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Former Leeds United striker Noel Whelan has urged Celtic to make the most of their arch-rivals’ current slump after Steven Gerrard’s exit as manager across Glasgow.

The Lowdown: Celtic on the up

It was painful for Hoops fans watching on as their biggest rivals won the Premiership at a canter last season, with the Bhoys being denied 10 league titles in a row in the process.

Rangers currently hold a four-point advantage over Celtic this time around, but their Scottish League Cup exit at the hands of Hibernian on Sunday suggests that all is not well since Gerrard left.

Meanwhile, Ange Postecoglou’s side have picked up five wins and a draw from their last six league outings, finding a rich vein of form in the process and progressing to the final of the aforementioned competition, thus giving them the opportunity to strike first in the domestic trophy stakes in 2021/22.

The Latest: Pundit makes Celtic plea

Speaking to Football Insider, Whelan claimed that Celtic need to be ruthless during this current period, making the most of Rangers potentially taking their eye off the ball.

Those comments come amid recent reports that the Hoops plan to bring in major reinforcements in the  January transfer window, with the possibility of multiple signings as they plan to reclaim domestic supremacy. Whelan said:

“They will be smelling blood for sure after what they saw from Rangers at the weekend. There’s a trophy which they will absolutely be favourites to win in December, barring a catastrophe.

“It’s a really good sign for Celtic, they’ll be fighting all the way to bring the title back to Celtic Park.

“On the pitch, they are keeping pace. They’ve scored a lot of goals this season, their goal difference is already superior to Rangers’.

“They need to take advantage from now and into the January window. They can really hurt them in these early stages of Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s tenure.”

The Verdict: Big chance to take advantage

This could prove to be a pivotal point in the season come next May, with Rangers arguably at their most vulnerable at the moment following their recent managerial upheaval.

New manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst may take time to make his mark at Ibrox and Celtic have winnable, albeit not necessarily easy, league games coming up against Aberdeen, Hearts and Dundee United.

January reinforcements could only help in that respect, with major additions being mooted, as Whelan alludes to, giving Postecoglou’s men that extra push before the business end of the season arrives. This could be the ideal time for an upwardly mobile Celtic to really push on and reclaim the edge on their biggest rivals.

In other news, a journalist has made an exciting claim regarding one Celtic player. Find out who it is here.

A number of Liverpool supporters are concerned after Jurgen Klopp provided a worrying injury update on midfielder Thiago.

The Reds went top of the Premier League on Saturday afternoon, following their impressive 3-0 win over Crystal Palace at Anfield.

Klopp’s men didn’t always have things their own way, but Sadio Mane’s opener eased the nerves before strikes from Mohamed Salah and Naby Keita sealed the victory.

[freshpress-quiz id=“359326”]

It was a hugely positive afternoon, but one of the few negatives was Thiago’s second-half injury, with the Spaniard having to leave the field after a superb performance.

Speaking after the game, [via The Athletic‘s James Pearce on Twitter], Klopp confirmed that the 30-year-old has suffered a calf problem and the severity of it remains unknown.

Doctor and sports scientist, Dr Rajpal Brar, replied to Pearce, saying calf strains are ‘nothing to sneeze at’ and ‘can be really sensitive’.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/latest-liverpool-transfer-news-3/” title=”Latest Liverpool transfer news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=“none”]

Liverpool fans react to Thiago update

These Liverpool fans took to Twitter to show their concern about the update, with Thiago such an important player for the Reds moving forward.

“God, please don’t let it be serious”

Credit: @mr_shi2

“OH COME ON”

Credit: @JDsJustTalking

“Not signing a midfielder is going to make us pay”

Credit: @elninoamir

“Oh please god no”

Credit: @fahdlfcfe

“Pleaseeeee”

Credit: @Versatileman

“He was carried down the tunnel by two of the match day entourage. He was putting no weight on it as he left.”

Credit: @StevenHumberst2

In other news, some Liverpool fans want the Reds to sign a Premier League player. Find out who it is here.

Anil Kumble has blamed Royal Challengers Bangalore’s opening day defeat to Cape Cobras in the Champions League Twenty20 on a couple of dropped catches

Cricinfo staff09-Oct-2009Anil Kumble has blamed Royal Challengers Bangalore’s opening day defeat to Cape Cobras in the Champions League Twenty20 on a couple of dropped catches. He also praised JP Duminy, who made a classy unbeaten 99 to help Cobras pull off a stiff chase.”When you have 180 on the scoreboard, it’s always disappointing to lose. JP Duminy batted really brilliantly,” Kumble said. “We dropped a number of catches that might be one of the reasons, but there are other things to be looked after.”The ball was coming on a lot quicker on this pitch. We thought that the pitch may play slower and spin later, but Duminy put up a great fight.”The match had gone down to the last over, with Cobras needing nine off it. Kumble had then handed the ball to inexperienced R Vinay Kumar, though Jacques Kallis still hadn’t completed his quota of overs. “I thought the slower ball would work and that’s why I gave the task to Vinay, but it didn’t work.”Andrew Puttick, the Cobras captain, said his side backed themselves despite facing a daunting target, and playing in front a large, partisan crowd. “We were confident of chasing the target,” Puttick said. “We should have restricted them much earlier. We had a bad start, but Duminy was superb with the bat. If you get one batsman to play throughout the innings, then you can chase any target.”New Zealand’s Otago are the other team in the group, and they start their campaign with a game against Cobras on Saturday.

A Public Interest Litigation has been filed at the Madras High Court seeking to stop the Indian team from visiting Sri Lanka for the tri-series

Cricinfo staff01-Sep-2009A PIL has been filed with the Madras High Court seeking to stop the Indian team from visiting Sri Lanka for the tri-series citing alleged human rights violation against Tamils by the Sri Lankan government.The petitioner, Joel Poul Antony, an advocate, said the international community would not respect India if it sent a team to play in Sri Lanka. The Madurai bench of the High Court issued notice to the ministries of Home, External Affairs and Youth and Sports Welfare as well as a private notice to the Indian board.A 25-year war between the Sri Lankan government and the LTTE finally came to an end in May this year after the rebels, fighting to create a separate nation for Sri Lanka’s minority Tamils, were defeated.

Pakistan captain Younis Khan has said he wants to win the Champions Trophy in honour of Bob Woolmer, the team’s former coach who died during the 2007 World Cup

Cricinfo staff16-Sep-2009Pakistan captain Younis Khan has said he wants to win the Champions Trophy in honour of Bob Woolmer, the team’s former coach who died during the 2007 World Cup. “I’ll go to Bob’s home [in South Africa] and celebrate the Champions Trophy win with his family,” Younis told reporters ahead of the team’s departure for the tournament in South Africa.Woolmer was present during the last edition in 2006, in India, when Pakistan were plagued by off-the-field problems. Younis, standing in for the banned Inzamam-ul-Haq, had resigned in protest at being made a “dummy captain”. Middle-order batsman Mohammad Yousuf was appointed in his place, before Younis was handed back responsibilities a day later after a change in the PCB setup.The problems continued into the day before their opening match against Sri Lanka, when Pakistan had to withdraw fast bowlers Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif after both failed dope tests conducted before the team’s departure for India.”Those were testing times and Bob was very disappointed, when after winning the first match, we lost the next two, because he wanted to win the Champions Trophy,” Younis said. A year later, Pakistan unceremoniously exited the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies after losing to unheralded Ireland in the first round.The next day, Woolmer was found dead in his hotel room in Jamaica, and after being initially treated as murder by the Jamaican police, the death was declared to be due to natural causes.”Bob is the missing part of our cricket and we feel his absence,” Younis said. “I have been in regular touch with his wife and when we won the World Twenty20 in England in June we dedicated the trophy to Bob. This time too we will dedicate the trophy to him, because he lived in South Africa.”Pakistan, who have never won the Champions Trophy, are placed in Group A along side defending champions Australia, India and the West Indies. They start their campaign against West Indies on September 23.

Plays of the day for the fourth day of the Australia-West Indies Test in Adelaide

Alex Brown and Brydon Coverdale07-Dec-2009The Chris Gayle shuffle
Proof that Chris Gayle is cooler than Mawson’s Hut was evident in his celebration of his maiden Test century against Australia. Triumphant waves of the bat bookended a short dance sequence that featured the kind of rhythmic sashaying that would have proven a hit in the nightclubs of Kingston. Gayle looked decidedly less graceful several overs later when he was struck by cramp. Gayle’s nickname among team-mates is “crampy”, a Jamaican expression for slow movement, and his seizing muscles served to decelerate his scoring rate for a time, but he picked it up at the end of the day.Brother, can you spare a wicket?
Australia’s inability to take 20 wickets proved a curse in recent losing campaigns against India, South Africa and England, and the lack of an enforcer returned to haunt them on Monday. Without the services of the incapacitated Peter Siddle, who has a hamstring problem, for much of the day, Australia struggled for impact against a resolute West Indies batting unit on a benign Adelaide surface. Nathan Hauritz could not replicate the bounce or bite of Sulieman Benn the previous day, while Mitchell Johnson lit up the start and the end, but not in the middle. It was a tough time at the office.Tall tales of Big Benn
Sulieman Benn said it wasn’t until he was about 14 that he began getting taller than most of his friends, but at 28 it seems he’s still enjoying a growth spurt. The story of his success on the third day in Adelaide turned into a tall tale – but just how tall depended on whose story you read. His profile page on Cricinfo lists him as 6ft 7in, which equates to 200cm, but in the he had grown to 204cm and in the he had shot up to 207cm.Save the umps
The Gould League is an Australian organisation that, among other things, aims to protect the environment. Umpire Ian Gould might just need his own group if he keeps getting in the way of Gayle drives. Gayle crunched a straight one that clipped the fingers of the bowler Marcus North, but that didn’t take much of the pace off the ball. It promptly ricocheted into Gould’s ankle, sending the umpire hobbling in pain and denying Gayle a boundary.

The West Indies fast bowler has said he is delighted with his superb bowling display in the second ODI against India

Cricinfo staff29-Jun-2009West Indies fast bowler Ravi Rampaul has said he is delighted with his superb bowling display in the second ODI against India. He struck at either end of the Indian innings, to finish with 4 for 37, and was largely responsible for containing India to a below-par 188.The 24-year-old picked up the Man-of-the-Match award as West Indies drew level in the four-match series, storming to a eight-wicket win in Jamaica. “It was the best I have bowled for a long time. I was playing four-day cricket and coming back to one-day, my rhythm and everything went well – today I bowled really well,” Rampaul said.Rampaul, who replaced Lionel Baker from the first ODI at the same venue, said he was a little surprised with the loose shots that the Indian batsmen played, but he was more concerned about ensuring that he maintained an immaculate line and intelligently utilising the swing he managed to extract from the pitch. “I was getting a little swing with the ball so I was just waiting for them to play the rash shots,” he said.He said he had also noticed that since the ICC World Twenty20 the Indians were averse to short-pitched deliveries but contained himself to use it sparingly. “They weren’t too comfortable with the short balls so I used it as a surprise delivery,” Rampaul said.While Rampaul went on the rampage early on – dismissing Gautam Gambhir and Rohit Sharma for ducks in his first over – he also underlined the importance of bowling miserly spells. “I’m always an attacking bowler and I think the captain knows that I am an attacking bowler, but I can bowl tight as well,” Rampaul said.After his initial double strike, he sent back Ravindra Jadeja and Praveen Kumar as the West Indies stormed to a comprehensive victory. His performance would no doubt have put the selectors on notice over his inclusion in the Test side. “I enjoy all types of matches, I am just waiting for my opportunity to play Test cricket,” Rampaul said.Rampaul, who has played 34 ODIs, said he had been making steady progress in getting back into top shape and thanked former West Indies trainer, Ronald Rogers, for his help. “I have been working hard; apart from cricket I have been doing a lot of physical work and I’m getting better,” Rampaul said. “I still need to do a bit more work but I am getting there slowly.”

Celtic were undone by individual errors as their poor form in Europe continued at Parkhead on Thursday night.

Ange Postecoglou’s Hoops now sit bottom of Europa League Group G after they fell to a 4-0 defeat at the hands of Bundesliga giants Bayer Leverkusen.

David Turnbull’s slip allowed Piero Hincapie to capitalise after just 25 minutes before Florian Wirtz chipped over Bhoys goalkeeper Joe Hart just ten minutes later.

The Premiership outfit then struggled to get going in the second half and were stopped in their tracks once again as the ruthless visitors found a third from the penalty spot, with Lucas Hilario slotting home, and that was before substitute Amine Adli fired in a fourth with the last kick of the game.

Anthony Ralston at right-back was one particularly error-prone individual at Celtic Park, but truth be told, there were plenty of other players who struggled against the German giants, including Tom Rogic.

Deployed in the no.10 role, the 28-year-old midfielder failed to have any sort of influence on the game and that much was seen by the fact that Hoops ‘keeper Hart recorded more touches (57) than the man deployed in the playmaking role (45), as per SofaScore.

From that tally, he provided only 22 passes, which was the joint-lowest of any Celtic starter, and again the last thing you want from someone in an advanced role. The Australian could not create a key chance from those attempts either.

In addition, Rogic lost possession a whopping 15 times, which was pretty much with almost every one of his passes. That was wasteful and merely gave Leverkusen scope to further dominate the game.

He also committed two fouls, handing the Germans a perfect opportunity to get the ball back into the box.

You could argue that this sort of sloppiness invited pressure on Postecoglou’s backline and enforced young and inexperienced players like Ralston into making such errors, and at this level, those are certainly punished.

It’s no wonder Rogic lasted just 66 minutes before being hooked. He was appalling and will do well to feature in the starting XI again anytime soon.

AND in other news, Forget Brady: Celtic must swoop for £5.4m-rated machine who can “sprint like Mbappe”…

As per Mundo Deportivo, Everton are leading the race to sign Isco from Real Madrid and the Spanish giants are open to selling the 29-year-old in January.

The Lowdown: Everton previously linked

The Toffees have previously been linked with a move for the Spain international (AS), but they have so far failed to capture their target.

However, there has now been another update, and a move may be closer than ever.

The Latest: Isco on the radar

As per this latest report, the Toffees are once again interested in Isco.

With the midfielder’s contract running out next summer (Transfermarkt), Madrid are open to selling, and Rafa Benitez could sign for him a smaller fee given his deal is running out.

The playmaker was a key player in Benitez’s 2015-16 campaign in the Spanish capital, playing 43 times, scoring five goals and providing ten assists.

The Verdict: Be careful

Isco does have a fantastic pedigree. He has four Champions League titles to his name, as well as 38 Spain caps, and he has scored 72 goals throughout his career (Transfermarkt). He has also received praise from Andres Iniesta, who previously called him “incredible” (fotmob.com).

In recent years, though, he has not been at his best, and he managed just 25 La Liga appearances last season.

While Isco is a talented player, this situation is reminiscent of the one involving James Rodriguez. The Colombia international made the move to the Toffees as his career stagnated at the Santiago Bernabeu, only to leave a year later for Qatar. That does not mean history will repeat itself, but Benitez and co must be careful of another player on big wages and with a worrying injury history.

In other news, Everton fans love news on this midfielder.

A review of the matches in the third round of the ICC World Cricket League Division 7 in Guernsey

Cricinfo staff20-May-2009Bahrain, boosted by a century from Ashraf Yaqoob and a fine response from their bowlers, sealed their third straight win, beating Guernsey by 25 runs in Castel in a showdown between the competition’s two remaining unbeaten teams. Yaqoob (101) added 178 for the fourth wicket with wicketkeeper Adil Hanif (69) to help Bahrain recover from a shaky position at 25 for 3 to a competitive 257.Guernsey, in their chase, lost wickets at frequent intervals. Qamar Saeed and Tahir Dar shared six wickets between them, and despite important contributions from Jeremy Firth (65) – he shone in an allround display, also taking 4 for 67 in the Bahrain innings – and Stuart Le Prevost (47), Bahrain never ceded the advantage.Yaqoob was named Man of the Match for his 101. “It was not easy at first, but once I got into my innings I felt good,” he said. “I always felt that 180 would be enough for us as I think we are strong in our bowling and fielding. Our middle-order is extremely strong and we have put together some good partnerships. I am hopeful we can now go and win this tournament.”Japan won their first game of the competition, downing Suriname by eight wickets at Port Soif. The success was largely a result of a dream spell by fast bowler Patrick Giles-Jones, who finished with outstanding figures of 7 for 9. Giles-Jones, who is originally from Australia but moved to Japan, had reduced Suriname to a hopeless 7 for 8 at one stage. However, Arun Gokoel (31) staged a relative recovery, pushing the score up to 66 before the innings ended. Japan pursued their target at a slow pace, taking 29.4 overs to do so, and are up against table-toppers Bahrain on Thursday.”I have never been involved in a game like it,” Giles-Jones said. “The conditions were fine. It was just one of those days where everything I executed managed to come off. Our aim was to try and bowl them out for single figures, but one of their players really stuck at it and helped them recover. I think we are going to give it a really good go against Bahrain tomorrow. We are at the same ground and we know what conditions are like. We are confident that if we can produce a strong bowling performance then we can cause an upset.”Nigeria registered their second victory, winning comfortably against Gibraltar by 88 runs in St Peter Port. Gibraltar bowled well, Kabir Mirpuri taking 6 for 61, but a crucial, unbeaten 70 from Akabogu Okwudili helped Nigeria post a respectable 217 for 8.The score proved more than adequate as Gibraltar were skittled out for 129 to slip to their third consecutive loss, which puts them in danger of being relegated to Division 8.”It was a much better performance today and we played to our potential,” Adewale Adeoye, the Nigeria captain, said. “As I have always said, we have come here to prove a point that we are good enough to get promotion.”Bahrain take on a revived Japan on Thursday. In the other matches, Gibraltar play Suriname and Nigera face Guersney.

Bahrain 3 3 0 0 06 +2.341 770/138.0 447/138.0 Guernsey 3 2 1 0 0 4+0.208 612/138.0 634/150.0 Nigeria 32 1 0 0 4 +0.007570/148.1 576/150.0 Japan 3 12 0 0 2 +0.377 404/120.4406/136.4 Suriname 3 1 20 0 2 -1.483 443/138.0 510/108.4 Gibraltar 3 0 3 00 0 -1.522 454/150.0 680/149.3