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On 27 December, ahead of the New Year, Liverpool also welcomed the news of long-term target Virgil van Dijk, signed for a generally reported fee going up to £75 million. With their new signing in attendance, Liverpool played their final match of the calendar year on 30 December against Leicester at Anfield. Vardy gave the Foxes a 0–1 lead in the 3rd where it stood until the 52nd with a Salah equalizer.
In the fourth round proper of the FA Cup, on 27 January, Liverpool took on West Brom. Firmino's chip in the fifth gave the early lead, but a four-minute double to Jay Rodriguez put West Brom up 1–2 in the 11th. Video assistant referee replay played a crucial first half role as it denied Craig Dawson a goal to make the game 1–3, then awarded a penalty to Liverpool, which was subsequently missed by Firmino. West Brom added a third with an own goal from Matip late in first half added time. Salah put the Reds within one in the 78th, but the 2–3 scoreline stood and the Reds were stunned at home by the second from bottom Baggies in the cup. The final fixture of the month was on 30 January where the Reds visited John Smith's Stadium and Huddersfield Town.
Liverpool reveal new home kit for 2017-18
Following a goalless first half, the Reds scored three in the second to get a 3–0 victory over their Slovenian counterparts. The goals came from Salah in the 49th, Emre Can in the 64th, and Sturridge in the 90th. The Reds were also given a penalty kick in the 54th, but Milner could not take advantage. Following that mid-week bout, the Reds then traveled to London to take on West Ham on 4 November. Salah and Matip put the Reds ahead 0–2 at the half as they scored within three minutes of each other, but West Ham countered in the 55th through Manuel Lanzini. Just a minute later, however, the Reds got their goal back through Oxlade-Chamberlain's first league goal as a Liverpool player.
In the 67th minute, Gylfi Sigurðsson scored on a counterattack to equalize the game at one. In the 84th minute, however, van Dijk in his Liverpool debut scored off a corner kick making it 2–1 and marking a second game in a row with a late headed goal from a defender to win the game. The day after, on 6 January, the club made the official announcement that Coutinho would be leaving for Barcelona on a deal that Paul Joyce of The Times reported could reach up to £142 million.
Matt Beard reaction | ‘It was another good win and clean sheet for us’
Salah had his first English hat trick as he scored in the 4th, 43rd, and 77th, and then added one more for good measure in the 85th. The final fixture of the month occurred on 31 March at Selhurst Park against Crystal Palace. Palace opened the scoring in the 13th with a Luka Milivojević spot kick and the 1–0 scoreline held into halftime. Just four minutes into the second half, however, Liverpool struck back with a Mane goal off a Milner cross.
Following a four-day mini camp in Marbella the Reds returned home for their final fixture of the month on 24 February against West Ham. Can opened the scoring with a header off a corner in the 29th, and Salah in the 51st and Firmino in the 57th added on to the lead. Michail Antonio added one for the Hammers in the 59th to put the score at 3–1, but a Mane goal in the 77th to make it 4–1 put the game away and, for the day, the Reds moved into second place. November opened up for Liverpool on the first of the month at Anfield in their home fixture against Maribor in the Champions League group stage.
Goalscorers
Scott Arfield put the visitors up 0–1 in the 27th, however Salah responded with an equalizer just three minutes later to put the scoreline at 1–1 where it stood till the final whistle. The Reds faced another midweek test on 19 September where they faced off with Leicester City at King Power Stadium in the Carabao Cup. Leicester scored twice in the second half through Shinji Okazaki and Islam Slimani in the 65th and 78th minutes to knock the Reds out of the Cup tournament with a 2–0 defeat.
That weekend, on 23 September, Liverpool played a second game at King Power Stadium against Leicester, this time in the league. Salah kicked off scoring in the 15th while Coutinho scored his first goal of the season with a stunning free kick in the 23rd to put Liverpool up 0–2. Right before the halftime whistle, Okazaki got Leicester a goal back on a scrambled effort off a corner kick. Captain Jordan Henderson put the Reds up 1–3 in the 68th with a counter-attacking goal, however Jamie Vardy got the goal back just a minute later. In the 73rd, goalie Simon Mignolet gave up a penalty kick, which, taken by Vardy, was saved by the keeper to keep the scoreline at 2–3, the final score.
"Dejan Lovren voted as Liverpool's joint player of the month for October by supporters". As of 15 June 2017, Liverpool have announced four pre-season friendlies against Hertha BSC, Athletic Bilbao Tranmere Rovers and Wigan Athletic. To commemorate Hillsborough, the 96 emblem, encased by the eternal flames, sits at the back of the collar.
Liverpool's final Premier League match of the season took place at Anfield against Brighton & Hove Albion on 13 May. The Reds wasted little time in finding the breakthrough as Salah scored in the 26th minute and sealed the record for most goals in a 38-game Premier League season, with 32. Just five minutes before halftime, Lovren doubled the Reds lead with a massive header. Liverpool continued forward as Solanke and Andy Robertson scored their first Liverpool goals in the 53rd and 85th minutes as Liverpool cruised to a 4–0 victory and, as a result, fourth place in the Premier League. Liverpool returned to Europe to play their next pre-season match on 29 July against Hertha BSC, a match that celebrated the two clubs respective 125th anniversaries of existence. Liverpool got the better of the German side winning 0–3 in Berlin with goals scored by Solanke, Gini Wijnaldum, and Salah.
On 14 January, Liverpool took on the undefeated Manchester City at Anfield in hopes of deal City their first loss in the league as well as a measure of revenge for the 0–5 loss the Reds were dealt in the reverse fixture. Liverpool started off strong with an Oxlade-Chamberlain goal in the ninth minute, but City scored an equalizer through in the 40th through a Leroy Sane effort. From the 59th to the 68th, Liverpool extended the lead to 4–1 through goals from Firmino, Mane, and Salah in a thrilling ten minutes of action. City got one back in the 84th from Bernardo Silva and another from İlkay Gündoğan in the 91st put it at 4–3, but the Reds held on and doled City their first loss of the league season. The next game for the Reds was a 22 January meeting in South Wales against Swansea and recently placed manager Carlos Carvalhal. Alfie Mawson scored the lone goal of the match in the 40th minute and the bottom place Swans took all three from the Reds with a 1–0 defeat given to the visitors.
Salah scored again in the 76th giving Liverpool a 2–1 victory and ensuring the Reds would end 2017 in the top four. Liverpool's first match of the month was a home bout on 3 March against Newcastle, as the Reds welcomed back manager Rafa Benítez, who won the 2005 Champions League with the club. Salah opened the scoring in the 40th minute and Mane put in another in the 55th to give the Reds a comfortable 2–0 victory over the Magpies. The Reds then played mid-week at home on 6 March against Porto in the return fixture of the Champions League round of 16. It was a quiet affair, Mane had a chance that hit the post and Danny Ings had a strong effort saved, but the game ended 0–0 and Liverpool moved on to the quarterfinals.
The Reds opened their 2018 on the first day of the year by traveling to Turf Moor to take on Burnley. Mane broke the deadlock in the 61st with a goal but Jóhann Berg Guðmundsson leveled the score in the 87th minute. The Reds, however, were able to get all three points off a Ragnar Klavan header in the 94th minute with a 1–2 final.
The 1–1 deadlock was broken as Salah slotted home another in the 84th and the Reds took a 1–2 victory out of London. February's first fixture occurred on the 4th when the Reds welcomed Tottenham to Anfield. Liverpool were off to a flying start following Salah's goal in the third minute giving Liverpool an early 1–0 lead. The score stayed this way until a screamer from Victor Wanyama in the 80th set off a frenetic close to the game. Kane took this penalty as well and converted in the 95th leaving the game level at 2–2.
Watford opened the scoring in the eighth minute with a Stefano Okaka header off a corner kick, however Mane levelled in the 29th minute, only for Abdoulaye Doucouré to give Watford a 2–1 in the 32nd where it stood at the half. In the second half, Liverpool took the lead after goals from Firmino from the spot and Salah in the 55th and 57th minutes, respectively. However, in the 93rd Miguel Britos once again levelled the game with a controversial equalizer off another corner kick to set the score at 3–3 where the game finished. Following the match, manager Klopp expressed disappointment in the equalizer counting making the claim that Britos was offside when scoring. Liverpool had no time to despair over lost points as they set off to Germany to square off with Hoffenheim in the first leg of their Champions League qualifier on 15 August. In the tenth minute, Simon Mignolet made a penalty save to keep the game level at 0–0 where it stood until Trent Alexander-Arnold's 35th minute free kick goal, the first in a Liverpool shirt for him.
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