Richard Keys has angrily dismissed claims that Liverpool’s title win has been a vintage one as he hit out at the standard of their challengers. The Reds have romped to their 20th league title and currently sit 13 points clear of second-place Arsenal.
It has been a remarkable first season in charge for Arne Slot, who has taken the Merseysiders to top spot following a third-place finish under Jurgen Klopp last term. But rather than giving full praise to Slot, Keys has questioned the strength of the division.
He highlighted the difficult seasons for Manchester City, Tottenham and Manchester United as evidence for the poor state of the top-flight. The broadcaster also hit out at the trio of clubs who were promoted from the Championship last season.
Southampton are already down, having only just managed to avoid beating Derby’s record for the lowest points total in league history. Leicester joined the Saints after losing to Liverpool on Sunday.
And Ipswich Town are almost certain to follow in the footsteps of the duo this weekend. That has led Keys to dismiss the strength of the Liverpool title win.
“Couple of things on what Slot has been saying. One, it’s not a vintage season, not by any stretch of the imagination. Villa winning midweek does not prove what a good Premier League we have, it proves what a good Champions League it’s been,” he told beIN Sports.
“There’s been no challenge to Liverpool. No challenge, all season long. And secondly, signing Van Dijk and Mo Salah is not like signing two players, you’ve got them at the club already. Both next year will be a year older.
“There’s been no challenge. Not from anywhere has there been a challenge, all season long. Of course they deserve it, but it’s not been a vintage season. Vintage is when you get a proper title race, nip and tuck, when City and Liverpool were toe to toe.”
Keys went on to make a stunning prediction about Slot’s chances of continuing to find success next season. The beIN Sports host claimed that Liverpool will be left without silverware next term.
“The top teams this season, all of them have gone backwards. All of them. That’s how it is. You can try and dress it up. You can’t say it’s been a good season and it’s been tough. It hasn’t,” he added.
“City are fifth. Poor, gone backwards. It’s been an average Premier League season. We’ve got three teams that went down in January. We’ve not had a title challenge since November. The whole league has been settled apart from three Champions League places.
“I’ll repeat what I said, it has not been a vintage season, there’s been no challenge. And I’ll go further. Liverpool won’t win anything next season. They’ve won it well, but it’s not been vintage. I wasn’t passing judgement on Liverpool. But there’s been no challenge.”
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