Alan Shearer and Micah Richards agree on Liverpool title verdicts after what they saw v Chelsea
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Alan Shearer and Micah Richards have both talked up Liverpool as genuine contenders for the Premier League title this season after the Reds' latest victory.
The 2-1 win over an in-form Chelsea side on Sunday keeps Arne Slot's men top of the table, having won seven of their first eight top-flight matches under the Dutchman, who so far has confounded many pundits' pre-season expectations for his team.
Pundits talk up Liverpool's title chances
Speaking on The Rest Is Football podcast, Shearer admitted: "I thought it [title race] would be between Arsenal and [Manchester] City, but I have seen enough in Liverpool already this season. If they can avoid injuries and keep the majority of that squad fit, they will be challenging those two definitely."
Meanwhile, on Sky Sports, Richards proclaimed: "Liverpool are challengers now; make no mistake about it. Chelsea were exceptional for periods in the game but the way Liverpool can adapt and see out games, the way they feed off the crowd, I really believe they have a chance to go all the way.
"Defensively, Liverpool look a lot more solid. The timing in which the defenders drop back and push up is a lot more balanced. You've always got players at the top of the pitch that can win you games but it's also about what you do defensively, and that's why I believe they're challengers this season."
Liverpool showing signs of being in title race
Liverpool have gained 21 points and conceded only three goals in their first eight matches of the 2024/25 Premier League – extrapolated across a full season, that'd give them 100 points and a goal concession tally of a miserly 14.
It's highly unlikely that they'll main those formidable standards, particularly given the daunting run of fixtures between now and the first week of December, but it's given them an extremely sturdy platform on which to build when the biggest tests come.
Richards is quite right to highlight the new-found defensive solidity under Slot, which has enabled the Reds to win their last three league games by a one-goal margin. It's a marked change from the early days of the Jurgen Klopp era when it felt as if we needed to score four to be sure of coming away with victory, such was the porousness at the other end.
Liverpool have yet to face anyone else in the top five of the current table or the final standings of 2023/24, and those fixtures will provide a far truer examination of our title credentials when they roll around, but that we're being talked up as genuine challengers so early into the Dutchman's reign is a hugely encouraging sign.
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