Chapter 115: Three Heroes Compete for the Championship

"We did a good job in this game, but I have to admit that it is difficult for us to limit Li Qingshan's play, which is the most important reason why we lost this game!"

Jurgen Klopp's face is still very ugly, but he has not refused the post-match press conference.

"What do you think of being beaten twice by Manchester United this season, or losing at home by a big score?" This is clearly a question posed by a Manchester journalist.

'Manchester United is a strong team, but at the same time he is our sworn enemy and it is not good to be beaten by a sworn enemy. If the club thinks someone needs to take responsibility, then I will. ”

Klopp pushed his glasses and didn't shy away from the question.

For Liverpool, this season was beaten by Manchester United, and the first meeting between the two sides was a 1-8 defeat, if this season does not win any titles, then Liverpool this season is doomed to be a losing season.

So on which fronts can Liverpool break through?

First of all, in the league, Liverpool did not drop out of the top four despite the defeat to Manchester United.

The rest of the games in this round have also ended, and now in the standings, after 21 rounds of league games, Manchester United is 17 wins, two draws and two losses, with 53 points, ranking first in the standings, and Chelsea seems to be awakened after losing to Manchester United, they have won 10 games in the next 11 games, only lost one, and now they have 50 points, three points behind Manchester United, in second place in the standings, in third place is Manchester City, which is six points behind Manchester United, and Liverpool is eight points behind Manchester United after losing to Manchester United, Fourth in the standings.

Eight points down in the Premier League is not without examples of overtaking in the Premier League, but the English media generally do not believe that Liverpool can suddenly burst into the second half of the season and overtake the top three opponents in the table with consecutive wins - such a probability is a bit low. Let's not talk about Manchester United's current hot form, Chelsea is now not dragged down by the Champions League to concentrate on the league, and their form is also quite good, and even under Conte's tutelage, Chelsea's current form is even better than Manchester United!!

In addition to the league, Liverpool is left to fight for the trophy in the FA Cup, Liverpool was eliminated by Southampton early in the League Cup, and this season is likely to be another season for Liverpool.

After the end of the 21st round of the Premier League, the English media began to openly discuss Klopp's whereabouts.

With such humiliation from a sworn enemy this season, it would not be surprising that Klopp was sacked.

At least now in Liverpool, there is already a considerable number of Liverpool fans who have formed an "anti-Klopp" voice.

According to the Daily Mail, a significant number of fans are now ready to hire planes to hang a banner saying "Klopp get out" at Liverpool's next home game.

The "Sun" claimed in the report that some Liverpool players have been dissatisfied with Klopp, and there are also voices against Klopp in the Liverpool dressing room.

All of a sudden, whether Klopp will leave class has become a hot topic in the media in England in recent days.

Even if Liverpool's senior management came out to confirm that Liverpool would not sack Klopp, Liverpool captain Henderson also said in an interview that Liverpool's team is still full of respect for Klopp, and it has not stopped this hype.

This is the case in the English media, in such a media environment, everyone is infinitely magnified in front of the public, and sometimes these tabloids do not hesitate to spread rumors and slander in order to win attention....

Manchester United, on the other hand, escaped the media attention for the time being, but they didn't have long before they grabbed the headlines immediately.

Manchester United, who have just won against Liverpool, will soon face the 22nd round of the Premier League and will travel to challenge Stoke City!!

However, it was this game that gave United their third defeat of the season.

They lost 3-2 away to Stoke City, Li Qingshan did not score in this game, but both of United's goals came from his assists, and the inconsistency in the Reds defence allowed Stoke City to find a chance, and they scored three goals in the game to hand the Reds a bitter defeat.

After the defeat, Chelsea, who had been clinging to Manchester United in the league, took the opportunity to close the points gap with Manchester United, Chelsea won 2-1 at home to Burnley in this round, and now Manchester United and Chelsea are tied on 53 points, and Manchester United temporarily retained their top spot in the league by virtue of goal difference. Manchester City, who are third in the league, also took the opportunity to close the distance to the top of the table this round, and they defeated Tottenham Hotspur at home to 3 Biel, and the points came to 50 points, three points behind the top two teams!

This season's Premier League competition is much more intense than last season.

"Champion? Of course, Chelsea's goal is to win the league and all our energy is now focused on the league! "We've got to keep the pressure on Manchester United, they have Champions League games and it's going to distract them, and we need to play our game first and wait for the time when United make mistakes." ”

'Last season's result was a surprise and Chelsea shouldn't be a team of this level. This season we're back to normal and we're going to give it our all in the league. Manchester United are a tough opponent, Manchester City are clenching behind us and Liverpool still have chances, so the league is very competitive and we have to focus on every game! Gary Cahill said in an interview.

Manchester City, who are third in the table, are only three points away from the top of the table, so they are also considered serious contenders for the league title this season.

"I think there are at least five more teams that are still in contention for the title!" Pep Guardiola doesn't want his team to be exposed too much to the media: "Arsenal are seven points off at the top of the table and Liverpool are only eight points off at the top. ”

Liverpool's defeat to Manchester United was followed by a home defeat to Swansea City, making it two consecutive league defeats and dropping out of the top four in the league standings.

But the media won't put Arsenal and Liverpool on the title contenders just because Guardiola said so.

Now the media refer to Manchester United, Chelsea and Manchester City as the troika for the league title. After the halfway season, these three teams are in the first pot of the league, with a point gap of just three points within one game, while Chelsea and Manchester United are both seven points ahead of Arsenal, who are currently in fourth place, while Manchester City are four points ahead of Arsenal.

Of course, the media is not arguing because of a pure difference in points.

In terms of consistency this season and the thickness of the bench, these three teams are indeed a notch above other Premier League teams.