Liverpool have lost their first Premier League match of 2023 to Brentford who shockingly defeated the Reds 3-1, in a superb performance at the Gtech Community Stadium.

Brentford outclassed Liverpool in their performance on Monday night finding the back of the net three times, despite playing without their star man, Ivan Toney, who had been ruled out due to an injury.

Liverpool’s centre back, Ibrahima Konate, early in the game scored an own goal, 19′, that saw Brentford take the lead and a distabilised Liverpool had to play catch up from the beginning.

Yoane Wissa, 42′, doubled the scoreline for the Bees and Bryan Mbeoumo tripled it late in the second half, 84′, sinking Jurgen Klopp’s side completely.

Although, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain put in one goal for the Reds early in the second half, Liverpool failed to stage a comeback, despite having more possession, passes and corners in the game.

Brentford climb to seventh place on the league table with 26 points, while the Reds sit in sixth place with 28 points.

FIFA will ask all the world’s countries to name a stadium for Brazilian football legend Pele, the head of the sport’s governing body, Gianni Infantino, said Monday at the late icon’s wake.

Infantino was in the city of Santos, Brazil, to pay his final respects to the player widely considered the greatest of all time, who died Thursday at the age of 82.

“We’re going to ask every country in the world to name one of their football stadiums with the name of Pele,” Infantino told journalists at the Vila Belmiro, the stadium where the player known as “The King” first exploded onto the world stage with his exploits for his longtime club, Santos FC.

Attending the 24-hour wake along with the heads of the South American and Brazilian football confederations, Infantino was among the first to pay homage before Pele’s open casket, which was displayed in the middle of the field at Vila Belmiro stadium.

“We’re here with great sadness,” Infantino said. “Pele is eternal. He’s a global icon of football.”

FIFA had already flown the flags of the world at half-mast Friday outside its headquarters in Zurich in honour of Pele, whom the organisation has named as the greatest player of the 20th century.

Pele, the only player in history to win three World Cups, died at a Sao Paulo hospital after a long battle with cancer.

Monday’s wake will be followed by a funeral procession through the streets of Santos Tuesday, then a private interment ceremony.

Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr have gained over 6.1 million followers on Instagram in just three days since announcing the signing of Portugal star, Cristiano Ronaldo.

Checks on their Instagram page on Monday evening showed that the club followership had taken a quantum leap from 850,000 followers before Ronaldo’s official unveiling to 6.9million as at the time of filing this report.

Ronaldo joined Al Nassr on a two-year contract in a deal worth €200m per year with commercial benefits included.

he 37-year-old Portugal captain was a free agent after leaving Manchester United following a controversial interview in which he heavily criticised the club.

Al Nassr, nine-time Saudi Pro League champions, described the signing of former Real Madrid star as “history in the making.”

AlNassr tweeted, “History in the making. This is a signing that will not only inspire our club to achieve even greater success but inspire our league, our nation and future generations, boys and girls to be the best version of themselves. Welcome @Cristiano to your new home @AlNassrFC.”

Ronaldo signed a contract through to the summer of 2025 and, according to reports, will receive $75 million per year to make him the highest paid player in history.

Tributes to Pele line the route as his coffin is transferred to the city of Santos in Sao Paulo, Brazil, January 2, 2023.

Brazilians bid a final farewell this week to football giant Pele, starting Monday with a 24-hour public wake at the stadium of his long-time team, Santos.

The oceanside home of the team nicknamed “Peixe” – “fish” in Portuguese – is expecting a huge influx of fans looking to honor the “King” of football, who died aged 82 on Thursday after a long battle with cancer.

Stadium doors will open at 10:00 am local time. The coffin bearing the remains of the only player to have won three World Cups will be displayed in the center of the field.

Known as Vila Belmiro after the neighborhood where it is located, the black-and-white stadium has a capacity of 16,000 people.

In the stands, three giant flags could be seen Sunday, one with an image of Pele displaying the famous number 10 on his jersey. Another bore the message “Long live the king”; the third said simply, “Pele 82 years.”

Entry to the stadium will be allowed until 10:00 a.m. Tuesday, officials said. After that, a procession will be held through the streets of Santos, a port city about 75 kilometers from the state capital Sao Paulo.

The hearse carrying Pele’s coffin arrives to Santos as a firework goes off in the early morning ahead of the football legend’s funeral in the stadium in Santos, Brazil, January 2, 2023.  

The parade will pass the house of Pele’s mother, 100-year-old Celeste Arantes, who is unaware that her world-famous son has died.

“She doesn’t know,” Pele’s sister Maria Lucia do Nascimento told ESPN on Friday. “She is not conscious.”

The procession will end at a cemetery in Santos, where Pele will be interred in a special mausoleum.

Born Edson Arantes do Nascimento, Pele is widely considered to have been the best player yet of the beautiful game.

His death sparked a global outpouring of tributes, with his native Brazil holding three days of national mourning.

He scored 1,283 goals in a career of 21 years, most of them played at Santos.

Wreaths of flowers left by his fans have brought a splash of color to Vila Belmiro, which houses a bust and a statue of the football great.

Pele’s jersey statue in the early morning ahead of the football legend’s funeral next to Vila Belmiro Stadium in Santos, Brazil, January 2, 2023.

Silvio Neves Souza, an electrician on holiday from Sao Paulo, took a moment on Sunday to visit the stadium since he will not be able to attend the official ceremony.

“I’m sure a lot of people will come to the wake, not just old people who saw him play, but also young people,” the 54-year-old said.

Elsewhere in the city, banners with Pele’s face decorate another monument erected in his likeness. “I loved the world with the ball at my feet,” read one sign.

At the headquarters of the Brazilian Football Confederation in Rio de Janeiro, a giant poster with Pele’s image bears the word “eternal.”

And at the inauguration on Sunday of Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the ceremony began with a minute’s silence in Pele’s memory.