Proven right after Sporting thrash Man City

(Photos by Christopher Furlong, Alex Livesey, Carl Recine & Gualter Fatia/Getty Images)

Erik ten Hag once famously claimed that eras can come to an end whilst discussing his then rivals Liverpool and Manchester City.

Despite showing some initial promise, and winning two pieces of silverware on the way, the Dutchman has since parted ways with the Old Trafford-based outfit.

Eras may indeed come to an end – and some eras never even take off from the ground!

Erik ten Hag may be right about Manchester City

If it makes Ten Hag feel any better, his prediction may bear some truth for one of the two clubs.

“In this moment, I admire them. I admire them both. They play, in this moment, really fantastic football, both Liverpool and Man City,” the sacked Manchester United boss told reporters back in 2022.

“But you will always see that an era can come to an end and I’m looking forward to battling with them.

“I’m sure all the other clubs in the Premier League will want to do that.”

Not Liverpool, of course, judging by the evidence on offer from Arne Slot’s early start to life at Anfield.

The 46-year-old tactician has defied pre-season expectations to take the Merseyside giants to the top of the Premier League table. Not to mention straight to the top of the Champions League table!

There have now been 14 wins from 16 games played following a four-goal romp at Xabi Alonso and Bayer Leverkusen’s expense on Tuesday night.

We’ve done it in style too, registering the third most goals (19) and holding the best defensive record (six goals conceded) in the English top-flight in the 2024/25 season.

Manchester City, by comparison, aren’t doing poorly by any stretch of the understanding. However, they now find themselves second-best to Liverpool at home and abroad.

What do the stats say about Man City’s 2024/25 season? *

Pep Guardiola was in no mood to throw in the towel and echo Bernardo Silva’s post-Sporting CP sentiments over the Etihad-based side being in a “dark place”.

“We knew it would be a tough season at the start. I like it. I love it. I want to face it and lift my players,” the Catalan was quoted as saying by BBC Sport.

“I won’t give up, that’s for sure.”

The underlying numbers behind City’s start to the season would appear to agree with him.

Manchester City

xG (expected goals to be scored): 2.23 (1st place)

xGA (expected goals to be conceded): 0.95 (1st place)

Arsenal

xG: 1.62 (3rd place)

xGA: 1.36 (8th place)

Liverpool

xG: 1.61 (4th place)

xGA: 1.2 (3rd place)

Theoretically, if the Sky Blues can maintain these stats throughout the league season, they should end up as champions for a whopping fifth time in a row.

That’s if Guardiola and his team can manage to overcome their recent slump of three defeats in a row (in all competitions).

History suggests they’re more than capable of it, but the former Barcelona boss will need to get past the hurdle of a comparatively more competent Dutch head coach than Erik ten Hag.

* Stats courtesy of Footy Stats at the time of writing (06/11/24)

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