Three reasons why Liverpool’s title race is far from over

3-1 victory for Liverpool, there was a huge roar of utter delight from the Anfield faithful. The Reds had accomplished a monumental margin over their rivals and they did it in comfortable fashion too.</p> <p>The performance was a mature and measured one. Despite City’s perpetual onslaught at Liverpool’s defence, under the commanding presence of Van Dijk darting across the pitch Liverpool remained strong a resolute.</p> <p>They blocked and tackled City at every opportunity and frustrated the Blues to minimal clear cut chances.</p> <p>The Reds were ruthless in attack too, and their finishing was lethal in front of Manchester City’s goal.</p> <p>But the comfortable victory does not mean Liverpool can rest easy just yet. There have been plenty of twists and turns in the title race in the past and with many games to go, a lot can change before the final game of the season come May.</p> <h3>History</h3> <p>Liverpool will be well aware of their seven point advantage over Manchester City around January of last season which was quickly carved down by the Blues to just four when the two sides faced each other at the Etihad stadium. A run of poor form and Manchester City’s excellent form to juxtapose it ultimately saw the Blues lift the title and Liverpool will be vary that the same can happen again.</p> <p>In the Premier League’s rich history teams have come back from far larger deficits than nine points. Manchester United came back from an 11 point margin against Arsenal in 1998 when the Gunners had that advantage over them in March. Arsenal five years later in 2003 came back from United having an 8 point lead over them to lift the title at a similar time in March.</p> <p>With that sort of history and with such a length of time ahead to go in the season, the Premier League is certainly far from over and the possibility for Manchester City to claw back the margin remains.</p> <div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #0" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://playingfor90.com/2019/11/10/three-reasons-liverpool-title-race-far/2/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Luck </a> </div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div id="attachment_475405" class="wp-caption aligncenter"> <img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-large wp-image-475405" src=https://playingfor90.com/2019/11/10/three-reasons-liverpool-title-race-far/2/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_389,w_590/https%3A%2F%2Fplayingfor90.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F1181427508-850x560.jpeg" alt="" width="590" height="389"><div class="fs-center-img"> <p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:590px;">Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola applauds the fans after the final whistle during the Premier League match at Anfield, Liverpool. (Photo by Peter Byrne/PA Images via Getty Images)</p> </div> </div> <h3>Luck</h3> <p>Manchester City are currently having their worst injury crisis under Guardiola. The long list of superstars who were forced to watch the Liverpool game from the sidelines from Ederson to Otamendi and Laporte almost seems endless for Pep Guardiola right now. Manchester City’s bad luck with injuries has certainly cost the Blues points over the course of the start of the season.</p> <p>Luck often plays a major part in football. Liverpool seems to have had all the luck coming their way this season with injury time winners and a whole host of players hitting form at just the right time. Even Guardiola has pointed this out in a <a href=https://playingfor90.com/2019/11/10/three-reasons-liverpool-title-race-far/2/"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-inVj9pDOAY%22>press conference</a> earlier this month.</p> <p>Yet that luck could change in an instant.</p> <p>A long term injury for Virgil Van Dijk could come at a major cost for the Reds and completely derail their good run of form. The same could be said in the case of an injury for the likes of Firmino, Salah and Mane. The absence of Liverpool’s mercurial talent would be detrimental for Liverpool.</p> <p>The Reds strongly rely on their key players with their style of play fixated on individuals and this may come costly for them especially with their heavy run of fixtures. Their appearance in the FIFA Club World Cup amidst the Christmas period in December could potentially halt their excellent momentum right now and with so many games to be played Liverpool are bound to pick up some injuries along the way.</p> <p>At the same time, Manchester City have plenty of time to overturn their bad luck and once their injured players return they are bound to hit form once more.</p> <p>If Liverpool do experience a FIFA Club World Cup hangover, Guardiola’s side will surely capitalise on it, especially as they will have a lot more rest in between their games than the Reds and their fixture list looks a lot more favourable during the Christmas period.</p> <div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #0" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://playingfor90.com/2019/11/10/three-reasons-liverpool-title-race-far/2/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Time </a> </div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div id="attachment_475406" class="wp-caption aligncenter"> <img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-large wp-image-475406" src=https://playingfor90.com/2019/11/10/three-reasons-liverpool-title-race-far/2/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_389,w_590/https%3A%2F%2Fplayingfor90.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F1181427465-850x560.jpeg" alt="" width="590" height="389"><div class="fs-center-img"> <p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:590px;">Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp (left) and Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola hug after the final whistle during the Premier League match at Anfield, Liverpool. (Photo by Peter Byrne/PA Images via Getty Images)</p> </div> </div> <h3>Time</h3> <p>The game between Liverpool and Manchester City was only the 12th game of the season. It is far too early to call the Premier League title just yet despite the considerable margin of 9 points which Liverpool currently possess over their rivals.</p> <p>Time can seem so permanent at times that often we forget just how much we still have left until the league title comes to an end in May. There is still six months of football to be played play. That is six months of turbulent ups and downs for both Liverpool and Manchester City. We aren’t even half way through the season just yet. So many twists and turns are bound to come up in the long season which awaits us.</p> <p>Klopp’s men are bound to incur a difficult period as our Guardiola’s men bound to overcome their difficulties and return to their expected run of form. There is almost no doubt that Aguero will start scoring again, Sterling will run riot once more and Kevin De Bruyne will return to picking out pinpoint passes to cut through defences like a knife through butter. City will patch up their defence to make sure they stop dropping points. It is inevitable.</p> <p>Form is temporary. Class is permanent. It is an old adage but it bodes well for the current Premier League title race.</p> <p>With so much time to go, and such vast possibilities nothing can be for certain and Liverpool can easily lose their grip on the title still.</p> <p>So don’t bury City just yet, and don’t crown Liverpool prematurely, there are plenty of games to be played. The Premier League has only just begun. We are still in for an exhilarating ride and as always a season of surprises.</p> <div class="fs-shortcode" data-type="StoryLink" data-theme="dark" data-text="Liverpool finally find back-up for Salah?" data-url="https://playingfor90.com/2019/11/07/liverpool-finally-found-perfect-back-mo-salah/" data-call-to-action="Next"> <div class="story-link-next"> <a class="story-link-next-btn" style="background: #0" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="story-link-next-shortcode" href=https://playingfor90.com/2019/11/10/three-reasons-liverpool-title-race-far/2/"https://playingfor90.com/2019/11/07/liverpool-finally-found-perfect-back-mo-salah/"> <span class="call_to_action">Next:</span> Liverpool finally find back-up for Salah? </a> </div> </div> <p>What do you think will Liverpool win the Premier League this season?</p> <p> </p><!—pageview_candidate—>">