A team may not win the Premier League title in October, but they can certainly lose it then, and Liverpool are on a similar trajectory that could result in them being irrelevant moving forward. A summer of massive spending on a team that had just won the title did make them instant favourites, but they have been alarmingly bad so far this season.
Leaving aside those late winners in the first part of their season, which did astonish many watchers, Liverpool have been undone by the collapse since. There were signs of problems within Arne Slot’s system, particularly how they hold their defensive shape; teams have taken full advantage and completely exposed their flaws in the last few weeks.
There is probably not a single soul who did not think about the title race without Liverpool in it. Should the Merseyside outfit continue on their current trajectory, there may be many revisions to early-season predictions, and the Reds may not even be part of the top four gamble, let alone title conversations.
While we look at what went wrong at Liverpool, we also need to have a conversation about some other teams and what they are doing in the league. The Merseysiders are at the centre of an inconsistent spell that could threaten to take them out of the title race.
Meanwhile, there were wins for Arsenal, Manchester City, and Chelsea, with the trio back in the conversation for challenging for the league. The Gunners lead the way with a three-point gap over Pep Guardiola’s side, while Chelsea will certainly rue the red cards in recent games as the reason why they are not much closer to their London rivals at the top.
This week’s five things from the Premier League game week includes discussions on Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester City, as well as the title challenge. Aston Villa’s resurgent form puts them into this conversation, while Crystal Palace and Bournemouth also make the cut.
Saturday saw two teams in Crystal Palace and Bournemouth take centre-stage at Selhurst Park, in what was the most entertaining game of the weekend and probably the season so far. Having taken a two-goal lead away at Palace, Oliver Glasner’s men pegged back to level the game through a brace from
Bournemouth then found a late goal, which at the time looked like a probable winner, only for Palace to be handed a late spot kick, which Mateta converted for his hat-trick and the team’s third equaliser of the night. However, Mateta then had a glorious chance to bag the winner as well as his fourth, but he squandered what could be argued to be one of the best chances this season.
The result allowed both teams to preserve their status as two of the hard-to-beat teams in the league, as the duo have not lost more than once all season. The argument after the game is that Palace and Bournemouth are set to be the main disrupters in all phases of the season, especially for teams with ambitions to make it into Europe.
Going away to either Selhurst Park or the Vitality Stadium will now be seen as a key fixture rather than a guaranteed win for many of the top six sides, while these teams are also composed when playing away from home. They will create problems for the others, and could have a big shout-out to finish in European places if they continue their form.
Is it safe to say that Arsenal are moving like the favourites for the Premier League title, or is it too early? Mikel Arteta has had good control of proceedings, and his troops are delivering on every part of the pitch. The Gunners marked another away day with a stellar victory, and a Leandro Trossard goal from a corner made the difference.
The bigger conversation was about their ability to not let the opposition teams’ chances, and this was the second consecutive Premier League game they failed to concede a shot on target. This is by far the most complete Arsenal team since probably 2003/04, and should they continue on their trajectory, they could lift the title.
Speaking of title challenges, two other teams are forcing the issue into the mix. Liverpool aside, there are some others like Manchester City and Chelsea, who are making it clear that they could have an entry pass into the title race.
Manchester City are starting to build momentum, although there are parts of their game that need massive improvements, namely finding other scorers than the formidable Erling Haaland. Meanwhile, Chelsea are also stuttering their way into the title race, but they will need consistency from their players and manager to stake a strong claim.
In the early parts of the season, when Liverpool were scoring all those late winners, there was a feeling of unsustainability to the way they played. Attacking-wise, they were not clicking despite scoring plenty of goals in the period and defensively, there were massive gaps visible for teams to take advantage of.
Bournemouth and Newcastle United scored two past them, as well as Atletico Madrid. Burnley managed to hold fort in a low block for the entire game, only to concede a late penalty for Liverpool to snatch the winner. A wonder free-kick against Arsenal and somehow managing to hold on for three points against Everton are other examples of their unsustainable behavior
Liverpool’s strategies and lack of cohesion were visible for everyone to see, and teams have taken full advantage. The rut started against Crystal Palace before continuing versus Galatasaray and Chelsea, and now it was Manchester United’s turn to add to the pressure. The reigning champions have now lost four games across all competitions, and three in a row in the league.
Arne Slot has a lot of problems to solve, and he needs to solve them quickly, or else Liverpool could enter a stage of irrelevance. The scenario in front is rather complicated from the club’s point of view, with the main problem being the cohesion between the players and their concession of big chances.
Against Manchester United, they created five big chances and conceded five, but scored only once and conceded twice. The overall consensus is that every department on the pitch needs tweaks, and more so, their expensive attackers.
Given the quality they have in names like Alexander Isak, Florian Wirtz, Mohamed Salah or Hugo Ekitike, Liverpool have the quality to turn things around. The question is, when can they do it? Should they take a few more weeks and allow the likes of Arsenal or Manchester City to keep gaining momentum up top, Liverpool could soon be irrelevant in the title race altogether and fight for a top-four place instead.
Before the international break, the one before last, Aston Villa suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of Crystal Palace at home. That game showed plenty of flaws in Unai Emery’s system, and even after club football returned, it took them three more games across all competitions to register their first win of the season.
For context, Aston Villa went the first five games of the season without a win, and now they have won five on the bounce across all competitions. At the weekend, they secured a terrific victory away from home at Tottenham, with an Emiliano Buendia stunner proving enough to steal the points.
The quality they have on board is starting to show their play, and Aston Villa could challenge for a top-four place if they can maintain their consistency. The next three games are crucial in the Premier League, although Unai Emery’s side have good enough momentum to get something out of home games against Manchester City and Bournemouth, while also playing away at Liverpool.
Meanwhile, their form is absolutely fantastic at the moment, but some areas need solidifying. However, for now, they can call themselves one of the most in-form teams in the Premier League, and that alone can help them massively in the next few games.
Tottenham have had a good enough opening part of the season, where they were scoring regularly and conceding very little. Yet, there are problems in the squad and tactics that need improving, as Thomas Frank is not able to extract consistency from this side.
The early-season loss to Bournemouth at home and now Aston Villa will raise some questions over their ability to mount a title challenge. Despite their inconsistent form since the start of the Premier League campaign, Spurs have been spoken about as having a squad good enough to at least be in and around the main title challengers, with the wider expectation pointing firmly towards a top-four finish at the very least.
However, the Premier League and where a team finishes or aspires to end the campaign are dependent on how others are playing and how much the team has momentum in certain stages. The current situation in the Premier League is momentum-heavy, and hence, the consistent sides can gain, and those out of touch could lose places.
Tottenham must weed out the minor problems they have within their team to gain this momentum, and their issues are costing them precious points. For now, we could place Spurs in the conversation of challenging for a top-four finish, but should they put in consistent results on board, a title challenge to a certain degree cannot be ruled out just yet.
