“Stop behaving like it is a funeral. In my life much worse things happen.”
That’s how Jurgen Klopp addressed his Liverpool players after the 1-1 draw with Tottenham on Saturday that saw the Reds slip three points behind Manchester City in the Premier League title race.
Klopp is the man tasked with keeping spirits high in the Melwood camp for a final month of the season where Liverpool aren’t only seeking to win the league but a historic quadruple too.
Yet with three league games of the season remaining, winning both the FA Cup and the Champions League appears a more realistic feat for Liverpool than overhauling City at the top of English football’s league ladder.
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It is 10 years since City famously pipped Manchester United to the title on the final day of the 2011-12 campaign and there is a very real possibility of this term rivalling that drama.
For that to happen City need to drop points. But Liverpool must also do their bit to maintain the pressure over the coming fortnight.
It could still go down to the wire. Here, i looks over the permutations for both Liverpool and City’s final three games of the season…
Premier League title race
- 1st Manchester City – Played 35, 86pts, +68 GD
- 2nd Liverpool – Played 35, 83pts, +64 GD
Manchester City
So easy was City’s 5-0 win over Newcastle on Sunday that by the 52nd minute, and already two up, they had boasted 99 per cent of possession in the second half.
Pep Guardiola’s array of talent may have failed to secure the Champions League once again, but City are motoring along nicely in search of an eighth league title, and sixth in the last decade.
It’s 10 years since Sergio Aguero scored that goal that shook the Etihad and there was a growing sense that this title race could also go down to the final day of the season.
That could still happen but City are firmly in the driving seat now that Liverpool “slipped up” against Spurs. And with no cup competitions to act as distraction, it’s hard to see where Guardiola’s men will drop points.
The only real concern is that defenders Ruben Dias, Kyle Walker and John Stones are out for the rest of the season.
City travel to Wolves on Wednesday – a day after Liverpool play Aston Villa.
Wolves gave City a combative 90 minutes back in December before Raheem Sterling’s penalty split the sides. Could we see another equally tense encounter this midweek?
Perhaps. But even then City have the resolve to get through these tests. After Wolves they travel to West Ham on Saturday, before one last home encounter with Villa.
Both sides have matched up to City in the league this season only to lose 2-1. The Premier League leaders are unlikely to dominate either game but will be clear favourites heading into them to claim three points.
And with a slightly superior goal difference, City can probably afford to lose one of their remaining games and still be favourites for the title.
Manchester City remaining fixtures
- Wolves (a) – 11 May
- West Ham (a) – 15 May
- Aston Villa (h) – 22 May
Liverpool
Of the four trophies Liverpool can win this season, the one they arguably want most is the Premier League. And it may well be that a 20th English championship slips from their grasp this May.
Liverpool need City to slip up, that much is obvious. But they also need to avoid dropping points themselves. The problem for Jurgen Klopp – if you can call reaching two further cup finals this month a “problem” – is that Liverpool must challenge for the title while also facing Chelsea in the FA Cup final, and preparing for their Champions League showdown with Real Madrid.
Klopp has already played the rotation game in order to eke out league points while keeping his players fresh enough to reach a third Champions League final in five years.
But can that momentum hold? Liverpool laboured against a well-drilled Tottenham side that had had a week to prepare for the Reds’ arrival in north London on Saturday – and it could be these two dropped points that seal City the title.
On Tuesday Liverpool travel to Steven Gerrard’s Aston Villa, who have nothing but league position to fight for. Attention then turns to the FA Cup final – where a full-strength XI will almost certainly be fielded – before a home tie against Southampton.
Liverpool wrap up the season at home to Wolves, who look likely to come up short in their chase for European football next season.
The Reds should brush aside all three remaining league opponents. The concern, though, is whether they can do this and win two cup competitions too. Liverpool have five cup finals ahead of them in an 18-day period.
Liverpool remaining fixtures
- Aston Villa (a) – 10 May
- Southampton (h) – 17 May
- Wolves (h) – 22 May
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