Luis Suarez tops the Premier League with 19 goals this season. Phil Noble / Reuters
Luis Suarez tops the Premier League with 19 goals this season. Phil Noble / Reuters
Luis Suarez tops the Premier League with 19 goals this season. Phil Noble / Reuters
Luis Suarez tops the Premier League with 19 goals this season. Phil Noble / Reuters

‘This is a team that’s been on the up’ says Rodgers as he predicts more Liverpool triumphs after Cardiff win


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Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers believes there is still more to come from his Liverpool side after they moved to the top of the Premier League table.

The club beat Cardiff City 3-1 at Anfield on Saturday to move above leaders Arsenal, who face fourth-place Chelsea on Monday.

Since their 3-1 defeat at Hull City on December 1, Liverpool have picked up four consecutive victories, scoring 17 goals.

Rodgers, who took over from Kenny Dalglish in 2012, believes that the squad are taking his ideas on board and cites the January signings of Daniel Sturridge and Philippe Coutinho as key factors in their current form.

The 18-time English champions now face tough trips to Manchester City and Chelsea, but Rodgers thinks his side can still improve.

“Last year it took us a while to get into the top 10,” he said. “People are talking about a good start, but you will see from January this is a team that’s been on the up.

“It’s a set of principles and footballing ideas that have been implemented over 18 months coming to fruition and the players are enjoying their aggressive attacking football with hard work as the core. And we can get better.

“It’s unprecedented to go from seventh (where Liverpool finished last season) to first, but where we are shows the work that the players and the club have done and we just want to keep this momentum going.

“We’re very calm and we’re not getting carried away. It’s been five tough years, but the fans are going home happy and we’re reclaiming that mentality at Anfield.”

Manchester City are many pundits’ favourites for the Premier League title, but Rodgers is excited by the prospect of his team’s trip to the Etihad Stadium on Thursday.

“We really look forward to the games. We should have won at Manchester City last year,” he said.

“They’re a great squad of players and people look at it as Man City’s title to lose because of the squad they have.

“We’re just taking it a game at a time. We’re on a fantastic run and pressing the game very well. We’ll get there on Boxing day in a good moment.”

With Rodgers using the same team that started in last weekend’s 5-0 win at Tottenham Hotspur, the club took the lead midway through the first when Suarez volleyed in from Jordan Henderson’s cross.

Three minutes before the interval, Suarez broke away and set up Raheem Sterling for the second before the Uruguayan curled in from the edge of the area from Henderson’s backheel.

Jordon Mutch pulled one back with a header from Peter Whittingham’s free-kick in the second half.

Cardiff manager Malky Mackay faces speculation that he is on the brink of being sacked by owner Vincent Tan, but the Scot, who took the side to promotion last season, insists he will not be forced to quit.

“What I can tell you crystal clear is that I won’t be resigning as manager of the football club,” he said.

“I’m proud of the job that I’ve got and I couldn’t look myself in the mirror to walk away from the people that work for me, the coaching staff and all of the staff and the players and our fans. I’m not going to walk away from them either.

“I’ve been in English football for 15 years and been a manager for five years, so I’ve worked with and against a lot of people and it heartens and humbles me, some of the quotes that have come out this week. And I was humbled by our fans.

“I absolutely will not be resigning from the football club, there’s no need for that to happen.

“Anything beyond that, I will have conversations with the League Managers Association, but at the moment there’s absolutely no way I’ll be resigning.”

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The low down

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Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman

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Bio

Age: 25

Town: Al Diqdaqah – Ras Al Khaimah

Education: Bachelors degree in mechanical engineering

Favourite colour: White

Favourite place in the UAE: Downtown Dubai

Favourite book: A Life in Administration by Ghazi Al Gosaibi.

First owned baking book: How to Be a Domestic Goddess by Nigella Lawson.

The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo

The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
Price, base / as tested: Dh182,178
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Power: 350hp @ 7,400rpm
Torque: 374Nm @ 5,200rpm
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
​​​​​​​Fuel consumption, combined: 10.5L / 100km

Who is Allegra Stratton?

 

  • Previously worked at The Guardian, BBC’s Newsnight programme and ITV News
  • Took up a public relations role for Chancellor Rishi Sunak in April 2020
  • In October 2020 she was hired to lead No 10’s planned daily televised press briefings
  • The idea was later scrapped and she was appointed spokeswoman for Cop26
  • Ms Stratton, 41, is married to James Forsyth, the political editor of The Spectator
  • She has strong connections to the Conservative establishment
  • Mr Sunak served as best man at her 2011 wedding to Mr Forsyth
THE BIO

Born: Mukalla, Yemen, 1979

Education: UAE University, Al Ain

Family: Married with two daughters: Asayel, 7, and Sara, 6

Favourite piece of music: Horse Dance by Naseer Shamma

Favourite book: Science and geology

Favourite place to travel to: Washington DC

Best advice you’ve ever been given: If you have a dream, you have to believe it, then you will see it.

The biog

Name: Shamsa Hassan Safar

Nationality: Emirati

Education: Degree in emergency medical services at Higher Colleges of Technology

Favourite book: Between two hearts- Arabic novels

Favourite music: Mohammed Abdu and modern Arabic songs

Favourite way to spend time off: Family visits and spending time with friends