OPINION
Every Premier League game for a Liverpool fan from here on out will undoubtedly feel like a cup final, and rightly so.
The stakes could not be higher at the moment, and the title race is definitely going to go down to the wire. Liverpool are one point off the pace at the minute, and they cannot afford to let that slip in the games that remain.
Many of the supporters are no doubt touting their upcoming clash with Tottenham on Sunday as one of their toughest games at the moment. However, if Sadio Mane’s comments are anything to by, it looks like the bigger teams are not the only ones the Reds should be afraid of.
“[Spurs] could be [the toughest game], but people expect the only tough games to be against the top six, but sometimes that’s not the case because it’s unpredictable,” he told Sky Sports.
“It could be Southampton. Sometimes you win easily with the top six, and sometimes you get a difficult game, but it’s the same with the teams at the bottom of the table.”
Liverpool face the Saints next Friday, and they must heed Mane’s claim about them if they are to prevent them from derailing their title quest. Like Mane said, you can get tough games against teams towards the bottom of the table, as they’re playing for their Premier League lives.
The Reds will have to tread carefully with his one, then. Southampton are currently battling several other teams to avoid the drop, so they also have a lot at stake. If one thing can be learned here, it is that Liverpool must be wary of their next opponents and not underestimate them.
The last thing Jurgen Klopp needs is for his team to be complacent and throw away the closest chance that they have had of winning the league in a while. They must heed the words of Mane if they want to prevent their bid from going up in smoke.
