Liverpool fans issued Steven Gerrard slip warning over title race with Man City
LIVERPOOL supporters must ensure they do not get overly swept up in the emotion of their Premier League title challenge this season, according to Martin Keown.
Liverpool: Klopp reflects on 5-1 win against Arsenal
The Reds moved nine points clear with a 5-1 defeat of Arsenal at Anfield yesterday and will be at least seven ahead of Manchester City when they face their rivals on Thursday (8pm).
Liverpool have gone unbeaten across 20 top-flight matches this season, winning an incredible 17 of those while conceding a mere eight goals until now.
That puts them on track to record over 90 points - with no team having ever failed to win the league with over 89 - and keep a record-equalling defensive record.
Liverpool have not won a league title since 1990 and there has been a tangible feeling of hope and anticipation in the Anfield atmosphere recently, best shown by the huge roar that swept the stands against Newcastle on Boxing Day when they learned rivals Man City were losing to Leicester.
This is the first time Liverpool are a serious player in the title race since 2013-14, when they boasted a five-point lead at the top of the table with just three games to go but conspired to miss out on glory.
Captain Steven Gerrard’s slip against Chelsea proved pivotal as they lost 2-0 at home to the Blues when a draw would have kept them on course to lift the title.
Chants of, ‘We’re gonna win the league’, became a regular occurrence on the Anfield terraces that season as the emotion of their lengthy wait for a championship seemingly coming to an end took over, only for Liverpool to let an incredible opportunity through their grasp at the death.
And Keown has warned Liverpool that they cannot afford to get carried away this time - despite their commanding position at the summit as we enter 2019.
Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool are in with a real shot of Premier League glory this season (Image: GETTY)
Liverpool romped to an emphatic win against Arsenal (Image: GETTY)
Martin Keown believes this Liverpool side can finally deliver a long-awaited title success (Image: GETTY)
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I hope that they’ve learned from that as a football club and that the fans enjoy it but don’t strangle the players
Martin Keown
“You look at this great club, it was a truly great club in the 80s and the 70s,” Keown said of Liverpool, who won 10 league titles, four European Cups, two UEFA Cups, two FA Cups and four League Cups across those decades.
“You saw the last time they got close to winning it, Steven Gerrard was very closely linked and Brendan Rodgers [was the manager]. They fell in the last few steps.
“There was so much pressure coming from the supporters here, I hope that they’ve learned from that as a football club and that the fans enjoy it but don’t strangle the players.
“That’s a warning. What happened that season, it became too intense.
Steven Gerrard's slip proved costly against Chelsea in 2013-14 (Image: GETTY)
Liverpool were on the cusp of a championship triumph in 2014 (Image: GETTY)
Liverpool fans must learn their lesson from their last title challenge, says Keown (Image: GETTY)
“No club has a divine right to win the Premier League and Liverpool fans maybe felt it was their time, their moment.
“I think at that stage, it almost worked against them a little bit at the end. It meant too much.
“It’s a game of football, an awful lot has happened over the years at this club and I think they can do it, they’re not far away, and you do want that great energy.
“It’s almost like a 12th man, when you played at Anfield you felt that, it was very difficult. They can do it but their fans will play a major part in it.”