Liverpool have forced Manchester United legend and Sky Sports commentator Gary Neville to sensationally backtrack on an early season prediction after dominating Manchester City at Anfield.
The Reds’ red-hot start to the 2024/25 campaign continued, securing a 2-0 win over the wounded Premier League champions, who are winless in their last seven outings.
Cody Gakpo and Mohamed Salah got the goals as Liverpool maintained a nine-point gap to Arsenal and Chelsea, and extended their lead over City to 11 points.Neville has now declared Arne Slot’s men as the favorites to lift the Premier League trophy next May after losing just once all season.
Liverpool top both the Premier League and the Champions League group stage table heading into the busy Christmas and New Year period.
Arne Slot, taking over from Jurgen Klopp, is in dreamland. It’s a tipping point kind of day and Liverpool are now incredible favourites for the Premier League title,” Neville admitted.
However, the ex-Man United star’s comments come less than four months after he predicted Liverpool would not even make the top four.
Neville believed the Reds would struggle from a post-Jurgen Klopp hangover after the legendary Premier League and Champions League-winning manager departed Anfield at the end of last season.
My view would be the impact of Klopp [leaving] will take its toll, just going off evidence from history,” Neville told Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football back in August.Slot has proven to be an adaptable manager and his players are responding to his methods.
Neville said it’s his biggest asset. Neville said: “What Liverpool are proving under Arne Slot is that they can be really variable in how they play, they’re so adaptable.“They can play deep, they can play counter-attack but they can also dominate and play high press.
They have done all of that in the first hour of this game.”Salah added another goal and assist to his season tallies and his top-drawer performance came off the back of the Egpytian expressing his disappointment that Liverpool hadn’t offered him a new contract yet.
The 32-year-old has continued to do his job on the pitch, proving his contract running out next summer is not a distraction, with Premier League and Champions League glory again with Liverpool a top priority.
He’s saying to Liverpool: ‘I’m telling the whole world, what are you doing about it?’ The crowd won’t be too happy, Liverpool fans around the world won’t be happy if they aren’t offering him a contract,” Liverpool legend Michael Owen said.
But if he didn’t want to stay, why would he be saying that, that they haven’t spoken to him? So I think there’s still a little bit of water under the bridge to go on this one.
