MANCHESTER, UNITED KINGDOM (AFP) – Liverpool and Manchester City are embroiled in another tense fight for the Premier League title with both sides having aspirations of multiple trophy-winning seasons in the final few months of the campaign.
City appeared to be cruising towards a fourth Premier League title in five seasons in mid-January as they sat 13 points clear at the top and 14 ahead of Liverpool.
Two months on, the gap is down to one point as Liverpool have made full use of two games in hand and rare slip-ups from the champions to set up another title race between two of the best sides the English football has ever known.
Pep Guardiola’s reign in Manchester and Jurgen Klopp’s revival of sleeping giant in Liverpool have seen the record books re-written.
Between them City and Liverpool have lifted the last four Premier League titles and at least one has reached three of the last four Champions League finals. Both sides have their eye on history-making trophy hauls that this season. Liverpool have already ended City’s four-year hold on the League Cup to claim the first silverware of the season.
Both sides are in FA Cup quarter-final action as City travel to Southampton tonight and Liverpool facing Nottingham Forest early on Monday.
After establishing an era of domestic dominance, City’s priority has to be on ending their quest to be crowned European champions.
”In the Premier League right now, we are leading,” said Guardiola on Friday. ”Everyone knows what we (have to) do. It is a marvellous challenge.”
No side has ever won a quadruple of Champions League, Premier League, FA Cup and League Cup in the same season.
Only Manchester United in 1998/1999 have managed the treble of Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup.
However, both sides have proven capable of breaking the barriers of what seemed possible in recent seasons.
