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Manchester City will be a bigger title threat to Liverpool than Manchester United, according to RTÉ Soccer analyst Stephen Kelly.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s Reds are tied on points with defending champions Jurgen Klopp, although United are in second place due to their lower goal difference.
City are four points behind par, although they have played one game less, with United and Liverpool set to meet at Anfield in less than two weeks.
Manchester’s blue side have tasted Premier League success more recently than their neighbors, racking up titles in 2018 and 2019, with Alex Ferguson the last manager to lead United to a top spot in 2013.
Former Republic of Ireland international Stephen Kelly believes the Premier League “still has Liverpool to lose” but admits that Manchester United are a real rival. #RTEfutbol pic.twitter.com/3NpDeL7yy0
– RTÉ Soccer (@RTEsoccer) January 4, 2021
And, speaking on RTÉ’s Game On, Kelly backed City to be closer to Liverpool at the end of the season.
“I think (City) are quietly going about their business,” said the defender, who won 39 games for Ireland.
“That’s why we’ve all turned a blind eye to them. They haven’t been crushing teams, they haven’t been emphatically winning.
“They have not played a style of football so close to what we saw when they went and won the leagues comfortably two years in a row.
“They’ve been doing it a little bit differently. Defensively they’ve been very solid and they’ve been winning games 2-0 or 1-0, just getting back up the table.
“Now they are in a position where if they win their next game, they are right in the fight, and I really feel like they are more title contenders than Manchester United.”
“They’re going to be more consistent and they’re moving up that table and coming back to a position where they’re going to be in the fight.”
City will not play Liverpool in the Premier League until early next month, while the next Manchester derby is set for March.
“It’s different from City,” Kelly continued.
“We’ve gotten used to them playing this football that just wipes teams off the board. They’re not doing it the same way.
“It has been a little less flashy, but they are getting results, they are winning well, they feel comfortable in the games.
“Chelsea are not in great shape, but still, against a good team, away from home, it was a great, great result for them.
“You feel that they are returning to the winning path and that they go to the games with great confidence.
“They are, for me, the closest team to pushing Liverpool at the end of the season.”
United started December with a Champions League exit at the hands of RB Leipzig, and it looked like Solskjaer might be in trouble at that point.
But England’s most successful club are undefeated since then, with draws against City and Leicester as the only stains on their notebook.
“They’ve been playing really brilliant attacking-minded football and they deserve to be there. They’ve had a run of results and they really are a threat.”
“For me, Liverpool are still losing. They probably have the best team and are playing very well, but United are pushing.”
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