Liverpool FORCE Pep Guardiola to no longer be in denial

There can't be any doubt anymore: Liverpool are the world's best team. That comes after a shock result on Saturday.

Pep Guardiola refused to say this week that Liverpool were the best team on the planet. The question came after the Reds beat Real Madrid 2-0 at Anfield - and ahead of their meeting with Manchester City on Sunday.

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But Guardiola wouldn't claim that Liverpool were the best.

"I don't know [if they're the best]," he said, per Match of the Day. "They're one of the best, with results proving that.

"They play together and Arne [Slot] is doing an incredible job. One year ago, when they said City were the best team in the world, I didn't pay attention for one second."

Liverpool, of course, sit at the top of both the Premier League and UEFA Champions League. They've failed to win just twice all season - once in a 1-0 defeat against Nottingham Forest and again in a draw with Arsenal.

The Reds have been perfect otherwise, with the dominant win over Madrid the new benchmark. So if they're not the best in the world, who is?

Liverpool are the world's best

Few teams across Europe can match Liverpool's form. Really, there are only two that boast impressive wins in both their league and Champions League.

Bayern Munich are one, certainly. They top the Bundesliga and remain undefeated domestically, with just four points dropped.

However, they were found out against Barcelona in the Champions League. Hansi Flick's team dismantled Bayern, winning 4-1 comprehensively.

So are Barcelona the best? They'd slipped up once or twice to start the campaign but found amazing form - 5-1 over Sevilla, the aforementioned 4-1 over Bayern and a 4-0 win against Real Madrid certainly suggested they were one of the very best.

But now the wheels have fallen off. Barcelona lost 1-0 to Real Sociedad before the international break and returned from it with a 2-2 against Celta Vigo.

Their latest La Liga fixture was a disaster, too. They've fallen 2-1 at home to Las Palmas, meaning Barcelona have dropped eight of their last nine points.

This one was particularly a shock, though. Las Palmas were two points off the relegation zone when making their trip to Catalonia. Now they're five points clear.

So with Barcelona's form falling off a cliff, Liverpool are left with no rival. Guardiola refused to admit it but Slot's team are quite plainly the world's best team.

Saturday made that abundantly clear. Hopefully, Sunday will, too.

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