Manchester City and Liverpool reached the final for the second time in four seasons, both with a real desire to win the Premier League.
The iconic moment will be repeated thousands of times between today and next May, but it remains to be seen who will lift the Premier League title.
A much-changed Liverpool thrashed Southampton 2-1 on Tuesday night, meaning their second battle against Manchester City in four years will go to the final day. As in 2019, both teams are still in contention for the biggest prize in English football, with Manchester City being the favorite.
Aston Villa, who beat Steven Gerrard at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday, will ensure the Etihad Stadium retain the Premier League trophy for the fourth time in five seasons. But if Guardiola errs from the outside, Liverpool can wait to pounce on the out-of-form Wolves at Anfield.
With just one point between the two teams, the league decided officials would play two games: Manchester Prem chief executive Richard Masters and Merseyside acting chairman Peter McCormick. A replica of the trophy will be in Liverpool with McCormick and 40 blank medals are ready to be engraved.
Manchester City will have a real stadium in their stadium and plan to have the correct club and name engraved on medals and trophies after the game. If either side wins, the plans are in place and given the same performance, with “community champions” presenting the trophy to their respective captains.
Liverpool were desperate to take the title race to the final day, overcoming a double-digit points gap to reach all three major finals. In the last final, they lifted the FA Cup after a penalty shoot-out, forcing Jurgen Klopp to make drastic changes for the league match against the Saints.
Nathan Redmond opened the scoring for Southampton, boosting City’s chances of winning without having to play another ball. But goals from Takumi Minamino and Joel Matip reduced the lead to just one point, despite the fact that the current leaders had a huge advantage on goal difference.
The odds may be against him, but Jurgen Klopp remains hopeful and insists he won’t stop if the shoes are on his feet: “If I’m in a different situation, I don’t like where I’m already in. Champions That’s it,” Klopp said.
“From my point of view, the second time you think that City will win this game, of course. But this is football. First we have to win the game. possible Yes, not possible, but possible. Enough”.
However, Liverpool’s title-winning success will be a watershed in recent history as no Premier League leader will lose the league ahead of the final day. The last such incident happened to the Reds themselves in 1989, when an infamous late goal from Michael Thomas saw Arsenal beat them in dramatic fashion.
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Post time: Oct-17-2022