'If I had to' - Alan Shearer makes difficult Liverpool…

'If I had to' - Alan Shearer makes difficult Liverpool admission

Alan Shearer believes Liverpool’s performance against Manchester City in the Community Shield last weekend showed that they will be right up for the fight this season.

Jurgen Klopp’s side claimed their first piece of silverware of the new campaign after they beat Pep Guardiola’s team 3-1 in the annual season curtain raiser. Trent Alexander-Arnold, Mohamed Salah and Darwin Nunez were all on target for the Reds.

The win came after City edged out Liverpool in the title race last season before the Reds were then beaten in the Champions League final by Real Madrid. However, the Anfield outfit did end the campaign with both the League Cup and FA Cup.

And Shearer believes that although Liverpool will be disappointed with how the last campaign ended, he has warned sides in the Premier League that they will have to be at their best when they take on Klopp's men this season.

“When I look at the group of teams immediately below them, Tottenham and Arsenal have both improved a lot, but I still don't think it will be enough for either of them to maintain a challenge,” he told BBC Sport.

“There's a gap between the top two and the rest, not only because of the quality that we know City and Liverpool have got, but also down to their belief and a relentless drive for success that stems from their managers.

“City, who have been champions in four of the past five years, are going for a hat-trick of titles. That's an achievement only Manchester United have managed in the Premier League era, which tells you how difficult it is, but it's in Pep Guardiola's sights now.

“Liverpool will have been disappointed to only end up with two domestic cups last season from a campaign that promised so much, but we know exactly how they are going to react.

“Even just watching them in the Community Shield and seeing the body language of Jurgen Klopp and his team in that game, you can see they are up for the fight again.

“Only one point separated them in the end last time and it is going to be incredibly tight this season too. If I had to choose a winner now, it would be City - just about - because of Erling Haaland.

“They won the title without him last year, and without using a real centre-forward. Now they have got one who could and should score a minimum of 30 goals this season.”

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