Liverpool assistant manager Pep Lijnders believes it is impossible to replace Jurgen Klopp and the club should not try to find a replica but someone who can develop their own dynasty.
Klopp’s shock decision to step down at the end of the season began an unenviable task for owners Fenway Sports Group of finding a successor for a manager who has won every club honour – bar the Europa League – during his time at Anfield.
The German has the chance to add to his tally of trophies this weekend in the Carabao Cup final against Chelsea on Sunday and the finale to the season could see them contend for another three in what would be a remarkable send-off.
But Lijnders, who with the rest of Klopp’s backroom staff is also leaving, insisted there was no point in trying to find someone who would be a clone of the 56-year-old, with former Reds midfielder Xabi Alonso currently the leading candidate.
“No one can replace Jurgen Klopp. But I think the past showed already a few difficult transitions,” said the Dutchman.
“What was the most difficult transition inside this club was (Bill) Shankly saying ‘That’s me’. (Bob) Paisley stepped up and was completely different from Shanks.
“It shows, as a club, we have to search for someone who wants to grow, who has the mindset to develop.
“I think we did the right thing by announcing early so the club has real time to make this transition smooth but the past has already shown that it is really impossible.
“The (Pep) Guardiola team of Barca, he says out of nothing ‘That’s me’ and then Tito (Vilanova) took over and has the highest win ratio ever – that was probably the most difficult transition in the last 15 years.
“What I’m trying to say is they don’t have to replace Jurgen, they have to find a good, good manager because nobody will replace Jurgen.”
There was a concern that Klopp’s announcement could possibly derail a team which leads the Premier League, faces Southampton in the FA Cup next week and is favourite for the Europa League, having been drawn against Sparta Prague in the last 16.
However, that has not been the case with five victories and just one defeat since the news broke and Lijnders said that was down to the mentality within the dressing room.
“I think you underestimate our squad, the personalities in it,” he added.
“They have been through a lot already, in recent history but also how they grew up; a lot of these boys had to show character from a young age – not everything went easy for them.
“A lot of us get a lot of criticism but we grow with this, it only feeds us. All these boys know how to deal with it.
“A lot of these boys didn’t win anything with Liverpool yet so of course they give everything despite the manager saying he is leaving.
“We are stable enough to deal with it. That’s what I thought before – but you never know. It is in the back of your mind but I, we, trust the squad enough that they can deal with that.
“We never make it more complicated than it is and I like that. It is the next game, that’s our final – and it is a final so let’s give everything on this planet to win this one and give joy and emotion to the fans.”
Liverpool will make a late decision on the fitness of forwards Mohamed Salah and Darwin Nunez, who both missed the midweek win over Luton, and midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai, who has not played since the league win over Chelsea at the end of January.
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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