Man Utd great lists two reasons why Liverpool may choke in title race

Paul Ince believes Liverpool are guilty of letting their title dreams run away from them – and believes the enormity of the media’s expectations has got into their players’ heads.

Reigning champions Manchester City beat Everton on Wednesday night to return to the summit, closing what could have become a 10-point gap on January 3. Pep Guardiola was quick to send Liverpool a message about the title race after the match.

 

READ MORE: Ten rock solid reasons why Liverpool can still win the Prem title

 

By contrast, Liverpool have limped to successive 1-1 draws at home to Leicester and away at West Ham – and Ince fears Jurgen Klopp’s side are in danger of choking at a crucial stage.

“Up until recently, the pressure surrounding who will win the Premier League has all been on Manchester City, and when they lost against Newcastle, everyone was convinced that Liverpool had won the title,” said Ince.

You can see that pressure has got to the team, the results against Leicester and West Ham show that. The players have been unable to separate that pressure from their football, as everyone around them speaks about how Liverpool are going to win the league. “

And Ince reckons two factors have got to them: blaming expectations among the media and their own supporters as the weight of their 29-year title wait gets to them.

“As soon as they’ve started to hear the media and fans getting excited – it’s got to them,” Ince added. “They knew they had to go to Leicester and get three points, and the enormity of that got to them. Against West Ham, the players looked like they’d got into their own heads as soon as the game began, the expectations are clearly weighing heavy on their shoulders at the minute. Especially when you consider that really should’ve lost the game due to their clear offside goal.

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“Every title-winning team goes through a rough patch, and this is Liverpool’s. How they respond to it will determine whether they can go on and win the league. This is the real test, now. The lack of confidence and fatigue they seem to be experiencing minute could cost them big.”

Ince, meanwhile, has refused to discount Tottenham from the title race and has also called on two Liverpool stars to step up in their moment of need.