Liverpool must battle on both fronts as Champions League draw means tough decisions for title rivals

John Dillon17 December 2018

Come next February, it is likely that Liverpool and Manchester City will still be slugging it out at the top of the Premier League.

Will that be when the distractions of Europe really kick in and have a bearing on the title race?

If you carried out an informal poll on The Kop following the draw against Bayern Munich on Monday, more fans would surely opt for winning the league this season over another journey to the Champions League final following last season’s defeat in Kiev by Real Madrid.

It is not that the big clubs get to make a choice publicly; but managers may prioritise one competition over another somewhere inside their own mind.

If Jurgen Klopp were to become the first man to take the championship to Anfield since 1990, he would be elevated to all-time iconic status at a club which worships its greatest managers like no other. And they’re not exactly unimpressed by him already.

PA

Another of those messianic, epic nights on Merseyside is in prospect when Bayern visit for the last-16 first leg next spring. The place has a European tradition like no other in British football.

It certainly won’t feel on that evening that the supporters might prefer to win the title - especially as Bayern’s form so far this season has been erratic. By their usually dominant standards, the fact that they are in third place in the Bundesliga, nine points behind leaders Borussia Dortmund, is unusual to say the least.

Meanwhile, Liverpool, leading the pack here, demonstrated in their defeat of Manchester United that they are going from strength to strength. A maintenance of that sweeping form will give them a good chance against the Germans, even if the second leg is away from home.

But by the time Bayern come to town, there will be only 12 league fixtures remaining. If the title is in sight, it’s highly likely that Anfield will have embarked upon another round of the extraordinary flare-lit and banner-festooned street crusades which accompanied Brendan Rodgers’ team as they approached the ground for home fixtures as they challenged for the big domestic prize in 2014.

With a big figure like Klopp as its figurehead, it may be even more fervent. It could be extraordinary. It may make the title the priority.

Klopp, of course, would be wary of losing momentum at that time by being knocked out. And you cannot take a European Cup game against such huge opposition anything but seriously. Why not fight on both fronts?

In Pictures | Champions League Last 16 draw | 17/12/2018

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Yet Liverpool’s ‘generous’ fixtures around the time of the return of European competition could mean that they give their title charge a turbo boost at a critical stage of the campaign.

After the showdown with Manchester City on January 3, the league fixtures ahead of the visit of Bayern are as follows: Brighton away, Palace at home, Leicester at home, West Ham away and Bournemouth at home.

Before the return leg, Liverpool play Manchester United away, Watford at home, Everton away and Burnley at home.

There are few easy points earned in the Premier League. But for any team with major title aspirations, well, those runs of fixtures could be worse. Given the way United were out-stripped on Sunday, even the trip to Old Trafford could offer rich pickings.

In Pictures | Liverpool vs Man Utd | 16/12/2018

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Perhaps it’s unwise to believe that one of the competitions offers Liverpool more next year than the other. Klopp’s nature certainly doesn’t suggest caution either way, but there is certainly food for thought here. It could leave Liverpool’s followers wrestling with a very welcome dilemma as the business end of the campaign begins.

By contrast, Manchester City’s number one target will surely be the Champions League following their inviting draw against Schalke, who are currently 13th in the Bundesliga.

Guardiola insists Liverpool come in the better team.
PA

Pep Guardiola has his first title in the bag. The Champions League final at Atletico Madrid’s new stadium on June 1 is surely the major priority of the Abu Dhabi owners. City’s resources, like Liverpool’s, are vast enough to cope with a double assault on glory. But might the lure of European success have a subtle influence on the title race early next year?

If Tottenham get their new stadium open in time, there is the prospect of a first European night against Borussia Dortmund, although the German league leaders currently look a different prospect from the side beaten twice by Tottenham last season.

It is unlikely that the new ground’s opening game could be a midweek night match – especially given the fact that Dortmund fans travel in massive hordes. So it seems a league fixture will have to take place first. The supporters will wait eagerly for news as they relish the idea that Tottenham N17 may indeed be the only home ground where Champions League football can be watched in London this season.

On current form, sixth-placed Manchester United will already be worrying next February about whether they can secure a top four place and qualify for next season’s Champions League.

That will possibly be sharpening minds in the boardroom more keenly than the last eight fixtures against PSG, although United could qualify for all of next year’s lovely group stage money by winning the competition in May.

Unlikely, though; very unlikely even if the last 16 draw against PSG is not the worst hand.

The mega-rich Ligue 1 leaders are erratic because they don’t face stiff enough competition domestically. They are already 10 points clear. The disparity can make them fragile at the top level. By the time the games come around, Jose Mourinho could be making his last stand, too – and that actually gives them a serious chance of progressing to the last eight.

Here’s the Uefa Champions League draw in full for the Last 16…

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