Manchester City-Liverpool is England’s El Clásico

With European football’s two best sides battling each other in the Premier League, the Manchester City-Liverpool rivalry has reached a fever pitch that resembles Barcelona-Real Madrid clashes of years’ past.

For the last decade, the Premier League has prided itself on parity and a highly competitive season at the top end of the table where any of the league’s top six sides could possess a realistic shot of lifting the trophy in May.

While English teams were never considered to be the absolute best in the world, there was no dominant force that compared to La Liga’s battles between Spanish giants Barcelona and Real Madrid. With Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, the world’s two best players, playing in elite sides managed by some of Europe’s top coaches such as Pep Guardiola and José Mourinho, the two superclubs absolutely dominated European football, winning seven combined Champions League titles from 2008-2018.

Highlighted by two Barcelona trebles, the domestic and continental power struggle for dominance made El Clásico the biggest rivalry perhaps in the history of modern football between the clear two best sides in both Spain and the world.

However, that era of dominance has come to a screeching halt in the last two seasons. Following back-to-back Champions League embarrassments for Barcelona and several horrendous domestic displays from Los Blancos and the departure of Ronaldo to Juventus, neither Barcelona nor Real Madrid can make a legitimate claim to be the world’s best or most complete team at the moment.

In England, however, two new superpowers have emerged.

One is an absolutely ruthless footballing machine run by Guardiola, the architect of that acclaimed 2008-2012 Barcelona side that is renowned as one of the best sides in the history of the game. His Manchester City team have absolutely steamrolled the English game over the course of the last two seasons, winning seven of the last eight domestic trophies, highlighted by a domestic treble of honors last season.

On the other hand, Jürgen Klopp’s high-pressing, free-flowing Liverpool are the defending European champions with world football’s most electric front three, consisting of Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino, and Sadio Mané.

Last season’s Premier League title race was the most hotly contested in history, as Liverpool racked up 97 points, good for the third-best season in league history, but ultimately fell short as City won 14 consecutive matches to claim their second straight title by a single point.

While City and Liverpool do not have the natural rivalry that is deeply ingrained through the history and political tension of El Clásico, there is a special energy in the air each time the two sides meet, just as there was when Barça and Real would play. Although neither match is a local derby, the cities of Manchester and Liverpool possess a sort of natural rivalry that closely resembles the ever-present ideological discord that exists between Barcelona and Madrid.

The rivalry truly began when Liverpool defeated City in the Champions League quarterfinals two seasons ago en route to the final, and has continued through this season’s fierce Community Shield, in which City claimed victory on penalties.

Both sides have a penchant for hammering lower-table opposition, just as Barcelona and Real Madrid have become accustomed to in La Liga, with levels of dominance that put the two top sides in a league of their own.

This battle of English giants that will define the European football landscape does not appear to be slowing down. Liverpool opened up the campaign with a predictably dominant 4-1 win over Norwich City in front of an electrified Anfield on Friday, with City already looking to match their rivals at the top of the table on Saturday against West Ham.

Equipped with the world’s two best managers, supremely talented players, and a blossoming rivalry, world football’s two best teams will battle once again in what should be an enthralling Premier League title race.