“All good title-winning teams keep clean sheets” – John Aldridge identifies what Liverpool must ‘sort out’ to challenge for league title
Liverpool great John Aldridge has cast doubt over the Reds' title credentials, claiming Jurgen Klopp's side aren't in the mix as far as the Premier League title race is concerned. He believes that Arsenal and Manchester City are still the favorites this season.
Aldridge believes the Reds concede too many goals and that will cost them a lot of points. He added that they need to keep clean sheets and stop going behind in games to become title challengers. He wrote in his LiverpoolECHO column:
"The Premier League title race looks to be wide open at this moment in time. We saw Manchester City lose to Arsenal on Sunday night, meaning Pep Guardiola's side have now suffered back-to-back Premier League defeats for the first time since 2018. The problem with City is even after this setback, they are capable of going 20 games unbeaten. That's what they do. We can't take anything for granted as we have been here before with them. I think Arsenal are at a similar level to us and City are always the ones to beat."
He added:
"It doesn't seem like it will be another battle between just us and City anymore, though. Tottenham are a lot better, Chelsea will improve, Arsenal are growing and we have moved on from last season. The only team that has become worse is Manchester United. Man City are not where they have been and Sunday showed this season is not going to be as easy for them."
Aldridge continued:
"If Liverpool are going to realistically challenge for the title, we need to sort out the defence. All good title-winning teams keep clean sheets and we don't have that in us at the moment. We are conceding far too many first goals."
Liverpool are currently fourth in the Premier League table with 17 points. They are three behind leaders Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal after eight matches this season.
Gary Neville and Alan Shearer agree on Liverpool's title charge
John Aldridge is not alone in thinking Liverpool are not good enough to win the title this season as Gary Neville and Alan Shearer also share the same opinion. The Premier League legends also believe Klopp's team are leaking too many goals.
Shearer was on The Rest Is Football podcast when he dismissed suggestions from Gary Lineker that the Reds were also in the title race. He believes that the defense is not good enough and that will be a big issue.
Neville also echoed Shearer's sentiments on his podcast, saying they will fail to control matches. He pointed at their lack of a holding midfielder and claimed that would be their biggest weakness this season.