Liverpool and Chelsea ran down Manchester City in the Premier League table this past weekend. City dropped two points thanks to an injury-time equalizer from Middlesbrough's Marten de Roon, knocking them down to third (24 points). The real worry for City isn't the result; after beating Barcelona in the Champions League in midweek, they're allowed a slightly sluggish performance. The real worry is just how good the two new contenders have looked recently.
League leaders Liverpool (26 points) are the most explosive attacking team in the league with 30 goals. They've done it by largely marginalizing striker Daniel Sturridge in favor of a front three of Philippe Coutinho, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane. In their 6-1 win over Watford on Sunday, they had a breathtaking 17 shots on target. According to Opta Sports, that's the most shots on target in the Premier League since the company started tracking the stat in 2003-04. They've now won seven of their past eight games, with the one blemish a dreary 0-0 draw with Manchester United. In those seven wins they haven't been held below two goals. The only team to hold them to two expected goals was Chelsea -- Liverpool beat them 2-1 anyway. Chelsea held them to a league-average 13 shots; none of the other teams they beat kept them below 17.