Raphinha scores hat-trick in 100th appearance for Barca
Brazilian winger Raphinha celebrated his 100th appearance for FC Barcelona with a hat-trick goal against Bayern Munich in the Champions League encounter on Wednesday night.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has, for the first time, revealed that the Reds would still have gone for Brazilian custodian Alisson even if Loris Karius’ blunders hadn’t cost the Merseyside outfit the 2018 UEFA Champions League final.
Karius, reportedly after suffering a concussion in the first-half during a collision with Real Madrid skipper Sergio Ramos, made two gaffes to allow Los Blancos to canter to a 3-1 victory in Kiev.
While the German custodian came under immense flak from pundits and fans alike, Klopp came out in defence of his player on a number of occasions and even implied that he would be the No.1 keeper for next season.
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Karius, however, picked up where he left off and had two howlers in pre-season, increasing the clamour calling for Klopp to sign a suitable custodian.
And last week, Liverpool shattered the world record (for a goalkeeper) by signing Roma shot-stopper Alisson Becker for £56 million.
That move effectively signalled the end of Karius’run between the sticks for the Reds, but Klopp has revealed that the Premier League giants had been tracking the Brazilian since January.
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“If Alisson was on the market and we’d won the final, we would have gone for him, because he’s the goalkeeper we want,” Klopp divulged at his press conference in Michigan ahead of his side’s clash with Manchester United in their International Champions Cup fixture.
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“The other goalkeepers are really good, like all our other players, but that doesn’t mean we don’t bring in another one. We bring in another one because we can make the next step with the new players, like Naby (Keita) and all the others.”
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Currently, Alisson is on holiday following his exploits for Brazil at the 2018 FIFA World Cup, but is expected to link up with his new club over the weekend.
After Saturday’s tie against United, Liverpool take on Serie A sides Torino and Napoli in their final pre-season ties of the summer.
They open their 2018/19 Premier League campaign on August 12 when they host West Ham United at Anfield.
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