Jermaine Pennant is still confident that Liverpool have a shot at lifting the Premier League title, despite a disappointing campaign up to this point.
Nobody could quite come to terms with Liverpool’s strange displays towards the start of this season. The teams’ performances were generally underwhelming and yet it was rare for Arne Slot’s men not to come away with all three points.
However, they were defeated by Crystal Palace near the end of September and this began a run of consecutive losses.
Liverpool did finally pick up a first Premier League victory in more than a month against Aston Villa, but their most recent match was a 3-0 thrashing at the hands of Manchester City.
Despite these setbacks, ex-Red Jermaine Pennant still believes his old club have the ability to win the league because as they say, it is a marathon, not a sprint.
He told Inside Liverpool on talkSPORT: “Looking at points you could say that look, oh the league’s still there, still a chance on points.
“Eight points after 11 games is nothing when you’ve got to play 38 and the big teams have got to play each other and we’ve still got to play Arsenal, Arsenal have got to go to the Etihad. So there is going to be points shifting left and right.”
Liverpool’s chance of a second consecutive league triumph is more likely due to the current nature of the Premier League.
In previous times, upsets were rare across the division, but the smaller teams often take points off the sides near the top of the table these days.
Because of this, Liverpool have a chance to climb back up the table, so long as they themselves do not trip up against the clubs in the bottom half.
“There are other teams now who are going to take points off the big teams because the league’s got better. So points wise it’s still favourable, like, we’ve got a chance,” Pennant continued.
Although it is mathematically possible for Liverpool to catch up with Arsenal and the other teams above them, there has been little to suggest this will happen.
Liverpool’s team displays have not been at the required level and Pennant has admitted that this could be a problem for his former club. However, he is still hopeful they can turn things around.
He added: “But performance wise, that’s where you question, can this performance challenge? But points wise, 100 per cent. So like you said, hoping that with the players that we’ve got, we can at some point turn the corner.
“I think the international break has come at a good time.”
Liverpool have two favourable fixtures after the international break has concluded, against Nottingham Forest and West Ham, both of whom are in the relegation zone.
Then in December, they will host high-flying Sunderland in a must win game for Slot’s team. A trip to the Tottenham Hospur Stadium later in the month could also prove to be important, before Liverpool take on Arsenal in a rematch of the fixture they triumphed in earlier this season on January 8.
