Raheem Sterling has sent a warning to Liverpool to brace themselves for a “massive reaction” if Man City relinquish their premier league crown to Klopp’s team this season.
It is the increasingly inevitable City that will be dethroned as champions with Liverpool 25 points clear at the top of the table. Speaking ahead of Sunday’s match, Sterling acknowledged City had slacked during this season’s title defense. Nonetheless, he guaranteed a response from his team-mates.
“Liverpool has been far better than everyone in the league and has been consistent. That is why they are at the top of the league.” Said Sterling.
“We have been slacking. We haven’t kept our standards that we know we can keep to. From now to the end of the season, we have to try and win every single game. It’s in Liverpool’s hands and that’s it.”
Asked if this was the start of an era of Liverpool’s dominance, he responded, “We won the league twice in a row. Liverpool is winning, leading at this point in time.”
“But I’m pretty sure that come to the end of the season, our boys will go away and come back again very hurt if they do pick up the league. And we will be up and running for next season for sure.”
“It will be a massive reaction.”
Has City given up so early?
Liverpool’s lead at the top of the Premier League is so substantial. It has comfortably weathered the club’s first defeat of the season-a 3-0 loss at Watford on Saturday.
The fact Manchester City were unable to capitalize and put pressure on Liverpool after their first lapse added weight to Bernardo Silva’s claim that the champions had thrown the towel in too early this season.
But it’s not an assessment accepted by Sterling who added, I wouldn’t say we let it go too easily. Football is all about momentum, inches, yards, little things from the start of the season.”
“A really important moment in our season was when Gabriel Jesus scored the winner against Tottenham and it got disallowed by VAR. Little things like that take their toll.”
“We scored a lot of goals in our first title-winning season. It started in the third game against Bournemouth where I scored the winner and it built momentum through the season and kept happening.”
“We had the belief that we could win games because we had done it so many times. We didn’t rush things because we knew we could win and we knew we could get a chance. But we haven’t been at our best this season for sure. But there have been little things that haven’t quite been the slice of luck.”