"Manchester City have a fight on their hands"

Former Liverpool icon Jamie Carragher has issued a reality check on Manchester City: the reigning champions of the Premier League and the possibility of missing out on Champions League football next season.

Speaking after City’s 2-0 loss to Liverpool at Anfield—thanks to goals from Cody Gakpo and Mohamed Salah—Carragher didn’t mince words. “I think it’s almost a mini-crisis for Man City,” he declared on Sky Sports.

City’s defeat marks their fourth consecutive league loss, a rare slump for a Pep Guardiola side. With six losses in their last seven matches across all competitions, the cracks are becoming harder to ignore. Now sitting fifth in the table—below Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea, and Brighton—the pressure is mounting.

Liverpool vs. Manchester City: A graveyard battle

“This feels eerily similar to Liverpool’s struggles two years ago,” Carragher added. “I think Man City have a real fight on their hands for the top four.”

The Reds’ latest victory puts them nine points clear at the summit, while City’s current form suggests they may need to look to the January transfer window to turn their season around.

Is this just a blip for Guardiola’s men, or are we witnessing the beginning of a dramatic power shift in the Premier League?

For a club that has dominated English football in recent years, the prospect of missing out on Champions League football would be nothing short of catastrophic.