Jason McAteer brilliantly rubbishes Richard Keys begrudgery towards champions-elect Liverpool | OneFootball

Jason McAteer was having absolutely none of Richard Keys’ begrudgery towards Liverpool as the pundits became embroiled in a snippy debate over the Premier League champions-elect.

After beating Leicester on Sunday courtesy of Trent Alexander-Arnold’s winner, the Reds lead the way by 13 points with five matches remaining and need just one more win to secure the title. They could even have it won by the time they play again, should Arsenal lose to Crystal Palace on Wednesday night.

Arne Slot’s team have lost just twice in the top flight since August, powering away from the competition and having a comfortable buffer for some time, yet they’ve had to face many accusations of becoming champions by default due to the apparent paucity of their rivals.

That was the point that Keys repeatedly tried to stress on beIN SPORTS on Sunday as he rode roughshod over Liverpool’s impending Premier League trumph by insisting that the competition has been so poor, an accusation that McAteer strongly disputed.

McAteer takes Keys to task over petty dismissal of Liverpool

During a lively debate between the pair, the ex-Sky Sports presenter insisted that it hasn’t been ‘a vintage season’ in England’s top flight and that the ‘top teams have gone backwards’, a viewpoint that the former Reds midfielder contested by pointing out that there are four English clubs in the semi-finals of the three European tournaments.

The ex-Republic of Ireland international also highlighted that Slot’s side have beaten the champions of Spain (Real Madrid), Germany (Bayer Leverkusen) and France (Paris Saint-Germain) in the past six months, with Keys interrupting him by saying that he’s only interested in what they’ve done domestically.

(Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)

McAteer instantly pointed out that Liverpool beat Man City home and away in the Premier League, which the presenter immediately dismissed because Pep Guardiola’s side are ‘poor’ and have ‘gone backwards’, before haughtily stating that the Reds ‘won’t win anything next season’.

On the notion that LFC are only top because of the failings of others, the Irishman concluded by saying: “Is that Liverpool’s problem? Liverpool just need to concentrate on what they do.

“Why have we got to demean the achievement by saying ‘it’s not been a great year’? That’s not Liverpool’s fault. Liverpool have been beaten twice. They can only beat what’s put in front of them every week, and they’ve done it.”

Well played, Mr McAteer!

Jason McAteer, take a bow. Keys was like a dog with a bone by constantly trying to cheapen LFC’s impending title triumph, and the 53-year-old was having absolutely none of it!

Let’s rewind the clock to last summer, when hardly any pundit had Liverpool in the conversation of potential champions for 2024/25 and some even predicted that we’d finish as low as fifth, which’ll ultimately still be good enough to qualify for the Champions League.

There’s no denying that Man City have regressed this term, or that Arsenal have been hampered by injuries, but the Reds certainly haven’t had a clean bill of health in recent months either, with Alisson Becker and Ibrahima Konate among the regular starters who’ve had lengthy spells in the treatment room.

Also, the Gunners can blame nobody but themselves for losing at home to West Ham, failing to beat either Brighton or Everton, and throwing away a 2-0 lead against Aston Villa. They’ve had opportunities to capitalise on our slip-ups and not taken them. That’s on them and them alone.

Whenever Liverpool secure the Premier League title, pay no heed to begrudgers like Keys and instead revel in the fully deserved celebrations!

You can view the debate between McAteer and Keys in full below, via @beINSPORTS_EN on X: