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Liverpool have been undoubtedly the most credible challengers to Manchester City's title defense, and so far they have done a marvelous job. It is a well known fact that in a title race, matches against the 'top 6' are unpredictable, and matches against the others are the ones that have to be won in order to gain an undisputed advantage over title rivals.
In the first half of the season, Liverpool did just that, winning against every team outside of the top six, and garnering a lot of points against the top 6.
Barring last season, winning a Premier League title has always been a case of fine margins. There were certain moments in the match against Chelsea, Arsenal, and Manchester City away, which may come back to haunt Liverpool in the end.
Here's a detailed look at those moments.
#1 Xherdan Shaqiri's miss against Chelsea (Stamford Bridge)
Liverpool went to Stamford Bridge at the end of September 2018. The visitors were one goal down at half time, and late in the second half, Shaqiri came in for Salah. Almost instantly, he had a simple tap-in chance off a beautiful cross from Andy Robertson.
He surprisingly missed slicing the ball just outside the post, as he tried to be too cute with the finish. Liverpool drew the game 1-1, and many would argue that they should've won the game. Although Shaqiri remains an integral part of the Liverpool squad, that miss ultimately robbed Liverpool of 2 points.
#2 Missed chances at Arsenal (Emirates)
Liverpool traveled to the Emirates early in November, and they were the better team in terms of goal scoring chances. Unfortunately, they failed to take majority of those chances.
Most noticeably, Virgil van Dijk missed 2 easy chances, considering the extraordinary attacking talent he possesses. It could easily have been a 1-4 or a 1-3 to Liverpool, but they ultimately drew with the hosts. 2 extra points would've been a title race advantage.
#3 The goal mouth clearance against Manchester City (Etihad)
Liverpool went to Manchester City for their first game of the new year. City started brightly, but were susceptible to counter attacks in the early stages of the game. Liverpool had one such opportunity where Salah played a brilliant one two with Roberto Firmino, and played Sadio Mane in with a delightful ball which Mane should've finished first time, but the ball hit the post only to roll towards goal via a deflection off Ederson's head.
The ball was ultimately cleared from the goal-mouth by John Stones. Yeah, that happened in a split second. The goal decision system indicated that the ball was short of entering the goal.
Liverpool probably should've been 14 points clear of Manchester City had their chances gone in, and would probably be the undisputed favourites to win the league. However, football always gives a chance at redemption.
Liverpool have to take their upcoming chances ruthlessly in order to gain the fine margins which will take them to Premier League glory.
