Adam Lallana said Liverpool’s last-ditch victory against Monterrey was another example of the team’s remarkable resolve, as they look now to their Brazilians for inside information on how to win the Fifa Club World Cup.
The European champions came through a nervy semi-final against Mexican side Monterrey in Doha on Wednesday night, requiring an injury-time winner from substitute Roberto Firmino to triumph 2-1. The forward had been on the pitch for only six minutes.
A slightly unfamiliar Liverpool side had initially taken the lead via Naby Keita’s early strike, but conceded two minutes later having failed to clear a Monterrey free-kick. From there, goalkeeper Alisson repelled Antonio Mohamed's men before the Concacaf champions tired in the closing stages.
Chasing a first Club World Cup crown, Liverpool face Brazil giants Flamengo in the final on Saturday after the Copa Libertadores winners saw off Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal on Tuesday.
Lallana will be sure to expect another significant show of personality from his team when the two clubs face off at the Khalifa International Stadium.
“That’s no coincidence, the amount of late goals we’ve got this season,” the midfielder said. “That’s pure mentality and character.
“Difficult game tonight, different opposition at times, but the lads dug deep and, with the changes we made, we had impact. And Bobby was tremendous when he came on and nicked the goal for us.”
Asked about the threat posed by Flamengo, Lallana said Liverpool could lean on their own Brazilian contingent to help get the victory.
“We watched them the other night,” he said. “I’m sure Bobby and Alisson can give us some information. But we’ll recover now. Obviously it was nice that we got the goal before extra-time, with a quick turnaround.”
No doubt, Liverpool will hope to have Virgil van Dijk back for the final. The Dutch defender was struck down by illness and therefore had to sit out the match with Monterrey, meaning Jordan Henderson filled in at centre-back.
Nominally a central midfielder, the captain performed admirably to impress his teammates.
"I thought Jordan Henderson was a different class," left-back Andy Robertson said. "First game he’s ever played there probably in his professional career and he stepped in - we tried to help him as much as he can and I hope he felt that we did that.
“I think Virgil’s tucked up in bed, so hopefully he’s had a good night’s rest and come Saturday hopefully he’ll be fine. Just delighted to be in the final now.”
On Saturday’s opponents, Robertson added: “We watched them in their semi-final last night: first half, they struggled against a good team, but second half they were very dominant and amazing, played a great second half.
“We know they’ve got fantastic players; we know it’s going to be a tough game. We probably need to play better than tonight. But we’ve got a couple of days to prepare for that and hopefully we can do it.”
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Celta Vigo 2
Castro (45'), Aspas (82')
Barcelona 2
Dembele (36'), Alcacer (64')
Red card: Sergi Roberto (Barcelona)
Getting%20there
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Scoreline:
Cardiff City 0
Liverpool 2
Wijnaldum 57', Milner 81' (pen)
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Astra%20Tech%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMarch%202022%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDubai%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAbdallah%20Abu%20Sheikh%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20technology%20investment%20and%20development%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%20size%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%24500m%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Madrid Open schedule
Men's semi-finals
Novak Djokovic (1) v Dominic Thiem (5) from 6pm
Stefanos Tsitsipas (8) v Rafael Nadal (2) from 11pm
Women's final
Simona Halep (3) v Kiki Bertens (7) from 8.30pm