A clear-cut challenger to Chelsea emerges in Premier League title race

On New Year’s Eve, Liverpool put out a statement of intent to lead the resistance to Chelsea’s Premier League title tour with a 1-0 win over Manchester City.

The Reds handled the Citizens over 90 minutes to separate themselves from the pack of teams vying for a top-four finish, namely Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal and City. Entering 2017, Liverpool sits only six points behind a Chelsea side that has tied a Premier League record with 13 straight wins.

On Saturday, the Merseyside club demonstrated why it’s in position to challenge for, and possibly collect, its first-ever Premiership trophy with something it’s not known for: defense.

Against Man City, Liverpool scored an early goal and dominated the match for the first 50 minutes. However, when City responded, and the game moved into the Reds’ half forcing them to protect a slender lead, Jurgen Klopp’s men didn’t buckle.

Liverpool has only allowed one goal in its previous four games and collected three clean sheets in the process. While the Reds are known for their attack, their defense provides the reason to believe that Liverpool can mount a worthy title challenge to Chelsea.

Klopp’s “heavy metal football” regularly pressures and terrorizes back fours all over the United Kingdom with pace, passing and movement. The Reds have scored 46 goals in 19 league matches, which is the best record in England at 2.42 goals per match. Chelsea, Man City and Arsenal are the only other teams in the Premier League with a scoring rate higher than 2.00 per game.

However, Liverpool’s attack is far more difficult to defend than the other teams on that list because it’s tougher to predict the provider or the scorer. Chelsea’s Diego Costa leads the league with 14 goals, Arsenal’s Alexis Sanchez is tied for second with 12 goals and Manchester City’s Sergio Aguero has tallied 10 goals despite serving a four-match ban. Liverpool boasts more than one threat with leading scorer Sadio Mane (eight goals), Adam Lallana (seven), Roberto Firmino (six) and injured star Philippe Coutinho (five goals in 13 appearances).

To illustrate the harmony in Liverpool’s attack, Lallana leads with team with seven assists, Coutinho is close behind with five helpers of his own, Mane has directly created four goals and Firmino is responsible for three goals without applying the final touch.

Liverpool’s unpredictability and balance in attack is its greatest threat. The ability to launch attacks with so much speed and substance scares opposing teams and makes them uncomfortable at passing in their own halves for fear that the pressure applied by the Reds will instantly turn into a fastbreak goal. At times on Saturday, even Manchester City was forced to boot the ball up the pitch out of fear of the high press.

The Reds’ high intensity approach is boosted by the fact that they’re not playing in Europe, an advantage they share with Chelsea. The top two clubs in England not being bothered by extra midweek matches is not a coincidence. In fact, the last time Liverpool challenged for the title in 2013-14 also came when it was not bogged down by extra fixtures and European travel. That year, Liverpool slipped to a second-place finish.

Saturday’s win displayed a gritty willingness to do more than simply force turnovers high up the pitch and launch pace-filled counter attacks. For the final half hour against Manchester City, Liverpool put numbers behind the ball and squashed the Sky Blues’ attacks. According to Opta Sports, Aguero did not have a single touch in Liverpool’s box in 90 minutes, and the Argentine striker plays in the furthest forward position for the Citizens.

The ability to shut down the opposition, change into a defensive side and protect a 1-0 lead against a team managed by Pep Guardiola deserves recognition, and it elevates Liverpool’s title challenge. Only allowing two shots on target, both of which came in the span of a couple minutes, against a team that averages over two goals per match sends a message that Liverpool is far more than an attacking side that bags goals. This team can defend, too.

Liverpool is a legitimate title contender and should be seen as a clear threat to Chelsea. A six-point gap at the midway point in the season is easy to make up, as the Blues’ record run should end at some point. Regardless of how much longer it continues, the Reds and Blues have surely both circled the Anfield fixture on Jan. 31, when Chelsea comes to Merseyside to avenge its only home defeat of the season.

Further boosting its title aspirations, Liverpool has already knocked out a trio of tough London away fixtures against Chelsea, Tottenham and Arsenal. The Reds collected seven points out of a possible nine over three of their toughest away encounters on the schedule. While turning up in big away matches is impressive, Liverpool’s strength is playing at home in front of the Anfield faithful, which should make that late January clash even more delectable.

At Anfield, the Reds are unbeaten in nine matches this season, averaging an incredible scoring rate of 2.89 goals per match, which is only incrementally ahead of Chelsea’s 2.80 home goals per match. Arsenal and Tottenham are the only other two teams to average above 2.00 goals at home, both at 2.11.

Entering the season, a top-four challenge seemed like a reasonable expectation for Liverpool. And finishing in those coveted Champions League spots would have been worthy of celebrating considering the teams and managers vying for the top European berths. Truly, finishing in the top four in the Premier League is like winning a trophy.

Half a season later, Liverpool looks good for a top-four finish and great value to catch Antonio Conte’s Chelsea. So don’t sleep on the Reds in 2017.

Shahan Ahmed is a soccer columnist for Yahoo! Sports. Follow Shahan on Twitter: @ShahanLA