‘Imagine that’ – Aldridge highlights curious truth which ‘says it all’ about Liverpool’s season
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John Aldridge has said that it’s indicative of how far Liverpool have fallen this season that, in the final week of the campaign, a win for Manchester City would do them a massive favour rather than curtailing their ambitions.Over the past few years, the Reds have slugged it out against Pep Guardiola’s side in epic title races which have gone to the final day and seen both teams surpass the 90-point mark, with a fierce rivalry developing in that time.DOWNLOAD THE OFFICIAL EMPIRE OF THE KOP APP FOR ALL THE LATEST & BREAKING UPDATES – STRAIGHT TO YOUR PHONE! ON APPLE & GOOGLE PLAYWhile the Cityzens still have a chance of overtaking leaders Arsenal right before the finish line, Arne Slot’s team are simply trying to land in the Champions League positions by the time the Premier League season ends on Sunday evening.If Man City were to win at sixth-placed Bournemouth tonight in what’s set to be Guardiola’s penultimate game in charge, Liverpool would be assured of a place in Europe’s main club competition for 2026/27 before they host Brentford at the weekend.Aldridge: Liverpool needing a favour from City speaks volumesAldridge is bemused that, having had such an intense rivalry with the Etihad Stadium outfit for so long, the Reds are now begging for a favour from them in the final week of the season just to fend off the Cherries once and for all.He wrote in his latest Liverpool Echo column: ‘Liverpool have fallen away to the point where they are not battling with Arsenal and Manchester City anymore for the big prizes.
They are now looking over their shoulder at the likes of Brighton and Bournemouth; it’s a far cry from what we are used to.‘In fact, Liverpool need a result from Manchester City in the final week of the season, which says it all really. Imagine that: Pep Guardiola and his City side can do us a favour in May.‘It’ll be tough for them too on Tuesday night because Andoni Iraola has been one of the managers of the season for me at Bournemouth.
Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for news you can trustIt’ll feel strange to cheer on Man City tonight!It’ll be strange for Liverpool fans to be cheering on Man City so close to the end of the season when we’ve become so accustomed to begging them to drop points, but as Aldridge says, it’s indicative of where the two teams now find themselves.It’s a terrible indictment of the Reds’ campaign to be sweating on Champions League qualification at this late stage, but it also reflects just how brilliantly Bournemouth have done that they’re in with a plausible chance of appearing in Europe’s main club competition next term.If we’re to be assured of a top-five finish tonight and handed the luxury of being able to relax against Brentford on Sunday, Guardiola’s side will have to do something nobody has managed since 3 January – beat the Cherries in a Premier League fixture.Iraola’s side are on the longest unbeaten top-flight run of any team in Europe’s five main leagues (16 games), and if they extend that against City, they could still surpass Liverpool for fifth place. A win narrows the gap to a point; a draw would leave the Reds three points ahead with a six-goal advantage on goal difference.Hopefully it won’t be long before we’re back challenging for the title rather than going into the final week of the season trying to merely salvage a Champions League place which only came about because of English clubs’ performances in Europe this term.