Didi Hamann has ruled one club out of the Premier League title race as Manchester City, Arsenal and Chelsea look to reel in Liverpool.
Liverpool have opened up a commanding eight-point gap at the top of the table after winning 10 of their first 12 league games under new boss Arne Slot.
There were doubts over how Liverpool would perform following Jurgen Klopp’s emotional departure but Slot has made a brilliant start to his reign at Anfield.
Manchester City sat top at the start of the month but three successive Premier League defeats – and five in all competitions – has left Pep Guardiola’s side with work to do as they bid to win a fifth consecutive league title.
Despite dropping a staggering and unprecedented number of points in November, Man City remain above London rivals Arsenal and Chelsea.
Arsenal returned to winning ways on Saturday – beating Nottingham Forest 3-0 – after picking up just two points from their previous four Premier League games.
The Gunners finished two points behind Man City last season and five in 2022-23 but Hamann no longer sees Mikel Arteta’s side as title contenders.
Meanwhile, Chelsea – widely tipped to struggle before the season started – have only lost two of their opening 12 games to suggest they will at least challenge for a top-four spot if not their first Premier League title since 2017.
‘Well, it’s probably a bit early to write off Manchester City,’ Hamann told Genting Casino when asked for his take on the title race.
‘How many games have they played? 12? We haven’t even played a third of the season. But Liverpool are certainly in the position that their title rivals would want to be in at the moment.
‘Liverpool are in a fantastic position, but the thing is, when you play a game and you’re winning 2-0 or 2-1, you can defend the lead, and you can’t do that in the league table because you still have to win games.
‘They’ve got a healthy cushion now. In the remaining games, they probably still need another 55 or 60 points. Having said that, they do look very good, very efficient.
‘They win games without being brilliant, which is always a sign of a good team. The other thing is, if Liverpool’s rivals want to close a gap of eight and nine points, you’ve got to be able to win four, five, six, seven on the spin.
‘Liverpool are in a very strong position, but as you say, it’s a long way to go.
‘I said a few weeks ago, I expected a two-horse race between Liverpool and Man City this season. Arsenal had everything going their way in the last two seasons.
‘They played out of their skin, and they still couldn’t get the job done. So, I don’t really see them doing it this season either.
‘I still think that Man City is the most likely team to catch Liverpool.’
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