I will never enjoy playing 130 Charges FC. Under Pep Guardiola they have used the money that they’ve spent through ‘interesting’ deals as wisely as possible, assembling a squad of brilliant players that can play to the exacting standards of the Spanish coach. In my opinion they have completely ruined football with the way they have gone about things, hence the reason they’ve got 130 charges against them from the Premier League, and it is my fervent hope that they are stripped of all of the silverware that they have won in the sports-washing era. Even if they are stripped of their titles, however, it doesn’t change how difficult it has been to play against them in recent years. As a result, I can never feel calm or relaxed, in spite of how well Liverpool are playing against them. Yesterday was a case in point, feeling entirely on edge for the duration of a game in which the Reds held them at arm’s length.
20 – Manchester City now trail Liverpool by 20 points – the most they have been behind the league leaders at the end of a day since July 14th 2020, when they last failed to win the title and Liverpool last won it themselves. Throwback.
— OptaJoe (@optajoe.com) 23 February 2025 at 18:33
My dad couldn’t watch the match and was following along on the BBC Sport app, with the reporter saying that 130 Charges FC were in charge throughout. As someone who did watch it, I found that really interesting. In spite of the fact that they dominated possession, there was no point in which I felt as though they were in charge. It felt to me as though we were forcing them to play the game that we wanted them to, entirely aware that they would need a minor miracle to score. Yes, it felt throughout as though Jeremy Doku was a dangerous player, but he also has no end product so it seemed like we were happy to let him have the ball and do nothing with it as much as he wanted. Although I was worried throughout the match because of lived experience, the truth is that they never truly threatened us and it was about as comfortable a match played at the Etihad as I can remember.
We’re Going to Win the League
I know some people don’t like such over-confidence. There are scores of Liverpool fans who think that they somehow have the ability to jinx the outcome of something simply by using their words. It is, of course, complete and utter nonsense. If we somehow go on to miss out on the league title, it won’t be because I’ve written a piece online talking about how we’re going to win it. There are so many moving parts and so many things that would need to happen for that be the case that it is, frankly, ridiculous to think otherwise. As a result, I am happy to declare loud and proud that Liverpool are going to win the league. The fact that the Travelling Kop could be heard singing ‘Now you’re gonna believe us’ from the Etihad concourse is proof that I’m not the only one of that opinion. This is a serious football team that knows how to win in all sorts of different ways, which is what you need to lift the Premier League trophy.
Eleven points clear, 11 games to go 🔝
— Men in Blazers Media Network (@meninblazers.bsky.social) 23 February 2025 at 18:23
It isn’t just that we can dominate matches and smother opponents, although we’ve all seen that we have that in our locker. It isn’t merely a matter of us hitting teams on the counter and dealing with any adversity thrown our way. It is the fact that we have been able to take on all comers and have only lost once all season. Our nearest opponents in Arsenal have yet to win four games in succession in the Premier League. We did it immediately following our only loss of the campaign so far, drew a game and then won four in a row again. Yes, we’ve had far too many draws, but we’ve still had one fewer than the Gunners, who have also lost three times. There is no world in which they are going to suddenly put a string of wins together at the same time as we are going to suffer a wealth of defeats. Neither scenario has looked like happening all season long and I’m confident it won’t now.
Enjoy the Ride
I absolutely understand why some people are terrified of enjoying this. We have all got the scars of going up against 130 Charges FC for the title and knowing that even a draw can feel fatal. The fact that we finished the 2018-2019 season with 97 points and still didn’t win the Premier League remains absolutely insane and will be something that I will struggle to ever really get over. It was an incredible achievement from a group of players who at least got to enjoy winning the Champions League to prove that they were brilliant, but the big prize evaded them. As a result, we all struggle with knowing how to feel about being in such a relatively comfortable position. Even though we took the team that won that title in our place to pieces yesterday, there are many who are refusing to enjoy all of this just in case. Believe me when I tell you that you need to enjoy this whilst you can.
Eleven points clear.
Arsenal are as close to 8th on points as they are to 1st.
Liverpool have seven of their last 11 games at home.
And now you’re gonna believe us. Up the Reds.
— Andrew Beasley (@andrewbeasleyfootball.com) 23 February 2025 at 18:24
The likelihood is that, unless the Premier League grows some balls and properly punishes 130 Charges FC, Pep Guardiola’s side will be back stronger in the future. There is even the possibility that Mikel Arteta decides to stop concentrating on the dark arts and winning free-kicks and instead just tries to win football matches, putting in an actual challenge for the title themselves in the future. With 11 games left, we have an 11 point lead. I am of the opinion that that is more likely to be extended rather than shrunk in the meantime, with Nottingham Forest far from an easy proposition for an Arsenal team that doesn’t have a striker. The weekend gone might well have been the point at which they decide to focus on the Champions League instead, whilst Liverpool can do both. This is there to be enjoyed, so bin off any skepticism and simply start to enjoy the Reds’ march to their 20th top-flight title.
