Liverpool defender Joel Matip will miss the
remainder of the season due to a foot injury, the Premier League
champions said on Tuesday.

Centre back Matip, who has been
limited to 13 games in all competitions this season, sustained the
injury during Liverpool’s goalless draw with local rivals Everton
earlier this month.

He also missed their 4-0 home win over Crystal Palace last week.

Some predict Liverpool are on the cusp of an
era of domination, but former Arsenal title winner Gilberto Silva says
Juergen Klopp’s team must now prepare for life as a target.

The
Brazilian knows the feeling of playing for a dominant force in England,
having been an integral part of Arsenal’s Invincibles who went through
the 2003-04 season without losing a match on their way to the title.

Barcelona coach Quique Setien insists his
relationship with the players is good, despite reports of unrest in the
dressing room and tension between Lionel Messi and Setien’s assistant,
Eder Sarabia.

An angry exchange of views reportedly followed
Barca’s 2-2 draw at Celta Vigo on Saturday, a result that allowed Real
Madrid to go two points clear at the top of La Liga by beating Espanyol.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is bracing himself for
the loss of teenage midfielder Angel Gomes, whose Manchester United
contract expires on Tuesday.

The highly rated 19-year-old came
through the academy at Old Trafford and made his debut aged 16 in May
2017, becoming the youngest player since Duncan Edwards in the 1950s to
feature for the first team.

Liverpool are no longer burdened by their
painful 30-year title drought and have written a new chapter in the
club’s history after they were confirmed as Premier League champions,
manager Jurgen Klopp said on Friday.

The Anfield club, who
dominated English soccer in the 1970s and 1980s, last won the old First
Division title in 1990, but have finished as runners-up five times
since.

Liverpool deserved to be crowned Premier
League champions after showing remarkable consistency this season and
Jurgen Klopp’s side are a model for other clubs looking to improve every
year, Southampton boss Ralph Hasenhuettl said on Friday.

Liverpool’s
first league title in 30 years was confirmed on Thursday when Chelsea
beat second-placed Manchester City to give Klopp’s side an unassailable
23-point lead with seven games left.

Klopp, who took over the Anfield club in the 2015-16 season, steadily improved the side and has since won the Champions League last season followed by the much-awaited league title this year.

“Big congratulations from my side, he did an amazing job,” Hasenhuettl said in a virtual news conference.

“What
he did the last four years there is amazing. It’s kind of a role model
to every other club, what you can do if you develop and if you work on
your weaknesses and try to get better every year. It was a logical step
to become the champion now.

“It wasn’t really so surprising for me
that it will happen this season because it was clear for a long time
that they will be the champion this season. They have shown the most
consistency.”

Southampton, who lost 2-0 to Arsenal on Thursday,
are 14th in the standings ahead of Sunday’s trip to Watford and
Hasenhuettl said Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Sofiane Boufal will be
assessed after picking up injuries.

“We’ll need some fresh players
for the weekend,” the Austrian manager said. “Yesterday was intense and
we’ll be against a side fighting for their life.”

Hasenhuettl
also said the club had not yet decided on Kyle Walker-Peters’ future
after Tottenham Hotspur confirmed the 23-year-old defender’s loan at the
south-coast club was extended until the end of the season.

“We
have him on loan here, so we will give him more moments to show up,”
Hasenhuettl added. “We then have to make a decision this summer.”

Liverpool still have some work to do before clinching the Premier League title and have no intention of easing down a gear with the finish line in sight, full back Trent Alexander-Arnold said after Wednesday’s 4-0 home win over Crystal Palace.

Goals
from Alexander-Arnold, Mohamed Salah, Fabinho and Sadio Mane left
Liverpool needing two points to secure their first English league title
in 30 years.

Veteran defender David Luiz has signed a new one-year deal with Arsenal, the Premier League club announced on Wednesday.

The 33-year-old Brazil international joined the Gunners last year from Chelsea on an initial 12-month deal.

Manchester City’s Argentina striker Sergio Aguero will have knee surgery on Thursday and it was not clear when he will be fit again, manager Pep Guardiola said on Wednesday.

The club’s record goalscorer limped off with the injury in Monday’s 5-0 Premier League home win over Burnley.

Jose Mourinho launched an impassioned defence of Harry Kane’s form under his playing style at Tottenham Hotspur after pundit Paul Merson suggested the England striker would struggle to score goals in the Portuguese manager’s system.

Merson, a pundit with Sky Sports, said
26-year-old Kane would consider switching clubs if Mourinho continued
adopting a conservative style in the Premier League, like they did in
their 1-1 draw with Manchester United last week.