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FBL-ENG-PR-LIVERPOOL-MANCITY
Liverpool seek to regain title momentum as Man City visit
LIVERPOOL, Oct 5, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Liverpool welcome Manchester City to
fortress Anfield on Sunday hoping to lay down a marker against the Premier
League champions and regain momentum for a tilt at a first title in 29 years.
Both sides can only be separated by City’s superior goal difference at the
top of the table having dropped just two points each in unbeaten starts to
the league season after seven games.
However, Liverpool’s perfect run of seven straight wins to begin the
campaign in all competitions has come unstuck in the past week.
Defeat by Chelsea with a much-changed side in the League Cup was followed
by a well-earned point against the same opponents at Stamford Bridge thanks
to Daniel Sturridge’s brilliant late equaliser.
Yet, more worrying for Jurgen Klopp was an uncharacteristically lacklustre
display in losing 1-0 to Napoli in the Champions League on Wednesday.
“This was a reality check on how things must not go,” warned midfielder
Georginio Wijnaldum.
Liverpool were outplayed for large spells in Italy and looked to be feeling
the physical toll of a brutal run of fixtures that also included a trip to
Tottenham and a thrilling 3-2 Champions League win over French champions
Paris Saint-Germain in a four-week spell.
“You have seen it has been absolutely intense since the last international
break with the games we’ve had — Chelsea twice — coming to Napoli, playing
PSG and now we have the game on Sunday against Man City,” said Klopp. “We
cannot change that, so we have to make sure we are ready.”
– Salah slump –
City’s visit, therefore, doesn’t come at the best time as Liverpool seek to
show they are capable of knocking Pep Guardiola’s record breakers off their
perch.
Liverpool had the edge on City when they went head-to-head last season,
winning three of their four meetings.
City’s hopes of an unbeaten season went up in smoke in a 10-minute period
at Anfield in January as Liverpool struck three times en route to winning 4-
3.
And they also prolonged Guardiola’s quest to land City’s first-ever
Champions League title with a 5-1 aggregate thrashing in the quarter-finals.
However, the task for Klopp is to marry that ability to rise to the big
occasion with City’s consistency that racked up 100 Premier League points
last season.
Liverpool certainly now have the squad for the long haul. So often
outgunned by Abu-Dhabi backed City in the transfer market in recent years, it
was the Reds who were the biggest spenders this summer.
Of the new recruits, though, only goalkeeper Alisson Becker has made a big
impact as Klopp has prefered to stand by those who got Liverpool to the
Champions League final last season.
That run owed much to the firepower of Mohamed Salah’s 44 goals. However,
the Egyptian has so far struggled to match those heights in his second season
at Anfield.
Salah was subbed off on his return to Stamford Bridge last weekend and
largely anonymous in Naples as Liverpool failed to muster a single shot on
target.
“I don’t remember when that happened last,” admitted Klopp, who remains
convinced Salah’s slump will be temporary.
“It’s like riding a bike. It’s not like you wake up in the morning and you
cannot finish any more.”
Liverpool need Salah back in the saddle come Sunday if they are to stop
City puncturing their super start by striking first blood in the title race.
BSS/AFP/MRI/0822 hrs