Liverpool‘s Champions League and EFL Cup final heartache should not precede a Premier League title collapse, former Reds striker Emile Heskey has exclusively told Sports Mole.
Arne Slot‘s men were on course for a potential treble of trophies this time last week, but they now only have the Premier League left to fight for after a double dose of knockout disappointment.
The Reds were eliminated from the Champions League on penalties by Paris Saint-Germain before a deserved 2-1 defeat to Newcastle United in the EFL Cup final, where they missed the chance to match an English football record set by Manchester United.
At the same time, closest top-flight challengers Arsenal cut the gap down to 12 points by beating Chelsea 1-0 in a Premier League London derby, and it is still mathematically possible for Liverpool to lose their grip on first place.
However, Heskey has moved to allay Liverpool fans’ fears, saying: “I don’t think there’s genuine concern, I just think it was just one of those weeks. We’ve got to respect PSG. They were fantastic. I went to the away game and they were unbelievable.
Heskey admits Newcastle “wanted” EFL Cup win more than Liverpool
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“The way they pressed, the way they hurried, the way they defended. They wanted it, everything. And they made it difficult for Liverpool. When I was playing, it was like, ‘bring them home and we’re going to do a number on them.’ But they were fantastic again.
“It shows that they’re really building something over there. And then, obviously, you come to the cup final and it’s, yeah, it’s tough to take. It’s, it was a really tough game to take because I don’t think, I don’t think we showed up as much as they did.
“They were fantastic, aggressive and it looked like it meant a lot to them. And, you know, when you haven’t won anything for 70 plus years, it showed that they wanted it. They wanted, definitely wanted it more.”
Sunday’s defeat at Wembley marked the first time this season that Liverpool had suffered back-to-back losses across all competitions, and the Reds will return to action at home to Everton on April 2 following the international break.
The two-week hiatus seemingly comes at the ideal time for the Reds after their pair of gut-wrenching cup defeats, although Slot argued the other way when asked by Sports Mole in his post-game press conference.
Should Liverpool fans be concerned about a title collapse?
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Doom and gloom is understandable after a cup final defeat, especially one where Liverpool put in one of their worst collective performances of an otherwise exceptional domestic season.
Mohamed Salah achieving an unwanted first summed up Liverpool’s day, and the Egyptian was one of several ever-present Reds players who have cut fatigued figures over the past few weeks.
As a result, the top-flight leaders may be crawling rather than sprinting to the finish line in the Premier League, but they would need to lose four of their last nine games for Arsenal to even have a chance of drawing level on points.
That would also hinge on the Gunners going on a strong run of victories, which seems unlikely given their lack of a central striker and Champions League commitments ahead of a blockbuster quarter-final with Real Madrid.
Liverpool’s lead may be cut down to single figures by the end of the season, but there are surely still no doubts about their status as champions of England.
Emile Heskey was speaking to Sports Mole on behalf of BetVictor.
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