Liverpool’s lack of cutting-edge in front of goal has probably now cost them the Premier League title.
It was a seismic day in the Premier League title race on Sunday, with Pep Guardiola probably sitting at home with a glass of red wine after watching the weekend results unfold.
Manchester City did their job on Saturday by beating Luton Town, with Jeremy Doku sending a message to Liverpool after the game.
The Reds then followed it up by losing 1-0 to Crystal Palace, and hours later, Arsenal were beaten by Aston Villa.
Days after suffering a shock defeat to Atlanta in the Europa League, Liverpool didn’t follow it up with a reaction, but by, somehow, getting worse in front of goal.
Take your pick. Which moment do you want to use to batter the Liverpool players with? Once again, they had so many chances to score, but they shot themselves in the foot.
Michael Owen was left frustrated with the players, especially under-fire striker, Darwin Nunez, as he told Premier League Productions (14/04/24 at 7:25 pm).
At one point during the game, Nunez had a chance to score from point-blank range, and rather than placing the ball on either side of Dean Henderson, the £140k-a-week star smacked the ball straight at the Palace keeper.
It left Owen fuming and he stated that actions such as that ‘drive me mad’ because he should be placing that effort, not hitting the ball with power.
Darwin Nunez struggles for Liverpool during defeat to Crystal Palace
“Some players like going for power (on Nunez’s miss from close-blank range),” said Owen. “It has never been a finish I would condone. It has never been a finish I would practise.
“If I smacked the ball too hard, my dad would shout at me ‘place it in the corner’. If I hit the post, he would be absolutely fine with that. Just playing safe, hitting the target and the goalkeeper saving it. It drove him mad and it drives me mad when I watch strikers do that.
“He had half of the goal to aim for. Very occasionally, you are going to need power. If you are 25 yards out, you can’t place the ball with the side of your foot. But when you are six yards out!? It’s all about accuracy. Find the corners and you will score more goals.”
Jurgen Klopp’s final season at Liverpool
It’s not ending in the manner in which everyone would like. There is still a lot to play for, but it seems as though it’s going to end with only the League Cup.
The Premier League title is now Manchester City’s to lose, and given what they have done in recent years, everyone has seen this story unfold before.
Even Klopp himself has only managed to stop this trophy-winning train once, and you feel with his exit in the summer, the ex-Barcelona man will only dominate even further.
That’s where Klopp deserves huge credit because he hasn’t spent crazy money like his rivals, yet even they haven’t been able to stop Manchester City yet.
Yes, there is a long way to go, but Liverpool and Arsenal have now shot themselves in the foot by handing back the initiative to the champions of England.