When Pep Guardiola brought up Liverpool in his news conference prior to his team’s Tuesday Champions League debut, he had a point.
The only team in the Premier League with a flawless record through the first five games of this season is Manchester City, but Liverpool isn’t far behind.
The treble-winning City team defeated West Ham 3-1 on Saturday at the London Stadium after coming from behind. This gives them 15 points out of a possible 15.
Liverpool is only two points behind Arsenal and Tottenham after starting the season with a draw and winning four straight games. The Reds had to fight back against Wolves at the weekend while playing away from home, but they ultimately prevailed by the same score.
Since Jürgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola took control, Liverpool and City have fought for the Premier League championship in a number of memorable contests. After scoring 97 points in 2018–19 but still falling short by the narrowest of margins, Liverpool retaliated by romping to a convincing victory the following year. In 2021/22, the two teams would resume their conflict, with City once again winning by a single point.
The Reds weren’t in the right place last season, dropping to fifth in the standings and posing little threat to the Cityzens, but Guardiola thinks they’ll be a serious challenger this time around.
Speaking at a news conference before City’s Champions League start against Red Star Belgrade, the Spaniard named Arsenal and Liverpool as his team’s domestic rivals. On Sunday, Arsenal defeated Everton 1-0.
