Manchester City and Liverpool have been the greatest of rivals in the Premier League in recent years.
Indeed, City and Liverpool have had some memorable title battles over the past few years under Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp.
Guardiola was better than Klopp according to Gary Lineker, but this rivalry was legendary.
Arne Slot arrived at Anfield in the summer, and the dynamics in this rivalry have changed.
Indeed, all of a sudden, it’s Liverpool who are running away with it at the top of the Premier League while City are lagging behind.
Speaking to the Liverpool Echo, Cody Gakpo has been discussing City’s struggles this season, and he says that the Liverpool squad have indeed noticed that City are struggling.
However, Gakpo says that City’s struggles haven’t affected Liverpool all that much, claiming that the Reds are simply focused on winning as many games as they can.
Cody Gakpo shares what Liverpool squad think about Manchester City’s struggles
Gakpo spoke about City’s struggles and how those issues have been perceived at Anfield.
Ultimately, Gakpo says that Liverpool have noticed that City are struggling, but they’re not letting that affect any of their performances or preparations this season.
“We know we’re not supposed to look at them in a way that makes us think ‘oh, if they win, we have to win’ or that we have to win every game,” Gakpo said.
“But, obviously, we cannot lie if we say that we haven’t noticed City are a little bit more struggling compared to recent years.
“It is how it is and we have to just stay focused on ourselves and try to keep winning every game because everybody knows how hard it can be, and every game is a difficult one.
“So, yeah, we have to win as many games as possible and then hopefully we win the title at the end.”
Manchester City stats vs Liverpool this season
City have struggled this season, and they have had problems particularly against Liverpool.
Indeed, City have played both of their league games against Liverpool this season, and it’s been a real struggle for City in those games.
Not only have City lost both matches against Liverpool, they’ve, ultimately, been dominated by the Reds.
| Liverpool | Manchester City | |
|---|---|---|
| 4 | Goals | 0 |
| 0 | Goals conceded | 4 |
| 4.21 | Expected goals | 1.38 |
| 11 | Shots on target | 7 |
| 2 | Wins | 0 |
It’s not often that City are outplayed in this way across two matches, but that’s a testament to just how good Liverpool have been this season.
Liverpool have been able to perform this season without the added pressure of City breathing down their necks, but, make no mistake about it, Pep Guardiola will want to bounce back next season and overturn this deficit.
City have got the better of Liverpool in the Premier League in recent years, and Guardiola will want to restore the status quo next season.