Liverpool Round-Up, Wednesday 11th November: Liverpool Women Thrash Aston Villa 4-1 as Isak Penalty Verdict and Pochettino Talk Dominate the Day
Liverpool Women bounced back from their defeat to Arsenal in style, beating Aston Villa 4-1 in St Helens in the League Cup on Wednesday night, with the Echo previewing the game as a chance to end a winless run before kick-off (Liverpool Echo).
The big talking point of the day came from the Premier League's Key Match Incidents panel, which ruled that Liverpool should have had a penalty during their Anfield defeat to Arsenal after Jurrien Timber pulled Alexander Isak's shirt in the box, a verdict reported widely by the BBC, Sky Sports, This Is Anfield, the Echo and Liverpool.com (BBC Sport) (Liverpool Echo) (Sky Sports) (This Is Anfield) (Liverpool.com).
Manchester United's managerial situation continued to generate plenty of coverage, with Liverpool.com reporting that United are closing in on appointing Mauricio Pochettino, with the move expected to be finalised before United host Liverpool after the international break (Liverpool.com). The same outlet carried comments suggesting Jurgen Klopp has made his feelings clear about Pochettino being a "sensational" appointment for United (Liverpool.com), while another piece recalled Pochettino reportedly being left unable to stop crying after a defeat to Klopp's Liverpool (Liverpool.com). The Echo also looked at Pochettino's record against Liverpool and Andoni Iraola ahead of his first game in charge coming at Anfield (Liverpool Echo), while an ex-Liverpool player was said to have urged Pochettino to reconsider the move, according to Liverpool.com (Liverpool.com). LiverpoolFC.com also invited fans to debate Liverpool's best home Premier League wins over United (LiverpoolFC.com), with the Echo separately revisiting Ryan Giggs' old "collapse" jibe at Liverpool in light of United's own struggles under Michael Carrick (Liverpool Echo).
On the loan front, Harvey Elliott marked his first start for Valencia in 285 days with a goal in the Copa del Rey, and was reported to have apologised to fans afterwards, a story covered by This Is Anfield, the Echo, Liverpool.com and LiverpoolFC.com, with the Spanish media said to have performed a U-turn in their view of him (This Is Anfield) (Liverpool Echo) (Liverpool.com) (LiverpoolFC.com). Keyrol Figueroa also continues to impress on loan at Port Vale, scoring for a third straight game last Saturday, according to LiverpoolFC.com (LiverpoolFC.com).
There was plenty from the academy too. Rio Ngumoha said he is targeting the Ballon d'Or, drawing inspiration from Harry Kane, in interviews carried by This Is Anfield and Liverpool.com (This Is Anfield) (Liverpool.com). Lewis Koumas spoke about grasping his opportunity at Liverpool and how he reacted in the dressing room to Iraola's appointment in the summer (LiverpoolFC.com) (Liverpool Echo), with Wales boss Craig Bellamy praising Liverpool's handling of the forward ahead of their Nations League trip to Norway, as reported by the BBC and This Is Anfield (BBC Sport) (This Is Anfield). Elsewhere, the Echo assessed whether young striker Will Wright, who has 13 goals in all competitions at academy level, is nearing first-team involvement under Iraola (Liverpool Echo), while This Is Anfield reported Josh Abe marked his return from injury with a goal for England (This Is Anfield). Liverpool U21s boss Rob Page criticised the scheduling around Tuesday's EFL Trophy defeat at Huddersfield, saying the fixture list "doesn't make sense", in reports from the Echo and Liverpool.com (Liverpool Echo) (Liverpool.com).
In transfer news, LiverpoolFC.com reported that Liverpool have a "deal in place" to sign Monaco's Lamine Camara for £58.5m in January (LiverpoolFC.com). This Is Anfield reported Liverpool are monitoring a wing-back and have made contact over Alex Scott (This Is Anfield), with LiverpoolFC.com adding that Arsenal and Chelsea have also made contact with Bournemouth over the £100m-rated England midfielder (LiverpoolFC.com). Liverpool.com also suggested Iraola faces a left-back dilemma, with Liverpool urged to move for a Barcelona player as a long-term alternative to Milos Kerkez (Liverpool.com). In goal, Brighton's Bart Verbruggen responded to transfer speculation linking him with a move to Liverpool amid uncertainty over Alisson's future, insisting he remains happy at Brighton, as covered by the Echo and Liverpool.com (Liverpool Echo) (Liverpool.com). This Is Anfield also published an analysis piece questioning whether Alisson's kicking is holding back Liverpool's build-up play (This Is Anfield).
Elsewhere, former Liverpool coach Ruben Peeters praised Luis Diaz's behaviour behind the scenes during Arne Slot's title-winning season, in pieces from the Echo and Liverpool.com (Liverpool Echo) (Liverpool.com). Liverpool.com also reported that Florian Wirtz left former Liverpool boss Klopp speechless with a comment on his current form at a farewell Adidas event in Germany (Liverpool.com). Sky Sports looked back at new signing Andoni Iraola's rocky managerial beginnings, including being sacked in Cyprus (Sky Sports), while This Is Anfield carried comments describing Iraola as "incredible" despite Liverpool having "lost too many players" (This Is Anfield). Former Liverpool forward Dirk Kuyt was reported by This Is Anfield and Liverpool.com to have lost his coaching role at Fenerbahce just days after his side beat Liverpool in the Champions League (This Is Anfield) (Liverpool.com). This Is Anfield also revealed Virgil van Dijk arranged a museum visit to teach the squad about Liverpool's history (This Is Anfield), and separately reported that Liverpool have the Premier League's fastest players according to new data (This Is Anfield). Finally, the Echo detailed how 15 Liverpool players are set for extra training during the international break while an injured trio face an anxious wait (Liverpool Echo).
This round-up is written with the help of AI, using only the day's headlines from the publishers credited above. Each point links to the original report — tap the source name to read it in full.
