While Jurgen Klopp had told Liverpool to enjoy the ride, they can now enjoy the sight at the top of the table still more.
Klopp’s league leaders had the smoothest of journeys to victory over Newcastle United, but Manchester City’s defeat to Leicester City put them seven points clear of the defending champions and six ahead of Tottenham Hotspur.
“It is good that we have six points more than the other teams but it means nothing,” a cautious Klopp insisted. “We have Arsenal and City next.”
Yet he nevertheless branded it a “perfect day; not a perfect performance, but pretty good.” He may disagree, but Liverpool seem to have a new status: favourites in the title race.
Klopp already has a different distinction, as Liverpool’s latest centurion. The previous manager to record 100 wins in charge was the German’s latest victim, Rafa Benitez.
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By the end, the Liverpool fans were chorusing the name of the Spaniard, their most recent Champions League winner, but this is another era. A banner in the Kop declared they were “Jurgener Believers” and it is little wonder belief is mounting. “We want to create our own history,” said Klopp. They just might.
“They are good enough to win the title,” said Benitez. “If you want to win a league title, you have to be consistent and they can do it.”
An eighth consecutive league win is proof of that. It was both emphatic and proved ideal preparation for tougher tests.
Fabinho, who will surely start against Arsenal, was granted an hour’s rest and still came off the bench to register his first Liverpool goal.
“They have a very good squad,” said Benitez.
Xherdan Shaqiri is a case in point. He had been the match-winning impact substitute in the previous Anfield game against Manchester United but started and scored, tapping in a cross from the fit-again Trent Alexander-Arnold. This time, and while he had tested Martin Dubravka with a deflected free kick, the Swiss merely garnished the scoreline.
The main damage was done earlier. A feature of Klopp’s football has been Liverpool’s willingness to defend from the front, with Roberto Firmino’s incessant running.
They now attack from the back. For the second successive game, a central defender supplied the sort of finish to delight any striker. It was Virgil van Dijk at Wolves, Dejan Lovren against Newcastle.
The Croatian latched on to Jamaal Lascelles’ headed clearance to connect with the sweetest of half-volleys. It was still rising as it nestled in the net.
The directors’ box contained two of Liverpool’s greatest goalscorers – and two of Newcastle’s former managers – in Kevin Keegan, Kenny Dalglish and Alan Shearer, but, at their respective peaks, they would have struggled to better the finish.
Mohamed Salah’s sixth goal in five games and 25 in 28 Anfield league outings was more of a regulation strike, but nonetheless had a rarity.
It was the first penalty Liverpool converted at Anfield in the top flight since 2016. It was earned by Salah, who was nudged over by Paul Dummett, and slotted in by him. “A soft penalty changed everything,” lamented Benitez.
While he had adopted ultra-defensive tactics against Chelsea and Manchester City, his side were more open on his return to Anfield. It afforded them an early opportunity that Joselu headed wide.
“We had our chance and we didn’t take our chance,” rued Benitez. Perhaps the benched Salomon Rondon, who is superior in the air, would have scored.
Yet Liverpool’s subsequent goals were overshadowed by Ricardo Pereira’s winner for Leicester.
It brought a huge cheer at Anfield. “I thought it was because of us,” smiled Klopp. “I thought: ‘That is really nice, thank you very much.’”
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Company name: Play:Date
Launched: March 2017 on UAE Mother’s Day
Founder: Shamim Kassibawi
Based: Dubai with operations in the UAE and US
Sector: Tech
Size: 20 employees
Stage of funding: Seed
Investors: Three founders (two silent co-founders) and one venture capital fund
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- 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.
Arrogate's winning run
1. Maiden Special Weight, Santa Anita Park, June 5, 2016
2. Allowance Optional Claiming, Santa Anita Park, June 24, 2016
3. Allowance Optional Claiming, Del Mar, August 4, 2016
4. Travers Stakes, Saratoga, August 27, 2016
5. Breeders' Cup Classic, Santa Anita Park, November 5, 2016
6. Pegasus World Cup, Gulfstream Park, January 28, 2017
7. Dubai World Cup, Meydan Racecourse, March 25, 2017
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
What is blockchain?
Blockchain is a form of distributed ledger technology, a digital system in which data is recorded across multiple places at the same time. Unlike traditional databases, DLTs have no central administrator or centralised data storage. They are transparent because the data is visible and, because they are automatically replicated and impossible to be tampered with, they are secure.
The main difference between blockchain and other forms of DLT is the way data is stored as ‘blocks’ – new transactions are added to the existing ‘chain’ of past transactions, hence the name ‘blockchain’. It is impossible to delete or modify information on the chain due to the replication of blocks across various locations.
Blockchain is mostly associated with cryptocurrency Bitcoin. Due to the inability to tamper with transactions, advocates say this makes the currency more secure and safer than traditional systems. It is maintained by a network of people referred to as ‘miners’, who receive rewards for solving complex mathematical equations that enable transactions to go through.
However, one of the major problems that has come to light has been the presence of illicit material buried in the Bitcoin blockchain, linking it to the dark web.
Other blockchain platforms can offer things like smart contracts, which are automatically implemented when specific conditions from all interested parties are reached, cutting the time involved and the risk of mistakes. Another use could be storing medical records, as patients can be confident their information cannot be changed. The technology can also be used in supply chains, voting and has the potential to used for storing property records.
