Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini described Liverpool as title contenders ahead of today’s clash. Is it just another of his infamous mind games?
Roberto Mancini is fast gaining a reputation for himself as a master of mind games, but backing Liverpool for the Premier League title might be taking it a step too far.
He said on Friday: “I think Liverpool will fight for the title this season because they play well.
“They have bought new players, they have a new manager and they’ve changed their style of play.
“They are coming from a game at West Brom where probably they didn’t deserve to lose, but football can be strange like this.”
Football can be strange Roberto, but not quite this strange. Just ask the bookies who make Liverpool long range outsiders priced between 33/1 and 40/1. To put that in context, 33/1 were the odds being offered on Pep Guardiola taking over at Anfield this summer.
Mancini got the better of Sir Alex Ferguson last season in the mind games department when he insisted City were out of the title race, only to see a complacent United side lose at Wigan before going collapsing further and relinquishing their crown.
It seems he can’t stop, this season he has put United forward as title favourites, and now this latest assertion about Liverpool.
The Reds can achieve this season, and nobody is writing them off after just one game. But Liverpool’s own ambition will surely be realistic enough not to stretch that far. A top four place and Champions League qualification will do them just nicely, and then they can begin to start thinking about such lofty aims once again.
What Mancini’s comments tell us though, is that he is worried about this afternoon’s match-up.
Visiting Anfield won’t be easy for any team this season, at least that’s the idea, and even under Dalglish Liverpool had a good record against the big teams, it was just against the lesser ones they came unstuck.
The crowd will be behind Liverpool, City are missing Sergio Aguero, and the Reds have a point to prove and motivation to make up for last week’s opening defeat to West Brom.
Most of all Brendan Rodgers wants to get his first league win under his belt as Liverpool boss, and what better place to do it than against the league champions.
For all Liverpool’s so-called deficiencies, and City’s pedrigree and form, the home side will be expected to put up a big fight this afternoon and get a result.
Far be it from us to suggest that Mancini knows a defeat could be on the way and he is trying to get his excuses in early by building Liverpool up to sound just that bit better than they are…
What do you make of Mancini’s comments? Mind games? Can Liverpool win this afternoon?
image: © Mafue
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