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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Sport
Dominic Farrell

Man City chase may have emptied Liverpool FC and Jurgen Klopp should fear Manuel Pellegrini fate

Well, of all the magical European nights at Anfield, that one was by far the most recent.

Inter arrived 2-0 down and ready to present themselves at the Champions League alter of the Kop. We all knew what was coming next.

Although the Serie A side - coached by the bright and shrewd Simone Inzaghi - had not read the script and turned in an assured performance to set nerves jangling.

They were good value for their lead when Lautaro Martinez lashed into the top corner (what is it about Argentinian strikers walloping the ball in really hard? Completely and utterly majestic…).

Unfortunately for Martinez, his strike partner Alexis Sanchez ruined his own constructively menacing display by flying into a challenge on Fabinho and picking up a second yellow card.

“These things can happen, but you have to make sure you don’t do it again and be better next time,” Jurgen Klopp said afterwards. “The art of football is to lose the right games.”

Klopp’s words were those of a man who has been given no margin for error by a relentless Manchester City.

The prevailing title-race narrative over the past month has been of Liverpool closing the gap on the Premier League champions to set up a thrilling race for the line.

Games in hand have accentuated the hauling-in effect, with Liverpool winning seven matches over the same time frame where City won three and lost one of five. The accordion squeeze of a 14-point lead to three now stands at six, with the Blues having played a game more.

But history suggests the biggest challenge for Klopp and his players is still to come at a time of the season when the pressure reaches boiling point.

In 2014/15, Manuel Pellegrini’s City made a stuttering start to their title defence but hit their stride over late autumn and winter.

From November 2 up to and including New Year’s Day, City won nine games in an 11-match unbeaten run. Frank Lampard’s winner in a topsy turvy 3-2 victory against Sunderland left the Blues level on points with his old employers Chelsea.

Bolstered by the close-season recruitment of Diego Costa and Cesc Fabregas, Jose Mourinho’s side had set a fierce early-season pace, but his old foe Pellegrini had reeled him in.

City were primed to tackle the Premier League battle with renewed vigour after flipping over the calendar. Only, they weren’t really.

Following the Sunderland victory, they drew three and lost one in a four-match winless run. Chelsea were off and away over the hill.

It should be acknowledged that Klopp’s Liverpool are a far superior team to both the City and Chelsea lineups that jousted in the middle of the previous decade but they are facing the same challenge and it is a considerable one.

Liverpool will continue to be the formidable foe Pep Guardiola has repeatedly flagged but their laboured 1-0 win over West Ham last weekend and the loss to Inter suggests chasing City might have emptied the tank at a point when they badly need to put their foot down again.

What do you expect the difference between City and Liverpool to be by the time they meet in April? Follow the City Is Ours editor Dom Farrell on Twitter to get involved in the discussion and give us your thoughts in the comments section below.

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