Nobody saw Manchester City's catastrophic dip in form coming this season and the Premier League champion has responded in predictable fashion, by spending a boat load of money.
Everything seemed to going swimmingly for City heading into November, but a run of just one win in 13 games in all competitions stunned the soccer world. City hadn't gone two games without winning too often under Pep Guardiola previously, so the sight of the team struggling week in, week out was an unusual one to comprehend.
The ship has somewhat steadied in recent weeks: City has picked up 13 points from its last five league games, and is still alive in both the Champions League and the FA Cup — but Guardiola clearly knows that his team is still fragile. Having backed his old guard one too many times by neglecting to freshen up his squad during the summer transfer window, the Catalan boss (or City, more accurately) has spent big on reinforcements this summer.
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Omar Marmoush, Abdukodir Khusanov and Vitor Reis have all joined City, and the Etihad Stadium club has apparently also approached Porto over the possibility of signing defender Nico Gonzalez. He would undoubtedly cost a pretty penny too, and while fans of opposition clubs might look on with envy at City's activity in the window, making four expensive signings in the middle of a season is not the sign of a club in full control.
Liverpool's fans were crying out for additions during last summer's transfer window but only Federico Chiesa and Giorgi Mamardashvili were forthcoming. It's easy to forget but that was a source of major frustration among a lot of fans at the time, with many feeling as though additions to the squad that Jurgen Klopp left behind were needed.
The Reds kept their powder dry, though, and they are reaping the rewards of doing so under new head coach Arne Slot, who has somehow made the squad Klopp left behind look significantly better than it did six months ago. There has been no activity in the January transfer window as far as Liverpool signings go, and that again is the sign of a well-run club.
There will be no panic-buying at Anfield this month; rather, the focus on recruitment has long since been on the summer, as Slot continues to trust his current pool of players to deliver glory this season.
