Liverpool grasp the nettle as Arsenal and Man City falter in quest for title | OneFootball

The Premier League cannot be won in November, but Liverpool begun the month by proving their credentials in what is shaping up to be a tight three-way title race.

If you only watched the first half of their encounter with Brighton at Anfield on Saturday then that statement looks silly. The Seagulls pinned the hosts to their collar in that opening period and their efforts were rewarded with a goal from Ferdi Kadioglu. They were perhaps unfortunate not to have a bigger lead at the break.

The Reds were dealt a blow when Ibrahima Konate, who has been in top form this season, was forced off at halftime with an injury. As the game crept past the hour mark, it seemed like a repeat of the Nottingham Forest defeat was on the cards.

Given the amount of times he’s brought up that game since then, Arne Slot was clearly desperate to avoid déjà vu, so he made a double change in the 66th minute. Three minutes later they equalised. Another three minutes and they were in the lead.

Read – Van Dijk makes ‘sloppy’ Liverpool admission following Brighton comeback

It’s only November. It’s ‘only’ a win over Brighton. But when the final whistle blew it felt bigger than that; that second half was reminiscent of the Jurgen Klopp era, when his troops so often came back from the dead to pull off yet another comeback.

What made it feel especially significant was how abject their main rivals looked in contrast on the same day. Arsenal failed to lay a glove on Newcastle United in the early kickoff, while Bournemouth stunned Manchester City at Dean Court.

Those unexpected defeats ensure Liverpool will spend the next week atop the standings. While the reigning champions are just two points behind, the Gunners are now seven adrift and could fall as far as seventh in the table depending on Sunday’s results.

Having only lost one of their first 25 Premier League games in 2024 (21 wins and three draw), Mikel Arteta’s side have since lost two of their last three, drawing the other one. They’ve also lost successive away matches in the league for the first time since May 2022.

At this point last season they were still unbeaten. This was meant to be the year they kick on and knock City off their perch, but their campaign has hit the skids big time. There’s still plenty of time to recover and it would be foolish to write them off already, but the performances have been concerning.

“I don’t think I have ever seen Arsenal make so many unforced errors in a game,” Phil Jones said of the Newcastle game on BBC Radio 5 Live. “They moved the ball so slowly, it was very pedestrian. It is okay to move it slowly at times but you need a pass that is going to up the tempo and get things going.”

The former Manchester United defender hit the nail on the head. Ever since Martin Odegaard was sidelined with an injury Arsenal have seriously lacked impetus. Did this whole operation rely entirely on him? It’s probably too simplistic a conclusion to come to, but it’s starting to feel that way.

Read – Bournemouth ‘buzzing’ as Man City knocked off top spot

Man City, meanwhile, are far from the imperious machine they once were under Pep Guardiola. They give up too many chances to the opposition and lack incisiveness in attack, at least compared to previous seasons.

It’s clear as day they have been deeply affected by the absences of Rodri and Kevin De Bruyne, who did return to the matchday squad on Saturday as an unused substitute. But their squad is rapidly dwindling; four youth prospects were named on the bench, not including Rico Lewis, while Ruben Dias joined the injury list during the Bournemouth game.

The decision to sell Julian Alvarez could be excused by the amount of money that was offered by Atletico Madrid, it was simply too good to turn down. It is inexcusable, however, to not then use some of that cash to invest in a replacement. They could really do with another attacker right now.

Guardiola delivered a damning indictment afterwards, admitting on BBC Match of the Day that “we knew we couldn’t match their intensity”. That kind of statement might be expected after facing Klopp’s Liverpool at their peak. But Bournemouth? The Cherries are undoubtedly a good side, but if City are going into matches with mid-table teams knowing they are going to be outfought then that does not bode well.

It opens the path to glory for Liverpool, although Slot was keen to play down the fact that they are now top of the Premier League table, while his wisened captain Virgil van Dijk insisted “it’s too early to even make it important”.

Having faded down the stretch last season, they’re not getting ahead of themselves. There’s still a lot of football to be played.

Read – Arsenal ‘deserved to lose’ as Arteta left ‘very frustrated’ by Newcastle defeat

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