Liverpool is on the verge of winning the Premier League, but detractors are still looking for ways to downplay the achievement. A weak league? Not really.
The fact that Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur, who could face off in the Europa League final, are both in the bottom third of the standings says a lot.
There are more good teams than ever before, which explains why a team as talented as West Ham United is only one place above the relegation zone.
Nonetheless, with the Reds now only three points away from confirming what has long been expected, the conversation is likely to continue. On BeIn Sports this weekend, it was suggested that the Reds have yet to win “enough” titles in recent years.
“Selfishly, I kind of hope it’s next week because I’ll be at Anfield when they play Tottenham,” former Liverpool player Jason McAteer said. “I think it would be appropriate to win it at home. The last time it happened, it was in Covid, and they won without playing.”
“That’s why I sympathize with Liverpool fans,” disgraced former Sky Sports presenter Richard Keys said. “It was a shame it wasn’t done in front of the crowd. It’s their first title in 33 years. This would be the second in 36.
When McAteer was asked what he meant by the stat’s wording — two in 36 years rather than two in five — former Everton striker Andy Gray responded. “Meaning not enough,” he said. He continued: “For your club [with that history and stature].”
“There have been difficult times at Liverpool,” McAteer explained. “FSG came in and decided to run the club in a different way, and since then, they have been successful, with two new stands and the club in good shape. “We’re back at the top table.”
After McAteer pointed out that other teams, such as Chelsea and Manchester City, have had far more money to spend in recent decades, Keys also mentioned how Nottingham Forest disrupted Liverpool during a period when the Reds were the top team in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
That, however, is not an ideal comparison. The money in the game today is at a completely different level, as are the challenges. What we know for certain is that Liverpool will be Premier League champions, and only a few narrow defeats to Manchester City in recent years have prevented them from having a dominant era.
