Liverpool FC are on top of the English Premier League, and with nine games left to go until the end of the season, The Premier League trophy is more than guaranteed. On the other hand, English giants Manchester City, who have won the Premier League for the last four seasons, and multiple times before that, have been underperforming in the league, sitting in fourth place, with the risk of missing Champions League football for the first time. This has been a historic season for the Reds, as they sit comfortably at the top with 70 plus points, with second only having close to 50, Manchester City’s dominance on the Premier League may be over. Students have their say on this historic season, as well as the downfall of Manchester City.
At the end of last season, Liverpool’s head coach Jurgen Klopp retired from coaching, and the world was wondering who could fill in his place. After leading Liverpool to Premier Leagues and Champions Leagues alike, The next manager had very high expectations. Arne Slot, who came from the Netherlands to take up the coaching role, has been exceeding expectations, guiding Liverpool to a Premier League in his maiden season. He has revolutionized their mentality of play, as well as creating more chances for the Liverpool team to score.
“He’s played more of a defensive back line, and the fact that they’re making chances in stronger events and also the fact that on counter-attacks they’re more quick in goal-to-go possession has really helped the team this season,” freshman Hieremias Bonnie said.
As mentioned before, Manchester City were the most dominant team in England. Winning back to back Premier League, as well as completing a treble in the 22/23 season, everybody thought the competition in the Premier League was over. Manchester City are also owned by the City Group, which is known for their immense wealth in the footballing world, which also contributed to their intense spending for premium players, as well as their world class training facilities. So there was immense surprise when Manchester City was not first, or second, or third but fourth in the league, and a chance to miss out on Champions League football in a while. Some are calling this a shift in power in the Premier League.
“I think we’re witnessing a shift of power, to be honest, because, you know, temporary slumps are usually like a couple games. This has been the whole season. So three months ago they started losing every single game and not performing well,” freshman Eli Detore said.
Others are claiming this is just a temporary slump, and this is just a rebuilding stage for Manchester City, and they will be back in the next season.
“It’s definitely a temporary slump, but you know, they’ve [Manchester City] been winning this, they’ve been winning for the past five years. Right. It was bound to happen. Eventually they were bound to start losing. We’re [Manchester City] really in a rebuilding stage. Like we just got Marmoush and all of our new players, so we’re really gonna be coming back soon,” freshman Colin Goebel said.
This year, Liverpool and Manchester City alike have been struggling with injuries as well as congested fixture schedules. Manchester City lost one of their best players, Rodri, for the entire season, and Liverpool have been struggling with player fatigue, as well as inconsistent performances. With all of this however, Liverpool have managed to be in the form of their lives, while Manchester City have been struggling against teams that they are supposed to be winning against.
“The reason why Liverpool have been better than Manchester City even with the injuries, is because Manchester City’s best player, Rodri, has been injured while for Liverpool, it’s only been minor injuries,” freshman Abdullah Alnour said.
If Arne Slot manages to win the Premier League this season, this might as well be one of the best maiden seasons a manager has ever had in the Premier League. He might as well be compared to greats of the game such as Pep Guardiola, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Sir Alex Ferguson, Zinedine Zidane, and others.
“His season could be compared to Sir Alex Ferguson and others, but Liverpool are in their undefeated season, but they could also be defeated, so Liverpool’s dominance will be there for the next few seasons, but you never know after that,” freshman Samuel Uk said.
As the season nears its end, Liverpool’s dominant performance under Slot signifies a historic shift in the Premier League. With nine games left, the Reds are in prime position to claim the title, while Manchester City’s struggles leave fans questioning whether this is the beginning of the end for their dominance. Only time will tell if Liverpool can sustain their form and whether Manchester City can recover and reclaim their place at the top.