Liverpool Are Starting To Look Unstoppable

It was a horrible weekend for both Manchester teams and a great one for Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool.

Manc Woes
Firstly, you have to give credit to Wolves. Nuno Espirito Santo set them up in a way that was always going to be a counter-attacking style and they managed to play to perfection, in getting the result that they did. I think, overall, that’s got to be the story from it.

But we know full well that the story of the game will always be about Man City – losing at home to a side they dominated in the possession stats, dominated in chances but just didn’t take them. And that’s where they were punished.

The two Manchester clubs are suffering, but for very different reasons. City are creating numerous chances across games. We know how they play, we know the style of players they’ve got in their side.

On the flip side, Man United are not creating anything. There’s no spark in the side, there’s no life in the side. You’re half-bored watching them. Man United do not excite you any more when you’re watching them. You are excited watching City and, in all fairness, they were unlucky.

But it’s advantage Liverpool in the title race.

Unstoppable Pool
I don’t think it was a penalty. Clearly Mane dived after the initial contact with Albrighton. I was in the studio watching it and didn’t feel it was, but it was given simply because of the contact.

From Liverpool’s point of view, they dominated for the first hour. When Leicester began to get into the match and the more they started to create chances, they looked value for the draw in the end. Liverpool are absolutely flying now with eight wins from eight. You can’t see them slipping up too much, particularly at home. They look unstoppable at Anfield.

Troubled Spurs
There is something seriously wrong at Tottenham. It’s not just this season. I know they got to the Champions League final last season but last season was the start of this downturn. They started off the season pretty poorly and weren’t really consistent across the course of the season.

That 7-2 defeat against Bayern Munich has just compounded everything that’s been happening across the last year, followed up with losing to Brighton the way that they did. Whatever is wrong – whether it’s internal issues, managerial issues, whether it’s players unhappy with certain aspects – they don’t look like the Tottenham side of a couple of seasons ago.

They were so good defensively and so cohesive and fluent going forward. We’re not seeing that now. If it continues the way it is, something will have to change.

Whatever is happening at Tottenham right now is all wrong.

Chelsea Building
It’s actually a joy to watch Chelsea at the moment when you see the way they’re playing and the youngsters that they’ve integrated. With the transfer ban that they had and Frank Lampard coming to the club and trusting those youngsters, they had to step up to the plate and they’re doing that. Mason Mount is a quality player, anyone who saw him at Derby last year already knew that. Tammy Abraham is taking his chances and is looking every bit the player everyone expected him to be two or three seasons ago.

Everton’s woes
At the bottom, Everton have conceded 6 goals from set pieces in 8 games. It’s just not good enough at this level or at any level. If you concede from set-pieces you get onto the training ground and you work on them week in, week out. But this is something that’s continued to happen to Marco Silva’s teams in the Premier League.

His sides are poor defensively from set-pieces.

I said it before the game, Burnley will be organised and difficult to break down and it might be a set piece that decides the game. Seamus Coleman’s red card didn’t help Everton, but Burnley did their homework and scored from a set-piece. It was a brilliantly worked goal, there was a block at the far post from Tarkovski and Jeff Hendrick finished it.

Looking at Everton, they’ve not been very creative in the final third and you worry for them and they’re looking for mid-table respectability and with the money they spent in the summer that’s not good enough.