Liverpool left out two top players from the UEFA Champions League squad
Liverpool left out two top players from the UEFA Champions League squad
Liverpool left out two top players from the UEFA Champions League squad
Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, both midfielders for Liverpool, were not selected for the team’s 2022–23 UEFA Champions League group stage roster. Due to their present muscular issues, the two could be sidelined for a long time.
Since his £52.75 million transfer from RB Leipzig in 2018, Keita, 27, has struggled with injuries and has been in and out of the Reds’ first team. The Guinean has just played five minutes of the current campaign so far on the field.
The 29-year-old Oxlade-Chamberlain hasn’t played a single game this season due to a variety of injuries. He damaged his anterior cruciate ligament shortly after joining from Arsenal for £35 million in 2017, and he has struggled mightily to get back to his best.
Keita and Oxlade-Chamberlain didn’t make the team for the UEFA Champions League group stage, according to UEFA. The squad included Stefan Bajcetic, Arthur Melo, James Milner, Fabio Carvalho, Fabinho, Jordan Henderson, Thiago Alcantara, and Fabinho.
Due to their position as homegrown athletes and their ages, Harvey Elliott and Curtis Jones are in the B-list squad for the competition.
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Jurgen Klopp, the manager of Liverpool, clarified Keita and Oxlade-circumstance Chamberlain’s earlier this month. On the club’s website, he stated:
“For Keita, the injury is to a muscle. He and Ox both have muscle injuries, and they will be sidelined for some time.”
It won’t be possible to add either midfielder again until January.
In 117 games for the Reds in all competitions, Keita has tallied 11 goals and 7 assists overall. On the other side, Oxlade-Chamberlain has made 133 appearances and provided 17 goals and 15 assists.
Liverpool’s next destination is Napoli, where they will play their UEFA Champions League Group A debut on Wednesday (September 7). They are joined by Ajax and Rangers.
Arthur Melo, a new Liverpool signing, is discussed by Jurgen Klopp.
On the final day, Liverpool signed Juventus midfielder Arthur Melo to a season-long loan. After that, Jurgen Klopp addressed the transfer at a news conference prior to the game on Friday, saying (via GOAL):
“I’m overjoyed about the transfer. We can all agree that he is an excellent football player. Has’s still rather young, yet he already had a really interesting career. He is playing football at the ideal age.”
Added him:
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“He provides rhythm, is an excellent distributor, has beautiful feet while handling the ball, and has the ability to demand rhythm, which is crucial. He excels in confined spaces. We all agreed that it may suit reasonably well despite the fact that we play differently from Juve. I’m happy.”
In the summer of 2020, Juventus signed 26-year-old Arthur from Barcelona in a deal costing up to £71 million. The Brazilian, who is known for his passing and dribbling, has one goal and one assist in 63 games for the Old Lady in various tournaments. In the process, he took home two awards.
