WASTEFUL STRIKER IS NO MARGIN
THERE are plenty who believe that Manchester City’s four-in-a-row is inevitable.
Arsenal and Liverpool are just two points behind, and there are 18 points to play for.
But we’ve seen enough of City in April and May before to feel that a slip by the serial champions is unlikely.
They are on course to finish with 91 points. In Premier League history, a tally higher than 90 has only been achieved 11 times.
Pep Guardiola’s team have a strong chance of doing so for the fourth time on his watch.
The reason why so many Arsenal and Liverpool fans were in despair on Sunday night was the fact that there is very little wriggle room when you’re trying to chase down City.
Any defeat now is seen as a mini disaster if you’re in the title race — that was rarely the case before Guardiola came along.
Alex Ferguson’s last season as Manchester United manager saw his team become champions in 2013/14 — they lost five times.
Guardiola took a season to find his feet at City. In that 2016/17 campaign, Chelsea came top — after losing five games.
Managers
Look at the title-winning managers at Liverpool in the modern era.
Kenny Dalglish’s last title was in 1990, when they lost five out of 38 games.
Joe Fagan’s one and only League title was in 1984 — Liverpool lost six out of 42.
Bob Paisley, their most successful manager, finished up with a last title in 1983 — when the Reds had eight defeats in 42 games.
And the great Bill Shankly’s final title was in 1973, when Liverpool lost seven times.
This season, Liverpool have lost only three games — the same as City — but you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who thinks Jurgen Klopp will be on an open-top bus parading the Premier League trophy next month.
Klopp did lead Liverpool to the summit four years ago, finishing with an incredible 99 points — ahead of City in second spot. Who remembers that, just as now, the Reds lost three games?
The reason, though, why hope is fading fast with Liverpool fans is due to a number of factors.
The failure to keep clean sheets — there have only been two in
2024.
The realisation that the much-trumpeted midfield rebuild isn’t all that. Alexis Mac Allister does look the part but Wataru Endo and Dominik Szoboszlai have looked less and less convincing as the season has gone on.
As for Ryan Gravenberch, it says it all that he wasn’t even used off the bench in the defeats to Atalanta and Crystal Palace in the last week — two games where the midfield was struggling badly. Trent AlexanderArnold’s long
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