OPINION
As far as title races go, this has been a fairly civil one between Liverpool and Manchester City.
There has been none of the mind games and insult hurling of previous tussles, and instead, both sides have seemingly sat back and admired the stellar work of their opposite numbers.
That doesn’t mean that the rivalry isn’t fierce, of course, but it has hinted at a more cordial, respectful way of doing things
It would appear, however, that that air of civility might just be beginning to slip.
City midfielder Ilkay Gundogan has spoken out against the Reds, suggesting that they are fortunate to still be within a shout of the title race.
Speaking to Turkish outlet Fanatik, he said: “Liverpool are desperate to be champions. They want to win the Premier League more than the Champions League.
“But everything is in our hands. I think we have played the better football. We were seven points behind them and then we went ahead of them.
“If we win our game in hand, we will go past them and be the leaders. We shouldn’t forget that.
“I think they have been very lucky in the past one or two months. They have scored a lot of late goals recently. Everything is in our hands. If we win the last six games then we will be champions.”
As far as fighting talk goes, it’s hardly anything too barbed, but it does hint at a player trying to undermine the confidence of his opponents.
The thing is though, generally speaking, it is the man who cracks first who is actually feeling the pressure.
If Gundogan wasn’t bothered about Liverpool, why would he feel the need to comment? It’s almost as if he protests too much.
By disregarding the Reds as “lucky” he is ultimately admitting that they are a very real threat to City.
Obviously the table tells you as much, but if City genuinely believed that they had the title sown up, why would it bother them?
Things are in their hands for now, but that could definitely all change, and based on Gundogan’s comments, the Blues are fully aware of that.
