Paul Merson is absolutely certain that it doesn’t matter what score line Liverpool can whip up against Southampton on Tuesday evening as he’s confident Pep Guardiola’s magnificent men will undoubtedly put down whatever resistance Aston Villa can muster up and that the Reds have absolutely no chance of winning the Premier League title.
Guardiola’s squad survived a momentary wobble that gave the Reds a tiny glimmer of hope on Sunday after drawing 2-2 at West Ham United, finally coming back from two goals down at half-time besides also missing a late penalty that would have had one Sky Blue hand clutching the Premier League trophy.
The Reds are capable of reducing City’s advantage to a single point going into the final day of the season should they emerge victorious over Southampton at St Mary’s tomorrow evening, but Sky Sports pundit Merson is adamant Jurgen Klopp’s men stand no chance at all of leapfrogging the Sky Blues squad.
Writing in his weekly Sky Sports column, Merson said: “Liverpool could win 55-0 against Southampton on Tuesday night, it wouldn’t make a difference.
“They have no chance of winning the Premier League title now. Manchester City’s result at West Ham was a massive point, now they have to beat Aston Villa at home on the last day of the season – and you would take that a million times out of a million. All you have to ask for at the end of the title race is for it to be in your hands and you’re at home.
“If Man City had lost that game, I could have seen Liverpool putting a lorry load past Southampton. It would have been a five-goal swing had West Ham beaten Man City 2-0 – and Southampton can let in goals for fun. It could have been four then and you would have had a shootout at the end of the season. But that point was huge in the end, absolutely huge. For me, Manchester City win the Premier League.
“But what a race – with these two teams, it’s been constant. If you drop a point, that’s it. Liverpool dropped a point against Tottenham and that was good night, even with three games to go. That Tottenham game was always going to be the banana skin, they did the double over City after all. I don’t know what else Liverpool could have done. They’ve won two finals, they’re in another final and they’re going to take the Premier League season to the final game.”
He added: “The hardest thing in the world is trying to win the league, it’s 38 games over nine months. But to win two cup competitions, be in the title race until the final week of the season and also be in the ultimate European final, there’s no better feat. To do what they’ve done in the league over nine months in all competitions is just mind blowing – and they haven’t got the biggest squad. No disrespect but you’re bringing on James Milner in the FA Cup final. He’s 37, it’s not like bringing Ilkay Gundogan, Bernardo Silva or Riyad Mahrez on. The gulf between the two squads is scary so for Liverpool to do what they’ve done is even more unbelievable.”
Credit: Football Tribe Malaysia
