The Liverpool v Man City fall-out continues with the Reds toying with the champions. And is Pep Guardiola finished?
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Liverpool: That was cold
First things first. Mo Salah doing keepie uppies 2 feet away from a pair of City players arguing with the ref about that pen was one of the most gloriously callous things I’ve ever seen on a football pitch.
That level of contempt for the opposition being displayed with such outright nonchalance at a moment as critical as that bordered on the psychotic. It toyed with them. And it was beautiful.
Brian Morrissey (Paul Mc Devitt may be a lot of things, but he’s not a Liverpool fan) Waterford
READ: 16 Conclusions from Liverpool 2-0 Man City: is there even going to be a title race at all?
It’s on
I’m not usually one to get overconfident or make bold predictions. But this feels different. We just outplayed the European and 4 time Premier League champions in back to back games. Salah is flying. The midfield is purring. The defence is rock solid. We’re 9 points clear and rising to every challenge. So even though it’s only November, I’m going to be bold and say it: We are definitely in the title race.
Mike, LFC, Dubai
The Quad is one!
Whisper it ever so quietly. But did Arsenal destroy Citeh’s season by physically destroying Rodri? Of course, there were other injuries and other variables that contributed to Citeh’s downfall but Rodri’s season ending injury must top the list. The reaction from Citeh players after that draw against Arsenal says it all. Arsenal pushed them to the limits and they actually snapped.
I’m so happy with how the season is turning out, Citeh being crap, Arsenal continuing to flatter to deceive, Spurs being Spurs, Chelsea in transition and Slot slotting in perfectly to keep this Liverpool machine going. This might really be our year!
We are having what is turning out to be a perfect season and a quadruple is not out of reach. If the Premier League trophy doesn’t come home to Anfield this year it will be a massive underachievement, such are the current expectations. I would also be expecting a Champions League final after that Real Madrid dressing down, always nice to teach those arrogant pricks (Mbappe the king of pricks) a footballing lesson.
Romulus Shani, LFC
A pandemic must be coming…
We’re happy, jubilant, enjoying things. But a quick look at last year’s fixtures and Liverpool are a massive……… 2 points better off. There’s ample scope for this to go awry, and LFC do always struggle in January.
But I don’t think we’ve fully realised what the league table is trying to show us.
Now, as we all know, the last time LFC raced into an extensive lead at the top of the table, in front of braying Anfield crowds, this was actually entirely due to the tumult of Covid, which of course City could foresee the impact of 7 months in advance and therefore decided to capitulate early in October 2019 and formally concede the title in December. Hence the correctly awarded asterisk to that title. So, I’m sorry to say people, if this form continues then the only conclusion to draw is that Pep is again, in his own imitable way, advising us of another global pandemic next year ☹ .
Flippancy aside, where there is reason to be mildly confident though, is we are talking about City in a different way. Can City catch up? Not can LFC ‘keep pace’. Keeping pace is just totally not enough. In 2019 LFC were 1 point behind on 97 points. LFC dropped only 6 points in the last 19 games of 2021-22 to finish on 92. But it wasn’t enough, because LFC were keeping pace.
Klopp’s red’s only once significantly raced ahead. The year they won the title they were 18 points in front. They were 20+ points clear when Covid struck, but that led fell away as they returned out of shape and probably drunk. Klopp only managed it once, and no other team has managed it at all.
Channelling my inner Sean Connery and Untouchables, but that’s how you beat Capone.
They nearly did it again, in 20-21 by Christmas they were 6 points ahead, and Pep was again talking about the title slipping away. But that was a condensed season due to the pandemic, which exacerbated the impact of a period of extreme injuries (a period that should normally have 10 games, had 14, and that was further condescend by BT sport). Having no pre-season and no winter break didn’t help the muscle injuries either. LFC got 26 points from the final 30, but the damage was done in that 14 game implosion. City regained hope and cantered to the finish.
So it’s that, and that alone, which makes me even consider LFC as challengers this year. City can and do always chase you down, when they think it’s possible. When they give up, then you have a shot. So good luck to Slot and his boys. But being ahead at this point isn’t enough; keep adding the pressure.
Tom G
The Mighty Bottle?
So, there we have it, the great masses have spoken and on 1st December 2024, Liverpool Football Club were crowned Champions of the top-tier of English football at the earliest point in history – Sports TV of the Sky and TNT variety are considering switching to Scottish Football to fill the competitive void left by 6 months of dead-rubber televised Premier League games and Arsenal and City have decided to field the yoof in league games going forward, to focus on domestic and European trophy pursuits.
More-over, late yesterday, Fabrizio Romano reported that Erling Haaland had been overheard saying he doesn’t even see the point in scoring for the golden boot, despite having a goal advantage on Salah because “Liverpool will win every game 4-0 from here, with Salah scoring at over 2 a game until May”.
Now, are Liverpool playing some good football? They sure are. Are they beating nearly everyone in front of them? Hoo-Nelly, they do appear to be! Do either of these things mean they can’t suddenly get 1 point from 4 games in February and everything suddenly looks a bit dispiriting? Insert rhetorical answer here! (it’s no, the answer is no)
Now, many will know, that I have hankered for an “anyone but City” approach in the last few years as I did in the 70s and 80s with Liverpool and I certainly did in the Fergie-era of United, so I would welcome Liverpool winning it as the relative underdogs they were and are – partly because of the fact it would be won off the back of very little transfer movement (a personal favourite of mine), partly because of the slightly banterific fact that Klopp left his group of players at just the wrong time, and partly because Pep’s “oh. we just lost.” face, is one of the best faces in world football, but let’s save the post-mortems until the breathing has stopped yeah?
Should Slot’s Liverpool lift the title in truly spectacular fashion – it would be exactly that, spectacular and it would deserve credit. it wouldn’t deserve to be belittled because “well – no-one turned up and Liverpool won by default and something something asterisk season because we all knew in December” – we know who you are – and should Slot’s Liverpool fall away because Salah takes a knock just before a key Champions League Quarter Final, leading to a run of 3 points from 5 games and Arsenal, City, (or Chelsea – hey, it could happen!) step up over 3/4 months it will not have been a bottle job. – Yes, we also know who YOU are.
Liverpool’s season culminates in games against Brighton, Chelsea, Tottenham and Arsenal (in some order or such) out of their last 5 games (I think – it’s late and my googling hands are tired). Even IF they are 9 points clear at that point – no-one should lump 10k on them, so don’t pretend like you’d do it now.
We can see what you’re all doing, it isn’t big, and it’s not particularly clever – let the season do it’s thing, yeah?
The Inimitable Haroldo Estaphno Hoolerio
P.S – Can we have a word please about that Liverpool home kit – it’s giving “circuit board chic” and I don’t like it
Can Liverpool learn to be overdogs?
No trophy is handed out in December. But yes, a part of me was expecting Man City to turn the script on the pre-established narrative of getting pantsed at Anfield.
The first ten minutes unlocked an epiphany; There was no denying that we had stepped into the fixture as favourites and acting overtly coy on our chances was just being disingenuous.
Muscle memory for a (rational) Liverpool fan has always been that of being underdogs since the SAF era;
And then a glorious German arrived, spanked our bittermost rivals almost every season and had to deal with their oiled-baldy-sheikh-money-led neighbours; Even in our then best era, we were second best! (That hurts, can we get to the part where City are stripped off their titles)
Then we seem to have got our own bald magician(?) who has absolutely left the football world; from the fans to the pundits, tearing their hair to a point of lunatic editorials of ‘They haven’t beaten anyone proper’.
But the underdog mentality has to die; We are 9 points ahead of the chasing pack, surely we would have our own blips (right?)
Nothing is won yet, the second half of the season awaits, but it’s in our hands now.
M. Nair. Mumbai (what is the positive-opposite of the underdog expression anyway?)
READ: 16 Conclusions from Liverpool 2-0 Man City: is there even going to be a title race at all?
Could Pep walk away from Man City?
Although it would be for very different reasons, that is genuine trauma versus a bruised ego, is it possible that Pep may do what Kenny Dalglish did and resign mid season?
He certainly doesn’t seem able to cope with the mental pressure of this current run.
Eoin (Ferguson would have eaten Guardiola for breakfast) Ireland
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…Monday morning, not fully awake yet, please forgive the rambling. Just wanted to express a couple of thoughts:
The chanting at Pep at Anfield and his response – I’ve seen people on social media totally get it wrong, some slagging off the Liverpool fans, some slagging off Pep’s response. They all need to chill. It was clearly tongue-in-cheek chanting. Pep was smiling at it, not to act for the cameras or anything but because he understood what it was and was amused by it. His 6-fingered response was also banter. It made me chuckle.
However, doing that same gesture to all stands at the final whistle I don’t think was banter – he was trying to prove the point of a desperate man.
Musing no.2: Did anyone else think Pep look distressed for most of that match? Not just after the goal or result, but from the off. He didn’t look like a man having a good time of life at the moment.
Final musing: Chelsea and Liverpool both had new managers this season, both were (imo quite logically) written out of the title race immediately. However, both teams are now pretty good and flying high. If Liverpool and Chelsea do both continue their form, would it be the first title race in history that was fought between 2 managers new to Our League?
Thanks for reading if you did, have a good week all.
Clive (LFC)
…It feels strange to be writing off a footballing behemoth like Manchester City after a mere thirteen games, but here I am, doing just that.
City weren’t at the races yesterday. When Liverpool were bringing the ball out from the back, there was little to no pressure, allowing them play through the lightweight midfield easily. City’s back four played a low line that facilitated this. The team had no leader. Haaland is a one trick pony – and he is the world’s best at that trick, but he isn’t the kind of player that will drop deeper and make things happen. In a team playing attacking, free-flowing football, he is an amazing asset. In a team low on confidence, energy and ideas, he is a luxury that they can’t afford. An undroppable luxury, obviously. I hope he can stay humble.
But the biggest sign of all that this iteration of City are done? Guardiola being all butt hurt because the Liverpool fans sang ironically that he is getting sacked in the morning. This is benign football banter, and Guardiola is, by any reasonable definition, fair game right now. Thinking that he is immune to this, because of “respect” is embarrassing.
Being so entitled to think that opposition fans – especially the fans of their biggest rival over the last decade or so – are not going to kick you when you are down shows a man out of touch and taking himself way too seriously. He should have smiled and taken it on the chin, but not only did it get to him, he showed everybody how much it got to him.
This is a very telling sign that for all his success and talent, he has had it way too easy. There is an expression – a calm sea never made a skilful sailor – and perhaps Pep has been on a millpond for way too long. The cracks are beginning to show and unless he manages to turn this around, the foundations at City might bring the house down.
I think I have mixed enough metaphors for the time being.
Mat (Arsenal and then Chelsea are still in it, I am taking nothing for granted. No-one won a title after 13 games)
Only Everton but…
I know most of the mails will be elsewhere focused, but even though it was only a shite Everton the United match was very encouraging. Lots of mixing up to see who could shave their sharp square edges to fit into the round holes. Mazraoui looks like he’s been inhabited by Denis Irwin. Mainoo, Mount and the up until now “strikers” look like they might prosper. I am temporarily optimistic.
Liam Jones
