Liverpool great, Jamie Carragher has declared that the Premier League title race is already a contest between two clubs, insisting that only Manchester City can challenge reigning champions Arsenal for the crown.
Manchester City continued their flawless start to the 2026/27 campaign with a convincing 3-0 victory over Liverpool in their first match since being found guilty of breaching the Premier League’s financial regulations.
Liverpool managed to hold the visitors at bay for the first 60 minutes, but the game took a dramatic turn after midfielder Ryan Gravenberch received a second yellow card and was sent off.
With Liverpool reduced to 10 men, Manchester City struck twice within six minutes.
Erling Haaland opened the scoring before Jeremy Doku curled a superb effort past Liverpool goalkeeper, Alisson Becker to double City’s advantage.
Rayan Cherki completed the emphatic victory with a late third goal, sealing a memorable win in one of the most eagerly anticipated fixtures in recent Premier League history.
Arsenal had moved level on points with Manchester City after securing a 2-1 victory over Leeds United on Saturday. However, City’s triumph at Anfield restored their three-point lead over the Gunners.
Carragher maintains that Arsenal and Manchester City are the only genuine contenders for the Premier League title, describing the two sides as England’s best teams “by a mile”.
Speaking on Sky Sports’ Gary Neville podcast, Carragher said: “Man City fans will be delighted tonight, of course they will.
“For those supporters who love their football club, this will be one of the great days that they will look back on because they’ve had a party here.
“But in some ways, I think the feeling around Man City will grow even more the more they win. Everyone was desperate for them to lose today. Most of the country were, and Man City fans will defend their club. I get that.
“But the feeling around the country will keep growing until this is sorted, and this needs sorting for Man City as well. They can’t keep kicking the can down the road.
“We need a resolution as soon as possible because we’re watching a game and not sure what it actually means going forward. We’re wondering if it even makes any difference to Man City or the title race with Arsenal.
“They’re the two best teams by a mile, we know that, and no one else is really going to compete with them for the title. We want every game to matter, but right now it doesn’t.”
When asked whether he currently considers Manchester City slightly stronger than Arsenal at this early stage of the season, Carragher replied: “I think it’s hard to do that this early.”