Former Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez has insisted that Man City can no longer afford to drop points in the Premier League title battle with Liverpool.
Pep Guardiola’s side have come unstuck already this season as they’ve been held to a draw and lost twice, allowing rivals Liverpool to open up an eight-point gap after just eight games.
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While there is still a long way to go this season, that could be crucial in terms of making a quick start and piling the pressure on City as they now know that they can’t slip up again otherwise the gap might be too big to bridge in the latter stages of the campaign.
That’s exactly what Benitez has warned them about, and while his former ties with the Merseyside giants would suggest that he’s happy with how the season is going thus far, he’s been fair and honest in his assessment of the respective starts made by the two clubs.
“If you look at the table Liverpool has a great advantage at the moment, it is too early to tell much from that, but Manchester City can’t make too many mistakes or the pressure might become too much,” he wrote on his official website.
“Especially as later they will start thinking about the Champions League and lose their focus on the Premier League which obviously would be good for Liverpool.”
Injuries haven’t been kind on the reigning Premier League champions either, and so if Liverpool continue to get lucky with avoiding any serious setbacks for key individuals, it could very well be their year this time round having lost out in agonising fashion last time round.
