London [UK], December 2 : Former footballer Gary Neville reacted to Liverpool's massive 2-0 win over Manchester City in the ongoing Premier League (PL) season and said that Arne Slot's side are the "strong favourites" to win the title.
In a game that showcased Liverpool's dominance. Mohamed Salah and Cody Gakpo led the Reds to the victory over City, significantly distancing themselves from their Premier League title rivals.
Neville said that Liverpool have a nine points difference from second-place Arsenal, for which there's an expectation that the Merseyside club can bag the silverware this season.
"There's a real expectation but they'll be very, very strong favourites. Nine points clear of Arsenal, 11 points clear of Manchester City and there's still four or five months to go. The title race doesn't start until April. We're just in early December," Neville was quoted by Sky Sports as saying.
He accepted that there's a long way to go to decide who will win the title. The former footballer further added that Liverpool might have a difficult patch at some point in the season.
"I'm not saying Liverpool are going to win the league. I still think there's a long way to go. But there is no doubt that now there'll be an expectation. I wouldn't ever say if they don't win it from this position they'll have bottled it. I don't believe that'll be the case. I think they will have a difficult patch at some point in the season," he added.
Liverpool's breakthrough came in the 12th minute, with Salah delivering a precise pass that allowed Gakpo to tap the ball into the net. Gakpo was instrumental in stretching City's defense and displayed impressive pace and positioning, contributing significantly to Liverpool's attacking prowess.
Despite City growing into the game and managing just one shot on goal compared to Liverpool's ten in the first half, the visitors struggled to create significant opportunities. Liverpool had a chance to seal the victory earlier when Salah was through on goal, but the Egyptian uncharacteristically fired over the crossbar.
The game was finally put to bed in the 78th minute when Salah converted a penalty, awarded after Luis Diaz was fouled by Ortega.
This victory propelled the Merseyside club nine points clear of second-placed Arsenal and eleven points ahead of defending champions Manchester City, solidifying their position at the top of the Premier League table.