Ruben Dias has sent a pointed message to Liverpool regarding the race for the Premier League title this season.
The Manchester City defender is hoping to help his team to lift the trophy for a fifth successive year, but consecutive defeats to Bournemouth and Brighton have seen them fall five points adrift of the pace-setting Reds.
With only 11 of the 38 matchdays having been played, though, the Portugal centre-back has reminded fans of both clubs that there’s still more than enough scope for the situation to change as the campaign progresses.
Dias sends pointed message to Liverpool
Speaking to Sky Sports, Dias said: “Just as we’re not out [of the title race]… no-one’s out. It’s still early days in the season and obviously there’s still a lot to happen.
“We all know how the Premier League is; that’s why we love it so much. We also know that this is going to be a very wild season in terms of time to rest and just dealing with it and moving on forward, so it’s a long run.
“We’re what, maybe one-third of the way, getting to the halfway [point of the season]? So yeah, there’s still a lot to play.”
Liverpool will soon have chance to land direct hit on Man City
Liverpool fans won’t be under any illusions that a five-point lead on Man City at this stage of the season is far too slender to even being thinking about inserting a champagne bottle into a bucket of ice.
However, if the Reds can beat Southampton upon the resumption of the Premier League campaign later this month and then land a direct hit on Pep Guardiola’s side a week later, that’d stretch the gap out to eight points (possibly more if the champions also slip up to Tottenham on 23 November).
That scenario would not only give Arne Slot’s team two chances to drop points and still be in the lead, it’d also score a massive psychological edge over the Etihad Stadium outfit and surely fuel a belief within the Anfield dressing room that they can go the distance in 2024/25.
Even a draw in that top-two showdown in 20 days’ time would keep Liverpool top and preserve the destiny of the title race in their own hands, but this group of players won’t need reminding as to City’s morale-sapping aptitude for hitting the turbo in the second half of the season.
One step at a time, Reds, and see where it takes us…
