2 weeks ago
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Michael Owen thinks Liverpool could well prove the biggest rivals to Manchester City in the Premier League title race this season after their dominant win against Manchester United.
Liverpool looked at their rampant best at Old Trafford on Sunday as Arne Slot’s side cruised to a commanding 3-0 win against United.
Luis Diaz twice took advantage of mistakes from Casemiro to score first-half goals before the brilliant Mohamed Salah, who set up both of Diaz’s efforts, added a third with yet another goal against the Red Devils.
The result continues Liverpool’s perfect league start under new boss Slot, with City the only other team to have won their first three games of the season.
Arsenal, who have pushed City all the way in the previous two campaigns, are still unbeaten but dropped their first points of the season after they were held to a frustrating 1-1 draw with Brighton at the Emirates.
Although it’s still early days in the season, Owen thinks he’s seen enough to suggest that Liverpool will be title contenders this season despite Slot only taking over his post at Anfield this summer.
‘If you ask Pep Guardiola who his biggest danger was it would be a toss-up between Arsenal and Liverpool,’ the former England striket told Premier League Productions.
‘At the start of the season, he might have said Arsenal because you know what you are going to get – same manager, same players plus they have added one or two – but there was a little bit of a question about what would happen at Liverpool with the new manager.
‘Is it going to be a totally new style? Are they going to take a while to adapt? All these questions. Of course the one good thing from a Liverpool point of view is they kept the squad.
‘There was hardly any outgoings, it was a structured squad and he was walking into a squad that has a lot of players at the peak of their powers.
‘There were questions about Liverpool but after three games you think “wow” it is going to take a special team to stop them. They have just swatted United aside.’
Fellow pundit Paul Scholes was inclined to agree and believes the Reds could suprass the levels hit by Mikel Arteta’s Gunners.
‘They could really challenge for that title this year,’ Scholes said. ‘Before a ball had been kicked I thought it was going to be Arsenal’s year to give City a real go and possibly go on to win it.
‘But after watching the first three games, I think Liverpool could go past Arsenal. They were up there for a long part of the season last year, they only fell away in the last few games.
‘If they keep that squad together and the majority of that fit, I think that is a team that can challenge City without a shadow of a doubt.’
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