Liverpool ‘Calm’ Despite Scoring Struggle in Draw with Luton, Says Klopp 

Football - Premier League - Luton Town v Liverpool - Kenilworth Road, Luton, Britain - November 5, 2023 Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp with Darwin Nunez and Alexis Mac Allister after the match. (Reuters)
Football - Premier League - Luton Town v Liverpool - Kenilworth Road, Luton, Britain - November 5, 2023 Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp with Darwin Nunez and Alexis Mac Allister after the match. (Reuters)
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Liverpool ‘Calm’ Despite Scoring Struggle in Draw with Luton, Says Klopp 

Football - Premier League - Luton Town v Liverpool - Kenilworth Road, Luton, Britain - November 5, 2023 Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp with Darwin Nunez and Alexis Mac Allister after the match. (Reuters)
Football - Premier League - Luton Town v Liverpool - Kenilworth Road, Luton, Britain - November 5, 2023 Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp with Darwin Nunez and Alexis Mac Allister after the match. (Reuters)

Liverpool will not hit the panic button despite their forwards being in far from their best goalscoring form against lowly Luton Town, manager Juergen Klopp said after his team were held to a 1-1 draw in the Premier League on Sunday.

Colombian winger Luis Diaz came off the bench to rescue the Merseyside outfit, scoring an emotional 95th-minute equalizer at Kenilworth Road and dedicating it to his kidnapped father.

Liverpool dominated possession and could have won had it not been for a string of missed chances by Darwin Nunez. But the German coach looked at the positives the Uruguayan striker showed.

"The first chance he had was really well done, great pass, first touch top and then he nails it on the crossbar," Klopp told reporters.

"The whole team was not in a goalscoring mood today, obviously, and that's then not helpful. But Darwin, what makes him really different is that he's involved in pretty much everything, so that's good. We are calm.

"Even when we should have finished better, but I don't think our problem was really finishing. It was other things.

"We should have created more and then we would have finished one or two situations off, and I would have been completely fine with winning here 1-0, I would've been very, very happy. But for that we should have played better."

The result left Liverpool third on 24 points, three behind leaders Manchester City, while Luton inched out of the relegation zone to go 17th on six points, two off the bottom.

Liverpool next travel to Ligue 1 club Toulouse in the Europa League on Thursday before hosting ninth-placed Brentford in the top-flight on Sunday.



Kyrgios’ Return to Grand Slam Tennis Is in Doubt Ahead of the Australian Open

Nick Kyrgios of Australia and Novak Djokovic of Serbia (not pictured) hit a return against Michael Venus of New Zealand and Nikola Mektic of Croatia during their men's doubles match at the Brisbane International tennis tournament in Brisbane on January 1, 2025. (AFP)
Nick Kyrgios of Australia and Novak Djokovic of Serbia (not pictured) hit a return against Michael Venus of New Zealand and Nikola Mektic of Croatia during their men's doubles match at the Brisbane International tennis tournament in Brisbane on January 1, 2025. (AFP)
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Kyrgios’ Return to Grand Slam Tennis Is in Doubt Ahead of the Australian Open

Nick Kyrgios of Australia and Novak Djokovic of Serbia (not pictured) hit a return against Michael Venus of New Zealand and Nikola Mektic of Croatia during their men's doubles match at the Brisbane International tennis tournament in Brisbane on January 1, 2025. (AFP)
Nick Kyrgios of Australia and Novak Djokovic of Serbia (not pictured) hit a return against Michael Venus of New Zealand and Nikola Mektic of Croatia during their men's doubles match at the Brisbane International tennis tournament in Brisbane on January 1, 2025. (AFP)

Nick Kyrgios’ planned return to Grand Slam tennis at the Australian Open is in doubt after he sustained an abdominal injury and was forced to withdraw from an exhibition with Novak Djokovic this week.

The 2022 Wimbledon finalist, sidelined with wrist and knee injuries since the 2022 US Open, said in an Instagram post Wednesday that an ultrasound scan had revealed an abdominal strain and "unfortunately (I) won’t be able to play my good friend (Djokovic) this Thursday."

He said he’d be resting and doing everything possible to be ready for the Australian Open, which starts Sunday at Melbourne Park.

The mercurial Australian, who has become a popular commentator during his lengthy stints on the injured list, made his competitive comeback last week at Brisbane, where he played one singles match and partnered with Djokovic in two doubles matches.

Djokovic and Kyrgios won their opening doubles match, a crowd-pleasing, fist-pumping affair by both players at Pat Rafter Arena before a 6-2, 3-6, 10-8 loss to Nikola Mektic of Croatia and New Zealander Michael Venus.

Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley remained confident Kyrgios would play at the year's first major.

"I think it’s just precautionary, that’s the word we’ve got from him," Tiley said Wednesday, responding to questions about the potential absence of the star Australian. "Nick’s not the only one not doing some of their pre-planned matches over the next few days. There’s no concerns ahead of the Open."