Manchester City midfielder Rodri has discussed the threat of both Liverpool and Spurs.
Despite Manchester City’s reign over English football in the last few years, there is no denying that the Premier League remains the most competitive division in the world.
Just last season, City’s title race with Liverpool went down to the very final day, with a heroic comeback needed against Aston Villa for the side to defend their league crown by a mere point.
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While the blockbuster addition of Erling Haaland, in particular makes the Sky Blues title favourites, the Premier League champions are expected to be pushed to the brink once again.
As always, Jurgen Klopp’s men pose a major threat, despite starting the 2022/23 campaign off in surprisingly poor fashion.
The Reds have won just twice this season, and have already dropped points on four occasions.
With ex-Manchester City stars, Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko capping off a fine summer’s business for Arsenal, Mikel Arteta’s men also have an outside shout of becoming the champions of England, as exemplified by their excellent start so far.
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Another threat to City could be Tottenham Hotspur, who arguably have the best front three in the country in Harry Kane, Dejan Kulusevski and Son Heung-min, with the brilliant Antonio Conte calling the shots.
Despite Pep Guardiola’s side only sitting a point behind league leaders Arsenal and set to unlock new levels over time, Rodri has implied that he is especially aware about how dangerous Liverpool and Spurs could be this term.
“Only partially. The Premier League level is so high that as soon as you slow down, you lose points," he told Gazzetta dello Sport about the side’s poor start, as translated and relayed by Sport Witness.
The Spaniard added: “Liverpool are not in crisis, they are just less effective, and the Premier League does not allow you to relax.”
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Into his fourth season at the Etihad Stadium, the former Atletico Madrid midfielder is seemingly well aware of Liverpool’s status as English football’s top dogs, alongside Manchester City.
The 26-year old was also extremely complimentary about Tottenham Hotspur, going on to admit that he considers them as title rivals.
“They have put together a great squad and they have a manager who has very clear ideas and who knows how to convey them perfectly.
"They know what they have to do and they do it with great precision. I see Spurs as candidates for the title. Conte’s career speaks for itself.”
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From a City perspective, it is a green flag that leaders such as Rodri are being anything but ignorant about how threatening the club’s title rivals could be in their bid to complete a historic domestic three-peat.
Manchester City were due to welcome Spurs to the Etihad Stadium earlier this month, while the Blues travel to Anfield in October to face Liverpool.
Guardiola's side face Manchester United immediately after the international break, with Erik Ten Hag's team having won their past four league matches.
Topics: Manchester City, Rodri, Premier League, Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur
Srinivas Sadhanand