Manager Jurgen Klopp and his playing staff won’t like to admit it, instead of battling on until it’s mathematically impossible, but it’s looking increasingly likely Liverpool will surrender their Premier League title.
When using the betus promo code to bet on the outright winner of the division, punters will find Man City as hot favourites and a big price attached to the chances of the Reds. With a punishing 2-0 defeat at Anfield in the recent Merseyside Derby extending Liverpool’s losing streak to four games, it’s becoming almost impossible to argue against that stance.
Europe proving a welcome distraction
That loss at home to Everton saw the Reds slip to sixth in the table, falling 19 points off the pace set by a Cityzens side that look relentless. There’s also a five-point gap between Liverpool and West Ham in fourth, meaning qualifying for next season’s Champions League certainly isn’t a given. At present, it looks to be a four-way fight to fill fourth spot in the league, a race that’s sure to go right down to the wire.
Domestically, Liverpool are struggling, there can be no denying that, but the players appear to be enjoying the distraction that comes with playing in this season’s Champions League. Leaving their league woes at the door, they eased through the group stages of the competition and are within touching distance of the last eight following a remarkable win in Germany earlier this month.
Could Liverpool defy the odds to get their hands once again on the most famous of football trophies? The club has won the European cup a total of six times in the past, first kissing the silverware back in 1977 with a 3-1 win in the final over German side Borussia Monchengladbach. The most recent success came in 2019 when beating fellow Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 at the Wanda Metropolitano in Madrid.
Reds live up to expectations with group win
Entering the group stages of this season’s Champions League as winners of the English Premier League, Liverpool were dropped into pool D. Joined by Italian side Atalanta, Dutch representatives Ajax and Danish flag bearers FC Midtjylland, Klopp and co were betting favourites to finish in pole position. They had no troubles living up to expectations.
The group ended with Liverpool in first place on 13 points following four wins, one draw and a defeat. They failed to win two of their last three games but had already done their best work early. Atalanta were second on 11 points ahead of Ajax on seven and FC Midtjylland with two. The group winners scored 10 goals while conceding only three.
Progressing to the Round of 16 Liverpool were drawn against German Bundesliga title contenders RB Leipzig who, themselves, had hopes of competing for Europe’s top prize. The first leg was played at the Red Bull Arena on Tuesday 16 February and despite their poor domestic form and the fact they were the visitors, Liverpool made light work of beating Leipzig.
Mo Salah broke the deadlock in that match on 53 minutes before fellow attacker Sadio Mane hit a second less than five minutes later. It was a quickfire double that the Bulls were unable to recover from. The victors caused an upset in Germany that night, but few fans would have been surprised to see their heroes rise to the occasion in Europe. After all, they have made a bit of a habit of doing just that over the years
40th anniversary of Paris win
This season’s Champions League final will be the 40th anniversary of Liverpool’s famous win over Real Madrid to claim their third title. That match was played at the Parc des Princes in Paris with a goal from defender Alan Kennedy enough to settle it.
Two Reds strikers also shared the top scorer award that season with Terry McDermott and Scotsman Graeme Souness each bagging six goals. That effort was matched by Bayern Munich’s Karl-Heinz Rummenigge making it a three-way split. The current Liverpool strike force has some way to go to match that.
