Paul Merson cuts Liverpool ‘hype’ to shreds, with damning verdict on trophy battle with Man City

Paul Merson has claimed that Manchester City will not be jealous of Liverpool’s potential cup treble if they win the Premier League title.

Both sides have continued to set the standard with fantastic and consistent performances all season. Liverpool are subsequently chasing a quadruple, but both sides could now share the spoils.

Indeed, City exited the Carabao Cup early on, before Liverpool triumphed at Wembley in February. The two sides met at Wembley again in the FA Cup semi-finals, with the Reds going on to win the competition.

Liverpool and City would also have met in the Champions League final without Real Madrid’s astonishing comeback. Nevertheless, City have a one-point advantage over their rivals in the Premier League title race.

And Merson has insisted that the league is the “ultimate” prize that City will be more than happy at winning.

“Pep Guardiola is still the manager of the year if Manchester City win the title – and it’s harder now than when Manchester United were doing it,” the pundit wrote in his Daily Star column.

“The Premier League is the ultimate. It’s 38 games in the hardest competition in the world. If you win it, you are the best. Jurgen Klopp has done an absolutely phenomenal job at Liverpool this season but if he doesn’t win the league he isn’t manager of the year for me.”

Merson added that Liverpool “were put in a Champions League group they could have walked through” against AC Milan, Atletico Madrid and Porto.

The Reds won all six group games, while City won five out of six against Club Brugge, RB Leipzig and Paris Saint-Germain.

The pundit also noted that Liverpool won both the Carabao Cup and FA Cup on penalties and that they “didn’t win the games”.

On the flipside, he lauded “exceptional”