MY ACCOUNT
The Premier League title is firmly in the control of Manchester City, according to former Liverpool striker Emile Heskey who cannot see the leaders relinquishing their grasp.
Pep Guardiola’s reigning champions played out a thrilling 2-2 draw with fellow title contenders Liverpool at the Etihad Stadium last Sunday, leaving City just a point ahead of the Reds.
Both teams still have Champions League quarter-final second legs to contend with on Wednesday, while the pair will again meet in the FA Cup semi-final on Saturday.
Once those cup competitions are out the way, the focus will turn back to the Premier League, where City and Liverpool have seven games left to play each.
Guardiola acknowledged that his side must win every one of those league fixtures to defend their top-flight crown, and Heskey believes City will be lifting the title once more come the end of the season.
“It’s a tough one, isn’t it? I looked at Liverpool’s run and I think it’s a bit more difficult than Man City’s,” Heskey, who played for Liverpool between 2000 and 2004, told Stats Perform.
“You never know with Man City. I always say for Man City they are a team that can really blast teams out the water, six, seven-nil, but they’ve got a one-nil loss in them.
“They very rarely, even though they got to draw yesterday, they very rarely draw. But I don’t see them losing another game, if I’m honest, in the league, at least anyway.
“So I see it as City’s to throw away to be honest with you. I would have said if Liverpool had won that game, I would have said 60-40 in Liverpool’s favour to be honest.
“But now, because they drew the game, one less game now. I think it’s City’s to throw away and I can’t see them losing any games.”
Guardiola also conceded City may have offered Liverpool a chance after they failed to capitalise on their dominance in what was billed as the title decider.
Kevin De Bruyne and Gabriel Jesus struck either side of Diogo Jota’s equaliser as Jurgen Klopp’s side headed into half-time trailing in the league for the first time this season.
But Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane linked up just 46 seconds after the interval, with the latter restoring parity as he delivered a priceless equaliser to keep Liverpool’s title and quadruple hopes alive.
Heskey suggested the result will favour Klopp’s Reds, given the resilience they had to show to fight to stay in the game for large parts.
“One hundred per cent, but you’ve got to ride your luck at times,” he added when asked if Liverpool would be happier with the result. “You’ve got to be able to take them opportunities and big clubs manage to ride their luck at times, but their finishing at times is exceptional.
“So they rode their luck at times and stayed in the game. And once you stay in the game and when you’ve got firepower like Mane, Salah and Jota, and [Luis] Diaz and [Roberto] Firmino to come on later, you’ve always in with a chance.
“At times, you’ve got to have that fight and that grit to know that you’ve got to bite down in five minutes because they’re going to be all over you. And if anyone can be all over you, Man City can, because they’re relentless in the way they attack.
“But once you start fighting down and you start getting into the game yourself, I thought they’d done fantastic, especially the second half was brilliant.
“I think Liverpool controlled a large part of that. It was fantastic to see them actually show that resilience and get through like sticky periods during the game.”
