured in local currency terms.

Online marketplace Etsy was the best performer with a return of 330.6 per cent, followed by communications software company Sinch (315.4 per cent), online supermarket HelloFresh (232.8 per cent) and fuel cells specialist NEL (191.7 per cent).

Mr Garnry says digital companies benefited from the lockdown, while green energy firms flew as efforts to combat climate change were ramped up, helped in part by the European Union’s green deal. 

Electric car company Tesla would be on the list if it had been part of the S&P 500 Index, but it only joined on December 21. “Tesla has become one of the most valuable companies in the world this year as demand for electric vehicles has grown dramatically,” Mr Garnry says.

By contrast, the 20 worst-performing European stocks fell 54 per cent on average, with European banks hit by the economic fallout from the pandemic, while cruise liners and airline stocks suffered due to travel restrictions.

As demand for energy fell, the oil and gas industry had a tough year, too.

Mr Garnry says the biggest story this year was the “absolute crunch” in so-called value stocks, companies that trade at low valuations compared to their earnings and growth potential.

He says they are “heavily tilted towards financials, miners, energy, utilities and industrials, which have all been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic”. “The last year saw these cheap stocks become cheaper and expensive stocks have become more expensive.” 

This has triggered excited talk about the “great value rotation” but Mr Garnry remains sceptical. “We need to see a breakout of interest rates combined with higher inflation before we join the crowd.”

Always remember that past performance is not a guarantee of future returns. Last year’s winners often turn out to be this year’s losers, and vice-versa.

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Sri Lanka-India Test series schedule
  • 1st Test India won by 304 runs at Galle
  • 2nd Test India won by innings and 53 runs at Colombo
  • 3rd Test August 12-16 at Pallekele
Polarised public

31% in UK say BBC is biased to left-wing views

19% in UK say BBC is biased to right-wing views

19% in UK say BBC is not biased at all

Source: YouGov

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Pot 1: Iran, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, China
Pot 2: Iraq, Uzbekistan, Syria, Oman, Lebanon, Kyrgyz Republic, Vietnam, Jordan
Pot 3: Palestine, India, Bahrain, Thailand, Tajikistan, North Korea, Chinese Taipei, Philippines
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Pot 5: Indonesia, Singapore, Nepal, Cambodia, Bangladesh, Mongolia, Guam, Macau/Sri Lanka

Sole survivors
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  • George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
  • Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
  • Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
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