LONDON - Liverpool are used to being second best during Pep Guardiola's era at Manchester City, but a 2-0 victory over the champions on Dec 1 left little doubt who are the team to beat in this season's Premier League title race.
As the Reds head to Newcastle on Dec 4 top of the table, City host Nottingham Forest after a sixth defeat in a seven-game winless run.
Arsenal and Chelsea, nine points behind, are now Liverpool's closest challengers, with City 11 back and almost certain to finally lose their grip on the English top flight after an unprecedented four straight titles.
Virgil van Dijk said much of Liverpool's phenomenal success this season is down to the players' willingness to "go to war" for each other.
Arne Slot's team have 18 wins in their 20 matches in all competitions and the captain believes the mentality within the squad is a crucial factor, just months after the departure of Jurgen Klopp.
"I think it was always going to be difficult to replace Jurgen for everything he did for us, as players and for the club, but he (Slot) has come in, done it his own way," said van Dijk.
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Esta historia es de la edición December 04, 2024 de The Straits Times.
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CALLIGRAPHY IS BIG WITH ARTIST
The boulders hiding in the alcove of Tong Yang-tze's (right) Taipei apartment testify to this Taiwanese calligrapher's daunting perfectionism. They are paper - remnants of discarded artworks, crumpled together like used tissues and soaked into inky wads of pulp. Hundreds of old drafts of writing, including many of her efforts to draw Chinese poetry at a monumental scale, have been recycled into these rocks over the years, most recently as she worked on her commission for the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which debuted on Nov 21.
Mattel sued over Wicked dolls with porn website link
LOS ANGELES - Mattel was sued on Dec 3 by a South Carolina mother for mistakenly putting a link to a pornographic website on packaging for dolls tied to the blockbuster movie Wicked.
Taiwanese musician-director Liu Chia-chang a composer of hit songs
Famed veteran Taiwanese musician and director Liu Chia-chang has died at the age of 81.
Actress Kristal Tin reveals lung cancer diagnosis
Former TVB actress Kristal Tin revealed on Instagram on Dec 3 that she has undergone successful surgery for lung cancer.
South Korean entertainment schedules up in the air
SEOUL - Schedules of performances and interviews in South Korea have been thrown into a state of uncertainty by a sudden martial law declaration that was lifted only a few hours later.
Host Dasmond Koh surprised by martial law edict while in Seoul for work
Upheaval in Seoul, South Korea
Squid Game returns to end 2024 with a bang
In this monthly column, The Straits Times' streaming picks for December include the long-awaited second season of the survivalist hit Squid Game (2021 to present) and its non-lethal equivalent.
Flow speaks Volumes, The Room Next Door a thin melodrama
In the wake of a devastating flood, a cat finds refuge with motley stranded animals on a tattered sailboat.
Funeral rites come alive in The Last Dance
The Hong Kong drama offers fascinating glimpses into the city's funeral traditions
Tolkien and anime work well together, says Japanese director
NEW YORK - It has been a decade since the work of fantasy author J.R.R. Tolkien last appeared on the big screen.
