The Sun drool over Liverpool ‘full-scale disaster’ of eight-point gap

Liverpool are still the form team in the Premier League but forget that…this has the potential to be a ‘full-scale disaster’…

Disaster zone
The Sun got so giddy about Liverpool dropping more points that they entirely butchered the first line of their match report from the Aston Villa game:

‘SURELY they are not going to blow it. Or could Liverpool really mess this up?’

That’s the same thing guys.

Also, we understand the giddiness – we really do – but Liverpool are eight points clear at the top of the Premier League table, are actually the most in-form team in the Premier League, and have not lost in 22 Premier League games.

‘After this draw at Villa Park, and it was actually a real cracker, there will be a few worried Liverpool fans out there, fearing their team are about to deliver one almighty title choke.’

All the signs are there: They drew at Everton in the last Merseyside derby at Goodison Park and then drew at one of the best home sides in the Premier League. And lost at…well, nowhere since September against Nottingham Forest.

‘Whether Liverpool experience a bit of a blip or a full-scale disaster remains to be seen.’

Wipe your chin, Charlie Wyett; you’re drooling.

Heaven knows I’m miserable now…
‘Recent title races have been thrilling because two seemingly flawless sides have gone head-to-head,’ writes Chris Bascombe in the Daily Telegraph.

‘An outbreak of pre-Pep Guardiola normality has broken out in this year as it is the deficiencies of Liverpool and Arsenal that may yet make this duel an edge-of-the-seat drama until the closing weeks.’

Which would be all well and good if Liverpool’s 26-game total of 61 points was not higher than anybody at this stage of 2023/24, higher than Manchester City’s 26-game total in 2022/23 and higher than all but Manchester City in 2021/22 and 2020/21.

In fact, Liverpool’s 61 points from 26 games has only once in the last 10 years been bettered by two Premier League teams in one season: The great battle of 2018/19.

Maybe it’s a defensive flex from a Liverpool writer but it’s worth pointing out that only two Liverpool teams in the history of the Premier League – 18/19 and the title winners of 19/20 – had a better record than this Liverpool side at this stage of the season. If this is a Liverpool side riddled with ‘deficiencies’, they are hiding it well…

‘We are not in a season of witnessing two spectacularly proficient teams trading blows. This feels like a different world to when Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp threw the ceremonial gauntlet at each others’ feet from one game to the next, or Guardiola and Mikel Arteta in last season’s run-in when it seemed as if one slip on any given weekend was fatal.’

Hate to be a dick (don’t) but Liverpool were top of the Premier League at this stage last season too.

But don’t let facts get in the way of the Liverpool miserablism…

‘On average, 87.8 points have been enough to become champions – a figure which has increased since Manchester City made 90 points-plus the norm, even breaking the century barrier in 2018.

‘Liverpool would need to win nine of their remaining twelve games to hit that tally, and Arsenal twelve of their remaining thirteen to eclipse it. It does not feel like either team is in the kind of form to register such a total…’

First, 90 points-plus is not the ‘norm’; Manchester City have won the last four titles with 86, 93, 89 and 91 points.

And Liverpool do not ‘need to win nine’ to reach 88 points; they need 27 points from 12 games. And as they have picked up 26 points from their last 12 games, that hardly seems insurmountable.

‘We are witnessing a return to orthodoxy; a campaign in which the eventual champions will be recognised as the best of the season rather than inviting comparisons with the greatest of all-time, as has been the case for the past seven title winners.’

That’s just bollocks. Nobody thinks the 86-pointers of 20/21 are one of the greatest Premier League teams of all time, nor the title winners of last season that lost three away games by early December.

Will this Liverpool side by hailed as one of the greatest in Premier League history? Probably not. But are they a bunch of flawed chumps stumbling to the title? Are they balls.

Fishy fingers
Over at the Mirror, there is some truly shameless clickbait nonsense. As per.

‘Virgil van Dijk points finger at Liverpool team-mate after Aston Villa draw’

By no stretch of any imagination did Van Dijk ‘point finger’ at a Liverpool teammate. It’s not an exaggeration; it’s just not true.

Here’s what Van Dijk said, as quoted by the Mirror:

“We are a bit disappointed but we fight. We had chances to win the game, took a bit of a risk at the end – so it got more open at times.

“In possession we did quite well, created good opportunities to score the second. Disappointing to concede from a set-piece. We tried everything and unfortunately it wasn’t enough for three points.

“We should have scored 3-2, but credit to Aston Villa, they made it very difficult. We have a very tough one on the weekend again, then we play Newcastle, our focus now will be on Man City, a very difficult game, we know that.”

“We should have scored 3-2,” is not Van Dijk ‘pointing the finger’ at Darwin Nunez. It’s anodyne, dull football-speak.

Behave. It’s embarrassing.

Finally, it’s happened to me…
The top story on Sun football on Thursday morning?

‘LIVERPOOL, Arsenal and Aston Villa finally know which two teams they might face in the Champions League last 16.’

Phew. It really is a relief to ‘finally’ have your potential last-16 opponents halved from four teams to two. Now the planning can truly begin…