Liverpool and Arsenal endured a weekend to forget after they opened the Premier League title door to Manchester City.
After Pep Guardiola watched his side wipe the floor with Luton Town, attention turned to their title rivals to do their jobs on Sunday.
But Jurgen Klopp watched his Liverpool team produce another abject display in front of goal and lose 1-0 to Crystal Palace at Anfield.
Arsenal then told them to ‘hold my beer’ because they lost 2-0 to Aston Villa hours later. Advantage Manchester City!
One of the main topics of discussion after those matches was team selection and the mistakes Klopp and Arteta made.
Paul Merson was criticising the Arsenal boss for not starting Jorginho in midfield and not playing Kai Havertz as a number nine, given how well it has worked in the past few months, as he told Sky Sports.
That’s when he turned his attention to the man in Liverpool’s dugout and expressed that he was left baffled by Klopp only bringing on Harvey Elliott in the 82nd minute against Palace.
Merson added that Elliott is a ‘very good’ substitute and can ‘affect football matches’, but he highlighted that even managers ‘feel the pressure’ and make the wrong decisions.
All in all, at the wrong time, Liverpool and Arsenal have put the ball in the court of the Treble winners and Merson thinks that Guardiola is the only one showing his calmness.
Liverpool substitute Harvey Elliott
“I didn’t like his decision with the team that he picked,” said Merson about Arteta. “Keep on playing the team that wins every week. Don’t have the wool pulled over your eyes for a 25-minute cameo against Bayern Munich.
“Gabriel (Jesus) does well, oh I will bring him in and put Havertz back there (in midfield). They won nine out of ten, with Jorginho playing where he was playing and Havertz playing where he was playing. Keep the same team! It was a bench, if it wasn’t going right, where he looked at his bench and went ‘I haven’t got anyone’. Usually, I have Trossard and Jesus to come on. He didn’t have anybody to come on.
“Pressure gets to everybody, not just the players, but the managers. That’s where you need a Pep Guardiola, who keeps cool.
“Klopp’s a great manager. Why are you bringing Harvey Elliott on with ten minutes to go? Eight minutes to go? Give him 25-30. That’s one thing he is, a very good substitute. He affects football matches. But managers feel the pressure as well.”
Liverpool and Arsenal are still in the Premier League title race
Either these teams can sulk, continue to drop points and watch their season drift into nothing.
Or believe they can win their remaining league matches and, at the very least, take the Premier title race to the last day.
Yes, it will still probably be in the hands of Man City, but you never know the craziness of the final day, or these coming few week.
Man City might have blown Luton away, but one issue that keeps cropping up with them is that they can’t seem to stop conceding, so you feel another twist is in the offing.