This weekend’s set of Premier League results could not have gone much more in Liverpool’s favour.
Manchester United fell to defeat at Arsenal and both Chelsea and Newcastle lost. That gave us the chance to capitalise, which can be key at this time of the season, and we did so in style at Anfield.
One team who didn’t lose, though, was Manchester City. Pep Guardiola’s side are the only team in the division to win all four of their fixtures and that is a worry, regardless of the opposition they have faced. City are setting the trend once again, Erling Haaland has got himself another hat-trick and you just wonder what it is going to take for Guardiola’s side to lose their way.
Anyone finishing above Man City this season will have to be exceptional. It is going to take something special to knock them off top spot. Although I’m sure City supporters are enjoying the success of their team, those in power within the English game have allowed this dominance to happen and spoiled what was the best league in the world.
If a team won the league back-to-back a decade ago, it was seen as a remarkable achievement. City are now going for their fourth on the spin. What they have done from a purely footballing point of view is admirable, with brilliant players and a good coach, but they shouldn’t have been allowed to do this. It’s too late now for anything to be done about it, that ship has sailed, and it means they are going to be really hard to catch. There is every chance they will fall off their perch once Pep goes, but it’s hard to see it happening at this moment in time.
Liverpool have just got to take care of their own business for now. Ten points from a possible 12 is a very respectable return. We’ve now got Gravenberch to throw into the mix and he can only help our cause for challenging City this season.
Europa League draw positive in more ways than one
We discovered our opponents for the Europa League group stage at the end of last week, and I was pleasantly surprised after seeing how it played out. With all due respect to the teams we will face, Liverpool should be finishing top of their group.
The draw is favourable in the sense that you’re looking at chances for the likes of Bajcetic, Jones, Elliott, Doak and Quansah. For them, this will be an invaluable experience. Another bonus is each of our opponents are only a couple of hours away and Jurgen will be delighted about that. There are a couple of 5:45pm kick-offs, which will also help with recovery ahead of Premier League games. It couldn’t have worked out much better for us.
