Darren Bent says only one thing could stop Liverpool winning the Premier League

Darren Bent says only one thing could potentially prevent Liverpool from storming to the Premier League title this season. Arne Slot’s side restored their seven-point lead at the top of the table on Sunday with a 2-1 home win against Wolves. However, the Reds were made to sweat for all three points at Anfield, failing to register a single shot in the second half at home for the first time on record.

The performance comes after Liverpool were also held to a 2-2 draw with Everton in midweek which saw Slot’s side miss out on the opportunity to extend their lead to a sizeable 12 points over Arsenal. Despite their downturn in performance levels, Bent believes that Liverpool will soon be back to their devastating best. However, the former Tottenham striker said that an injury to their captain Virgil van Dijk would be something that could throw the title race back open.

‘They’re not playing well and they’re still getting results and that’s why I feel they’re going to end up as champions,’ Bent said on the Kelly and Wrighty show. ‘That’s the problem. Their performances will go up again. I think this is just their blip. ‘They might get beat here and there but I just feel with Liverpool and thei firepower that they’ve got at some point their performances will go up again.’.

Bent continued: ‘My only thing with Liverpool is Virgil. I just think if they lost Virgil to injury I don’t think Liverpool fans would feel as comfortable. ‘(Jarell) Quansah is a good long talent, (Joe) Gomez and (Ibrahima) Konate are good players in their own right but you put Virgil next to anybody and they’re going to be calm. ‘You take him out of it and you just have those and that’s when I’m not sure.’.

Speaking after his side’s win on Sunday, Slot praised his side for the gritty performance in what proved a tricky second half. ‘Clearly it was relief at the end, especially after what happened on Wednesday,’he said. ‘Those last eight minutes, and especially the last minute where we conceded a goal, you are so frustrated because you know that moment can also have [an] impact for the next game or for the next games that are coming up.

‘And I think you saw today after us conceding the 2-1 that maybe for the first time this season we were a bit, ‘Ooh…’ after conceding in the last minute against Everton. ‘I think that was in our heads a bit and that’s also why we, as a team, were so furious on Wednesday.’. For more stories like this, check our sport page. Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.