Liverpool returned to training on Friday ahead of their home match against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday..
The Reds were upbeat at the AXA Training Centre, having extended their unbeaten run to five games with a 2-1 victory over West Ham United in midweek to boost their European chances.
As preparations for the Spurs match continued, here’s what we saw in training…
Ibrahima Konate returned to training on Friday, as promised by Jurgen Klopp at his most recent pre-match press conference, and will be available for selection on Sunday.
However, a number of senior players were absent from the Reds’ most recent training session.
Diogo Jota was missing from the latest pictures after suffering a serious back injury against West Ham, with Klopp admitting earlier in the day that he would need to be assessed.
Meanwhile, Fabinho and Thiago Alcantara were not included in the squad, but this does not necessarily mean they will not be available for selection on Sunday.
Despite Klopp’s suggestion that Naby Keita could return to training on Friday, he was not seen in the latest training pictures, and the likes of Roberto Firmino and Stefan Bajcetic were also absent, as expected.
Confusion over Oxlade-Chamberlain
Despite Klopp’s claim during his press conference that Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was not training, the midfielder was spotted taking part in the session on Friday.
The England international was caught on camera challenging Luis Diaz while standing alongside Darwin Nunez and James Milner, indicating that he was in full team training to some extent.
Perhaps an unexpected return, or just a slip of the tongue on Klopp’s part? Given that his press conference was held on Friday morning, it would not have been long before he received the most recent medical updates.
Salah pranks Robbo while Milly makes fun of Nunez.
Mohamed Salah was caught on camera prior to training pranking Andy Robertson by spraying him with water from behind, though he quickly denied his guilt.
The two were seen joking as they left for training, with Robertson racing away from Salah, implying that the pair were up to more mischief behind the scenes.
Meanwhile, during training, Milner was in good spirits with Nunez, wrapping his arm around him and shaking hands. The Reds vice-captain is fluent in Spanish and could have assisted his teammate with translation, though Klopp will undoubtedly hope Nunez was brushing up on his English!
Joe Gomez scores three goals!Joe Gomez has yet to score a goal for Liverpool. However, he scored an incredible hat-trick during a shooting exercise at the end of training, earning Klopp and his teammates joyful applause.
He rolled his second strike past Marcelo Pitaluga into the bottom right corner after bending his first strike into the top left corner. He did, however, save his best for last.
A first-time volley from the edge of the box, he wheeled off in celebration as his teammates applauded in awe, before waving as he jogged back inside as Klopp applauded from the doorway.
Congratulations, Joe. It doesn’t get much better than that if you’re a prolific forward!
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