Merson pinpoints why Liverpool should be denied title with left-field analogy

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Paul Merson has explained that there is no guarantee that Liverpool would win the Premier League title if the season continued and that the Reds should therefore not be prematurely named champions.

With all Premier League football postponed until April 4 at the earliest due to the spread of coronavirus, Liverpool need just one win – against nearest challengers Manchester City – to be crowned champions.

However, there are conflicting reports about whether the season will be allowed to finish, with the prospect of moving Euro 2020 back to next summer suggested to fit the remaining games in.

Speaking to Sky Sports, Merson explained using a snooker analogy that Liverpool – who are 25 points clear – could lose all of their remaining nine games and City could win their remaining ten.

“It’s all well saying Liverpool are 25 points clear, but if I played snooker with my mate tomorrow, and I needed 25 snookers to win, and he said: ‘The game has finished, there’s no point playing on!’ – for the next week or two, I’d be saying: ‘But I could have won that!’,” the pundit said.

“You really feel for them, waiting 30 years for a title. If it was Manchester City 25 points clear, nobody would care! Because they’ve won it already. This team hasn’t won it for 30 years! This is like a film.

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“I really feel for them; even if you gave them the league now, mathematically it’s not won. I know they’ve won it in essence, we all know that, but it’s not the same! It’s a shame.”

The Premier League are set to discuss possible options at a meeting of shareholders on Thursday and there are issues further down the table that could stop the body naming Liverpool champions.

 

 

Aston Villa, who are two points adrift of safety, could move out of the relegation zone with a win in their game in hand.

“It would have been a very simple solution if everybody had played the same amount of games,” Merson continued.

“They should have had the brains to ensure those teams who have played a game less make those games up behind closed doors before they shut the league.

“The problem is the teams at the bottom, and in particular Aston Villa. Their game in hand against Sheffield United should have been played, and if we ensure everyone had played the same amount of games, we wouldn’t have a problem.

“Everyone would be on 29 games, the good teams are at the top, and the poor teams are at the bottom. And that’s it.”

In other news, Richard Keys has taken aim and said that Liverpool’s title win, if awarded, would be “tainted”.

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