Liverpool Wary Of Premier League Dangers Despite Lead
Liverpool manager, Arne Slot, said the depth of quality in the Premier League means his side can take nothing for granted, despite opening up an 11-point lead after a 2-0 win at Manchester City on Sunday.
Second-placed Arsenal have a game in hand on the leaders. However, Slot’s men took a giant stride towards a record-equalling 20th English top-flight title, thanks to their first league win at the Etihad Stadium for a decade.
Manchester City has dominated English football during Pep Guardiola’s time in charge, including an unprecedented run of four consecutive titles in the past four seasons. However, they have been a diminished force this season and now find themselves 20 points behind Liverpool.
“If you play away at the Etihad, if you win there, it’s always a big win, no matter what the league table looks like,” Slot said.
The traveling Liverpool support sang “We are going to win the league” as City ran out of ideas in their pursuit of a way back into the game after Mohamed Salah and Dominik Szoboszlai struck in the first half.
“The fans can sing whatever they want, I think they’ve been singing it quite long already. But we know as a team how hard we have to work for every single win,” the Liverpool manager added.
“So in every other league, having a lead like this would be very comfortable, except for this one, because in this league, every single game gives you a lot of challenges. Even Plymouth Argyle gave us a lot of challenges.”
Manchester City’s defense of its title was realistically ended long ago, when Guardiola’s men suffered a run of one win in 13 games between October and December.
After their UEFA Champions League exit to Real Madrid in midweek, City followed it up by losing to the Premier League champions-elect Liverpool.
The hosts looked a different team without the presence of talisman Erling Haaland who was injured, while Liverpool could rely on Salah for inspiration in the final third.
“I think Doku and Savinho played an incredible game and got to the by-line a lot but then just from there we missed the magic, We played well so I have no regrets,” Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola said.
“The chances in the final third, when we want to shoot and cross, for the amount we arrived there, we did not create much.”
Manchester City has by Guardiola’s admission looked like an aging team at times in their fall from grace this season.
The Catalan coach saw signs of rejuvenation as three of his January signings, Omar Marmoush, Nico Gonzalez, and Abdukodir Khusanov, started along with the likes of Doku, Savinho, Rico Lewis and Phil Foden.
Reuters/Obinna Aniakor.
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