Glenn Hoddle has inferred that Liverpool have already slipped up by giving Manchester City a five-point head start in the Premier League title race at the beginning of the new season.
Pep Guardiola’s side were backed as favourites to lift their third straight crown before the first weekend. The arrivals of Erling Haaland, Julian Alvarez and Kalvin Phillips has caused many to pile pressure on Sadio Mane-less Liverpool to be near-perfect to challenge City for the league again.
But after just three Premier League games, Liverpool are without a win and already five points behind the champions - who they finished one point behind last term. Former England star Hoddle warned that Jurgen Klopp may have already given up too much ground.
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Speaking to BT Sport, he said: "It’s not as good as they would have liked it to be but they have a lot of injuries at the moment, key players out. It’s very difficult to set a standard and keep it in back-to-back seasons and that could be a problem.
"They won two domestic cups, all is not well there but they have enough quality on and off the pitch, with Klopp and his experience to turn it round and get them going again.
“They can’t, on a domestic level, let Manchester City get four or five points ahead of them as it’s a long hard season. But as for their group, I am really excited as a neutral."
Meanwhile, City’s charity friendly with Barcelona on Wednesday left them with a few injury concerns of their own. Phillips suffered a knock, albeit it is not thought serious, while young defender Luke Mbete was forced off with a head injury following a nasty collision.
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