Liverpool’s comprehensive 3-0 loss to Manchester City in Gameweek 11 served as a harsh wake-up call. Despite the controversy surrounding the disallowed Virgil van Dijk goal, the Reds’ performance at the Etihad was alarmingly flat and miles away from their championship-winning standard. Is it now safe to say that Arne Slot’s team is out of the Premier League title race?
The defeat plunged Liverpool into 8th place in the Premier League table. They are now sitting eight points behind the leaders after accumulating a worrying five losses in just 11 matches. Compounding their misery is a run of four consecutive away defeats in the league, a shocking statistic that speaks volumes about the team’s current defensive fragility.
The poor result against City shattered the momentum built by the recent win over Aston Villa and an impressive Champions League victory over Real Madrid. As EPL legend Alan Shearer noted, the consistency required of a title challenger is simply not there.
“It was a bit of a surprise because I thought the Real Madrid game might have been a turning point for them,” said Shearer. “It might have been a sign for them to say, ‘Let’s go, let’s do this, let’s kick on for the rest of the season’. But it actually went back to what it was a couple of weeks earlier. They were really flat; they were really poor defensively.”
The Unrealistic Road Ahead
For Liverpool to realistically remain in contention, they would need an unprecedented run of form. Shearer believes the mountain is already too high to climb:
Speaking to Betfair, he said: “If Liverpool continue to play like they did against Manchester City, then they won’t win anything. They’ll get dumped out of whatever competitions they’re in. They’ve got the FA Cup and the Champions League, but I do think the league’s gone for them now they’ve lost five games.”
“I don’t see them being in a title race now. I think they would have to probably win every single game between now and the end of the season. I don’t think that’s possible. So, I think their title race is done. It’s the Champions League or the FA Cup for Liverpool, but they won’t be winning any of those unless they improve anyway.”
Defiance and a Glimmer of Hope
Despite the overwhelming criticism, the team captain remains defiant. Speaking to beIN SPORTS, Virgil van Dijk acknowledged the damage but swore the team would continue fighting:
The reality is that we lost 3-0 and that is a big blow,” said the captain. “We are not going to give up whatsoever. We are in November and we are ready for a long season and a big fight.”
Van Dijk’s determination offers a faint hope—though history suggests otherwise. In the entire Premier League era (since 1992), no team has ever won the title after recording five losses by Gameweek 11.
However, by looking back at the full history of the English top-flight, there have been a handful of champions who overcame such a dire start:
| Season | Champion | Losses After 11 Matches |
|---|---|---|
| 1967/68 | Manchester City | 5 |
| 1912/13 | Sunderland | 5 |
| 1905/06 | Liverpool | 5 |
Ironically, one of those teams was Liverpool themselves in 1905-06. While today’s Premier League demands far greater consistency, that historical footnote—and Van Dijk’s fighting words—remain the only real glimmer of hope for Arne Slot’s struggling Reds.
