Alan Shearer wrote a column and talked about Liverpool's championship prospects, the status of Van Dijk and Salah, the problems of Manchester United and Newcastle, and other topics.
Has Liverpool withdrawn from the Premier League title race?
If Liverpool continue to play like they did against Manchester City, they will gain nothing. They will be knocked out of any event they enter. They still have the FA Cup and the Champions League, but I really think the Premier League title is over for them, they've lost five games now.
I don't think they are still in the title race right now. I think they probably have to win every game between now and the end of the season. I don't think it's possible to win every game. So, I think their title run is over.
For Liverpool, the goal is the Champions League or the FA Cup, but no matter what, they won't win either unless they improve.
Van Dijk should let his performance speak for himself on the court
I think that when a player has lost five games this season and lost the game in that way, it is difficult for him to stand up and fight back. I guess as captain you have the right to do that. Van Dijk is trying to defend his team.
I think it's more important that if you're going to stand up and fight back against a football commentator who says you performed poorly, then you have to back up your words with performance. And in the game that followed that statement, he and his team once again performed terribly.
Your best way to fight back is to perform on the court and get results. They are really, really bad at Liverpool so I think the commentators have every reason to criticize.
Liverpool have big problems and this is a huge wake-up call
Not that Liverpool need this, but I do think this defeat against Manchester City was a wake-up call in a way. I know Van Dijk scored a perfectly fine goal. I'm adamant about that ball being disallowed, but they really didn't deserve anything in that game.
They couldn't get anything even if they scored that day, but that doesn't mean that goal shouldn't count. I just think that call was full of mistakes.
The rules say he must obviously influence the goalkeeper, and I don't think he did that. The goalkeeper couldn't save the ball anyway. So, to me, it was a bad call.
I don’t think Liverpool went to the professional game referee company PGMOL to complain because they couldn’t afford to lose. I just thought they might want to do something in case this happens again. We knew they weren't going to get anything out of that game anyway, it was just a really bad call.
I think Manchester City is probably much better than Liverpool in every position. Also missed a penalty kick.
This is a bit surprising because I had thought that the Real Madrid game might be a turning point for them, that it might be a sign for them to say to themselves, "Here we go, we can do it, let's keep going for the rest of the season."
But in reality, they were back to the same old ways they were a few weeks ago. They were really lifeless; their defense was terrible. They lacked aggression in the middle of the game. Yes, it's a bit surprising, but he's facing problems as a head coach there.
They are trying to force Wirtz to the left. Salah is nowhere near where he was last season or what he once was. Defensively, they're a mess, so, yeah, they have a problem.
There must be something wrong with Salah
For Salah, there may be two reasons: his age has come up, and the team's tactics have not taken advantage of him. I don’t know exactly why, but he’s clearly not where he was last season or the seasons before that. I don’t know if he feels like he’s no longer the number one player because of the big money the club spent on Florian Wirtz and Isak.
There must be something wrong, whether it's because he's not as good as he once was as he's getting older, or he's holding something against him. But we definitely haven’t seen the Salah from the past. In fact, you could say the same about most of Liverpool's players.
It might be beneficial for Isaac to get some game time playing for his country.
I think it's always very difficult to tell a player that you can't go to the national team. It might actually be good for Liverpool for Isaac to play, but the last thing they want is for him to go to the national team and get injured again.
I guess there's always that risk of injury. But he needed game time, so it was no surprise that he went to the national team. It's hard to say to a player you can't play, especially when he hasn't played for so long. I don't expect him to start both games for the national team.
I don't think Manchester United can finish in the top six this season
Yes, Manchester United's draw at the weekend was an improvement. They are far from a finished product. I still think there's a lot of work to be done, and I don't expect them to finish in the top six.
As I said, I think Manchester United is somewhere between 7th and 8th, so this is progress for them.
They were so far away last season, they were terrible, so for them, if they can finish 6th, 7th or 8th, then, yeah, that's progress. But there is still much work to be done.
One player who must do better is Sheshko. I guess they paid over £70 million for him after all. That's a lot of money, too much, but that's the way the market is. He got off to a rough start. I don’t have high expectations for him though, no.
I think he's a good player, but not sure he's more than that. I guess he should have scored at least one of the two very good chances he had as a substitute at the weekend. He's had a tough start considering the transfer fee they paid.
Walter Mader caused problems for Newcastle
I guess there's always pressure on managers to get results, but I think the job Eddie Howe has done at Newcastle, and the League Cup he's brought, I guess he's earned himself a lot of trust from the top brass.
What I want to say is that Eddie Howe's Newcastle team is always full of energy and is a difficult opponent to deal with, giving no space to the opponent. That gets lost in away performances and even at home. To me, what they lack is high pressing and energy.
I have said before that although Walter Mader is good with his feet, he is a problem for Newcastle because he is not quick enough to press and cannot run behind the defence.
Eddie Howe's teams always played like that. Look at what Isaac or Callum Wilson does, they both press and run behind the defence. But this guy Walter Mader can't do that and that's a problem for Newcastle.
Eddie Howe was too loyal to some of his players
Eddie Howe has been very loyal to many of his players. He will do some reflection over the next two weeks. The question is, is he too loyal to some of the best players who have supported him over the past few years?
He will think: "Is it time to make changes and give other people some opportunities?"
The two-week break is also good for Lewis Hall and Tino Liveramento. Hopefully, Yoane Visa can also return, which will bring something different to Newcastle and bring more strength to the team. It's a crucial fortnight for Newcastle and Eddie Howe.
I'm not worried about facing Sunderland in the derby
I wouldn't say I was worried about facing Sunderland in the derby a few weeks later, but I was very surprised by how well Sunderland performed.
I don't think even their most die-hard fans would tell you that they could be where they are in the league with the performance they've had so far this season. I think Sunderland's performance shows one thing, which is that it will be very difficult for any team to go to Sunderland's home stadium at the Stadium of Light.
I doubt Arsenal will have a tougher game this season than the one they played at Sunderland at the weekend.
Now is not the time for Arsenal fans to worry
I wouldn't say Arsenal's draw result on Saturday will make them fear Manchester City when they look back at the table. I think those players have been around football long enough with Arteta to know that it would be foolish to exclude Pep Guardiola's side. You would be foolish to say: "We are much better than them."
I don't think Manchester City will fall behind. I think they will keep the title race going until the end this time. If I were an Arsenal fan or an Arsenal player, I wouldn't be too worried. An away trip to Sunderland would be tough for any team.
What was difficult for them was the way they conceded the ball in the final moments after a difficult first half. They were much better and more energetic in the second half. What was disappointing was the way they conceded the goal late in the game.
I wouldn't be too worried if you go there and Sunderland get a draw away from home.
It's not all doom and gloom for Leeds United and Daniel Falke
What I want to say about Leeds United is that I didn't expect their current situation to be any different. They are currently outside the relegation zone, one point and two places above it. That's what I want to say.
If they can stay there at the end of the season, then I think it's going to be a really good season for them. It's going to be tough. I'm not saying they won't be relegated, but given where they are, then I would ask the question, where do they expect themselves to be?
I don’t know how much transfer budget Leeds United have in the summer, nor how cautious they have to be. But I think it's a mistake to use Sunderland as a comparison because very few teams can do what Sunderland are doing after promotion, so it's not a fair example.
I think for the three promoted teams, Leeds United, Burnley and Sunderland, if everyone was honest, most people would say they will be fighting to avoid relegation all season. Burnley and Leeds are struggling in the relegation zone right now, so this is nothing new and the result is not more than I expected.