Jurgen Klopp emphasised Caoimhin Kelleher’s importance to Liverpool’s trophy hunt in the ongoing absence of first-choice goalkeeper Alisson.

The Republic of Ireland international impressed in Saturday’s 4-1 win at Brentford that ensured the Reds stayed top of the Premier League.

It was his second conservative start, with Alisson having missed the last two games – first with illness and then a muscle injury.

With 14 appearances so far in all competitions this has been by far the 25-year-old’s busiest season at Anfield, surpassing his previous best of eight games in 2021/22.

Kelleher is set to play in next weekend’s Carabao Cup final against Chelsea at Wembley having being selected in each of the team’s five matches in the competition.

He previously kept goal when Liverpool beat Sunday’s opponents on penalties in the final of the 2021/22 edition.

“He was outstanding (against Brentford),” said Klopp. “I don’t know exactly who is the number one for Ireland but if they have a better goalkeeper, respect. He’s outstanding. This year we gave him more games than he had previously. It’s well deserved.

“We need him. We need him with rhythm. Now the situation around Alisson shows that makes absolute sense. We will see how long Alisson is out, but Caoimhin is exceptional. (On Saturday) he had an A+ performance.”

Klopp said he had not previously planned to play Kelleher at the Gtech Stadium despite Sunday’s approaching showpiece at Wembley.

With the extent of Alisson’s injury currently unknown it is possible that the understudy will play when Liverpool welcome Luton to Anfield on Wednesday.

The Brazilian did not travel to Brentford, instead remaining at the club’s Melwood training complex to receive treatment.

“Alisson was ill last week and is injured this week,” said Klopp. “There’s absolutely no other ideas behind it. If Alisson would not have been ill and would not have been injured now, he would have played.

“We’ve had enough games to have a rhythm. Goalkeepers are a different breed to other people. It was not in my plan to play (Kelleher) at Luton.

“We play the game with all focus and attention. I don’t think about other things. It’s the only way I know.”

Klopp is currently dealing with an extensive injury list, made worse after Diogo Jota and Curtis Jones both left the stadium on Saturday on crutches.

Trent Alexander-Arnold and Dominik Szoboszlai are also amongst those unavailable in the coming weeks, while Thiago Alcantara and Joel Matip are longer-term absentees.

Erik ten Hag praised the character of Rasmus Hojlund after the 21-year-old scored twice in the first seven minutes to help Manchester United to a 2-1 Premier League win over Luton at Kenilworth Road.

After a slow beginning to his career at Old Trafford, the striker – signed from Atalanta for £72million – has now scored in six consecutive games to make it 13 goals in his first 30 outings for United, including seven in 20 in the league.

United made the perfect start against Rob Edwards’ side, taking the lead inside a minute when Amari’i Bell’s misjudged pass was latched onto by Hojlund, the Dane racing through and carrying the ball around goalkeeper Thomas Kaminski before rolling it into the empty goal.

And in no time the advantage was doubled, Hojlund again on target as he deflected Alejandro Garnacho’s effort from outside the box inside the near post with his chest.

Luton hit back and halved the arrears in the 14th minute. Former United player Tahith Chong collected the ball from Alfie Doughty and hit a shot that deflected up and into the path of skipper Carlton Morris, who got his head to the ball ahead of Andre Onana to make it 2-1.

Ten Hag’s side had chances to stretch their lead again after the break, most glaringly when Bruno Fernandes took the ball around Kaminski as the goalkeeper committed himself but saw his effort deflected away by a superb recovering block from Albert Sambi Lokonga.

On a day when United stretched their winning run in the league to four games to keep the pressure on Aston Villa and Tottenham in the race to qualify for the Champions League, Ten Hag picked out Hojlund for praise as he continues his adjustment to life in England.

“We are very happy with our recruitment, that we recruited the right character because he can perform under stress,” said Ten Hag.

“And when things go against him like in the first half of the season, he has the abilities to have a strong character, to be resilient, to be determined and score goals and that is what we saw when we scouted him.

“Of course, he needed some support because it’s not so easy when you’re so young but, in general, he kept calm and you see his abilities.”

It took Hojlund until Boxing Day to net his first league goal for United, scoring the late winner in a 3-2 comeback victory against Villa at Old Trafford.

Previously his only goals had come in the Champions League as the team crashed out of Europe before Christmas in last place in a tame group.

“In the start he didn’t have so much luck,” said Ten Hag. “He scored some goals, for instance, the one against Brighton, his first game, and they disallowed it and no one still knows why.

“There are moments that are very important in a new club and a new league, especially for a striker to build some confidence. That was not given but you see he is a fighter, he keeps going and he has great abilities in front of the goal.

“There are many ranges, areas, where he can improve but he has scoring abilities, that is clear. But what we have seen since September is he is improving in many other areas like holding up the ball.”

Luton boss Edwards reflected on a game in which his side were shellshocked by conceding a goal after only 37 seconds.

“It wobbled us and rocked us a little bit,” he said. “1-0 turned to 2-0 after about six minutes and you’re a little bit fearing the worst thinking ‘OK, how are we going to respond to this?’

“But I’ve got to give the players a lot of credit. They showed an air of calmness and belief, commitment to the game plan, and dragged themselves on to a really good performance.”

Dayot Upamecano was sent off for the second time in five days as Bayern Munich’s Bundesliga title challenge suffered a massive blow with a 3-2 defeat at lowly Bochum.

In a game twice disrupted by fan protests, Jamal Musiala gave the visitors an early lead, but Bochum hit back through Takuma Asano and Keven Schlotterbeck before Bayern defender Upamecano was sent off for a second bookable offence.

Kevin Stoger converted the resulting penalty and although Harry Kane pulled one back with his 25th goal of the season, Bochum held on for a famous win which eased their relegation fears and lifted them to 11th in the table.

Bayern’s third straight defeat in all competitions leaves them eight points adrift of leaders Bayer Leverkusen and increases the pressure on manager Thomas Tuchel, who had urged his players to “turn around the mood” against opponents they thrashed 7-0 in the reverse fixture in September.

The visitors duly dominated the early stages and deservedly opened the scoring in the 14th minute as Musiala rifled an unstoppable shot into the top corner after seeing his initial effort saved by Manuel Riemann.

Musiala then turned provider with a delightful pass with the outside of his right foot to set Kane racing clear, only for the England captain to blaze his shot high over the bar.

Kane felt the ball had bobbled just before he hit it and looked down in disgust at the Ruhrstadion turf, but that cut little ice with a furious Thomas Muller, who had been unmarked in acres of space to Kane’s right.

Play was then halted for around 15 minutes after fans threw tennis balls on to the pitch in the latest protests against a proposed deal to sell a stake in Bundesliga rights to a private equity investor.

Both sets of players were moved to the sidelines but it was Bayern who were caught cold when play eventually resumed, a swift counter-attack seeing Anthony Losilla set up Asano to fire a low shot across Manuel Neuer and into the bottom corner.

The home side suddenly had all the momentum and it was no surprise when they took the lead six minutes later, Schlotterbeck heading home from close range from Stoger’s corner.

Another protest delayed play by around eight minutes in the second half, Losilla going over to speak to some of the home fans before the players briefly headed to the dressing rooms.

Bayern reacted better to the second stoppage than they did the first, substitute Leroy Sane seeing his goalbound volley bravely blocked and Bryan Zaragoza’s effort saved by Riemann, but it was the home side who found the all-important next goal.

Upamecano, who was also sent off in the Champions League defeat at Lazio on Wednesday, picked up his second yellow card of the game for an elbow on Schlotterbeck as they jumped for the ball and Stoger made no mistake with the penalty, despite Neuer getting his left hand to the ball.

Kane pulled one back with a simple tap-in after being set up by Mathys Tel but could only direct a far-post header straight at Riemann in the second minute of stoppage time and Bochum clung on for the win.

Bayern Munich slumped to a 3-2 defeat at Bochum to remain eight points behind leaders Bayer Leverkusen.

Thomas Tuchel’s side – who were beaten 1-0 at Lazio in the first leg of their Champions League last 16 tie on Wednesday night – had taken the lead in the 15th minute through winger Jamal Musiala.

After Harry Kane blasted over when sent clear in the penalty area, the match was halted in the 22nd minute as tennis balls were thrown onto the pitch in another protest by supporters against a controversial plan to sell a stake in Bundesliga media rights.

Once the game resumed, Bochum equalised in the 38th minute through Japan forward Takuma Asano before Keven Schlotterbeck headed in from a corner just before the break.

The players were taken off again early in the second half following another protest of throwing tennis balls from the stands.

Bayern found themselves down to 10 men for the closing stages after defender Dayot Upamecano was shown a red card for raising his arm into the face of Schlotterbeck in the area. Kevin Stoger made no mistake from the resulting penalty.

Kane reduced the deficit in the 87th minute after being presented with a tap-in by substitute Mathys Tel for his 25th Bundesliga goal.

The England striker sent a header straight at the Bochum goalkeeper during eight minutes of stoppage time as Bayern slumped to a third straight defeat.

Earlier on Sunday, Michael Gregoritsch’s late equaliser saw Freiburg fight back to draw 3-3 against Eintracht Frankfurt at the Europa-Park Stadion.

Play was halted midway through the second half because of protests from fans – which saw remote-controlled planes flown around the stadium while sweets were thrown onto the pitch behind one of the goals.

When the action resumed, Ansgar Knauff’s second goal of the game had Frankfurt back in front at 3-2 with 20 minutes left, only for Gregoritsch to head in a last-minute equaliser.

LaLiga leaders Real Madrid were held to a 1-1 draw by lowly city neighbours Rayo Vallecano.

Los Blancos, without Jude Bellingham through injury, had taken an early lead through Joselu and looked all set to go eight points clear of Girona, who play at Athletic Bilbao on Monday night.

However, a 27th-minute penalty from Raul de Tomas proved enough for Rayo to earn a derby point in their first match under new boss Inigo Perez.

At the other end of the table, the bottom two sides Granada and Almeria cancelled each other out in a 1-1 draw at Los Carmenes.

Marc Pubill had given visitors Almeria a ninth-minute lead, but Myrto Uzuni equalised with 15 minutes left.

In Ligue 1, Mohamed Bamba scored a first-half brace as relegation-battlers Lorient won 3-1 at Strasbourg to move out of the drop zone.

Monaco saw their top-four ambitions dented with a 2-1 home defeat by Toulouse, with Logan Costa’s late goal securing the points for the visitors, who edged further clear of trouble.

A brace from Martin Terrier saw in-form Rennes beat 10-man Clermont 3-1 and continue their climb up the table.

Africa Cup of Nations winner Oumar Diakite marked his return to club action with a goal as Reims drew 1-1 at home against Lens while Montpellier beat Metz 3-0 at Stade de la Mosson.

In-form Rasmus Hojlund’s early brace proved enough for Manchester United to edge past battling Luton after their electric start threatened to turn into a chastening Kenilworth Road collapse.

Erik ten Hag’s Red Devils have enjoyed an unbeaten start to 2024 and are hoping for a brighter future under Sir Jim Ratcliffe as the Ineos chairman prepares to officially become minority owner next week.

United racked up a fifth straight win in all competitions on Sunday but made hard work of their 2-1 victory against Luton after Hojlund had struck twice in the opening seven minutes.

The opener came just 37 seconds after kick-off and saw the 21-year-old replace Newcastle midfielder Joe Willock as the youngest player to score in six straight Premier League matches.

United had never gone ahead away in the Premier League quicker than that, nor had they moved 2-0 up on the road as early as they did when Hojlund then chested in Alejandro Garnacho’s volley.

But Luton have made life hard for the biggest clubs at Kenilworth Road and this was no different, with Carlton Morris pulling one back in the 14th minute.

Rob Edwards’ side were reinvigorated by that goal and constantly unsettled United, who were fortunate not to see Casemiro sent off for two bookings before his half-time substitution.

A breathless second period followed but somehow there was no more goals, with Ross Barkley seeing a stoppage-time header hit the bar for the hosts.

Formula One has called for Christian Horner’s Red Bull future to be “clarified at the earliest opportunity”.

Horner’s role as Red Bull team principal remains in the balance following a claim of “inappropriate behaviour” by a female colleague.

Speaking at Red Bull Racing’s car launch in Milton Keynes last Thursday, the 50-year old continued to emphatically deny the allegations made against him, and insisted he would be in Bahrain for the opening race of the season on March 2.

An F1 spokesperson said on Sunday evening: “We have noted that Red Bull has instigated an independent investigation into internal allegations at Red Bull Racing.

“We hope that the matter will be clarified at the earliest opportunity, after a fair and thorough process, and we will not comment further at this time.”

Horner said he was unable to provide a timeline as to when the investigation by the racing team’s parent company, Red Bull GmBH, will be completed.

Testing for the new campaign gets under way in Bahrain on Wednesday.

Last season, Red Bull won all but one of the 22 races, with Max Verstappen taking his third world championship in as many years.

Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder revealed Mason Holgate apologised to his team-mates after his red card in the 5-0 home defeat to Brighton.

Holgate was sent off in the 13th minute for a reckless thigh-high challenge on Kaoru Mitoma, with the VAR advising referee Stuart Attwell to upgrade an initial yellow card to red.

The Blades were put to the sword in the remaining 77 minutes as goals from Facundo Buonanotte and Danny Welbeck, Simon Adingra’s double and a Jack Robinson own goal gave the Seagulls their second victory at Bramall Lane in three weeks after a 5-2 fourth-round FA Cup romp last month.

Things might have been different had Holgate, who looks set to be fined by the club, kept his cool and Wilder says the defender knows he “got it wrong”.

“He has apologised to the boys, he understands it and he is an experienced pro,” Wilder, whose side conceded five goals at home for the third successive game, said.

“He has got it wrong, I want us to be competitive, I want us to win tackles, we can’t have a passive game.

“It is a competitive game, it is a not a non-contact game but we have to get that right, Mason has to get that right. It is huge setback for us in the approach to the overall game.

“I am torn, I am a competitor and I understand that it was a very, very strong challenge and the game has moved on.

“Some people won’t want the game to move and on and expect physical contact, excessive force or whatever you call it.

“Winning the ball and challenging in that way is deemed not acceptable. We have got no excuses, or nowhere to hide, the referee gave it a yellow card straight away but obviously when he went to the monitor and saw it slowed down and has somebody in his ear saying it’s a red card.

“Better managers than me, quite a lot of them around at the moment I should imagine – bigger, better clubs than Sheffield United would have found it difficult to go down to 10 because of they way they play.

“The game was decided on that, I could say 100 per cent we would not have gone done 5-0.”

The Seagulls made hay at Bramall Lane for the second time in three weeks and took advantage of Holgate’s indiscipline.

They kept the pressure on Manchester United in sixth place but boss Roberto De Zerbi would have preferred to have played 11 versus 11.

“We played very well, especially in the first half, it was very difficult to find the right moment to shoot, to score,” the Italian said.

“The first half was a very good performance, I am sorry for the red card, sincerely, because I would like to play the game 11 v 11 and it is not always an advantage to play with one player more.

“Especially if the characteristic of the opponent is like Sheffield United because you can find it more difficult to score.

“The second part of the first half they defended the last 25 metres with nine players behind the ball.”

England’s prospects of reclaiming the Calcutta Cup from Scotland have been dealt a blow after scrum-half Alex Mitchell was ruled out of the Murrayfield showdown with a knee problem.

The Rugby Football Union confirmed that Mitchell will miss the pivotal Guinness Six Nations round three game because of an injury that requires further investigation before a date for his return can be set.

Harry Randall has been named as the replacement in Steve Borthwick’s 36-man training squad with Danny Care and Ben Spencer competing to fill the void in the number nine jersey in Edinburgh.

Craig Kieswetter is excited for one last crack at the Cheltenham Festival with Echoes In Rain, who will head to Prestbury Park for her racecourse swansong next month bidding to bring the curtain down on her career with a fairytale success.

Former England cricket star Kieswetter is a key figure in his family’s Barnane Stud alongside brother Ross and stud manager Patrick Wynn-Jones, with Echoes In Rain proving to be the star performer of their jumps string over the years.

Trained by Willie Mullins, she has won nine of her 30 career starts across both codes, with her finest hours coming at the Punchestown Festival where she won Grade Ones both as a novice in 2021 and then two years later against her fellow mares.

However, she has found success at the Cheltenham Festival harder to come by and will be given one final chance to conquer the Cotswolds before moving on to be a part of Barnane’s broodmare band.

“She’s going to head to Cheltenham and it will probably be her final hurrah before we take her back to Barnane Stud to start her career as a broodmare,” said Kieswetter.

“She’s a real fighter and every time we ask a question of her, she goes for it. For a mare who tries her hardest every single time, she’s had to come up against the likes of Honeysuckle and State Man all the way through her career.

“We’ve had some fantastic fun with her. I was there when she got pipped on the line in the Irish Cesarewitch, Rachael (Blackmore) jumped off and was devastated, but she has given us some fantastic times.

“We are looking forward to one final outing with her and then she can start her new career.”

Last year Echoes In Rain had to settle for a minor role as regular adversary Honeysuckle bowed out in style in the Mares’ Hurdle and Kieswetter feels that race is the most likely for Echoes In Rain’s final appearance, rather than stepping up to face the might of Constitution Hill in the Champion Hurdle.

He continued: “We’ll have a discussion with Willie and his team and see which direction they want to go. I’m suspecting it will probably be the Mares’ Hurdle, but you never know.

“Willie won all the Grade Ones at Leopardstown and is operating at a ridiculous strike-rate and is the best, we are more than happy to just follow the advice of where he wants to go.”

Owner Kenny Alexander is set to unleash a two-pronged assault on the Close Brothers Mares’ Hurdle, with both Gala Marceau and Telmesomethinggirl attempting to add to Honeysuckle’s two famous victories in the Cheltenham Festival contest.

Trained by Willie Mullins, Gala Marceau has just stablemates Lossiemouth and Ashroe Diamond ahead of her in the ante-post betting for the Grade One event and was runner-up in the Triumph Hurdle at Prestbury Park 12 months ago.

She finished third when making her seasonal return at Doncaster recently, but tasted top level success over two and a half miles in Auteuil’s Prix Alain du Breil last May and connections feel a return to further can see her improve on her Town Moor reappearance.

“We were very happy with her and Danny (Mullins, jockey) said she took a bit of a blow after the last,” said Alexander’s racing manager Peter Molony.

“He thought he would definitely have been second and closer to the winner without that and he wasn’t overly hard on her to try to get second as the big day is in a few weeks time.

“The step up in trip is going to help her, she stayed the extra distance well last year in Auteuil and we really think that will play to her strengths.”

Telmesomethinggirl may be as big as 25-1 in the betting, but Molony has been encouraged by reports from trainer Henry de Bromhead since she finished second at Naas last month.

The nine-year-old is already a Cheltenham Festival winner having been part of De Bromhead and Rachael Blackmore’s respective six-timers at the showpiece meeting in 2021, winning the Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle.

She was also in the process of running a huge race the following year in the Mares’ Hurdle before being brought down two out and having spent a year struggling over the larger obstacles, is back at the discipline in which she is most proficient.

“We were over the moon with her performance at Naas. The first day she ran (at Leopardstown) she was still rather gross and I think as she has got older, Henry has found it harder to get her fit,” added Molony.

“Last year was a complete waste of a year and she just didn’t take to the fences, that is a year that can be scratched.

“Henry and his team are very happy with her and I think if she is back to her best, she is going to give all the other ladies something to think about. She’s a very high-class mare in her own right at her best.

“Rachael came in and said it was a case of how far, not if (when she ran in the race previously) and if she gets back to that level she could take a lot of beating – she is certainly a wonderful each-way price.”

Laura Muir will snub home comforts to ensure she is in the right frame of mind to win gold at the World Indoor Championships.

The 30-year-old claimed the 3000m title at the UKA Indoor Championships on Sunday after running eight minutes 58.80 seconds to seal victory in Birmingham.

Muir is planning her assault on the 3000m at  the World Indoors in Glasgow next month, with the British squad announced on Monday.

The Scot, who is based in Glasgow, will race at her home track but intends to remain with the team rather than stay at home during the Championships.

Muir, who won 1500m and 3000m gold at the European Indoors in Glasgow in 2019, said: “I’m going to stay in the team hotel. I think it’d be hard to get myself in the mindset that I’m going to compete at a World Championships final.

“It’s better when it’s a straight final to not be coming from my sofa. So I’m going to go into the team hotel.

“I never really took it in because I didn’t know if I was definitely going quite yet.  I don’t want to do anything until I’m definitely going but it’s really nice.

“I’ve got a lot of fond memories from that track from competing there before. So I’m just going to go there and I’m going to enjoy it and that’s the most important thing for me.”

Katarina Johnson-Thompson threw 13.29m to come ninth in the shot put, won by Amelia Campbell, as she continues her Olympic preparations.

The world heptathlon champion is focusing on this summer’s Paris Games and will not be at the World Indoors.

She said: “I am gutted because I did European indoors in Glasgow in 2018 and I’ve got really good memories of it. The whole family came to watch me. It’s just a decision to throw everything into Paris.

“I’m feeling good. I’ve had a great time since Budapest, everything’s been going really well. So I feel good. I’m feeling in a strong position but I’m just taking it week by week.

“The plan was just some competition practice. Training has been going really well so I wanted to come out and see where I am under competition conditions.

“Of course these specialist athletes throw much further and it is tough not to have a reference to where you’re throwing – with the first line set at 16m – which is way further than I am throwing. But on the other hand I can gain some knowledge and learn from the specialists so it is always beneficial.

“I am confident now I have found a good training set-up so I am very happy with my training so far and I am enjoying my preparations going towards Paris this year. ”

Jemma Reekie won in the 800m as she looks for a maiden senior title in Glasgow next month.

Brighton strengthened their top-six Premier League hopes as they inflicted a second successive 5-0 home defeat on 10-man Sheffield United.

Goals from Facundo Buonanotte and Danny Welbeck, Simon Adingra’s double and a Jack Robinson own goal gave the Seagulls their second victory at Bramall Lane in three weeks after a 5-2 fourth-round FA Cup romp last month.

Their task was made easier by Mason Holgate’s 13th-minute red card for the Blades, who also lost 5-0 to Aston Villa a fortnight ago and have now conceded five goals in three successive home games including that cup loss to the Seagulls.

Roberto De Zerbi’s side kept the pressure on sixth-placed Manchester United by putting the 10 men to the sword and they look in good shape as their European campaign soon resumes.

After winning at Luton last weekend, United briefly raised hopes of launching a great escape but they are dented and, sitting seven points adrift of safety, a return to the Championship looks almost certain.

They battled hard for much of the game but three goals in the last 15 minutes put a damaging slant on the scoreline.

Just 22 days ago the Seagulls came to South Yorkshire and made hay in the FA Cup and they enjoyed themselves again.

It had been an open start until the game changed in the 13th minute when Holgate saw red for a wild thigh-high challenge on Kaoru Mitoma. Referee Stuart Atwell initially gave a yellow card but quickly upgraded when he was told to watch it again by VAR.

The Seagulls went ahead seven minutes later as Buonanotte turned in from close range after Blades goalkeeper Wes Foderingham was bullied on the goalline.

Gus Hamer almost brought the hosts immediately level as his jinking run which saw him beat three players ended with a deflected shot.

But that was as good as it got for the Blades as Brighton seized control with a second goal.

Mitoma forced Foderingham into a good save at the far post but Welbeck was on hand to slam home the rebound from eight yards.

It could have been three but Mitoma and Pascal Gross had shots blocked by Robinson in quick succession.

United thought they had got themselves back into the game on the stroke of half-time when Ben Osborn flicked in from close range.

Atwell immediately ruled it out for a foul but Blades hopes were raised when Atwell was advised by VAR to go to the monitor.

However, during replays it was ruled Osborn was actually in an offside decision and the goal did not stand.

The Blades were spirited in the second half but could not test Brighton, who eventually finished strongly with three goals in the final 15 minutes.

They had to wait until the 75th minute for their third when Blades defender Robinson diverted Mitoma’s cross into his own net.

And three minutes later Adingra swept home Gross’ centre to make it four before adding a second with an effort which deflected off Andre Brooks.