Who
would have thought that after just matchday 21 in the Premier League, Liverpool
would be in such a commanding lead. The reds leading 3rd placed Manchester City
with a bloody 14 points with a rejuvenated and an overachieving Leicester side
trailing the league leaders by 13 points
Liverpool’s
hegemony in the PL this season has been emphatic, ruthless and devastating.
Furthermore, albeit a game in hand due to Club World Cup duties in Qatar, the
team from Merseyside have still managed to establish a great chasm between them
and the chasing lot. Last season Premier League winners, Manchester City, have
struggled without the presence of some key cogs. The loss of Aymeric Laporte
and Leroy Sane to long term injuries has been telling on City’s chances of
completing the League treble.
In addition, Otamendi and Stones who have been
deployed in Laporte’s stead have come up short. To illustrate, egregious blunders
by the duo in the Norwich defeat at Carrow Road earlier in the season dealt
Guardiola’s team a huge blow as their greatest rival Liverpool kept on firing
on all Cylinders. Unsurprisingly, Otamendi not playing with a full deck for
club and country in recent years has been somewhat evident. Stones lack of
consistency marred with injuries at such damning frequency has further
exacerbated City’s defensive woes. It comes as no surprise that Pep’s men are
far off Liverpool and now their objectives at the start of the campaign must be
revised. Why not the Champions League?
Admittedly,
that would have been one of the most important goals before the start of the
season and drab displays in the league which have put Liverpool in the driving
seat might have ensured the focus now shifts significantly to winning the
European title. In Pep Guardiola’s enviable 10-season managerial career, he’s
failed to win the League only twice. A Mourinho inspired Real Madrid ending
Barca’s dominance after the Catalan club had won La Liga three times on the
trot within 2009-2011. The Spaniard’s stint at Bayern in Germany yielded 3
League titles as well. However, his first season in England wasn’t so
memorable. A season Pep failed to lift a single trophy, a rarity. But, later in
subsequent seasons won the league supremely, and in a devastating way, perhaps
producing the best side ever in English football with last season’s domestic
treble epitomizing City’s divinity.
Obviously,
Pep is yet to lift the Champions league without winning the League title. So,
it begs the question, how does the Spaniard inspire his side to the CL title
whiles being so frail in the league?
Aymeric
Laporte is back in training now Leroy Sane would soon follow. The League chase
looks over and a dead-end. Certainly, “Elvis has left the building”. Guardiola
has the chance now to shift focus to the CL and could at least draw inspiration
from the fact that, in the last two seasons Champions League winners weren’t
League winners as well.
Credited to Bright Nana Antwi
