Liverpool legend says Man City has already 'lost an excuse' after Pep Guardiola admission

Liverpool legend Phil Thompson believes Kevin De Bruyne has given Manchester City one less excuse for its recent slump in form – although he has warned Liverpool it needs to capitalize on their injury problems.

Pep Guardiola’s side lost its third consecutive game in all competitions on Tuesday as they were soundly beaten 4-1 by Ruben Amorim’s Sporting CP in the Champions League. That came after defeats to Tottenham in the Carabao Cup and Bournemouth in the Premier League over the last week.

That loss on the south coast enabled Liverpool to move back to the top of the table with victory over Brighton at the weekend, although the Reds’ lead is still a slender one at just two points. They may have an opportunity to extend it though, with City’s injury problems mounting up.

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Guardiola described his side’s predicament at the weekend as an ‘emergency’ – the defending champions are without Rodri, John Stones, Ruben Dias, Savinho, Jack Grealish and Oscar Bobb at the moment, although they were boosted by the returns of De Bruyne and Jeremy Doku against Sporting.

Thompson feels the former’s presence weakens Guardiola’s complaints, although he feels Liverpool needs to take full advantage of City’s issues.

“City will come no matter what and they will always have a better second half of the season,” Thompson told LFC TV after Liverpool’s win over Bayer Leverkusen.

“We need to capitalize on that [their form at the moment]. I noticed on the bench that Kevin De Bruyne was back. That takes away one excuse for them.

“Listen, they are a great team, but while they have so many injuries to important players, not just us, but the likes of Arsenal, need to capitalise.”

City and Liverpool both have just one game remaining before the next international break. The former faces another tricky away game, this time at Brighton, while the Reds host Aston Villa on Saturday.

Liverpool.com says: You so rarely get these slumps in form from City, so Liverpool needs to make sure it capitalizes. The fact that City play before the Reds this weekend might well work in their favor – if they drop any more points at Brighton, Liverpool will know they will have the chance to give themselves more of a cushion heading into the international break, which could prove vital ahead of hectic end to 2024.