This article is part of Football FanCast’s Opinion series, which provides analysis, insight and opinion on any issue within the beautiful game, from Paul Pogba’s haircuts to League Two relegation battles…
Liverpool, Premier League champions.
It has a ring to it, doesn’t it, particularly for those on the red half of Merseyside?
After Leicester City’s draw with Norwich City, coupled with the Reds’ win over Watford, Jurgen Klopp’s men are ten points clear at the top of the table.
There are, of course, 21 games left to play and 63 points left to fight for but it feels as though the Reds will stay there for the duration now.
The stats point to it too; they’ve won 16 games and drawn just one of their 17 thus far this season. They have scored 42 goals and conceded just 14 goals.
Their performance against Watford wasn’t actually all that good. The Hornets had eight shots on goal and it was only woeful finishing that stopped them from scoring; they managed just two shots on target.
This is the hallmark of champions, though. Klopp’s men can grind out wins when one least expects it and, throughout the season, they have done just that.
Quickfire Quiz: Premier League experts will get 100%…
Leicester, perhaps unexpectedly, had been positioned as their challengers purely due to the ineptitude of those around them. Manchester City have already lost four games and the Foxes have been in a position to benefit; they have just two defeats to their name this term.
Inspired by Jamie Vardy’s 16 goals, they have put together a respectable challenge but they do not look equipped to make up a gap of 10 points.
Against Norwich, they dominated the play, having 57.3% possession, 17 shots to the Canaries’ nine and 11 corners to the visitors’ four.
But they paid the price for an inability to find a way to win, to grind out a win in the way that Liverpool have done repeatedly.
Brendan Rodgers’ side are electric, exciting and have players that could grace most top clubs in Europe. But they simply don’t have the backbone that Liverpool have.
As the season progresses and the festive period kicks in, the games will come thick and fast and Liverpool will actually head to Qatar for the Club World Cup.
It means that the Foxes could well claw back some of that deficit but such has been the Reds’ form, don’t be surprised if they merely extend it once again as soon as they return.
Liverpool, Premier League champions.
Meanwhile, a former Arsenal man has urged the club to bring in a key Leicester figure.