We don’t know for sure yet whether Liverpool is in a title race. But one element of titanic battles gone by is certainly present this season.
Whenever Liverpool wins, Manchester City wins. Hope of a favor from elsewhere for Jürgen Klopp always seems to be cruelly fleeting.
Nothing summed up the situation more than surprise back-to-back losses for Manchester City. Inevitably, they came across weekends where Liverpool could only take one point of its own out of a possible six, thanks to a ludicrous VAR error followed by a spirited Brighton performance.
Since then, Manchester City boasts a perfect record, having seemingly been shocked into life. Liverpool has also done everything in its power to put the officiating mistake behind it, but its progress has not made a dent in Pep Guardiola’s advantage — and Klopp must now take care of business against Luton Town to stay within a point.
This back and forth will be all too familiar for the veterans within Klopp’s squad. While the likes of Sadio Mané and Roberto Firmino have moved on, an old sense of resignation may well be creeping in for Mohamed Salah.
Admittedly, neither Salah nor anybody else would have had high hopes of a favor from Bournemouth this weekend. Andoni Iraola’s side gave Liverpool a good game in midweek, but that was played in a literal storm, which acted as something of a leveler.
Even so, it was disheartening to see the ease with which Manchester City demolished the opposition. That was despite the withdrawal of Erling Haaland at half time.
In his absence, another star took the spotlight. Jérémy Doku produced a performance for the ages, providing four assists and tying the Premier League record in the process. He also got on the scoresheet himself.
Doku was a familiar name to Liverpool fans even before his move to Manchester City. He had been linked with a transfer to Anfield, with those links most prominent after his strong showing at Euro 2020.
