Arsenal legend Martin Keown has advised Manchester City to readjust and set a realistic target for themselves in the 2024-25 Premier League season.
The former Premier League defender does not think Man City will be able to beat Liverpool in the title race and believes they should strive to finish inside the top four.
Manchester City have been going through an unprecedented rough patch. Since 31st October, Man City have played 12 games in all competitions, losing nine times, drawing twice, and winning just one game. They have conceded 27 goals in this span.
Having lost six of their last eight matches in the Premier League (1 D, 1 W), the Cityzens have dropped to seventh place in the English top-flight rankings.
Martin Keown Says Manchester City Cannot Catch Liverpool, Advises How They Can Get Out of the Rut
City have amassed 27 points from 17 Premier League matches so far. Liverpool, meanwhile, have added 39 points to their tally in 16 outings.
Discussing Manchester City’s season, Keown said (via talkSPORT):
“If you look at Man City, what we’re seeing now is almost unprecedented. They need to look now and readjust and maybe look at what is a realistic thing for them to achieve.
“They can’t fall out of the top four, that will be what they’re looking at. There’s a lot hanging over their heads with these [130 financial] charges. I don’t know if that’s played a major part, but they just seem to have lost their momentum.”
He added:
“And now they’re almost losing every game, it’s like that has become a habit now – the basics have gone out the window. Their defenders who were unbeatable last year, now I can smell fear amongst their players, against Villa there was definitely a fear on the pitch, that’s got to be eradicated.
“They’ve got to keep believing and try and pull [themselves] out of trouble, [but] I don’t think they can go above Liverpool now, it just looks as though there’s too big a gap. Maybe they could do in previous Man City [teams], but not this current group.”
Manchester City will return to Premier League action with a clash against Everton on Thursday, 26th December.
