Manchester United legend Gary Neville feels his former foes Liverpool should forget about the Champions League and channel all their remaining energy into a final assault for the Premier League title.
Following the recent Merseyside derby stalemate at Goodison, Liverpool no longer held their destiny in their own hands as victory at Bournemouth saw Manchester City top the pile by a point. Jurgen Klopp’s side have a testing away trip to Bayern Munich on the horizon, with the scoreline finely poised at 0-0. Neville, however, feels the focus should now no longer be on the prestigious competition.
Getting points on the board is a big advantage. I always thought that if Liverpool could win the league this season then they’d need a clean fixture list. Giving his opinion recent on the Gary Neville podcast, via Sky Sports, the former defender admitted his views were a touch on the wild side.
‘I’m going to say it: go out against Bayern Munich. That sounds like madness. Of course, you’d never play to lose a game but it will be in Liverpool’s favour if they have a clean run as they can get everyone fresh. City have got a couple of FA Cup games, where Liverpool could go five or six points in front. That’s tough to pull back in the closing weeks
While City have some big games coming up – including a Manchester derby and the hosting of Tottenham – Liverpool have some remaining obstacles of their own. Klopp’s side are also due to play Spurs at the end of March and – should they progress to the Champions League quarter finals – the two legs of the inevitable tough European draw would fall either side of this fixture.
Tottenham, too, are competing on the elite European stage – and look set to go through having stacked up a 3-0 aggregate margin against Borussia Dortmund. Liverpool return to Premier League action on Sunday when they host Burnley, while City welcome Watford to the Etihad on Saturday afternoon.