Could still be a procession but City are facing Red heat again

It went into last weekend with the title race looking like a procession. Leaders Manchester City could have been 12 points ahead having played a game more than Liverpool. Till the 64th minute at Anfield on Saturday, when Norwich and Milot Rashica was basking in deflected glory, that looked possible. Then Sadio Mane scored with an overhead kick, Mo Salah found space in a thicket of legs and Luis Diaz ensured it would be normal service for the Reds. Still, City could have been nine points ahead had they tamed Tottenham Hotspur at home. Very doable that on current form— Spurs had lost three in a row and City convincingly won their last four— and the finesse available with Pep Guardiola.

But in a week storms Eunice and Dudley hit England, City faced the full impact of a one-player gale called Harry Kane. He scored twice and was the brain behind another and what hadn’t happened since 1987-88 happened on Sunday: a Spurs double over the defending champions. Exactly how much of an upset that was can be gauged by Spurs losing 0-1 to Burnley on Wednesday. It was also City’s first defeat in the league since the 0-2 home loss to Crystal Palace on October 30. Then, Liverpool sent Leeds United for a six on Wednesday and in five days, City’s were feeling some red heat on their back, their lead having whittled down to three after both played 26 games. That hadn’t happened since last Christmas. It was looking like a title race again.

“I think for people outside, it is better to have three or six-point gap than to have a 20 or 30-point gap so it is more exciting,” said Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp.

Liverpool not playing this weekend because they have an EFL Cup final against Chelsea on Sunday adds to the jeopardy. Liverpool visit City in April 10 and should both teams stay on the front foot, the race could continue for some time. There are a lot of ifs but should City lose at Everton, a win against West Ham on March 5 will help Liverpool draw level. That weekend, City host Manchester United. Given that derbies can send the form book for a toss— City couldn’t beat United on way to the league title last term— Liverpool could be ahead after 28 games.

“We didn’t need to lose a game already to know how hard it is [to win the league]. There are many, many games still to play,” Guardiola said after Sunday 2-3 loss. Of course, the opposite can also happen. “City play (on Saturday) and they probably win and it is six points again before we play the next league game,” said Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp on Wednesday.

So City could still make it a procession. They have a habit of starting winning streaks after the odd loss; the defeat against Palace led to 12 successive wins in the league and on January 15, they had a 14 point advantage over Liverpool who had two games in hand. City lost to Newcastle on January 30, 2019, and won their next 15 games spread over two seasons. And, beginning with West Ham, Liverpool have a streak of difficult ties including games against Arsenal and United.

“We honestly don’t chase City. We have to win a lot of the games against all the difficult opponents and that will be a tricky task,” said Klopp.

But credit to Liverpool for winning games, despite missing Mane and Salah who were away on international duty, and making this a race when City had a slight stumble. Leeds was their sixth successive win and ninth in all competition. “Two different teams in class,” said Leeds’ midfielder Adam Forshaw.

In the league, Liverpool have been steady, barring crazy draws against Brighton and Brentford, and occasionally spectacular like in the 5-0 win against United. They have lost twice, to West Ham and Leicester, which is one less than City. The team has clicked into gear, the injuries that derailed them last term haven’t revisited, Diaz has been handy addition, Salah now has 19 league goals— “you cannot defend Mo Salah in all challenges of a game,” said Klopp of the Egyptian who scored two and was involved in two more on Wednesday— and Mane 11. They have 50 league goals in Anfield and are alive in four competitions. So when Klopp says, “we will give it a try,” it doesn’t sound like just talk. The gap isn’t too big anymore as left-back Andrew Robinson once said.

Ever since “Agueroooooo” was screamed worldwide on television in 2011-12, the Premier League, like most of Europe’s top five, has not had title races regularly go down to the wire. In 2018-19, City were champions by one point after Liverpool had a record 97 but that was a one-off. The champions since 2014-15 have won by 10, 13, 19, 18 and 12 points. After 26 games last term, City had 12 points more than second-placed United.

It may not yet be Vettel-Verstappen, it may not be 2018-19 but with the battle for the top four too hotting up (Chelsea, United, West Ham, Arsenal, Wolves and Spurs are in the fray for two berths), there is a lot to look forward to. As pundit and former United captain Gary Neville said, this season has been too good for a procession. “I think we need that little bit of something going into that last part of the season. And I think we’re going to get it,” he said in The Gary Neville podcast on Sky Sports.