Sam Allardyce has said “the fear of winning the league” will stop Liverpool from beating Manchester City to the Premier League title this season.
The former Everton manager believes Liverpool are suffering from the same problem Brendan Rodgers faced after leading the Reds to a second-place finish in 2013/14.
The title race: Where do Liverpool stand? Five key things to know…
- Liverpool had the chance to move seven points clear of Manchester City at the top of the table earlier this year.
- However, after drawing four of their last six league games, Jurgen Klopp’s men are now a point behind the champions.
- City beat Bournemouth 1-0 at the weekend while Liverpool failed to find a way past Everton in a goalless draw at Goodison Park.
- Comparisons have been made between this season and 2013/14, when City closed the gap on Liverpool to win the title late in the campaign.
- City’s positive 56 goal difference is also superior to Liverpool’s 49.
Liverpool haven’t won the English top-flight since 1990 and the Merseysiders are now under serious pressure to change that having made themselves contenders this term.
But Allardyce believes Klopp’s side could suffer the same fate Rodgers’ team did in 2013/14.
“The pressure is enormous,” Allardyce told talkSPORT.
“Liverpool have only lost one game this season, and it looks to me like the fear of winning the league is as it was with Brendan [Rodgers] a few years ago.
“That is the big hurdle Klopp certainly faces – ‘how do I mentally get my team over the line to try and win the league’.
“We thought they’d overcome those jitters in midweek when they won 5-0 [against Watford], but there were one or two moments yesterday [against Everton] where you thought they were going to win the game – but clinically they weren’t good enough.
“It looks like a little bit of fear to me.”
Subscribe to Squawka’s Youtube channel here.
Where will the title be won and lost?
There are still a number of tough fixtures in which crucial points will be won and lost for both City and Liverpool.
City must travel to Old Trafford to take on fierce rivals Manchester United and host Tottenham at the Etihad.
Meanwhile, Liverpool are yet to face Chelsea and Spurs at Anfield, two potentially difficult games.
Both sides will be aiming to reach the quarter-finals of the Champions League, while City remain in the FA Cup, which could affect the champions’ energy levels during the run-in.
Next up for Liverpool is the second leg of their round-of-16 clash against Bayern Munich in the Champions League, with Klopp travelling to his homeland 0-0 on aggregate.
The post Sam Allardyce: What cost Rodgers will stop Klopp winning league with Liverpool appeared first on Squawka News.
From Squawka News https://ift.tt/2ITtf7s
No comments:
Post a Comment