Gary Neville, a renowned football pundit, has expressed his belief that three teams still have a chance to clinch the Premier League title following Manchester City’s emphatic victory over reigning champions Liverpool. The match saw Man City trounce Liverpool 3-0 at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday. This marked Pep Guardiola’s 1,000th game as a manager.
Erling Haaland broke the deadlock with a deflected header shortly after his penalty was saved by Giorgi Mamardashvili, Liverpool's goalkeeper. However, controversy arose when Virgil van Dijk's equalising header for Liverpool was ruled out for offside.
Liverpool coach Arne Slot was left fuming with this decision and his mood further soured when Nico Gonzalez scored Man City’s second goal just before half-time. Despite an improved performance in the second half by Liverpool, their hopes of making a comeback were dashed when Jeremy Doku curled in an impressive third goal for Man City. This defeat - their fifth in 11 league games - leaves Slot’s side eighth in the Premier League table and eight points behind early pacesetters Arsenal.
Arsenal's ten-game winning streak ends
Arsenal have been performing exceptionally well this season and are currently leading England's top-flight league. Their ten-game winning streak came to an abrupt end on Saturday as they drew 2-2 with Sunderland.
The draw coupled with Man City’s impressive victory over Liverpool means Guardiola’s side is now just four points behind league leaders Arsenal. This has led many to believe that it will be these two teams battling it out for supremacy towards the end of this season.
Gary Neville, Manchester United legend, said:
‘I thought today was about which of these two clubs was going to emerge as Arsenal’s nearest challengers and could they send a message to the Gunners?’
‘Pep Guardiola, in his 1000th game as a manager, his team and his staff, have done that. It’s a really good day for Guardiola and Man City, but it’s a difficult day for Arne Slot and Liverpool. Pep has giving them a bit of belief going into the international belief. They’re four points off Arsenal, they’ve got experience and they’ve got players who have been around the block and know how to win titles.
‘He will just want to hang on Mikel Arteta’s shoulder by March because he’s the one you don’t want near you. I thought the biggest challenger [to title favourites Arsenal] would be Liverpool, I thought Man City were too inconsistent, but it looks like I was badly wrong. It was a really good day for Pep Guardiola and his City team. If they can still be around there and get close they are going to be really, really dangerous during the run-in just because of their experience.
‘They’ve still got to convince me that they’re going to win the title – Arsenal are the better team – but they’re the one team and the one manager you wouldn’t want on your shoulder going down the home straight.’
Neville refuses to eule out Liverpool
Despite recent setbacks, Neville admits that it appears as though Manchester City will provide the greatest competition to Arsenal. However, he has refused to rule Liverpool out of the title race. When asked whether Liverpool could still be considered contenders for the title, Neville responded affirmatively.
Gary Neville added:
‘If it clicked something could happen. They’ve got firecrackers and world-class players in that dressing room. There’s big characters too, Van Dijk, Alisson and Salah are huge characters. They’re Premier League greats so if they can pull it together with the manager who had a great first season and get something going with the younger players, maybe they can still do something.
‘But today was a worry because it was a really, really poor performance. They need to have a good look at themselves and they’ll know they’re nowhere near it at this moment in time.’
The Premier League is known for its unpredictability and this season seems to be no different. With Arsenal leading but Manchester City closing in, and Liverpool still in contention according to Gary Neville, it's shaping up to be an exciting end to the season. Sports fans and sports betting enthusiasts alike will undoubtedly keep a close eye on these developments as they unfold.
