Could Liverpool Really Lose Mo Salah, TAA, *and* VVD After This Season?

Liverpool: first in our table, last in their ability to not enter this season with their three best players and arguably the three best players in the world at their respective positions all in the final years of their contracts.

I wrote about how they got here — and how they might get it out of it:

Since Edwards left, there has basically been no one near the top of the club's hierarchy looking at the team's long-term contract situation. FSG were trying to find someone to pay them billions of dollars to acquire the team; Ward quit just a few months into the gig; Schmadtke was only hired on a temporary basis. And Klopp? Well, he had no clue how to manage the payroll of a gigantic soccer club because he's a soccer coach. On top of that, he knew he wasn't long for the club anyway.

Not only was there really no one in place to prioritize or even make these massive, expensive, looming decisions, but also: why would any of these players look at this situation, see all the constant churn among the people who decide their contracts, and think 'Yeah, this seems stable. Lemme lock myself up for another five years instead of hitting the open market?'

I also wrote about Christian Pulisic, who A) should obviously be in prison for turning his back on his country by not playing in a exhibition-match money-grab in which the other team gave a retiring player a ceremonial 20-minute send off to start the game, and B) is having the best season of his life:

Under Paulo Fonseca, Milan haven't played much in transition -- they're averaging nearly 10 fewer possessions per game. They're not pressing anywhere near as aggressively as last season, but they're also controlling much more of the ball in dangerous areas: 62% of final-third possession, compared with 54% last season. In other words: they want to keep the ball in their attacking third -- regardless of who's in possession of it.

Surprisingly, this has been great for Pulisic, the Dortmund-educated speedster who used to thrive in open-field chaos. While Pulisic is on the ball way less often in the box and taking the fewest shots per game of his career, he's also creating nearly twice as many chances per game as his career average, and the same goes for his expected-assist production. He's already completed five through balls, which is more than he's ever had in a single season. Reminder: it's mid-October.

And I also went on Futbol Americas to chat about Pulisic.

Hope you’re all well. Go Dodgers.