And so it is confirmed: the Premier League title race is over. Finished. Done and dusted. The fat lady has sung, and the trophy will be heading back to the blue half of Manchester come May.
Now, in my view it was already over. But some had held out hope that Liverpool would serve up a classic performance at Anfield today and send Manchester City packing with their tails between their legs. The deficit between to two teams would have shrunk to just four points, and the race would be on.
WRONG.
A second half City masterclass, spearheaded by Phil Foden, swept the Reds to the wayside. Such was their superiority that they even had space to miss a penalty and still emerge with a comfortable victory. 4-1 the final score.
For Liverpool this defeat was humbling. Their usual high tempo and pressing was totally absent, and so appeared to be their belief and confidence. Even Mohamed Salah’s equaliser from the spot failed to rouse them for more than a five-minute spell. Playing with two midfielders at centre-half looks to finally be catching up with Liverpool defensively, and this result that leaves them ten points adrift of City having played a game more. No way they come back from that.
You know you’ve got trouble when even Alisson (who gifted City two of their goals) is making mistakes.
And what of the other title challengers? Well, let’s start with Manchester United. Their achievement this weekend was to squander a two-goal lead in their 3-3 draw with Everton, and they contrived to lose to Sheffield United the other week. Frankly, they lack to quality to sustain a title challenge and were (in my opinion) overperforming during their recent run of wins that lifted them into contention. No title for them either.
Third-placed Leicester are not viable candidates either. Sure, they are a good side, but they remain a Jamie Vardy injury away from becoming a solid top-half side rather than one in the hunt for European football and titles. They have in fact helpfully demonstrated this for me in the last fortnight, winning just one of their four league games while Vardy has been sidelined for a groin operation.
Chelsea, meanwhile, are too far back to mount a challenge even if the early form of the Thomas Tuchel era were to continue for the rest of the season.
Instead, a colossal battle for the European spots of the top four is developing. Manchester United currently lead it in second spot, with Leicester, Liverpool and a resurgent Chelsea on their tail. Everton and Aston Villa, who both have two games in hand due to Covid issues, will also have designs on involving themselves in the battle, while Arsenal have also been climbing the table since Christmas.
When it comes to the title though, forget it.
No-one, but no-one, is catching Manchester City.
Comments