Yeah this. It's hardly unusual for standards to drop once it's been confirmed. Espescially when they've been so brilliant for 2 years.
Will have definitely played a part, but in my opinion I don't think there is any doubting that City on the top of their game are better than Liverpool on the top of their game. Had City got the VAR handball at Anfield earlier in the season who knows what could have happened with the title. And, if City had signed a CB to go with Laporte like everyone knew they needed, then it wouldn't have been such a one horse race. Yes, that's all ifs buts maybes, but next season City will be back to their best and I'm not sure Liverpool can continue to win such an incredibly high percentage of their league games. Here's hoping City win it back.
I'm not sure how you can be much better than the Liverpool side that beat Barcelona 4-0 at Anfield to overturn a 3 goal deficit.
Liverpool have won 37 of their last 41 league games. That's incredible consistency no matter what way you look at it.
Man City’s big mistake in recent years is not stumping up the cash for VVD. They needed a new leading CB, and not only would it have elevated them, it throws a spanner into Liverpool’s ambitions. Just blows my mind that they were happy to spunk £50m on Kyle Walker, but not £75m for VVD.
That's Pep for you. FBs can effectively play as additional wingers. Whereas CBs offer no attacking option at all. They're an irrelevance who Pep wishes didn't exist in the game. Much better to just stick a CM in at CB.
This really is last chance saloon territory for Norwich. They need a miracle as it is, even if they do win today - given their poor GD, they're effectively 7.5 points behind Watford (and 9.5 behind West Ham), so they need to use up at least three of their remaining six matches just to close the existing gap, let alone what other further points the rest of them pick up; and two of those six matches are away to City and Chelsea. Failure to win today (even a draw) would still see them needing to use at three games to close the gap, but with only five left.
So they put Pukki and Cantwell on the bench? Maybe it’s a cunning plan to bring them on against a tiring defence?
Pukki has looked horrendously unfit since lockdown. Can barely move. But even so, it's a massive gamble by Farke.