Klopp’s side must beat Napoli at Anfield to stand any chance of progressing from their group into the knockout stages.

A 1-0 victory or any two-goal win will see the Reds through.

Liverpool have a long history of success on big European nights on their own ground, dating all the way back to the memorable European Cup quarter-final win over Saint-Etienne in 1977 that kick-started their continental reign.

That gives Klopp hope as he prepares to face a major test against Napoli, who are second in Serie A and unbeaten in Champions League Group C, having defeated Liverpool 1-0 when they met in Italy in October.

The Italian side have continued to look strong despite losing manager Maurizio Sarri to Chelsea in July, with Carlo Ancelotti taking over and Klopp knows Liverpool will have to produce one of their most dominant displays to advance.

“We really need to make sure we are ready for Napoli. It’s difficult to come in after a successful coach such as Sarri and make changes but they are so good,” Klopp told reporters on Monday.

“We know the result we need, and it’s difficult because Napoli are dangerous on the counter attack and good defending.

“They are a typical Italian team. But if something special is possible, then it’s here, and we will try that.”

Liverpool go into Tuesday’s match in good spirits, having gone top of the Premier League on Saturday when they won 4-0 at Bournemouth and previous leaders Manchester City lost 2-0 at Chelsea.

Klopp, however, is certain that his players will not get carried away, either in the Premier League or in Europe, given the defeats they have suffered in their group this season.

– Confident –

“We will not get carried away. We know how difficult it is,” he said.

“We are not the most experienced side but we know our way and which way we will go all the time.

“The league is not important at the moment because tomorrow we play Napoli. We were confident before the away games in Napoli and Belgrade, and that didn’t help.”

Klopp, meanwhile, has commended former Liverpool player Raheem Sterling for the way he dealt with alleged racist abuse directed towards him while playing for Manchester City at Chelsea on Saturday.

Chelsea and the Metropolitan Police are investigating the allegations after a video was posted on social media that showed the England winger being shouted at by Chelsea fans as he collected the ball behind the goal.

On Sunday, Sterling published a post on Instagram saying that British newspapers are helping to “fuel racism” because of the way they portray young black footballers.

He also wrote in the post that he “had to laugh” when he heard the alleged racist remarks during the game because he expects “no better”.

“I watched the game and I think I saw the situation when he went for the corner and I saw a few guys shouting,” he said.

“I didn’t hear, I’m not sure if it was possible to hear what they shouted, but I already thought his reaction was just brilliant.

“You saw his face. He gave the right response, not to react for these people.

“They don’t deserve any reaction, they don’t deserve any respect.

“I am obviously not surprised that things like this still happen but I like the fact that we put the finger on it and say: ‘You cannot say what you want, it is not possible.'”

A perfectly apt nickname for the 19-year-old, who is indeed a raw diamond waiting to shine.

And shine he certainly did.

The fearless Thai may be young, but he clearly knows how to play good, competitive golf since picking up the sport at the age of nine.

When Phachara was 14, he began to sparkle brightly by becoming the youngest player as an amateur to win a professional tournament in the world.

He turned professional in 2014 and won twice on the Asian Development Tour (ADT) before going on to enjoy a solid Asian Tour career.

While he may still be searching for a first victory on the Asian Tour, the young Thai has showed he is no pushover when it comes to the big stage.

At the SMBC Singapore Open last year, he showed he can match up against the big boys when he finished tied-second at the Singapore showpiece.

And a month later in Perth, the Thai exceeded all expectations when he defeated seasoned campaigners at ISPS HANDA World Super 6 Perth before falling short to home favourite Brett Rumford in the final match-play showdown.

He has already featured in two Open Championships in 2016 and 2017 and his performances has been a testament to his true golfing ability which belies his young age.

Phachara confesses to be a ‘funny guy and happy person’.

He looks up to elder statesman Thongchai Jaidee, as ‘one of his heroes’ who has showed him what it means to be a champion.

Just like Thongchai, who has already achieved so much success on the Asian Tour, Phachara could well be on his way to become a champion in his own right as he’s one of our ‘Tomorrow Stars Today’.

What remains unknown, is the winner of the Asian Tour Rookie of the Year award.

2018 has seen a group of exciting, skilful and talented new faces on Tour, with South Africa’s Justin Harding and Korea’s Sanghyun Park leading the charge. Both golfers have enjoyed a wildly successful first-year on Tour and they are in line to win the coveted award, which will be handed out at the conclusion of this week’s US$750,000 BNI Indonesian Masters.

Harding made a spectacular entrance to the Asian Tour in July this year at the Bank BRI Indonesia Open. He received an invitation to the tournament by virtue of his outstanding form on the Sunshine Tour, and he displayed that same, blistering form en route to his maiden Asian Tour victory in Jakarta. The South African took up Tour membership on the spot.

Two weeks later he won the Royal Cup in Thailand, making him the first golfer in Tour history to win two times in as many starts. At the same time, the 32-year-old Harding broke into the top-100 on the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) and earned a spot to play at the PGA Championship.

Harding continued to wow fans with his brilliant performances throughout the year. Highlights include his second-place finish at the Asia-Pacific Diamond Cup as well as top-10s in Chinese Taipei and Mauritius. He is currently placed third on the Asian Tour Habitat for Humanity Standings, about US$82,000 behind Park.

Park banked on the familiarity of the conditions in his home country to achieve immense success on the Asian Tour. He has been dominant in Korea, having won the GS Caltex Maekyung Open, coming in second place at the Kolon Korean Open and winning his second Asian Tour title in 2018 at the Shinhan Donghae Open.

The 35-year-old then rode on the back of his outstanding form into the Asia-Pacific Diamond Cup and the Mercuries Taiwan Masters, where he was placed tied-fourth and tied-ninth respectively. If anything, the results proved that he is no slouch either when he’s on foreign soil.

These two worthy candidates will be looking to end their season on a high.

Both Harding and Park will be teeing up this week at Royale Jakarta, where they will be up against an elite field that includes defending champion and world number two Justin Rose, Major winner Henrik Stenson as well as some of Asian Tour’s best players such as Sharma and breakout star, John Catlin of the United States.

Top-20 players on the Asian Tour Habitat for Humanity Standings

Pos       Player   Order of Merit (US$)

1 Shubhankar SHARMA (IND) $755,994

2 Sanghyun PARK (KOR) $561,899

3 Justin HARDING (RSA) $479,816

4 Gaganjeet BHULLAR (IND) $422,937

5 Scott VINCENT (ZIM) $420,888

6 John CATLIN (USA) $394,603

7 Sihwan KIM (USA) $373,009

8 Kurt KITAYAMA (USA) $369,346

9 Rahil GANGJEE (IND) $302,629

10 Minchel CHOI (KOR) $286,556

11 Jazz JANEWATTANANOND (THA) $284,809

12 Berry HENSON (USA) $283,702

13 Adilson DA SILVA (BRA) $262,115

14 Paul PETERSON (USA) $244,888

15 Miguel TABUENA (PHI) $232,853

16 Khalin JOSHI (IND) $226,432

17 Yikeun CHANG (KOR) $209,503

18 Shaun NORRIS (RSA) $206,544

19 Prom MEESAWAT (THA) $189,611

20 Danthai BOONMA (THA) $182,158

The Kingdom has representatives in each of the men’s and women’s singles, women’s doubles and mixed doubles, missing only the men’s doubles in the season-ending tournament.

Only eight singles players and eight doubles pairs, with the best accumulating points from 25 BWF World Tour events, have been invited to compete for the overall prize money of US$1.5 million.

World No 8 Ratchanok, semi-finalist in 2012, 2015 and 2017 is placed in the women’s singles group B along with 2017 world champion Nozomi Okuhara of Japan, Chen Yufei of China and Michelle Li of Canada.

The top two players in the round-robin competition will move into the knockout stage against their counterparts in group A, which contains world No1 Tai Tzu-ying of Taiwan, defending champion Akane Yamauchi of Japan, PV Sindhu of India and Malaysian Zhang Beiwen of Malaysia.

On the men’s side, Thai No2 Kantaphon Wangcharoen is in group B alongside current world champion Kento Momota of Japan, two-time Thailand Masters champion Tommy Sugiarto of Indonesia and Sameer Verma of India.

“I have been training hard for three weeks in preparation for this tournament. My plan is to finish top two in the group and make it to the semi-finals,” said 20-year-old Kataphon

World No2 Shi Yuqi of China, No3 Chou Tien Chen of Taiwan, No6 South Korean Son Wan-ho and No7 Anthony Sinisuka Ginting of Indonesia are in group A.

In the women’s doubles, Thai No 1 pair Jongkolphan Kititharakul and Rawinda Prajongjai have been drawn in a tough group A, which features world No2 Misaki Matsutomo and Ayaka Takahashi of Japan, No3 Mayu Matsumoto and Wakana Nagahara of Japan, plus Thailand Open and India Open champions Greysia Polii and Apriyani Rahayu of Indonesia.

Mixed doubles world No7 Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Sapsiree Taerattanachai are also in a gritty group A, where they will play world No1 Zheng Siwei and Huang Yaqiong of China, Yuta Watanabe and Arisa Higashino of Japan and Chan Peng Soon and Goh Liu Ying of Malaysia.

In a rematch of the last week’s final which was also won by the Thai in three sets, the world No 615 Nudnida took the first set 6-3 but lost the second set 1-6 on Saturday before rain forced organizers to postpone the decider to Sunday.

The 31-year-old Thai underlined her supremacy over the Asian Games mixed doubles  gold medalist, taking the third set 6-1 for her hat-trick ITF crowns. Two weeks ago she won the home ITF in Nonthaburi.

“I was a bit off in the second set as she changed her game plan to keep me out of my comfort zone. But I fought back in the third set. I’m happy to win three titles in a row which is something I didn’t expect. I hope to return to the top 200 next year so that I can play in the WTA level again,” said the former world No 195 who has won a total of 12 ITF titles.

The 36-year-old, who had a three-shot advantage at the start of the day, appeared to have buckled under the final-round pressure as he made consecutive bogeys on holes two and three.

However, he recovered by sinking four birdies before making the turn and subsequently cruised to a four-shot victory on an 18-under-par 266 total at the Randpark Golf Club.

The South African Open hosted by the City of Joburg is the third Asian Tour title won by Oosthuizen. He was victorious at the 2012 Maybank Malaysian Open and the 2016 Perth International, which was also his last professional win.

“It’s always tough when you’ve been through some stuff and the people who have been behind you are not here to celebrate with you. My wife and kids have been phenomenal. It would’ve been great to have them here with me,”  said the 2010 Open champion, who was struggling to contain his tears.

He added: “My putting has been as good as it’s ever been. I had all the confidence to hit my putts, even if I hit them two or three-feet past. You don’t have that all the weeks, but this week I definitely had that.”

Oosthuizen earned a winner’s cheque of US$203,335.

Frenchman Romain Lanagasque grabbed second place after carding the day’s lowest score of 66.

As the tournament is part of The Open Qualifying Series for the 148th Open at Royal Portrush, Lanagasque has earned a spot at the Major tournament next year together with South African Charl Schwartzel and England’s Oliver Wilson.

Tour member Yikeun Chang displayed his championship credentials by finishing commendably in tied-seventh against an elite field. After making a double bogey at the first hole, the Korean made amends with a birdie-eagle on three and four. He made three more birdies and another bogey before ending his tournament with a 68.

Jbe Kruger excelled at his National Open as he carded a 70 to grab a share of seventh place. This is the South African’s first top-10 finish in 2018, and his first since October last year.

Kurt Kitayama (70) of the United States, who won his maiden Asian Tour title last week in Mauritius, finished in tied-15th with fellow Tour members Jarin Todd (68), Matt Wallace (74), as well as Asian Tour Honourary Member and International Ambassador Ernie Els (71).

Nattawut, Mr.Brian L. Marcar Managing director of BEC-Tero Entertainment Pcl. and Nattawat 

Chon Buri-based Nattawut crossed the line in 1 hour, 12 minutes and 32 seconds to win the 21.1km race, matching the effort of his twin brother Natthawat, who won the 10.5km mini-marathon in 35.46.

“I’m so happy to win this event in my debut. The natural surroundings of the route were amazing,” said the 24-year-old Nattawut, who beat 1,500 competitors in the half-marathon division.

“It’s even more special to me as my brother won the 10.5km. |This is the highlight of my |running career,” he added.

Nattawut is the national record-holder for 10km, after setting a time of 29.48 during a race in Buri Ram in February.

Nattawut and Aorranuch 

On the women’s side, Phetchabun-born Aorranuch stole the limelight with a time of 1:31.12 in her second appearance in the race.

“I missed the run last year due to an injury. So I’m pretty happy to finally win this event on my return. Running with such a picturesque view on both sides was an extra boost for me to perform well here,” added the 25-year-old.

Over 7,000 runners competed in this year’s race, on a route that took them across the landmark River Kwai bridge and amidst the lush scenery of the western province.

“The event was a success for the third successive year. We had a great number of participants again. I’m confident it will get even bigger next year,” said Police Major General Surapong Ariyamongkol, general-secretary of the Athletics Association of Thailand.

With almost 90 keelboats and multihulls as well as 107 dinghy sailors, the waters of the Andaman Sea have been awash in sails this week.

Despite winning one race each on Saturday, Australian Ray Roberts and his TP 52-design boat Team Hollywood took the overall honors in the IRC Zero Class after a close tussle all week with defending champions Kevin and Tom Whitcraft on their Thai-registered boat THA72. Both boats were of the same stripped down design and built for racing, but Roberts’ boat was a little newer and a little lighter and won more races through the week. It was Roberts’ sixth win in the top flight class at the King’s Cup in 23 years of contesting Thailand’s premier sailing event.

Sarab Singh finished third overall in the IRC Zero Class on his boat Wind Sikher, the oldest of the three P 52s racing.

In the IRC 1 Class, Australian Craig Nicholls finished first overall on Aquarii, with Hong Kong’s Nick Burns and Fred Kinmonth second on Mandrake III, followed by the Thai-registered East Marine Emagine of Scott Bradley third.

A Chinese entry took first place in the IRC 2 Class, with Highlead Encouragers (Judy) finishing first overall after seven races. Local sailor Morton Jacobsen’s sports boat Over Here finished second and Great Britain’s John Grendon’s Di Hard third. The three Chinese entries in the IRC 2 Class all finished in the top six in a field of 10.

The Premier Class honors went to Singapore’s Andy Cocks aboard Firstlight, with Hong Kong-registered boat Antipodes second. Third overall was Thailand’s Inthinai Yingsiri on Pine-Pacific.

The fast locally-built Firefly 850 catamarans managed nine races during the regatta with Great Britain’s John Newnham on Twin Sharks taking the overall honors. Germany’s Hans Rahmann on Voodoo finished second and Brit Neil Ayre on Mamba finished a close third.

One of the most photographed boats in this year’s fleet was the imposing 60-foot trimaran SHK Scallywag Fuku Bid from Hong Kong, but despite its speed on the water it had to settle for second place behind the smaller but also very fast Australian trimaran Fugazi with Dan Fidock at the helm in the Racing Multihull Class. Australian Dave Fuller bought up third place on his boat Java.

Chalisa  Krittanai, middle, in Optimist  (Girl) Class

One of the features of this year’s Phuket King’s Cup Regatta, and the place where the future stars of the sport are nurtured for the years ahead, was the International Dinghy Classes, which featured 107 young sailors from around the country.

“These young sailors will one day be aboard the big keelboats and multihulls and racing in the Phuket King’s Cup Regatta,” said Commander Peera Sagultem of the Royal Thai Navy, who was also the Dinghy Race Officer.

With 12 wins from 12 races, 13-year-okd Thai champion Panwa Boonak kept a clean sheet to take the honors in the Optimist Class. Panwa, who won the 2018 Optimist Asian & Oceanian Championship at the Ngwe Saung Yacht Club & Resort in Myanmar, has proved to be an outstanding sailor in the many events he has contested and will be a great ambassador for Thailand when he represents the kingdom in coming international events.

Another consistently good young Thai sailor with a promising future in the sport is M.L. Weka Bhanubandh, who finished second in the Optimist Class. Patihan Vorrasart came a very credible third in what proved to be a tough field.

Chusitt Punjamala won every race except three in the 12 contested in the Laser Standard Class to finish as the overall winner. He was followed by Arthit Romanyk and Chairat Dangdeemark in second and third places respectively.

In the Laser Radial Class, Janisara Sasha Romanyk finished as the overall winner and she was followed by Sophia Gail Montgomery and Voravong Rachrattanaruk. The Laser 4.7 Class was won by Patcharee Sringham, with Pitchakon Ungpakornkaew second and Nuttapong Yoang-Ngam third.

The 420s was the only team event for the junior sailors, with two aboard each boat. Taking the top prize in the 420 Class was Intira Parnpiboon and Paliga Poonpat, and they were followed by Chanokchon Wangsuk and Piyaporn Khemkaew in second place, with Jedtavee Yongyuenarn and Chakkapat Wiriakitti in third place.

At the end of an exciting week’s racing, Mr. Kevin Whitcraft, President of the Phuket King’s Cup Regatta Organizing Committee, said: “From the keelboat fleet to the large dingy fleet in the King’s Cup striving for glory on the north end of Kata Beach, it has been a great tribute to our King, our host country and all who revel in the freedom of the seas – particularly in Thai waters.

Not everybody can win and I congratulate those who did and I would like to tell one and all, win or lose, to come and join us again for the 33^rd regatta which will be held from the 1^st to the 7^th of December 2019. The skies will be blue and the winds will be fair.”

All the winners in the various classes were presented with their prizes at a special ceremony on Saturday evening by His Majesty the King’s Personal Representative ACM Chalit Phookphasook.

Qatar’s Saoud Al-Mohannadi, an AFC vice president, and AFC executive committee member Mohamed Khalfan Matar Saeed Alromaithi of the United Arab Emirates are standing against Sheikh Salman, the body said.

Saudi Arabia’s Adel Ezzat — head of a new regional bloc, the South West Asian Football Federation — did not throw his hat into the ring, as had been widely expected.

Al-Mohannadi, the Qatar Football Association vice president, was hit with a one-year FIFA ban in 2016 for refusing to cooperate with a corruption inquiry, but the ban was overturned after he appealed.

Anyone taking on Sheikh Salman, who is seeking a new, four-year term, faces a tough task.

The Bahraini royal has held the top job at the AFC since 2013, and said at a congress in Kuala Lumpur in October that he had the support of 90 percent of the body’s 46 full members.

He also warned against “third-party interference” in the vote. When he first took the reins, the Asian body was still reeling from a corruption scandal which saw his predecessor, Mohamed bin Hammam, banned from football for life.

Qatar’s bin Hammam was accused of bribery during his 2011 campaign to unseat the now disgraced Sepp Blatter as president of world body FIFA.

After having a life ban annulled by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, bin Hammam was handed a second lifetime ban by FIFA in 2012 for conflict of interest violations.

Sheikh Salman was elected in 2013 and completed the last two years of bin Hammam’s term, before being re-elected unopposed to a full, four-year term in 2015.

The vote for president and other AFC positions will take place on April 6 in Kuala Lumpur.

This victory, the Reds’ fifth consecutive league win, secured with the additional help of a Steve Cook own-goal, extended Jurgen Klopp’s side’s unbeaten start to the league season.

It also moved them one point ahead of City at the top of the table, hours before Pep Guardiola’s side take on Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

Salah’s contribution was central to Liverpool’s success — the Egyptian has struggled to match his outstanding levels of last season but with 10 league goals to his name, he is now hitting his stride.

He may have benefited from a close offside decision for the 25th-minute opener that gave Liverpool a half-time lead, but the finishes for his two second-half goals were outstanding.

Overall, Liverpool manager Klopp could be satisfied with the manner in which his side eased their way to victory ahead of the midweek Champions League meeting with Napoli.

Liverpool had demonstrated resilience to win on Wednesday against a physical Burnley side whose approach drew an angry reaction from Klopp.

Joe Gomez was a casualty of the trip to Turf Moor, suffering a broken leg in a challenge with Clarets defender Ben Mee, and with a testing week ahead Klopp named Trent Alexander-Arnold among the substitutes and named James Milner at right-back.

Bournemouth’s hopes of halting Liverpool’s progress suffered a blow when Callum Wilson, the England international who has scored eight league goals this season, was ruled out with a hamstring injury.

The home side certainly felt Wilson’s absence during the periods of the game when they pushed Liverpool onto the back foot.

Liverpool cruise

But defensive errors, combined with a dubious offside decision for the opening goal, meant they had little chance to impose themselves on a Liverpool side that never had to find top gear to secure three points.

The opening period suggested Klopp’s side would again have to work hard for victory. Salah and Roberto Firmino took time to make an impact, with the Egyptian spurning the first real chance of the game when he sliced wide from close range.

And had David Brooks shown more composure when he was sent clear on Liverpool’s goal in the 24th minute, the early momentum would have been in favour of the home side.

As it was, Liverpool responded immediately, taking control with some help from the assistant referee.

Salah and Firmino combined well 25 metres out, before the Brazilian fired in a shot at keeper Asmir Begovic. The Bosnia international should have done better than parry the ball into the middle of the penalty area, allowing Salah to react first and fire high into the net from close range.

Eddie Howe’s players pointed out that Salah had been in an offside position but their complaints were dismissed, although TV replays suggested they had a case.

From that point in the game, Liverpool tightened their grip, particularly after the restart.

It helped the Reds’ cause that Salah was gifted the chance to add a second three minutes after the restart when Steve Cook lost the ball near the halfway line. Firmino released the Egyptian, who ran 40 metres before placing the ball beyond Begovic.

A bad afternoon for Cook got worse when he diverted the ball past Begovic and into his own goal as he attempted to cut out a left-wing cross from Andy Robertson.

And Salah produced the best goal of the game to wrap up the victory in the 77th minute after collecting Adam Lallana’s through ball. The forward outpaced Cook and rounded Begovic twice to complete his treble.