Ward a penalty hero again
Loanee Danny Ward was once again a penalty hero for his adoptive club, Huddersfield Town, as his save in the Playoff Final shootout helped them gain the lucrative promotion to the Premier League. Having saved two penalties in the Semi-Final, Ward kept one out at Wembley, when he dived low to his left to palm away Reading’s fifth penalty from Jordan Obita. This allowed Christopher Schindler to step up and send Huddersfield back up to the top division for the first time in 45 years.
The match finished 0-0 after extra time and Ward put in a solid performance to keep Reading’s strikers out for 120 minutes, picking himself up another clean sheet. Huddersfield went on to win the shootout 4-3 with Liam Moore also missing for the Royals, but he blasted over the crossbar, meaning the Welshman wasn’t required to make a save.
After this display and the resulting promotion, it is unclear at this stage whether or not Ward will return to Huddersfield next season, either on another loan or even a permanent deal.
Liverpool remember the Heysel disaster
Tributes were paid to the 39 supporters who tragically lost their lives in the Heysel Stadium disaster, 32 years ago yesterday. Events transpired before the start of the 1985 European Cup Final which resulted in fans being pressed against a collapsing wall at the stadium in Belgium.
Floral tributes were laid by the memorial plaque at Anfield to remember all the people – mainly Juventus supporters – who died. Approximately 600 fans were also injured in the tragedy.
Rafa wants Ojo
Reports are suggesting that Rafa Benitez is keen to make move for Liverpool youngster Sheyi Ojo, in an attempt to bring him to Newcastle. The highly regarded winger had a number of injury setbacks this season, which saw his first team playing time limited, as a number of other youth players were promoted ahead of him.
The former Liverpool manager could offer Ojo valuable playing time in the top flight, and it looks as though a loan deal is the most likely outcome.
The Reds earn £148million from the Premier League
In the end of season rankings, Liverpool ended up earning the joint-fourth most amount of money from Premier League. The Reds picked up £148.1million, with the money coming from final league position as well as television rights. Liverpool finished alongside Tottenham Hotspurs in fourth position, with Chelsea, unsurprisingly, at top of the pile as they brought in £152.8million.
With such a large sum of money coming into Anfield, the promised spending spree in the summer is looking more and more likely.