Reds leave it late to win thrilling Premier League opener as Anfield honours Diogo Jota's memory

23:03It's more angry, to be honest. Shocked. Obviously, I said to the ref, I just want him removed immediately. But he said, you have to go for a process. The police will go and sort it. And to be fair, the Liverpool players were very supportive as well towards Antoine and the rest of the team. So I think it was handled in the right way. But yeah, just so angry. I can feel that coming through you, that emotion as well. As you said, it does appear to have been handled quite swiftly on the ground. Merseyside police involved as well. But when you talk about taking the knee, educating people, what more can be done, an opening day of the season too?

23:45Yeah, obviously we've had discussions with the Premier League about it, so they've been taking it serious. But I was just speaking to some of the lads in there, and I don't know what else we can do. We've been doing it for a long time now, and no one's just getting it. It's just, I just don't know what to say anymore. And I just feel sorry for Ant in there, just that he's up to take that tonight and the whole country's watching. And for that to happen, it's just shocking. I thank you for your time. Thank you. No rest, thank you.

24:18Well, this is the statement that we have had on the incident from the Premier League Match Centre, saying that the match was temporarily paused after a report of discriminatory abuse from the crowd directed at Bournemouth Antoine Semenyo in line with the Premier League's on-field anti-discrimination protocol and that's what we heard Adam Smith talk about there in terms of the conversations that they've had with the Premier League. They say the incident will now be fully investigated. They offer their full support to the player and the clubs. They emphasise that racism has no place in our game or anywhere in society and that they will continue to work with stakeholders and authorities to ensure stadiums are an inclusive and welcoming environment for all.

24:56Adam Smith made the point there and Juliet picked up on it that taking the knee gestures aren't having the effect of getting rid of this from the game. Is reporting the incident and more importantly, following that up with swift and correct action, the answer to trying to get this out of the game, at least out of the stadiums?

25:20Gary Neville:Yeah, I mean, of course, it's the correct way to go about it. I just think back about four or five weeks ago where Solford City, a club obviously that I part own, there was an incident of racism and the manager and the players walked off the pitch and didn't finish the last, I think, seven or eight minutes of the game. They just walked off and walked in. Now, I'm not saying that that should have happened tonight, but we're going to get to a point where I think that players are going to rally around if these incidents keep occurring in stadiums and they say, no, football's not important tonight, we're going to go off and walk off.

25:53Gary Neville:and I'm not advocating that, but it's the right thing to do, but that's what the Salford players did that night. They felt very strongly about it and we supported them. But you can just see the players there, the disappointment, the shock. He refers to, obviously, the player, Semenu, who goes on to have the most incredible second half after what he's experienced in the first half, which says a lot about him as a personality and a character. And I've spoken about this personally before, where I was witnessing players getting racially abused in stadiums. You know, Ashley Cole famously in the Bernabeu in 2003 for England and I went after the game and sat next to him.

26:26Gary Neville:And at that time, my response was inadequate. You know, I think back in 2003, I should have been a lot more supportive. I think as a group of players, we should have been a lot more supportive. I think now the players are giving support and there will be obviously rallying around him in that changing room and making sure that he's OK. But I have to say it's despicable. It really is. And enough is enough. I know we've said that for a long time now, but it continues to keep happening. I noticed on the screens at halftime, just in the two corners over there, they had the number that you can text in the crowd if you hear any racist language and there is a way for that to be reported.

27:02Is this as well as being dealt with properly by the authorities and having faith in them to deal with it properly? Is there an element of self-policing as well, Jamie, in this?

27:14Gary Neville:Yeah, I think so. Listen, I think there is a lot of good work that gets done, you know, up and down the country in terms of the football side of it. And I can understand where Adam Smith's coming from, thinking, you know, what more can we do or what else? Or these things aren't working. But it's also difficult when you've just got one idiot in a crowd. How would you police that one person in a crowd who, as you just mentioned, despicable? It makes it difficult whether that's through the Premier League, the Football League, the FA, the clubs coming together. To be removed from the ground. And they said, well, we have to go through a process.

27:47Then the police become involved. And so the processes were being gone through at the ground.

27:52Gary Neville:Yeah, exactly. I'm not sure if you're talking about that and then someone getting removed from the ground. I'm not sure what else you can do, whether the fan gets banned for the season or gets banned for life. I totally get that. But in terms of the actual racial abuse, and we're talking about all the good work that we're trying to do, we all know it's completely different than when I first go on the terraces in sort of the mid-80s when I was a seven or eight-year-old kid. But it is very difficult for the clubs or the FA or the Premier League. There's one idiot in the crowd who just, you know, comes out with that nonsense.

28:22But isn't it in a way that easier if it's one person?

28:26Gary Neville:Yeah, I think the important thing, Kelly, is it's a criminal offence. It's obviously proven to be found guilty. Which is why we need to be careful around it. The consequence of that should mean that that person, you know, there is serious consequences for that individual. I'm not just talking about taking the season ticket off them and stopping them watching Liverpool again. That's an absolute given. They won't step foot in this stadium if it was proved to be correct. But also the fact that their employer, the people who they work with, their family, this is going to have a knock-on effect and there needs to be consequence if these type of incidents are reported and they're found to be proved correct.

29:00Gary Neville:And there needs to be serious consequences. And here is Andoni Erawler with Jules. Andoni, first of all, I know it's been a frustrating dressing room and it's been a very disappointed dressing room. I know you've been speaking to Liverpool security, Merseyside police involved as well. Can I just get first of all your thoughts on what happened to Antoine Semenyo tonight? I didn't notice it live, no, because obviously there's a lot of people shouting, but Antoine, the referee, everyone explained straight away the situation. To be fair, I think the person has been identified. It's a shame, because in a really great game of football, first game of the season, everyone watching, we have to be talking about these things still today.

29:46I think we should have been past this stage, but still there are people that don't behave obviously correctly. and it's a shame. It's a shame because every step that you collectively do forward with these things loses a lot of power. Your captain was talking to us and he was saying what bravery Antoine showed to continue and carry on and not to react to what happened to him on the pitch. Yes, I think he did what he had to do, inform straight away. Also the ref explained to both manager straight away the situation. I don't think he lost his mind. Probably he was thinking the next minutes in this thing, but it's a big shame that we have to start talking about these things.

30:44When Anthony Taylor came over and spoke to both you and Arnazslaut, and I saw Arnazslaut talking to Antoine at the end of the match as well, and Virgil van Dijk was talking to him at half-time. How did you feel about it? What was that reaction? For sure, the Liverpool manager, the players, are the first ones. They feel like they've received this thing because at the end, even if it's a Liverpool supporter, for sure they don't want it with them. I think everyone understands that these things have to be especially out from everywhere, but especially from football. And it's a big shame, big shame.

31:25And to bring you back right into the game as well, to level the scoreline, 2-2, going into the final stages of the match, shows what type of character, what type of person he is. How is he right now, though, in that dressing room? I think he's probably overthinking it, because probably in the heat of the game you continue playing, you focus on the things you have to do obviously has continued playing very well he scored two goals in the second half but now that we had to go again to talk to the police to the officials to again tell them more or less how the things have gone I think he was in his head for sure he will have it there and it shouldn't be like this Thank you for your time Andoni Thank you Well again Andoni Araulo with strong words there Antoine Semenya reporting racist abuse in the first half of this game here at Anfield, but then went on to score two goals in the second half.

32:24That pulled it back to two all at the time. Two late goals for Liverpool earned them a 4-2 victory in the opening game of this Premier League season. We'll be hearing from the Liverpool boss, Arnaud Slott, next on his thoughts on the result and on the performance.

32:51Gary Neville:Fantasy Premier League is back and so is the Sky Sports Fantasy Podcast. We're here to give you all the tips and advice you need to beat your mini league rivals. Are you struggling to find the best budget options or wondering whether to pick Mohamed Salah, Erling Haaland or both? Don't worry, we've got the answers to all of those questions. I'm James Savandra and every week I'll be joined by one of the best FPL managers in the business. They'll be on hand to answer your dilemmas, so don't hesitate to get in touch. Every week, our expert will also reveal their transfer plans and tell you the best captaincy options.

33:27Gary Neville:So what are you waiting for? Make sure you tune in to the Sky Sports Fantasy Podcast. It's available now on skysports.com or wherever you get your podcasts.

33:41If you're enjoying this podcast, there are plenty more from Sky Sports. we think you'll love too. There's the Gary Neville podcast for Gary's immediate reaction to the biggest matches. Transfer Talk has the latest on all the big moves in and out of the Premier League and beyond. And for WSL fans, check out Pitch to Pod with Jordan Nobbs and Nikita Paris. Just search for Sky Sports wherever you get your podcasts. For now though, let's get back to the Sky Sports Premier League podcast.

34:18Antoine Semenya reported to the referee. You can see him here walking over to Anthony Taylor. A racist incident in the first half at Anfield. Both benches were spoken to and informed about the incident. The game was suspended for a short while while the information was passed on.

34:44Antoine Semenya made his way back his captain Adam Smith said he had full support as you would imagine from both sets of players and benches Arna Slocke found him for a word afterwards and Liverpool have released a statement that says Liverpool Football Club is aware of an alleged an allegation of racist abuse made during our Premier League game against AFC Bournemouth We condemn racism and discrimination in all forms. It has no place in society or football. The club is unable to comment further as tonight's alleged incident is the subject of an ongoing police investigation, which we will support fully.

35:24So as things stand, what we can infer from Liverpool's statement is that this is now being dealt with by the police.

35:32Gary Neville:Yeah, so before it's a serious matter. It will be dealt with by the police. There needs to be strong consequences. And it's what the game does. We've seen a lot of those statements over the last 10, 15 years and they keep coming out after every single game. It's like plug and play. But what's changing? I think that's the key thing. What's changing? And that's exactly the point that Adam Smith was making in his interview, which is there are lots of gestures and not too much change within the game. It's certainly not eradicated it from the game. Antoine Semenya went on then to score two goals that brought it back to 2-all for Bournemouth at Liverpool this evening.

36:09Liverpool went on to take the game by four goals to two. Jamie, you've been talking about some of the defensive concerns and Arnazlott will be joining us and you'll be able to put your questions to him. But before we do, because we are going to get caught in those more negative conversations, we should talk about how well Bournemouth played, particularly given that they're a group of players and defensively are a group of players who haven't played together in the Premier League before.

36:36Gary Neville:When you think of what Bournemouth did last season, they were a team who we all talked about everybody was raving about every time with Monday Night Football you're coming in doing a Bournemouth piece looking at the stats the numbers but I think that performance to go first game of the season to the home of the champions with the problems that you've had the players that you've lost listen Bournemouth fans know their team better than me but that surely has to go right up alongside any performance from last season you know they've just been a little bit unfortunate towards the last kick of the game ball just dropped to Chiesa he's falling away and just finds the bottom corner I mean, they were absolutely fantastic.

37:10Gary Neville:They should have gone 1-0 up, maybe even 2-0 up, two big chances in the first half. I thought the game had got away from them. So to come back there and do what they did to Liverpool in that second half and leave them hanging on and leave them needing to score in the last minute was a fantastic performance, as I said, considering the players that they've lost from last season. When we spoke to O 'Reilly before the game, he conceded that it would be tough for them, particularly as a new group of players coming to the home of the champions, that they might not have too much of the ball, but how impressed were you with what they did when they did have it?

37:40Gary Neville:I thought they were excellent. I thought the front four were a real threat. I thought Scott was really sort of dangerous. Semenyo obviously was a huge threat to Liverpool. They should have, as Jamie said, gone one or two up in the first half. They were creating big moments. It was always going to be tough for them, but it's a great performance from Bournemouth. It really was. Well, Arna Slott has made his way to join us. Arna, thank you so much. Congratulations on the victory. We will talk about the football, but it's important that we get your thoughts on the report that Antoine Semenya gave to the officials, alleging racist abuse.

38:12What was said over on the benches? And I know you made a point of going over to speak to Semenya at the end of the game. Yeah, yeah. No, I think the club made a clear statement. We don't want this in football. We don't want this in the stadium to happen. But especially not at Anfield. So we should talk about that. We should talk about that for a long time because it's unacceptable that something happens like this in the stadium, let alone at Anfield. And that unfortunately gets the shine off. I don't know if that's really good English, but because our fans were unbelievable when you talk about the tribute for Djogo.

38:52But what happened over there is definitely, I didn't hear it. I only can say that this should definitely not happen in the stadium. And the club, as you say, have put out a statement saying that they condemn abuse in any form. And I know that it's with the police. So there's a limit to what can now be said. As you said, we could have been talking about a fantastic game. And we will talk about what was a fantastic game. You take all three points from it. Were you happy with everything that you saw out there? I think it was a great game to watch. And this is why football, this is what football makes so great.

39:29three parties involved that wanted to play a very nice game. Us, Bournemouth and the referee. So high tempo, no time wasting, no diving, just keep on playing. This is what football makes so nice. 2-0 up, going 2-2, because they just kept on going after 2-0 down. It's a big compliment for them not to give up but just keep on fighting. And then we did the same after we conceded the 2-2. And not only we, our fans were at that moment of time. And even before the game, during the You Never Walk Alone and the tributes for Djurgård, the banner they had. Altogether, it should be about that. But the game of football was also impressive, in my opinion.

40:11Yeah, very impressive game of football. Were you always convinced that Liverpool were going to take three points from that game? No, because we played them last season here when we were 3-0 up. They just kept on going. They were in every running stats very high last season. And you could see today again, by the way as well, but you could see today again how fit this team we faced was and never gave up. Because you can talk about rest defense, but I think the moment we lost the ball in both situations, the rest defense was in order. But the pace they have, the tempo they sprinted all the way, it was a 4v2, I think, on this side.

40:47That's also credits to them. But like I said, they face the team that's really fit as well and never gives up. We've lost many players during the summer, but we didn't lose our mentality. I'm really interested in that point because I've heard you make it in almost every interview that you've given because you're asked so often about the players who've come in. But you're always at pains to emphasize the players who've gone over the summer. Not always, because it's only the second day I have an interview, I think. Yeah, I've seen a couple. But yeah, everybody is asking me the same question. Yeah, you have a lot of new players.

41:19Yeah, reality is we've lost a lot of players as well. I think we even lost more than we got. But it's normal if you bring such talented players in and you've already won the league last season, everybody's talking about that. But yeah, if you normally, when it was 2-2, you know, I think these two know which player I was looking at it that moment of time, I would have loved to bring Djokovic Jotain, but now I couldn't for terrible reasons, but now the fans and the players that were still there did what he did so many times for us in the past.

41:56Gary Neville:You just mentioned rest defence there, and you know it's been a problem in the pre-season, in the community shield, and here today. I think what stood out for me watching your Liverpool team last season was how much control you had in games, and I rarely saw end-to-end games. I feel like I'm seeing that today and in the Community Shield. Is that a worry for you? Because there's a lot of attack and talent on the pitch now that maybe wasn't there as much last season. Not that we bring more bodies in front of the ball maybe, but we do have players that are looking maybe for a final pass or a difficult solution in the end phase of an attack a little bit more because they also have these passes than we had last season.

42:40And probably, I'm not talking about the player we lost, but I do talk about a player that was not available last week and not this week. And that's Ryan Gravenberg, who was last season very, very important in these moments as well. So with McAllister only being back two or three weeks in preseason, we lost a little bit of that control in our midfield. But yeah, Ryan will be back next week and Maka will be fitter again. and we need to find a better balance in taking the risk because against Palace we've lost two or three simple balls that led to counter-attacks. We're here, we lost in the 2-1, we lost the ball with a trick as well.

43:20Where Dominic wanted to do a trick.

43:21Gary Neville:Could you believe what you were seeing? I mean, I was up on comments, you maybe even got a better view than yourself. I think there were seven or eight players in the box when the score was a 2-1. Are you sort of encouraging that or would you be furious with that? No, depends on where the players of the opposition are. If they are standing over here at the halfway line it would be stupid for us to be there with seven. But if they go with all players back in their own 18-yard box, we need to have a rest defense in order to be close to them there as well. I think if you, I don't know if we can show this, but if you stop the play at the moment Mo loses the ball, there is not such a big problem.

43:53I think the rest defense is in order. But then they just came with three or four out of nowhere, not out of nowhere, out of their own 18-yard box. Arne, we've got it for you. So if you look at this one now, if you stop it, stop. you can't stop it but a little bit earlier take it back

44:10Gary Neville:but Arne we're two defensive players two full backs just take it back a little bit further a little bit further if we can a little bit further we used to play like this no no it's fine what I'm saying is I don't like the fact that Liverpool's two full backs at this stage of the game Joe Gomez has made an inside run Andy Robinson's in the box that to me feels too much on the front foot depends on where their players are and if I see it now and I see where Semenya is than you could argue if Robbo should be this high for Stubb. For me, Robbo should be where Semenjo is. And you can argue if all of our midfielders should go inside the 18-yard box now.

44:50But that's also who we were and who we are. And that's also why you see such a nice game if you watch Liverpool. Because we are not going to go to a low block and defend. Stop, stop, stop. You see, we are in 2-3-1 behind the ball. and you see players from us sprinting back as well. But it's, I give credits to Semenya.

45:08Gary Neville:Can I just say that worries me a little bit? What? When you say that's the team that we are with so many bodies going forward. Am I allowed to say that? Sorry, boss. No, you're allowed to say this. But then you need to support a team that's going to play with 11 players in their own box. I prefer to see this. But I prefer even more to see not being counter-attacked. That I agree on. But I like it that our players like to play football and I think last season we were a joy to watch, like for example Paris Saint-Germain, who do similar things like this. To be honest with you, I think it's a breath of fresh air in the sense of how I see the game should be played.

45:43Gary Neville:It's how we used to play. I quite often last year said that football was becoming quite formulaic, where players weren't free. It felt like they were being sort of like coached like robots today. You must pass it here, you must pass it there. So when I see that tonight, I feel like that's really exciting. Obviously, sometimes you will concede goals doing that. But is this how you're going to play for the rest of the season? Because I think that it's going to be thrilling to watch Liverpool if it is. Yeah, we will try. Although we want to do better in the transition moments, of course. But it's also then, if Mo would have had a shot on goal that went over or a corner kick, it's not a problem.

46:16So where do you lose a ball is crucial as well. The moment how Dominic Suboslai lost the ball with a trick, that is not smart in that moment of time. But we will fine-tune even more these counter-attacks, hopefully, but we will work on that definitely. But we do want to stay the team that is a joy to watch offensively. We're not a team where if we're 2-0 up, we're going to go with 10 men in our own box. That's not who we are.

46:43Gary Neville:You substituted both your full-backs, Kerkhez and Frimpong. What were you just thinking behind that at that moment in the game?

46:52I'm looking for the English word, but that wasn't out of luxury. That was because Jeremy Frimpong felt his hamstring at half-time and made a lot of sprints. He was doing quite well, wasn't he? He was doing quite well, but the other fullback, Conor Bradley, is already injured with a hamstring injury. So you don't want to take the risk of another fullback losing another fullback. Then you could argue, why don't you play Joe Gomez there? But I just said he only had two sessions in preseason. So he wasn't able to play half an hour, so we started with Wata and our left fullback, Milos Kerkes, is a player that I think the fans like, because in every duel he goes all in.

47:28But when you have a yellow card already and you play Semenyo, that's kind of a risk. And if you have Robertson as a backup, then that was the reason for those two. when Hugo Iquitique came later in pre-season has to adapt from, I think I can say that Liverpool is a bit better club than Frankfurt and the league is probably more intense as well so for him to be able to play 70 is already a big bonus after being two or three weeks here. So yeah that's where we are at the moment because we lost some players. You need more players, Arne. No, no, that's not what I'm saying. So does that mean there's more to come in the transfer window?

48:08No, no, no, I'm not saying we need more. I'm only saying that everybody's only talking, they added, they added. No, we didn't add. Till now, we only replaced. And you never know what's going to happen in the window. We do already signed one with Leone. Yes. So that's a good thing. Anna, I will say when we came here this evening, I didn't think you'd get support from this corner and criticism from that corner. It's not criticism, it's constructive.

48:29Gary Neville:Kelly, he played under Rafa Benitez. He had four defenders that never moved. He had four midfield players that never moved. He had eight behind the ball every week. And one of the most famous Champions League final of all time. And I spoke to Bonitas and he said that's only because of Jamie. Because he has to play in big spaces, he has a problem. Oh, no, listen, we really appreciate you coming out. Thank you very much. Congratulations on the victory. Thank you. And it is job done as far as getting the result is concerned. Whether you two have concerns about Jamie, how the set-up is and how that might look as the season goes on.

49:01or, Gary, whether it's the kind of football that you played in that you enjoy watching, it is a style of football that clearly on a slot is going to be playing with Liverpool.

49:09Gary Neville:I get Cara's point because they're going to go to Newcastle, they're going to go and play Arsenal here in a few weeks and you can't obviously be that open at times but because Liverpool have got such a punch, if you just throw punches and go punch for punch with a lot of teams, you'll win most of your matches and go and risk in to win games. I mean, they had seven or eight players in the box at 2-1. If that's 3-1, you say that's brilliant, that's what we want to see And I was so critical at times last season of seeing teams recycle the ball where they were basically sort of didn't know how to go forward.

49:35Gary Neville:So when I watch a team like that, that runs forward, that passes forward, that commits players, that's got two full backs forward, that leaves two on two at the back. That to me is a thrill. That's what the Premier League is. Now, I know that ultimately when we're talking about tactical football later on in the season, we would be critical if Liverpool lost the league playing like that. But I think at this point in the season, I think you're OK to be able to do that. and I think they obviously have to sort it out in bigger games and they've obviously got players to come back. So I don't want to be too critical of it because I reminisce and think that that's how we would play.

50:07Gary Neville:We would commit, we would risk, we would try and thrill at all times in the games and score more goals and at 2-1 you don't sit back and that's what I think Liverpool have done to that. But I can see why you're slightly worried but let's see how they do against Newcastle and Arsenal. That would be a bigger test I think. Which are coming up very shortly for Liverpool and of course we'll be bringing you that game between Newcastle and Liverpool might well be an interesting one given the transfer speculation. He talked about Giovanni Leone who has come into the club. He's a young defender, young Italian defender and is one for the future.

50:37But I'll just start talking about him as very much part of that Liverpool squad.

50:42Gary Neville:How far away is he? Who was the Liverpool main rivals? We'll discuss that next.

50:58If you're a Sky Sports subscriber, you can watch all the live action directly from the Sky Sports app. Just head to your app store to download it to your device. Not got Sky Sports? Existing Sky customers can upgrade their package. Or if you've not got Sky, you can sign up at sky.com. Now, let's get back to the Sky Sports Premier League podcast.

51:30The Premier League is up and running. Full programme of fixtures coming your way. Villa against Newcastle, Brighton, Fulham, Sunderland, West Ham, Tottenham, Burnley, and then on Saturday Night Football, it's Wolves against Manchester City. Before the Monday Night Football between Leeds and Everton, there's a Super Sunday in which you can see all the 2 o 'clock games as you will be able to across the course of this Premier League season. So Chelsea against Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest against Brentford. But wrapping up that Super Sunday, it's Manchester United against Arsenal.

52:06The good days are coming.

52:12We've been very, very close the last three seasons.

52:22Gary Neville:See you here.

52:29Don't get me wrong

52:32Gary Neville:Nature bad and great right But it's time to Give the people something different So without further ado I Like to introduce my From either side of this famous rivalry hope can somehow feel real.

52:59Jamie, we've just seen Liverpool win their opening game of the season, although at times I don't know if you were 100 % confident that that was going to be the case. Arsenal go to Manchester United tomorrow. They will very much be looking to take one step further on Sunday and win that Premier League trophy. It's nearly midnight. It might be tomorrow. They will go on and win that Premier League trophy. Who do you think is best place to challenge Liverpool and potentially go on and win it if they don't defend their trophy?

53:27Gary Neville:I'd probably say Arsenal as a whole, as a club, as a team. But I've just got Pep Guardiola on the back of my mind and he just doesn't not win. When he doesn't win a league title, I don't think he's gone two years without winning a league title. He's such a special manager. You think, is he going to conjure something up? But then I'm also thinking, is the City squad now good enough to go and win the league right now with what they've got? Because the squad he had last season, and he couldn't find something to fix it. We always expect him to do that. So I'd probably just edge for Arsenal. Gary, they're taking on Manchester United at Old Trafford.

54:01There have been a couple of signings that the Manchester United fans have been really happy about. They've been really attacking signings. They're looking for goals. That was an issue last season. Have they got enough now in the squad to really improve from last season? And how far can it take them?

54:16Gary Neville:I was thinking that before about Eketike. We shouldn't take for granted what he's done in this last couple of weeks, that kid. He's 22 and we say that people need time to settle in. But there are a lot of very good players who've come into this league who've gone straight for it straight away and started scoring. And then Bermilcuny, Cesco, a lot of eyes on them at Manchester United. I think Manchester United fans, including myself, are surprised that the club have gone and spent that level of money. We thought, obviously, after the Europa League final, that the money wouldn't be there at that level.

54:41Gary Neville:So to get those three players who look like a really good profile, two of them have got Premier League experience.

54:49Gary Neville:We, need them to do well. We need those three players to do well because the rest of the team, look, we need a goalkeeper. There's definitely obviously issues with the defence and midfield, but if the three strikers are a real handful and scoring goals, last season United's return in front of goal was really poor. So it's really important that Sesko and Bermont-Kuny get off to a really good start. We've seen a Liverpool striker do that tonight. There's no reason why United strikers can't go and do that on Sunday. If they start, is it Sesko against Jocheres? I think it's fascinating the fact that Eketike, Verts, Pedro, De Lappe, Xochores, Sesco, these players all come into big clubs.

55:29Gary Neville:How are they going to do? We're not quite sure, are we? Obviously, Eketike tonight has given us a little bit of a glimpse of what he's like, but there is pressure on all those players to deliver for Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool. They have to deliver. The main man at City, obviously, Highland, we know he's going to score goals, but who of those rest are going to emerge to become maybe a world-class player? So what's a good season for Manchester United? I think top six would be a good season I think the four at the top Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool, City I think would be difficult to challenge but they could slip into that space where Newcastle, Tottenham, Villa other clubs are so I think in that fifth place would be absolutely amazing Realistically I think it's probably going to be between sixth and eighth but I think fifth is what they have to really target Aim for fifth and potentially end up between sixth and eighth do you think that's realistic for Manchester United?

56:17Gary Neville:Yeah, I think so. I mean, people will look where they finished last season and say, oh, that's a huge jump. But then you think of some of the teams who were up in those positions all last season. Nottingham Forest were fighting relegation this season before. Brentford were up there for a lot of the season. Bournemouth were up there for a lot of the season. You know, when you look at those teams and those squads, they haven't got better players than Manchester United. But I think the manager's still got a lot to prove. I do. I think he's had about 40 games now, which is a decent run, you know, in terms of sort of trying to get his message across.

56:45Gary Neville:And it didn't quite happen at all. I can't get that sort of final out of my head, really, about how poor they were in that game. So I think he's almost got a lot to prove as well because Manchester United, no matter what set of players they've got on the pitch, they shouldn't finish. Was it 15th they finished last season? Man United's squad of players and the expenditure, whoever the manager, that squad of players shouldn't be finished in that position. So I don't think 6th, 7th is completely out of the question because, as I said, they've spent what they always do, £250 million in the summer.

57:15Is there patience? amongst the Manchester United fans? Do they have to? They've saved a lot of money. Do they have to start fast?

57:26Gary Neville:No, the United fans are patient in the sense that they turn up every single week and they have done for, you know, for 26 years without winning the league and the stadium's full. They're incredibly loyal. They're very loyal also to their managers. You know, they'll support Amrim. Sometimes they can get a little bit disillusioned with the players if they feel like that heart and that spirit and that fight's not there. I don't think you can say that in this last 12 to 18 months. That's not been the problem. I think the problem has been the quality. The lack of quality in terms of the players, particularly in forward areas, is just nowhere near good enough.

57:55Gary Neville:Now, if they correct that and start scoring goals, you become obviously a lot harder team to beat. Yeah, there is a problem in central midfield. It doesn't look like Bruno Fernandes has got the right partner at this moment in time. And then, obviously, you've got the goalkeeper. So there's things that I think he'd still want to change. It's quite a unique system. I think it was always going to take some time to get used to it. I was hoping that, to be fair, I said at the time it would suit some of these players, give them a stronger base, because there isn't really a pair of centre-backs there that can play in a four.

58:19Gary Neville:So I thought it would suit them, but it didn't do, and it ended up being a real sort of challenge for them. They've looked better in pre-season. The fans will always be patient, but I think that ultimately they need to get a decent start, and they've got a few tough fixtures in these first few games. I actually feel quite confident about them on Sunday. I think they'll give a really good performance. I think it's a big day. And Arsenal, you know, Arsenal have got to go and win. I agree with Jamie. I think Arsenal are the team, really, that have got to go and challenge Liverpool this season. While you're feeling confident, do you want to do the promos?

58:46Gary Neville:Absolutely. Let's take a look at what's coming up for you on Sky Sports.

58:53Gary Neville:Live only on Sky Sports, we've got 215 fixtures this season and you've just seen the first one. And on tomorrow night, Kelly, you're going to be there at Wolves against Manchester City to see how Pep Guardiola's team do. Yeah, and then Super Sunday, you've got Chelsea Crystal Palace. Will you be at Nottingham for us, Brentford? No, I won't be at Nottingham Forest on Sunday because I wasn't chosen for that fixture. I was chosen for Manchester United versus Arsenal. And Monday Night Football. But I have been chosen for Monday Night Football. First and last of the season and a couple in between. Absolutely.

59:24Gary Neville:No, I do a first and the last of the season. This is my first one and then I do the last. The predictions on Monday where we all make basically idiots for ourselves and end up regretting it for the rest. By the way, though, Cara believes that you should do a prediction at the start of the season and then you should do it again every three weeks and change your mind. and that's how he thinks predictions should be. But Leeds and Everton, we're going to do our predictions. I tell you what, Sky Sports are getting the money out of you this weekend. So predictions then on the Monday Night Football, but if you think you can do better than Jamie and Gary, then there is a chance that you could win£1 million.

59:58You have to predict six fixtures in the three o 'clock kick-offs. All the entries in, obviously, before three o 'clock. It starts tomorrow. Meanwhile here at Anfield the defence of the title started well for Liverpool with a 4-2 victory against Bournemouth but it was an ex-player of Liverpool's a former player of Liverpool's who was remembered in the goal celebrations Hugo Eketike with a goal and an assist showing the number 20 as did Cody Gakpo and Mohamed Salah with the Baby Shark celebration that was made famous by Diogo Jota Forever number 20.

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