‘Hand Manchester City the trophy now’ was the demand being made by some downbeat Liverpool supporters on social media after Tuesday evening’s 1-0 defeat to Leicester City.
Ademola Lookman’s solitary strike widened the gap at the top of the Premier League between Man City and Liverpool, an extended advantage Pep Guardiola’s side would not have anticipated following their 6-3 triumph over the Foxes.
The problem facing Jurgen Klopp’s side is not how they now respond to this setback but rather the reaction this provokes from their title rivals down the East Lancs Road.
Man City are in scintillating form and are showing no signs of a side looking likely to enter an uncharacteristic dip in form.
The ability of Guardiola’s side to string together winning runs spanning months should come as no surprise given the Citizens have been demanding near perfection from the Reds since 2018 while battling it out for silverware.
READ MORE: Liverpool fume at each other as Jurgen Klopp sends James Maddison message
READ MORE: Liverpool might have just faced their perfect January signing at Leicester
When Liverpool ended the 2018/19 season with 11 wins and two draws from their 13 matches to finish on a total of 97 points, this was still not enough to bring to an end the club’s long wait for top-flight success.
Klopp’s side would issue the ultimate response to losing the title on the final day of the previous season by going one better during the 2019/20 season. City were not untouchable after all - for it was 18 points that separated the sides after 38 games played.
This title triumph was made sweeter by the fact that Guardiola’s side were forced to give the Reds a guard of honour at the Etihad during their meeting in July 2020, the first league game since Liverpool were confirmed as champions.
And Bernardo Silva’s reaction as the Liverpool players stepped out onto the pitch said it all.
Arms by his side and a frown on his face, the Portuguese midfielder refused to pay respect to the Reds and headed off the pitch before Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane had even made their way onto the Etihad turf.
The 4-0 result achieved by City on the night served as a warning, however. Guardiola and his players were hurting and would be out for revenge the following season.
Despite being eight points clear of the Sky Blues at the summit of the division on Christmas Day last year, an unforgiving injury crisis at Anfield and a new-found confidence at the Etihad soon saw the two teams head in opposite directions.
But for all of City’s success in recent years, one trophy has evaded Guardiola and Co.
It’s no secret that the blue half of Manchester are desperate to deliver the Champions League, a reality the first-team players and manager have not shied away from.
Addressing City’s inability to clinch the European Cup in a recent interview with O Jogo , Silva said: “Obviously the Champions [League] is one of the big goals because it’s the competition this club have never won and we need to win.
“It’s been a frustration for us not to get there. Last year we went to the final, but we couldn’t win it.”
Guardiola adopted a similar tone when speaking at the Football Writers’ Association awards in November 2019 alongside Klopp as he shared a light-hearted remark regarding the one piece of silverware missing from his trophy cabinet since arriving in England in 2016.
“I’m pretty sure I would like to win my trophy [Champions League] back and I’m pretty sure he [Klopp] would like to win mine [Premier League],” he admitted.
“Maybe we can swap?”
If City are to continue pulling away from Liverpool in the Premier League title race this term, there’s every chance we could witness a repeat of the 2018/19 season, which saw Klopp’s side put their final-day disappointment behind them to secure a sixth European Cup as the Sky Blues celebrated back-to-back league titles.
Of course, Liverpool will have aspirations of tasting success in both competitions but you sense that focus at City is being firmly placed on creating history in a tournament they’re yet to master.
Klopp has already ended the Reds’ quest for Premier League glory yet for Guardiola and City, time is running out to realise their European dreams.
Missing out on the league title would be a disappointment for Liverpool, but they still possess the power to hit the Sky Blues where it truly hurts.
