We are in early November and you cant win the championship at the moment. You can lose the title but you can't win it now".
This implied statement from Pep Guardiola last week sounded like a warning, not only for Manchester City but also for Liverpool itself, the team that was just crushed by Pep's own army in a crisis with no way out.
With 12 domestic championships in hand, Pep knows better than anyone that the whole season does not end after 11 rounds, but it can be destroyed in just a few weeks of mistakes. After the big win over Liverpool, Man City are now only 4 points behind Arsenal. Meanwhile, Liverpool have dropped to 8th in the rankings, 8 points from the top and are almost eliminated from the championship race early.
A week ago, they also made the whole of Europe amazed with the victory over Real Madrid, but now that noise only exposes the two-sided nature of this team, which could shine in a Champions League night but turn out in the face of the harsh reality of the Premier League.
With a total spending of £484 million on the 2025 summer transfer window - a record in the club's history, Liverpool is becoming the team with the most disappointing defence to the throne.
Arne Slot had to bitterly admit: "The last thing I can think about right now is the championship race but in fact we are in 8th place." The saying goes that Slot and his students have lost their position this season.
Less than 2 months ago, Liverpool were still leading the group with 5 points more than the rest. Now, that number has been replaced by 5 defeats in the last 6 matches. Too much - Slot just said briefly but fully to describe the collapse of The Kop.
In the past 30 years, only two champions, Leicester in 20166, 2017 and Chelsea in 20156, have had such a bad start as they have now. Liverpool are now on the path of the weak kings a few years ago.
Statistics don't lie as Liverpool lost just four Premier League games last season, two of which came after they won the title. Now, The Kop have lost 5 matches in just 11 rounds. More broadly, Slot's side have lost seven of their last 15 games, keeping just three clean sheets and conceding 27 goals. They have lost 4 consecutive away matches, if counting the end of last season as 6/8 matches.
A championship team cannot be defeated so easily. Liverpool have lost their brand identity as defenders, and worse, they are no longer balanced. Against Aston Villa and Real Madrid, they seemed to be revived by speed, pressing and passion for playing football.
However, against Man City, they chose to play too cautiously, completely losing the initiative. That became more bitter when the opponent used two patchwork full-backs, Matheus Nunes and Nico O'Reilly, who were central midfielders.
The pair of caretaker defenders completely hung up Mohamed Salah and Florian Wirtz. When Wirtz was substituted, the Etihad audience sang: "What a waste of money!". In addition, Arne Slot did not dare to put Alexander Isak on the field.
Ironically, two expensive stars Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak have yet to score a single goal or assist in the Premier League. Isak started 3 matches, Liverpool lost all 3. When Hugo Ekitike left the pitch last weekend, Liverpool had no real strikers on the pitch, a bitter paradox.
Florian Wirtz had to play as a "false 9" in despair, while Isak sat on the bench watching his teammates struggle but the fault was not only theirs. Ibrahima Konate is in inconsistent form, sometimes losing focus in important situations. Dominik Szoboszlai, who is considered Liverpool's best player this season, is just a rare bright spot among a failed team.
Arne Slot was right to say Liverpool could not think about the title. However, the paradox is that this is the team that is considered the strongest in the Premier League before the season, the team that spends the most money and has the best depth since Jurgen Klopp's time. However, instead of going up, they fell behind Arsenal and Man City two opponents who are creating a real two-horse race.
5 years ago, Liverpool lost the title due to a defensive injury crisis, but they still led at Christmas. They are now less injured, spend more, have a better squad but are more immersed in crisis than ever.
