Carragher gives verdict on Liverpool title race hopes

Former Liverpool defender, Jamie Carragher, believes Manchester City are still in the Premier League title race despite the Reds stretching the gap between them to eight points with victory over Leicester on Sunday.

The reigning champions were missing several big names due to injury but their intensity and commitment was high from the outset and they led 2-0 at half-time courtesy of a Jonny Evans own goal and Diogo Jota’s eighth strike of the season.

With four minutes remaining in the match, Roberto Firmino capped a fine team display with a header past Kasper Schmeichel and the win put Liverpool level on points with table-toppers Tottenham.

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City’s indifferent start to the season means they currently sit 13th in the table and are playing catch-up even at this early stage.

The tightly-packed league table has led some critics to suggest this season could see multiple teams challenge for the title.

But Carragher believes Liverpool’s win will kickstart their season with City to ultimately become their nearest rivals.

“I think the fact that coming into this game, there was talk of Leicester ending this unbeaten run or Liverpool dropping points,” Carragher told Sky Sports.

“Psychologically this feels like a big win. It almost feels like the season starts now.

“Not just this season, but every season once you get the international football out of the way, teams can get into a real run and gather some real momentum.

“It did feel like a big win, and the fact that Manchester City lost this weekend, who I still feel are Liverpool’s biggest title rivals.”