Latest editorial
Liverpool's Virgil van Dijk (right) celebrates scoring their side's fourth goal of the game with team-mates during the Carabao Cup Semi-Final, second leg match at Anfield, Liverpool, February 6, 2025
IT WAS put to Virgil van Dijk after the Merseyside derby win against Everton on Wednesday that Liverpool’s season might seem less special due to recent defeats in the Champions League and League Cup.
It is a narrative that has been doing the rounds lately, and one Van Dijk is right to want to change.
Ironically, if Liverpool had gone out of the League Cup early and had not been so dominant in the league phase of the Champions League, their season might be held in higher regard than it currently is in some quarters.
In some ways, they are being criticised for their own success. These high-profile defeats only happen to good teams who are able to progress in multiple competitions, and, as Van Dijk says, those cup defeats should not take away from a so far special league season.
“So you’re suggesting this season is not going to be special any more?” Van Dijk said, answering a question posed post-match by Michael Owen.
“I think we have to change that narrative a little bit.
As football grapples with overloaded calendars and commercial pressure, the Mariners’ triumph reminds us why the game’s soul lives far from the spotlight, writes JAMES NALTON
As the concept of league games being played overseas has come about once again, JAMES NALTON writes how a club is not a club without its links to location, community and fans
Vermont Green FC’s viral Bernie Sanders tifo was more than a joke. It was a sharp critique of US soccer’s top-heavy capitalism and a celebration of grassroots power, writes JAMES NALTON
