‘No one said’ – Paul Merson makes intriguing Liverpool title claim immediately after Ipswich win
A 16th Premier League win for Arne Slot’s rampant Liverpool at Anfield on Saturday attracted quite a fair amount of heat in the Sky Sports studio in the aftermath.
Paul Merson simultaneously backed the Merseysiders to win the title but warned viewers that there was a possibility they could throw away their current lead at the top of the table.
The Reds continue to hold on to a six-point lead over Arsenal in the English top-flight, with the Gunners matching their latest win against Ipswich with a 1-0 victory over Wolves at the weekend.
With an incredibly tough-looking round of fixtures coming over the hill in February – including trips to face Manchester City, Everton and an in-form Bournemouth – Liverpool will need to be at their very best.
The Premier League isn’t a guarantee for Liverpool
The Strictly Come Dancing star got into a heated debate with fellow Sky pundit Clinton Morrison about the title race after Liverpool and Arsenal secured positive results.
“It was only last week you were talking about with a minute to go. It was two points today,” Merson spoke on Sky Sports’ Soccer Saturday programme after his co-pundit claimed it was the Reds’ title to lose.
Morrison: “Yeah but that’s football. It changes! Nunez won the game and Arsenal drop points, that’s how football goes, mate.”
Merson: “Exactly and that’s what can change next week.”
Morrison: “But I don’t think it will change with Liverpool.”
Merson: “You’ve got to remember Liverpool were top of the league with six games to go last year. Six games to go. They lost at home to Crystal Palace. They lost at home. What happened? So they’ve got it in them. Everybody forgets, everybody’s like, ‘Ah, well, you know, oh Liverpool.’ They got beaten by Palace at home. Top of the league. They fell, they melted. No one said a dicky bird. Arsenal go the penultimate game of the season against Man City and everyone calls them bottle jobs.”
Morrison: “So who’s going to win the Premier League then.”
Merson: “Oh they probably will win it. No, I probably would say Liverpool.”
But Liverpool have shown themselves to be strong contenders
Whilst we have to acknowledge that the title is far from being “in the bag” for Slot’s side, as Paul Merson has already noted, we remain in an incredibly strong position.
Three points secured in our game in hand (following the postponed Merseyside derby) would hand us a welcome nine-point lead over Arsenal.
Either way, it’s a welcome gap to exploit ahead of tough upcoming fixtures in February.
We suspect Liverpool will take more points than rivals are expecting (or hoping) from the likes of Manchester City and Co., but we’ve room to endure a tricky month of football.
Remember, we’re still the team to beat. We’ve got, according to the stats, the joint-best defence in the league (21 goals conceded) and the most prolific attack (54).
This is a side that knows more than one way to skin a cat.
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