Sky Sports pundit Gary Lineker has applauded the efforts of Liverpool over the course of the campaign while saying that Manchester City have made an ‘enormous’ achievement to stay ahead of the Merseyside giants. The Citizens recently jumped to the top of the table with a one-point lead over Jurgen Klopp’s side after they got the better of Manchester United in the derby.

Shortly after the game, Lineker was appreciative of the achievements of both teams during the league campaign and insisted that the Citizens have been sensational to stay ahead of the Reds, he tweeted: “Manchester City are a sensational side. The fact that Liverpool are only one point adrift of them is a huge achievement. Liverpool are an outstanding side. The fact that Manchester City are one point ahead of them is an enormous achievement. What a season.”

Newcastle United goalkeeper Martin Dubravka has revealed that Martin Skrtel had played a pivotal role in him joining the Magpies last year. Skrtel had a fond relationship with Magpies boss Rafael Benitez during their time together at Liverpool,and Dubravka has acknowledged that his Slovakian compatrioturged him to make the switch to St James Park.

In a report covered by Goal.com, the Magpies number one said: “It was difficult to leave Sparta. That was my team. Obviously if you have the chance to play in the Premier League you take this opportunity. I spoke to Martin Skrtel. He said go, gr

Fenerbahce defender Martin Skrtel has confirmed that he has decided to step down from Slovakia duty at the age of 34. The centre-back has served for the nation for the past 15 years, but he has opted to snub another call-up by noting that he does not have the commitment to feature for the entirety of the forthcoming Euro qualification.

Speaking to Slovakia’s official website, Skrtel acknowledged the decision to quit from international football after racking 103 caps – the third most in the country’s history, he said: "My decision to end my international career was not easy to come to. I thoroughly considered the case for and against, and I came to the conclusion that now is the time to finish. I am convinced that I would not finish the forthcoming qualification and therefore it would not fair if I played two or three games and ended like that."

A familiar face and everyone’s favorite Martin Skrtel once again in the news to do the business on the pitch for Liverpool despite leaving Anfield a few years ago. Martin Skrtel, former Reds defender at the Sukru Saracoglu Stadium starts for Fenerbahce against Benfica with. In order to move to the next round of the Champions League, the Turks will be required to defeat a deficit which now reads at 1 - 0.

A Fenerbahce win should work out favorably for Liverpool, they will move up to the second position if the team Benefica will not be able to make it to the group stage and the side of Klopp is also one of the highest ranked side of the competition. Skrtel’s last appearance in the Champions League was for the Liverpool team in the year 2014 against Basel.

Former Nigeria international Garba Lawal believes Victor Moses has been offered the chance to revive his career with Fenerbahce following his struggles for gametime under Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri. The Nigeria international managed just two league appearances for the Blues this term and this eventually convinced him to join the Yellow Canaries on an 18-month loan contract.

Speaking to Goal.com, Lawal said that Moses has the opportunity to prove Maurizio Sarri wrong during his temporary stint in Istanbul, he said: “Every coach has his own philosophy. We may not know what the problem is. Moses might not fit into his [Sarri] pattern of play, so it is normal in football.

Could Martin Skrtel link up with former Liverpool teammate Steven Gerrard at Scottish Premiership giants Rangers in the January transfer window?

Rangers will have to break the bank if they want to reunite Steven Gerrard with his former Liverpool team-mate Martin Skrtel in the January transfer window.

Speaking to Record Sport, agent Carol Ksonto said:“Financially there is no chance of Martin going to Rangers. He couldn’t get half of his wages in Glasgow. It would be more like a third. Yes, he has great respect for Steven Gerrard but there’s no point in having a discussion because financially it’s just not realistic.”

Gerrard recruited the services of Connor Goldson, Nikola Katic and Gareth McAuley for the central defence during the summer and they have managed to perform credibly thereafter with just 12 goals conceded from the opening 14 matches. Despite this, there remains a slender weakness with the defensive strength when compared to Celtic and that is something which Gerrard may need to resolve to end the Hoops’ dominance in the Scottish Premiership.

Fenerbahce manager Phillip Cocu has highlighted the importance of Thursday night’s Europa League win over Spartak Trnava. The Dutchman had been under immense pressure to perform after the club’s poor start to the league campaign but he has managed to buy himself some time with the midweek triumph over Trnava.

Speaking after the game, Cocu indicated that the victory was a much-needed one after they were outclassed during the opening Europa League game against Dinamo Zagreb, he said: “It’s a very important moment to win. We lost the first game without a chance in Zagreb, then you have to win. This is different from the league, here too you have ambitions. I’m happy.

acknowledge the loan move. The statement read: "Our club has reached an agreement with English team Leicester City to loan Islam Slimani for one year.Algeria national team footballer Slimani, after health checks, has signed the official contract."

https://www.thesportsman.com/articles/four-teams-still-turkish-super-lig...

Slimani became the Foxes’ record signing during the summer of 2016 after making the switch from Sporting on transfer deadline day. However, he thereafter struggled to command a regular starting role and the same case was experienced during the previous campaign where he was loaned out to Newcastle United for the second half of the season.

Martin Škrtel is probably one of the older players, but this Slovak stopper, even at the age of 33, commands a high market value in Europe. He met Comolli, the sporting director and asked for his contract to be extended for the next two years. Comolli would be speaking to the administration accordingly.

Martin stated that he wanted to get back on the field as per the interest of the supporters. He is part of Fenerbahce and he stated to FBTV that he would want to get back on the field. Škrtel stated that pre-season work would be intense and he joked that this allowed the game environment to be more colorful. He also emphasized that these jokes should be taken in the right spirit. Being an experienced stopper he stated that the team was waiting for the season to start.