Jurgen Klopp has ruled out a transfer raid to lift Liverpool for a push towards the Champions League places.
The Reds manager became riled by questions on the subject when speaking at his pre-match press conference on Friday, ahead of the trip to Brighton and Hove Albion.
Luis Diaz, Roberto Firmino and Diogo Jota are sidelined by injury, reducing Klopp's options in attack, and Darwin Nunez could also miss the Brighton game.
Key defender Virgil van Dijk is also out of action, but Klopp dismissed the idea Liverpool could use the January transfer window to solve their problems.
"I don't think so," he said. "My job is to use the boys we have, so that's it. I like the teams we line up, but when we start to change things you see we don't have three, four, five options, and if we have options they are pretty young.
"You cannot solve all problems in a transfer window. In a dreamland you would just buy players now and bring them in, but I don't see that coming."
Liverpool have been linked with the likes of Benfica's Argentina World Cup star Enzo Fernandez, but judging by Klopp's tone there will be no deal materialising there in the near future.
Asked why Liverpool would not be targeting the market for new additions, Klopp said: "What could be the reason? That we have money like crazy, but we don't buy the players even when they are available?
"That's what you think of me after all the years? Why ask the question when the answer lies on the table? I really don't understand that.
"If I sat here and said we have money in the bank, massively, like we don't know what to do with, but the players are out there but nah, we don't do that...
"We have on top of that the problem that in the moment four of our offensive players are injured, strikers.
"So if we buy another one and they come back, and we have seven strikers, we couldn't even put them all on the Champions League list. We'd have to make a decision.
"So it's just not that easy, you cannot solve the problem, especially with injuries.
"Injuries, that's the main, big, big shadow over all of us, because you cannot solve it in the transfer window. Sometimes you have to, but usually you have to get through until the boys come back and then you can use them again.
"The transfer market is for us not in this moment a solution. But if something's out there and someone tells me we can do it, we will do it, but in this specific situation I don't think it will happen."
Liverpool were held 3-3 by Brighton at Anfield in October, in a game that saw Leandro Trossard hit a hat-trick for the Seagulls.
That was early in the reign of Roberto De Zerbi, who replaced Graham Potter as Brighton head coach, and the south-coast club won none of their first five Premier League games under the Italian (D2 L3).
They have won four of their last six under De Zerbi, however, while Liverpool have lost three of their last seven in the league, as many as in their previous 37 games combined (W26 D8).
Klopp's side sit seventh in the table entering the latest round of games, seven points behind fourth-placed Manchester United.
A defeat last Monday to Brentford was a jolt for the Reds, who have not begun a calendar year with two league losses in a row since 1993, in the inaugural Premier League campaign, when they were beaten by Aston Villa and Wimbledon.
Klopp said of the trip to the Amex Stadium: "It will be a tough one, but I'm really looking forward to it because we've had a good week [in training] and I hope the players who are available during the week will stay available and be ready for a fight."
St. Louis City v LA Galaxy: Reus sets sights on silverware after dream start
Marco Reus is desperate to bring silverware to the LA Galaxy after making a flying start to his time in MLS, with St. Louis City the destination for his first road game on Sunday.
Reus registered a goal and an assist on debut last week as the Galaxy beat Atlanta United 2-0, maintaining their grip on top spot in the Western Conference.
The Galaxy are five points clear of local rivals Los Angeles FC at the top of the standings ahead of Sunday's trip to St. Louis, who are 13th and 10 points adrift of the playoff picture.
Reus' arrival in Los Angeles has caused plenty of fanfare, but he is focused solely on the team's collective aims.
"It's not about me, it's about the team," he said. "We want to be champions. So we take it game by game.
"Besides the traffic, it's really amazing. The people are so friendly. The weather, it's really nice. When you wake up in the morning and the sun is shining, you start the day differently.
"So I'm really, really happy every morning I come into the dressing room. I'm just happy and excited."
St. Louis played out a thrilling 4-4 draw with the Portland Timbers last week, twice throwing away a two-goal lead to leave interim coach John Hackworth bewildered.
"Really don't know what to say," Hackworth said. "It's hard to imagine coming to a place like this and scoring four goals, being up, and then just losing one-versus-one defensive battles.
"Sometimes, the number of goals you give up, or the number of goals you score, can hide a lot of the transition moments.
"An easy way to prevent some of these defensive miscues from happening is to just be better with the ball."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
St. Louis City – Eduard Lowen
Lowen scored his fourth goal of the MLS season last time out, converting from the penalty spot as St. Louis drew 4-4 with the Timbers.
Only Joao Klauss, with five goals, has outscored him for St. Louis this term.
LA Galaxy – Marco Reus
Reus is one of 20 players in MLS history to record a goal and an assist on his regular-season debut.
He is also the fifth Galaxy player to do so, after Steven Gerrard, Andreas Herzog, Giovani dos Santos and Sasha Victorine. No other team have had more than two players achieve the feat.
MATCH PREDICTION – DRAW
The Galaxy have won 10 of their last 13 regular-season matches, the first time they have done so in a single season since 2011. LA have not recorded 11 wins in a span of 14 matches within a single regular season in the post-shootout era (since 2000).
It would be no surprise to see the points shared in this one, though. All three meetings between St. Louis and the Galaxy have ended level, all with different scorelines (1-1, 2-2, 3-3).
St. Louis have only won one of the last six matches in which they have held the lead in regular-season play dating back to the beginning of June (four draws, one defeat).
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
St. Louis City – 35.8%
LA Galaxy – 38.1%
Draw – 26.1%
Raphinha hails Barcelona after statement win over Valladolid
Barcelona forward Raphinha believes the team have laid down a statement of their intent by starting the season with four straight wins in LaLiga.
Raphinha scored the first hat-trick of his career and also delivered two assists on Saturday, as Barca crushed Real Valladolid 7-0 at Camp Nou.
Hansi Flick's side already possess a four-point cushion at the top of the table after also recording victories over Valencia, Athletic Bilbao and Rayo Vallecano.
Raphinha believes their results have demonstrated the club got things right in the transfer market, telling Movistar: "Today's game has shown that there is no need for anyone else to come. We are very happy because of that.
"We are in very good shape. The team is working hard. Today's result shows what we are working for.
"We saw that the coach was on the sidelines asking for more goals and that's our mentality.
"We are hungry and want to score as many goals as we can. When we are dominant like we have been, the best way to respect our rivals is not taking the foot off the gas."
Raphinha was one of the players who faced criticism during Barca's trophyless 2023-24 campaign and was rumoured to be on his way out ahead of the new season.
The Blaugrana again battled financial restrictions throughout the window, allowing Ilkay Gundogan to leave in order to secure the registration of new arrival Dani Olmo.
With his future now certain, Raphinha is keen to nail down a starting spot and contribute on a regular basis.
"I don't know if today's was my best game, but it's certainly among my best. I will try to play even better and as much as I can," the Brazilian said.
"I'm very happy to be able to help the team. I feel good. I knew that this season would be very important for me. I'm looking for my best version to help my team-mates and be more confident."
Lazio 2-2 Milan: Leao salvages draw but Rossoneri still winless
Rafael Leao came off the bench to earn Milan a 2-2 draw with Lazio at the Stadio Olimpico on Saturday, but Paulo Fonseca's side are still without a Serie A win this season.
Milan were in front at the break through Strahinja Pavlovic's eighth-minute goal, the Serbian rising highest to power home a header from Christian Pulisic's corner.
However, Lazio hit back in the second half with Valentin Castellanos and Boulaye Dia scoring in quick succession.
Nuno Tavares' first-time ball into the centre was met by the unmarked Castellanos to level in the 62nd minute, then Dia tapped another Tavares cutback home to put the Biancocelesti ahead four minutes later.
Fonseca reacted by sending on four substitutes, and those changes had a swift impact as three of them combined for the leveller.
Theo Hernandez – who joined Leao in being dropped from the start – picked out Tammy Abraham, and his lay-off allowed Leao to escape Tavares to fire past Ivan Provedel.
The game was preceded by an emotional tribute to the man who led Lazio to their last league title, Sven-Goran Eriksson, who died at the age of 76 on Monday.
A Lazio shirt bearing the Swede's name was displayed on the home bench, while a banner held up by the home fans read: "You brought us to the top of the world... Have a good trip Mr. Sven."
Data Debrief: Milan's slow start continues
New Milan boss Fonseca is already under pressure after overseeing a return of two points from his first three league games at the helm.
It is the first time the Rossoneri have drawn two of their opening three matches in a Serie A season since 2011-12, when they also drew two and lost one,
They went on to finish second that season, just four points adrift of champions Juventus. If a title challenge is to take place this term, rapid improvements are needed.
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