Liverpool reignite title race, hit top form ahead of League Cup final; plus Spurs break Conte

Manchester City looked to have the Premier League title sewn up just a few weeks ago, but suddenly their lead over Liverpool is just three points — with twelve games still to go for both teams, including one against each other at the Etihad in early April! And after last night’s 6-0 shellacking of Leeds United, Liverpool now actually have the league’s best goal differential, and the most goals scored as well (i.e. the first two tie-breakers).

Mo Salah and Sadio Mané both scored twice as Liverpool ran up the score in the final ten minutes of this midweek catch-up game, and they now head into Sunday’s League Cup final showdown against Chelsea with nine wins on the bounce. They’ve collected 25 goals (almost three per game!) and have given away just 3 during that run. And in fact, they have lost just twice all season in any competition.

So that all sounds pretty daunting, though not necessarily as daunting as the task facing Antonio Conte at Spurs, who managed to lose to Burnley yesterday after beating Manchester City just a few days prior. It’s their fourth defat in five in the league, and sixth in ten in all competitions (including the three back-to-back-to-back to us). Conte’s ready to throw in the towel, which sounds very unlike Conte. Congratulations, Spurs, you’ve broken our man.

“I came here to help the club and if the problem could be the coach I’m ready to go, no problem. I am not used to this situation. I am trying everything but the situation is not changing. I am available and open with the club to do what the club wants.

“I want to help the club, I work a lot, I work very hard [but] it is not enough. The performance can be good and the commitment was good but we lost. For me the situation is unacceptable. To lose four of five for Tottenham has to be a disaster.

“I came in to try to improve the situation. Maybe in this moment I am not so good to improve the situation. I am too honest to close my eyes and continue in this way. For sure we are to speak and have a conversation with the club to try and find the best solution to help the team not have this type of situation. It is the right moment to make assessment. I repeat, I am really frustrated.”

-Antonio Conte; source: BBC

Meanwhile, Chelsea remain firmly in third, though at least ten points behind even if we win our match in-hand.

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