Chris Hughton says Liverpool have the edge over Man City in the title race
Brighton manager Chris Hughton witnessed his team give Liverpool a real run for their money in the Premier League on Saturday before Mohamed Salah’s penalty in the second half sealed the game for the Reds.
And Hughton believes that Liverpool hold the edge over their rivals Manchester City in the title race because of their ability to conjure something out of nothing.
The Brighton manager spoke in glowing terms of City’s quality as a team but he also added that the Reds have just that little bit more pace on the counter-attack to hit the opposition where it hurts the most.
He said: “City are a very possession-based team. In Salah and Mane, Liverpool probably have more pace.
“I know [Leroy] Sane on the left-hand side is a real quick one for City, but Liverpool probably have a little bit more pace on the counter-attack.
“Man City have great guile, and great awareness of holes and position — you only have to look at some of the goals they’ve scored. When a team can put nine past Burton, it doesn’t matter which team you’re playing against, other teams are not going to do that.”
Jurgen Klopp, on the other hand, wasn’t ready to accept any criticism for Liverpool in the 1-0 victory after back-to-back defeats against Manchester City and Wolves, saying that his team got the job done with a matured performance.
“We are not the Harlem Globetrotters, we have to deliver results,” said the German. “It wasn’t the best performance of the season in a lot of departments. But from a maturity point of view, it was the most mature.
“It was a difficult day. Brighton are doing really well. They do their system so well.
“Today was not a day for a massive scoreline. It’s impossible not to make mistakes. But it’s important not to make decisive ones. And we didn’t.”
