LIVERPOOL, England (Reuters) - There is still more than six months of the Premier League season left, with 26 games and no doubt many plot twists ahead, but Liverpool's 3-1 win over Manchester City on Sunday had the feel of a changing of the guard at the pinnacle of English football.
It was not so much the maths, though Liverpool's nine-point advantage over defending champions City, with a point less over Leicester City and Chelsea, is a significant gap, especially as Juergen Klopp's side have lost one league game in 18 months.
Klopp's side were sharper in attack, where Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane both found the target, more solid at the back and in the midfield were faster, stronger, harder and more incisive, as always helped by their rampaging full-backs. However, this season Liverpool have matched that level of consistency, unbeaten and with 11 wins from 12, they arrived at this game with the only question being whether they could cope with the unique challenge of Pep Guardiola's City machine.
Given that Laporte has been sidelined by injury since August and Otamendi's form has been haphazard at best, City went to Anfield with midfielder Fernandinho filling in alongside Stones. Last season, City delivered a tactically mature and disciplined performance in a goalless draw at Anfield but, as Guardiola conceded, this game was more similar to the 2018 Champions League quarter-final, where City were blown apart after going two goals down in the opening 20 minutes.
City will recover from this loss, surely will strengthen their defence in the January transfer window and it would be a foolish pundit who writes them off.
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