Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk has revealed that he called a team meeting after the Reds were beaten at home by Manchester United last weekend. Sunday’s 2-1 defeat, confirmed by Harry Maguire’s 84th-minute header, was the Premier League champions’ fourth successive loss and brought the squad in for considerable criticism.

Alexander Isak did not take part in Liverpool team training ahead of the Champions League clash with Real Madrid. The club’s record signing has been out for the last three games and looks set to miss out again when the Reds take on Madrid.

A disheartening 2-1 home defeat to fierce rivals Manchester United last Sunday led current Anfield skipper Virgil van Dijk to convene an impromptu players-only meeting the next day to discuss what was going wrong. Slot, however, believes his fellow Dutchman was correct in providing a different perspective to the struggling squad.

Virgil van Dijk led a players-only meeting on Monday and Liverpool's 5-1 thumping of Eintracht Frankfurt two days later suggests the message hit home, while a pundit's bizarre claim has already been exposed.

Liverpool’s meeting with Aston Villa on Saturday arrives at a time when the mood around Anfield feels uneasy. The Premier League giants, once riding a wave of optimism under Arne Slot, are now navigating through a storm of poor results that have left fans searching for reassurance.

Trent Alexander-Arnold returned to Anfield with Real Madrid and paid a touching tribute to his late former teammate Diogo Jota, laying flowers and leaving an emotional handwritten message at the Liverpool memorial.

According to Florian Plettenberg, the German champions are fully involved in the race to sign Guehi and have recently held a meeting with Gordon Stipic, Guehi's agent, in Munich. Bayern need to revamp their defence next summer, with Kim Min-jae likely to be sold, and Guehi could come in as a natural replacement.

Liverpool are banned from facing Real Madrid in the Champions League next season should both teams qualify for the league phase of Europe's elite competition. That's due to a unique UEFA ruling having been drawn against each other in two consecutive campaigns since the change of format.

Liverpool have been linked with a move for Borussia Dortmund centre-back Nico Schlotterbeck, but the Reds may have now been dealt a blow in their pursuit of the German international

Vinicius Jr has released a statement addressing his actions during and after Real Madrid’s meeting with FC Barcelona on Sunday. Real Madrid beat Barcelona 2-1 in the latest instalment of El Clasico, with the Brazilian taking the headlines post-match.

Ismaila Sarr scored twice and Yeremy Pino scored a third as Crystal Palace beat a much-changed Liverpool to reach the Carabao Cup quarter-finals; Arne Slot says he rested key players over injury fears