Klopp's reaction

Jurgen Klopp

Jurgen Klopp admitted he nearly clapped Jamie Vardy after the striker scored from an audacious effort against Liverpool.

"Things like this happen when you are in such a good moment like Jamie Vardy and Leicester are," Klopp said. "Obviously you need a little bit of luck but it was really good. First of all you need to be brave enough to do it.

"It's the perfect season for Leicester and the perfect season for Jamie Vardy. They deserve every point they get and Jamie has deserved every goal he's scored until now. I was close to clapping my hands to be honest but I just felt too bad at that moment," he continued.

"At the end, the game is decided by a world-class goal from Jamie Vardy," Klopp added. "One second before we were in their box and we didn't shoot. That maybe shows you the difference.

BECKHAM DOES IT AGAIN!

David Beckham

David Beckham has proved once again that he is one of the nicest people of all time. 

A paramedic, Catherine Maynard was treating a patient in central London as they waited for an ambulance to transfer him to the hospital. 

Beckham was passing by and he thought they looked a bit chilly, so he decided to warm them up with a couple of hot drinks.  "I was waiting with my patient and it was very cold outside," Maynard said. "I saw someone who looked like David Beckham, he said hello and got in his car. I said to the man I was treating, 'I think that was David Beckham'. Ten minutes later, he came back with a cup of coffee for me and a tea for the patient. "I couldn't believe it when he came back.” Maynard concluded. 

Ronaldo hits hat-trick in Real rout

Cristiano Ronaldo

Prolific Cristiano Ronaldo hit a 35th hat-trick for Real Madrid who swept aside Espanyol 6-0 in a ruthless attacking display in La Liga on Sunday. 

The Portuguese led the way as Real sought to keep in the title chase after an inconsistent season so far that still leaves them in third place, four points behind leaders Barcelona. 

Karim Benzema headed in a whipped cross from James Rodriguez after seven minutes and then Ronaldo won and struck home a penalty. 

A Rodriguez strike was deflected in after 16 minutes and Ronaldo showed a sublime touch to beat two players and curl a 20 yard shot into the corner before halftime. 

Ronaldo headed in from close range after 82 minutes and is now joint top scorer in La Liga on 19 goals with Barcelona’s Luis Suarez. 

Espanyol’s misery was complete with an own-goal from Oscar Duarte.

Barca are three points clear, on 51 points, after their 2-1 victory in the top of the table clash with Atletico Madrid on Saturday. 

Ronaldo gave his backing to coach Zinedine Zidane with the side having scored 16 goals in three home games since he took over from Rafa Benitez. 

‘Zidane is doing well and you can see the results on the pitch,’ Ronaldo told reporters. ‘Zidane has come with a different idea of work and the atmosphere is better. We are winning by big margins. 

‘We will keeping chasing Barcelona and Atletico, and see where we are at the end of the season.’ 

Valencia manager Gary Neville’s wait for a first La Liga win continued after a 1-0 home defeat by lowly Sporting Gijon. 

Former England and Manchester United defender Neville, who took on his first head coaching job at the start of December, has gone eight league games without a victory. Valencia have slipped to 12th place and have not won in 11 La Liga games in total, including under previous coach Nuno Espirito Santo, their worst run since 1986. 

Antonio Sanabria’s 50th-minute penalty gave Sporting victory.

Kevin Gameiro, Vicente Iborra and Yevhen Konoplyanka were on target for in-form Sevilla who moved up to fifth with a 3-1 victory over Levante. 

Big time Suarez delivers again

Luis Suarez

Always the man for the big occasion, Luis Suarez was Barcelona’s match-winner once more as the European champions took firm control of the La Liga title race by defeating closest rivals Atletico Madrid 2-1. Barca were far from their best on Saturday, outplayed for the first half hour, they fell behind early on.

Yet, even Atletico’s rock solid defence was powerless to stop a two-goal burst in eight minutes just before half-time from Lionel Messi and Suarez. Victory moves Luis Enrique’s men three points clear of Atletico – having also played a game less – and seven ahead of third-placed Real Madrid. Suarez’s winning goal was strikingly reminiscent of his strike that beat Real Madrid 2-1 at the height of last season’s battle for the Liga title. 

Using his body strength to hold off Jose Maria Gimenez, he controlled a long ball from Dani Alves before firing into the corner with his second touch. Since his controversial signing for Barca after biting an opponent for the third time in his career at the World Cup 18 months ago – which led to a four-month ban – Suarez has consistently been the man to turn the big games in the Blaugrana’s favour. He scored the decisive second goal in the Champions League final as Juventus were downed 3-1 and twice more against Real Madrid in a 4-0 humiliation of Los Blancos earlier this season.

Moreover, his presence has completely changed the trajectory of the Barca-Atletico rivalry. The season before his arrival, Atletico went six games unbeaten against the Catalans, knocking them out of the Champions League and winning the Liga title in a final day showdown at the Camp Nou. Since then, Saturday’s win takes Barca’s winning streak against Los Rojiblancos to six, including returning the favour by winning the title at the Vicente Calderon last season. 

‘He is such an important player, he makes the difference. Without doubt his arrival has given Barcelona more penetration than they already had,’ said Atletico boss Diego Simeone. ‘He has different qualities to the rest. He is strong, a typical number nine in the area, he is a very complete player and he has enriched Barcelona.’ Partly due to his previous indiscretions, Suarez has had to watch his strike partners Messi and Neymar be paraded whilst he was sidelined during the recent individual awards season. 

Yet, it is he who has scored more goals this season than anyone else in Europe with 31 in 32 games. Suarez even took on the goalscoring mantle to keep Barca on top when Messi was out injured for two months earlier in this season. ‘I think he was already a very complete player at Liverpool and here he has been even better,’ said Barca boss Luis Enrique. ‘Luis gives us a lot of things and all of them are positive.’ Since both Luis’ arrived at Barcelona, they’ve won five of a possible six trophies.