New York State

LIVERPOOL’S Premier League title bid is being fuelled by daily coffee-shop chats.

Arne Slot’s Kopuccino kings — who have bean top of the table since November — built a coffee bar for the players at their Kirkby training centre.

AFP

Liverpool manager Arne Slot has revealed coffee is fuelling his side’s title bid[/caption]

Getty

Trent Alexander-Arnold and Co can take advantage of a new coffee bar installed at their training ground[/caption]

This is where they can meet, eat and sink some caffeine when they are not roasting opponents on the pitch.

The foundations of championship-winning sides are built upon strong bonds within the dressing room.

In the 1980s and 90s, players would head to the pub to socialise but these days, modern ultra-professionals will meet as a group over a cuppa.

Liverpool manager Slot said: “They have always had breakfast together. What has changed, and what you see a lot, is we have created a coffee bar here.

“Players sit down over there, talk to each other, have a lot of fun together.

“If you have a coffee bar and you don’t have results, probably you don’t see the same vibe there. But I think it all adds towards success.

“I believe you need to have a good training ground. You need to have a good programme.

BEST FREE BETS AND BETTING SIGN UP OFFERS

“You definitely need to have good people. I took a few people to this club who I think are doing their jobs really well and are good human beings. But the ones who already worked here are great professionals and great human beings also.

“Add that to a great facility, great players and a great mentality, then that can lead to a successful period.”

Normally so cool and calm, Slot was surprisingly enraged by Everton’s wild celebrations following the 2-2 draw with Liverpool in the last Merseyside Derby at Goodison on Wednesday.

Post-match, Slot was sent off and faces a possible ban after being charged by the FA with abusing ref Michael Oliver and his assistant.

Slot has refused to apologise but accepts he would have acted differently with the benefit of hindsight.

The Dutchman, 46, said: “In general or 99 per cent of the time, I can cope with my emotions quite well.

“But yeah, it’s clear that I couldn’t cope with my emotions well enough during the game.

“Especially after the game. That had all to do with how the intentional five minutes ended up being eight extra-time minutes.

“Emotions took over after these seven or eight minutes, which I don’t think will ever be the same again in terms of all the games I’m going to play as a manager.

“But still, if, if, if it happens next time, I should act differently. That’s completely clear.

“I saw players coping much better than they did last season. Mentally, I mean. That’s the biggest win and gain we could have gotten from this game.

“That gives us a lot of confidence for the upcoming 14 games.

“Because we already knew that in terms of playing football, we’re quite good at that.”

Before hosting Wolves at Anfield today, Liverpool’s lead at the top was cut to four points following Arsenal’s 2-0 win at Leicester yesterday.

Getty

Getty

Slot was sent off by Michael Oliver at the end of the Merseyside derby[/caption]

The Reds are on the longest current unbeaten run in English league football — 20 games — as they chase a second Prem crown, although they did exit the FA Cup at Championship side Plymouth.

Slot added: “In general, the second half of the season for everyone is harder because teams are coming closer to the line.

“So they’re fighting maybe harder to stay up, for Europe or league position.”

A WOMAN was pushed to the floor and sexually assaulted by the entrance to a historic castle in a horrific attack.

The young victim had been walking along Lenton Road in Nottingham city centre shortly before 1am on Thursday morning when she was assaulted by a man.

Close to the entrance to Nottingham Castle, the man approached her before pushing the young woman to the floor and sexually assaulting her.

A 20-year-old man was later arrested and remains in police custody.

Detective Inspector Nicole Milner, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “This was a distressing incident for the young woman involved and we have been working hard over the last 48 hours to understand exactly what happened.

“As a result of our investigations so far we have identified a car – potentially a BMW – that passed by this incident.

“The driver of that car then kindly offered the victim a lift home.”

Detectives are desperately appealing for this passing driver to come forward as he may have seen at least part of what happened.

DI Milner added: “Although he is not a suspect, we believe that this man has vital information about what happened and we urge him to come forward without delay.

“We would also like to hear from anyone else who was driving in the Lenton Road area at about 1am on Thursday morning to come forward with any relevant dashcam footage they may have.”

Police have asked anyone with information about the attack to call 101 quoting incident 27 of 13 February 2025.

---

Do you know more about this story? Email [email protected] or call our newsdesk on 020 7782 4100.

---

Google maps

The young woman was sexually assaulted in the horror attack on Lenton Road in the heart of Nottingham[/caption]

EVERTON fans hailed a second unexpected goal hero in the space of three days as Carlos Alcaraz enjoyed a debut to remember.

The former Southampton man marked his first Toffees start with an assist and the winner as David Moyes and Co pulled off another great escape.

Reuters

Carlos Alcaraz’s late goal sealed a 2-1 win for Everton at Crystal Palace[/caption]

Reuters

The Eagles were left empty-handed at the final whistle[/caption]

Alcaraz wouldn’t even have been playing had not Abdoulaye Doucoure not been sent off for goading Liverpool fans on Wednesday night.

Toffees fans arrived in south London on a high following James Tarkowski’s late equaliser in Goodison’s final Merseyside derby.

But they will also know that Palace had enough chances to have given Moyes’ men an utter spanking but somehow threw it away.

Literally in fact as Beto’s opener, cancelled out by Jean-Philippe Mateta, was the result of Tyrick Mitchell’s duff throw all added up to quite a week for Everton, who had Jordan Pickford to thank for denying Mateta early on.

Both Toffees centre-halves were especially grateful as each was guilty of a ricket.

Tarkowski’s careless flick off a boot put Jarrad Branthwaite under pressure and the England hopeful made a right mess of trying to clear.

That left Mateta with all the goal to aim at but Pickford smothered his low drive.England’s Number 1 soon had to scramble again, this time to deny Justin Devenny. Palace tails were well and truly up.

Everton didn’t exactly heed the warning either and required a Pickford-VAR combo to remain level with just 20 minutes on the clock.

JOIN SUN VEGAS: GET £50 BONUS

Pickford kept out Marc Guehi’s header at the expense of a corner that Jefferson Lerma headed in.

A linesman ruled the delivery into the box had gone out of play first however – and VAR footage couldn’t prove otherwise.

Henderson had been a spectator at the other end but Pickford’s Three Lions understudy did well to bat away Jesper Lindstrom’s volley.

He got an accidental knee in the head from a team-mate in the process but was cleared to carry on after medics bunged some padding up his bleeding bugle.

Normal service was quickly resumed in the Everton box with Pickford racing out to stop Mateta going clear – and Tarkowski ending up on his backside in a scramble seconds later.

Reuters

Beto opened the scoring in the 42nd minute[/caption]

Reuters

The goals sparked jubilant celebrations[/caption]

And once again the Everton goal had a charmed life as Palace did everything but score.

Centre-back Chris Richards showed quick feet to dribble his way into the box and Mateta’s prod set up Ismaila Sarr for a shot he pinged off the bar with only Pickford to beat.

Within seconds of the that let-off Mitchell gifted Everton a 42nd-minute lead from a clanger of a throw-in.

Getty

Jean-Philippe Mateta equalised for the Eagles[/caption]

PA

His goal came early in the second half[/caption]

The left-back managed to chuck it behind Lerma, who hadn’t been paying attention, and Alcaraz gleefully raced away down the right to set up Beto for a cool dink past Henderson.

The came VAR intervention number two, with Mateta’s smart close-range finish seconds into the restart examined for an age.

Had the Frenchman been off when Guehi flicked on? Eventually the answer came: this couldn’t be proved either and Palace were level.

Reuters

Alcaraz pounced with just 10 minutes left[/caption]

Reuters

The goal saw Everton soar to 13th in the table[/caption]

Henderson had to make saves from Lindstrom and Beto to prevent the Toffees nicking another lead.

Mitchell was replaced by winter window addition Ben Chilwell on the hour – but was clapped off by Palace fans willing to overlook his earlier error.

Chelsea spare part Chilwell soon burst down the left and Pickford flapped a none too venomous effort round for a corner.

The sting in the tale arrived with 10 minutes to go when Alcaraz was in the right place to net the winner.

Jake O’Brien nodded down Jack Harrison’s ball to the back post and when sub Ashley Young saw a shot blocked by Will Hughes the Argentinian was on hand to ram home the rebound.

HOME favourite Jack Catterall is in a Manchester boxing ring TONIGHT – with a shot at the WBO super lightweight title on the line.

Chorley-born Catterall, 31, finds himself in a title eliminator as he returns to Co-op Live Arena, Manchester – the place of his last fight.

PA

After beating Regis Prograis last October, Catterall, nicknamed ‘El Gato’, closes in on the chance to fight for the world title.

Teofimo Lopez is the current holder of the WBO super-lightweight strap that the 31-year-old fighter is eyeing.

• LIVE: Jack Catterall vs Arnold Barboza Jr – all the action plus the undercard as it happens

Before the Prograis fight, Catterall exacted revenge on Josh Taylor in their rematch, and promoter Eddie Hearn has stated that he is now targeting Lopez.

But first, attention turns to Arnold Barboza Jr.

27-year-old Barboza Jr is a worthy opponent – eleven of the American’s 30 professional fights have ended in knockouts, and he has won all 30 of them.

Here’s the information on when the two will step out for their bout.

What time will the fight start in the UK?

• Catterall vs Barboza Jr will take place on Saturday, February 15.
• Official start times are yet to be announced but the card is expected to get started at around 7pm UK time.
• The main event between is set to begin at around 10pm UK time.
• The event will be broadcast live on DAZN Pay-Per-View, with PPV available to buy now at £19.99 in the UK.
• Alternatively, you can tune into SunSport’s live blog for updates on the night.

Who else is on the card?

• Jack Catterall vs Arnold Barboza Jr – for vacant WBO Interim super-lightweight title
• Reece Bellotti vs Michael Gomez Jr
• Zelfa Barrett vs Jazza Dickens
• Pat McCormack vs Robbie Davies Jr
• William Crolla vs Ayoub Zakari
• Conner Tudsbury vs Sadaam Moamed Da Silva Caetano
• Aqib Fiaz vs Lydon Chircop
• Alfie Middlemiss vs Caine Singh

FORGOTTEN Chelsea star Lewis Baker left fans stunned as he scored from inside his own half.

Baker, 29, joined Chelsea at the age of nine in 2005 but made just two appearances for the senior team following a string of loan moves once he became a professional.

Getty

Lewis Baker scored a stunning goal from inside his own half[/caption]

AFP

Baker, 29, was at Chelsea from the age of nine until leaving in 2022 after making just two appearances[/caption]

EFL

Baker showed his class with a goal from inside his own half for Stoke[/caption]

EFL

He punted the ball forward first time from the centre circle[/caption]

EFL

It came after he spotted the Swansea goalkeeper off his line[/caption]

EFL

The goalie was unable to backpedal in time for the incredible shot[/caption]

Getty

It caused jubilant celebrations from Stoke stars[/caption]

Getty

It was Baker’s 100th appearance for Stoke and his 300th senior appearance overall[/caption]

The midfielder eventually left permanently in 2022, joining Stoke on a free transfer.

Baker spent two seasons with the Potters before being sent on loan for the ninth time in his career in the summer.

After 13 appearances and one goal for Rovers, Baker then returned to Stoke in January.

And in his most recent appearance against Swansea, Baker scored an outrageous goal from inside his own half after coming on in the 62nd minute.

With Stoke winning 2-1 in injury time at the Bet365 Stadium, Baker picked up the ball near the centre circle, around 65 yards away from the opposition goal.

But Baker spotted Lawrence Vigouroux off his line and without taking a touch punted the ball forward.

The ball curved to the right as Vigouroux backpedalled before it ended up in the back of the net to confirm a 3-1 win for the home side.

Viewers could not believe what they had seen, with one fan on social media saying: “Lewis Baker, that’s outrageous.”

JOIN SUN VEGAS: GET £50 BONUS

A second said: “Really was unbelievable.”

A third added: “What a strike.”

Another said: “The audacity to hit it from there in the 93rd minute is just mental hahahahaha. Lewis Renard Baker go on fella.”

A fifth said: “Charlie Adam 2.0.”

A sixth said: “Still can’t get over that.”

Baker scored the goal to mark a century of appearances for Stoke, and 300 senior career appearances overall.

Julie Buckley, 54, from the village of Christchurch in Cambridgeshire, has not been seen in weeks.

A Syrian delivery driver helped stop the stabbing spree.

Jamie's recovery is still ongoing.

All is revealed tonight.

A chilling way to go.