Ian Ladyman: Liverpool Are Not Ready to Challenge Arsenal and Manchester City for the League Title
Journalist Ian Ladyman believes Liverpool are not yet ready to mount a serious challenge for the Premier League title this season, despite signs of improvement under Andoni Iraola. He wrote this in his Daily Mail column after Liverpool’s 1-0 defeat to Arsenal at Anfield on Sunday—a result
Journalist Ian Ladyman believes Liverpool are not yet ready to mount a serious challenge for the Premier League title this season, despite signs of improvement under Andoni Iraola. Ladyman wrote this in his Daily Mail column after Liverpool’s 1-0 defeat to Arsenal at Anfield on Sunday; according to the article, the result left the team nine points behind the leaders with just under a quarter of the season gone.
Ladyman noted that the defeat to Arsenal was Liverpool’s second at home in a month, after they had also lost to Manchester City in a match that saw Ryan Gravenberch sent off. While acknowledging progress, particularly defensively, he said Liverpool were still struggling in the attacking third and lacked composure and effectiveness in decisive moments.
In Ladyman’s assessment, finishing third, reaching the Champions League quarter-finals and competing for a domestic cup would represent progress for the team. The article said a win over Arsenal would have cut the gap to three points, but the defeat left Liverpool some way off the top of the league, despite the improvement the team had shown in its recent matches against Arsenal and Manchester City.