Jamie Carragher says Man City now have a new fight on their hands after ruling out title

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Manchester City were not able to turn around their recent poor run on Sunday afternoon, as Premier League leaders Liverpool dispatched Pep Guardiola’s side 2-0 at Anfield.

This was City’s fourth consecutive defeat in the league, as the champions’ winless run stretched to seven matches. They now find themselves down to fifth place in the table, a whopping 11 points behind Arne Slot’s side.

Cody Gakpo put the hosts on their way when he scored after 12 minutes, with a Mo Salah penalty with 12 minutes remaining sealing what was a deserved win for the in-form Reds.

The buoyant home fans taunted Guardiola with a ‘you’re getting sacked in the morning’ chant, with City knowing that they need to turn around their fortunes quickly, starting with Wednesday night’s Etihad clash against Nottingham Forest of they are to salvage their season.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
1	LiverpoolLiverpool	13	11	1	1	25	8	17	34
2	ArsenalArsenal	13	7	4	2	26	14	12	25
3	ChelseaChelsea	13	7	4	2	26	14	12	25
4	BrightonBrighton	13	6	5	2	22	17	5	23
5	Man CityManchester City	13	7	2	4	22	18	4	23

Jamie Carragher says Man City face a fight for the top four

Liverpool’s 11-point lead over City puts Slot’s side in a commanding position at the start of December, despite there still being 25 Premier League gameweeks left to be played this season.

But rather than concerning themselves with overhauling the Reds, former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher believes that City now face a fight to finish in the top four this season.

“I think it’s almost a mini-crisis for Manchester City,” Carragher said on Sky Sports. “I think it’s reminiscent of Liverpool two years ago. I actually think Man City might have a fight on their hands for the top four. I actually look at Arsenal and Chelsea and the way they’re looking now and I think it will be difficult to finish above them if they don’t go into the market in January.”

Carragher says City remind him of Liverpool in 2021

Carragher added that the issues Guardiola faces are similar to what former Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp had to deal with in the 2021/22 season.

“I go back a couple of years to the season Man City won the treble,” he added. “Liverpool went to the Etihad in about April and got beat 4-1. It could have been six or seven, they got absolutely battered. And you felt like it was almost the end of that Jurgen Klopp team. But what it was, was the end of the midfield. This was Henderson and Fabinho at the time and no matter how good a manager you are, you can’t fix that.

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“I don’t think Pep can fix that in terms of midfield now. This has been going on for four or five games. He needs to buy players in there. If he can it in January, who knows, but it may need to wait until the end of the season to fix. Because right now I could see Man City losing another four or five games between the end of the season.

“And I look at the energy Arsenal have got and the energy some of the young players Chelsea have got, I think it might be difficult for City to finish above either of them.”

Arsenal’s 5-2 win at West Ham in Saturday saw them move up to second in the table, while Chelsea swept aside Aston Villa 3-0 earlier on Sunday to move into the top three.

City have played in the Champions League in each of the past 14 seasons, with the 2009/10 season the last time they missed out on the top four.