Empire of the Kop
·2 de febrero de 2025
Empire of the Kop
·2 de febrero de 2025
Liverpool fans know better than anyone not to jump the gun too early in a Premier League title race, but one journalist already believes that the Reds’ current position is unassailable.
The Reds opened up a nine-point lead at the top of the table with a 2-0 win away to in-form Bournemouth on Saturday, heaping the pressure on Arsenal to claim victory over champions Manchester City today.
Arne Slot has still been beaten just once in this division since arriving at Anfield last summer, and that was nearly five months ago at the hands of a Nottingham Forest side who currently sit third.
Sky Sports reporter Ben Grounds was at the Vitality Stadium yesterday, and he thinks that Liverpool fans can now begin to enjoy their current standing rather than fearing a tense, tight title race.
He wrote: “We are now beyond the point where the most pertinent question concerning Liverpool is whether or not Slot’s dad thinks they have played well.
“The question of whether his side will win the Premier League in his first season in charge can surely no longer be up for debate. They still haven’t played anyone? Surely even the most scarred and pessimistic Liverpudlian must now accept that it is a foregone conclusion.”
Grounds added: “Competition, and the chase, is what neutrals want but it is time to gloss over Liverpool until the inevitable trophy parade. The best team in the league, with the most complete squad, the fewest injuries that matter and crucially the respect now of all their counterparts.
“A stumble would make good copy but you cannot pick at vulnerabilities that don’t stack up compared to the issues among rivals. The gap, in truth, is only likely to get wider.”
(Photo by Richard Pelham/Getty Images)
While some Liverpool supporters might feel that their team’s coronation now seems inevitable, others will be keeping any grandiose statements in check with another 15 matches still to play, including two historically fiendish away fixtures this month.
Visits to Everton and Man City over the past decade have brought far more pain than joy, so those games in particular will represent a huge acid test of the Reds’ title credentials, especially with the resurgence of both of those teams since the New Year.
There could also be an away clash against Aston Villa brought forward to this month if we reach the Carabao Cup final, and while Unai Emery’s side can blow hot and cold, they’ve shown in the Champions League just how tough an opponent they are when at their best.
Should Liverpool come through the next month with the same leading margin that they enjoy now, the prospects of a 20th league title would be greatly enhanced.
A win for Arsenal today would feel like a huge result for them and, even with our game in hand, a six-point gap in the live table would feel far more retrievable than nine. Despite what Grounds might say, we can’t imagine many Reds fans getting ahead of themselves just yet.
Nonetheless, with Tim Howard proclaiming that LFC always ‘turn up’ and more often than not get the job done, it’s fair to state that wey’re firm favourites in the title race and have a degree of control over our destiny which must be the envy of our rivals.
En vivo