NAPPING! KOMPANY IN A CALL TO COOL DOWN THE KOP
VINCENT KOMPANY says Manchester City must keep their cool and their focus if they are not to suffer another defeat at Liverpool.
City face the biggest test of their title defence so far in Sunday’s trip to Anfield, where they lost twice last season.
City saw their unbeaten run in the Premier League come to an end in January with a 4-3 defeat, then lost 3-0 in the first leg of their quarter-final showdown en route to exiting the Champions League.
The Blues last won in front of the Kop in 2003, when a Nicolas Anelka goal gave them a 2-1 win, and have lost on six of their last seven visits.
Although Pep Guardiola saw his team win the title by 19 points last season, only goal difference currently separates them and Liverpool, with Kompany (below) convinced the champions will be pushed all the way in the title race this season.
And the City skipper said repelling the Red tide will be their biggest task when they face Jurgen Klopp’s freescoring side.
“I think if you take all four games against Liverpool last season, including the home games, it’s a game of small margins,” said Kompany. “You look at each and every game and there’s not a lot of difference in terms of how the games unfolded.
“One game we were more efficient and scored five, the other game they scored three in, what, 15 minutes? That’s how these games seem to go.
“The margin is so small between both teams and a lot of things happen in a very short period of time. You have to make sure you can control this. We prepare for every single game well but in these kind of games you need a lot of things to come together.”
Despite Sunday’s clash being billed as a showdown between the two title favourites, Kompany said it would be foolish to discount Chelsea.
“Chelsea have shown so much already this season, while Arsenal and Tottenham are coming back too,” he said. “I think most teams at the top are firing on all cylinders at this moment in time and that’s what makes this league exciting.”