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DUBAI: When Liverpool take on Newcastle United at St James’ Park on Monday night in their second Premier League match of the season, the chatter will again be about their new signings — and the possible recruitment of Alexander Isak from Eddie Howe’s team, which is expected to make the atmosphere edgier than usual.

The opening day of the season saw Arne Slot’s team beat Bournemouth 4-2 with British transfer record signing Florian Wirtz making his bow at Anfield alongside forward Hugo Ekitike and new fullbacks Miklos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong.

The latter two were withdrawn in the second half as the home team led 2-0, and former Liverpool player Glen Johnson, who played for the club at both left- and right-back positions, believes the additions will be expected to excel at defense and attack.

“That’s part of the game now,” Johnson told Arab News while in Dubai recently. “Obviously they’ve got to defend, they’ve got to be good on the ball, but they’ve also got to be good going forward. And to do that, you need an engine.”

Frimpong, who is likely to miss the match against Newcastle, and Kerkez have taken over starting positions from Liverpool stalwarts of recent years in Trent Alexander-Arnold, who left for Real Madrid, and Andy Robertson, who remains at the club.

Johnson added that modern football, not to mention Liverpool’s attacking methods, places extra demands on them.

“Nowadays it’s expected (to attack and defend),” the former England star said. “Before, there was probably only a handful of people who could do it. But now it’s almost like if you can’t do it, you can’t play there.”

Johnson said that after Liverpool deservedly, if unexpectedly, won the Premier League last season, expectations will be to repeat the feat.

“Any team that wins the Premier League deserve it,” he said. “But obviously to win it back-to-back is even tougher. But they look like they’ve done great in the transfer window.

“So they look like they’re going to be the ones to peg back again. But you’d also expect the other teams around them to improve. So it’ll be tough.”

“Hopefully they get off to a good start and find some early momentum,” he added.

“They’re favorites for nearly every game they play, you’d probably put them down as favorites. You’d expect some of the other big guns to bounce back and close the gap and try and make it as difficult for Liverpool as possible.”

Johnson, who also represented West Ham, Chelsea, Portsmouth and Stoke, called Liverpool a “special” club to play for.

“Obviously the fans are one thing. The way the club looks after players, ex-players, it’s a family. It’s a real united group. They’re used to winning,” Johnson added.

“So there’s a huge expectation that you go to these big clubs and you want to win every single week.”

“There are some clubs further down the league where to lose the odd game here and there is OK, because they’re expected to finish wherever their target is.

“But with clubs like Liverpool, you’re expected to win most football matches and certainly more than you’d lose.”

“So there is pressure, but that’s why they sign good players, that’s what good players want. You want the pressure and most of the time, that’s the order.”

Johnson has maintained his ties with Liverpool since retiring in 2018 and was speaking to Arab News as an official representative of the club at the Adidas Flagship Store in Dubai Mall.

“It’s obviously an iconic brand, a global brand, and those big brands want to be associated with the hottest thing,” he said. “Liverpool being the club it is, it is the hottest thing.”

NEW YORK: Novak Djokovic fears his lack of physical conditioning may come back to haunt him as he chases a record 25th Grand Slam singles title at the US Open.
The 38-year-old Serbian superstar made a winning start to his latest tilt at glory on Sunday, defeating US teenager Learner Tien 6-1, 7-6 (7/3), 6-2 in 2hr 25min on the Arthur Ashe Stadium court.
But Djokovic, who needed a lengthy medical timeout to treat a blister on his right foot between the second and third sets, admitted afterwards he was worried by a sudden loss of stamina during the second set.
“I started great – just over 20 minutes, first set, I felt really good,” Djokovic said.
“Then some long games to start the second set... I really was surprised how bad I was feeling in the second physically.
“We had long exchanges, but also, I kind of dropped my level and made a lot of unforced errors and kind of got him back into the match.
“There are positives but also things that hopefully won’t happen in terms of how I felt on the court physically in the second set
“It’s slightly a concern. I don’t know. I don’t have any injury or anything. I just struggled a lot to stay in long exchanges and recover after points.”
Djokovic has not played since his defeat in the semifinals at Wimbledon last month, skipping ATP Masters events in Toronto and Cincinnati to focus all his energy on the US Open.
While there were a few signs of rustiness at times on Sunday, Djokovic also laced his performance with flashes of the brilliance that has been his calling card throughout a glittering career.
Djokovic looked to be a man in a hurry in a scorching start, rattling off winners to take the first set 6-1.
Tien was given hope in a labored second set from Djokovic, but the 19-year-old American could not convert a break point that would have made it one set all.
Instead, Djokovic held serve to make it 5-5 in the second set and reasserted himself to claim the second-set tie break, attacking the net cleverly and using some sublime variation to pull Tien all over the court.
Djokovic paused for a medical timeout for treatment to his right foot before the third set got under way.
The rest appeared to give Djokovic a jolt of energy and he sprinted into a 5-1 lead to leave Tien reeling.
Tien did well to save a match point on Djokovic’s serve before breaking for 5-2.
But the respite was short-lived as Djokovic again responded emphatically, breaking back immediately to wrap up victory.
“I wish I had Learner Tien’s age – when you come to the late 30s it’s about learning how to preserve the energy for what matters,” Djokovic said.
“I still have the flair, I still have the drive, and you guys give me the energy. Hopefully I can keep it going,” he told the crowd.
Djokovic will face US qualifier Zachary Svajda in the second round.