Liverpool title push hits bump

April 8, 2025

Liverpool title push hits bump



LIVERPOOL’S unbeaten run has come to an end, but barring a remarkable collapse, they will end the season as English Premier League football champions.


Defeat at Fulham on Sunday was the Reds’ first in 26 league games and just their second of the campaign.



But with seven games remaining, Arne Slot’s side require a maximum of 11 points more to secure the title.


“If you look at the goals we conceded, I think all three, we could have prevented them,” Slot told BBC Match of the Day.


“That is not what we usually see and that is probably why we are where we are, because if you make these mistakes more often in this league, you would not have the amount of points we have.


“The second half is much more like the team we are. Conceding three goals in the manner we did is not of the standards of Liverpool. That’s clear.”


Despite the setback at Craven Cottage, a record-equalling 20th top-flight crown is surely a formality now?


They could even win the title as early as April 20 – if results elsewhere go their way – with no team in English Premier League history throwing away a lead of this size at this stage of the season.


The Reds’ dominance has been clear for all to see this campaign, and they lead second-placed Arsenal by 11 points.


Slot is certainly expecting his side to bounce back and get the job done.


“We played a good game on Wednesday (against Everton) and we will show up against West Ham (on Sunday) as well,” he told Sky Sports.


We’ve all heard the accusations and whispers this season from rival fans, haven’t we?


“This Liverpool team isn’t actually that great.”


“The Premier League is a poor league this season.” “Liverpool’s class of 2024-25 wouldn’t have won the title in another season.”


Sunday’s loss will only add to those shouts. How fair is this, though?


Firstly, it has to be said Liverpool’s usual rivals are not having their best seasons.


Defending champions Manchester City are on track for their worst campaign under Pep Guardiola, Manchester United are set for their worst season in Premier League history, Arsenal are nine points adrift of their points tally at this stage of last season, while Tottenham and Chelsea have suffered their own struggles as well.


“The other teams just haven’t stepped up this season and Liverpool have been consistent all the way through,” former Manchester United captain Gary Neville told Sky Sports prior to the Fulham match.


“The rest of them have fallen well below their standards – Arsenal, obviously Manchester City, United, Tottenham.”


It’s been a good season for Liverpool to hit full stride then. And Slot’s men have certainly done that.


Even if Arsenal were on the 71 points they had reached at this stage last season, when they were top of the table, Liverpool would still be two points ahead of them.


“I don’t even think Liverpool have been outstanding this season, they’ve been efficient,” ex-Manchester City defender Micah Richards told Sky Sports.


“They’ve been slower in build-up and more ruthless in front of goal.”


Arsenal’s much-lauded Invincibles finished their title-winning campaign on 90 points back in 2004. Slot’s men need 18 points from seven games to beat that.


In 32 Premier League seasons, only 14 sides have reached that mark and one of them – Manchester United in 1993-94 – did so in a 42-game season.– BBC Sport/Sports Reporter.


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Tears, losses: CAPS Utd crisis deepens


April 8, 2025

Tears, losses: CAPS Utd crisis deepens



Mugove Chigada


Deputy Editor-Zimpapers Sports Hub


The viral video of a CAPS United fan sobbing after Sunday’s 2-1 defeat to Ngezi Platinum doesn’t come close to telling the full story.


Because that same fan has cried before – even in victory. In April 2023, after a 1-0 win over ZPC Kariba at the National Sports Stadium, he was again trending, weeping with joy.



This time, the tears are soaked in dread.


“It’s normal to cry because we have CAPS United at heart – in both cases,” says die-hard supporter Tafadzwa ‘Daddy Willoe’ Phiri.


“But I don’t really know the background of that trending fan much to explain everything.”


Yet the numbers explain it all. And they are grim.


CAPS United have picked up just four points in their first five matches of the 2025 Castle Lager Premier Soccer League season. That return, paired with a negative goal difference of two, marks their second worst start since their 2016 championship campaign.


Only in 2021/22 did they begin worse – also with four points, but a goal difference of minus four.


That season, ravaged by Covid-19’s lingering impact, ended in mediocrity: 11th place, 40 points, and little to cheer.


Now, fans are starting to fear a repeat.


In five games, CAPS United have already lost three times – the same number of defeats they suffered across the entire 2016 season. Back then, they collected 13 points from their first five, remained unbeaten, and even beat Dynamos 1-0 during that stretch.


A lot has changed since then – financially, structurally, and competitively. But head coach Lloyd Chitembwe isn’t making excuses.


“I have been here long enough to understand what this football club is all about,” Chitembwe says. “Results are what matter at the end of the day.”


And he’s not shifting blame either.


“It is the sole responsibility of the coach to make the team win matches. It is my responsibility, and that responsibility does not lie with anyone else.”


Since 2008, no team has gone on to win the league after a start as poor – or worse – than CAPS United’s current one, except Monomotapa.


Under Norman Mapeza, they collected just three points in their opening five matches but rebounded spectacularly.


That Monoz side had conceded nine goals and scored just four, yet went on a tear, losing only two more games in the remaining 25. Their 76 percent success rate from that point powered them to the title.


That’s the kind of miracle Chitembwe’s men now need to replicate. A tall order – but not mathematically impossible.


Sunday’s dagger from Ngezi Platinum’s Ashwin Karengesha may have decided the match, but not the entire season.


Still, the pressure is mounting – not just on the pitch, but in the boardroom.


The CAPS United leadership meets on Tuesday to discuss the club’s nosedive. But insiders know the real power rests with club president Farai Jere, the man who brought Chitembwe back and has stood by him through thick and thin.


Now, the question is: how much longer will that loyalty last?


CAPS United First 5 Games Since 2016:


Year P W D L F A PTS


2025 5 1 1 3 4 6 4


2024 5 3 0 2 8 3 9


2023 5 3 2 0 6 1 11


2021/22 5 0 4 1 3 7 4


2016 5 4 1 0 8 2 13


20085 1 0 4 4 9 3


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