The draw between Liverpool and Man City suggests a title fight coming up.
Manchester United Who is hoping to win the Premier League this year? More importantly, who thinks they can win?
After Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Liverpool, Manchester City may still be the favorite to win the title once more, but Pep Guardiola’s squad is now facing stronger opposition.
City is determined to become the first English team to win the trophy four seasons in a row, thus they clearly know how to win the title.
However, the chance for each of Liverpool, Arsenal, and Tottenham Hotspur to finish the season as champions is now starting to present itself, as they are all within striking distance of the top spot.
We’ve been used to City winning the Premier League handily. Only Liverpool’s victory in 2020 prevented Guardiola’s team from winning six straight.
Nevertheless, this season looks to be the most competitive race for the English title in recent memory.
The top five Premier League teams were separated by six points at the conclusion of this match at the Etihad Stadium.
That difference is 10 points between Spain and France and 11 points between Italy and Germany.
While City has eventually prevailed in previous seasons, the current season may be different due to several factors.
This season, Arsenal has defeated City; two weeks ago, Chelsea held them to a thrilling 4–4 tie; and now, Liverpool has defeated Guardiola’s squad without losing.
When Tottenham visits the Etihad on December 3, they will be full of confidence that City may allow enough points to be dropped by another team. This is because Tottenham is the team that they will face next.
All we need to do now is wait for that squad to show up—the best of the rest, or the team ready to be ambitious enough in January to bring in the player who could turn them from competitors to winners.
Arguably, Liverpool has the best chance of winning the league over City. After all, by obtaining something from Etihad, they have accomplished something that has grown nearly unachievable.
If City had managed to hold on for the victory, they would have tied Sunderland’s record of 24 straight home triumphs across all competitions, which dates back to 1894.
In just his 48th Premier League game, Erling Haaland gave City the lead on minute 27, making him the fastest player to 50 goals in the league.
Trent Alexander-Arnold’s 80th-minute equalizer gave Liverpool a well-earned point. In order to set his most recent record, Haaland destroyed Andy Cole (65 games, Newcastle 1993–94).
Although neither team performed well enough to win, it was equally important that Liverpool held City back after Haaland’s goal in order to prevent City from winning.
Guardiola remained unconcerned about his team’s chances of winning the championship, but for the first time this year, City was obviously without the injured Kevin De Bruyne, who has been out since the opening weekend in August due to a hamstring injury.
City’s midfield lacked penetration and enthusiasm without De Bruyne’s ability to break from box to box and produce long-range passes.
The Belgium international’s injury could impact them in the upcoming games as well because he won’t be back until the New Year.
Even though Liverpool’s midfield has been strong this year, they lacked the will and determination to capitalize on City’s weaknesses, and as a result, both teams were satisfied with a point and not losing.
It was a nice result for Liverpool, but it was better for the title race as well, since City’s failures against the elite teams could lead to various ribbons being attached to the Premier League trophy in May if one of the contenders can find title-winning form.
