Historically, Liverpool were already in a title-winning position before a ball was kicked on Wednesday.

After beating Manchester City on Sunday they were nine points clear of second place after 13 league games.

Only two teams in Premier League history have had a lead of at least nine points after the same number of matches – Manchester United in 1993-94 and Chelsea in 2005-06 – and both went on to win the title.

Despite that, many were still urging caution in the battle at the top – including Reds boss Arne Slot.

The Dutchman said before the Newcastle game that 19 matches would be a better barometer of how the title battle is shaping up, an opinion that will have only been galvanised after the 3-3 draw.

City’s loss to Liverpool left them 11 points adrift of the Reds but that has been cut to nine, and history suggests they are more than capable of overturning such a deficit.

In 2018-19, they trailed Liverpool by 10 points after a poor run of form in December but then won 18 of their 19 matches from the 30th of that month to go on and clinch the title.

“I think we know Man City are not out of the title race – they are going to have a say,” former Manchester City player and manager Stuart Pearce said on Amazon Prime.

“There are going to be a lot of twists and turns in the title race. That’s what makes the Premier League so good.”

Former Arsenal forward Theo Walcott added: “This is where you get a feel for where you will end up at the end of the season. It is a period where you can make up a lot of points.”

Former Manchester United striker Dimitar Berbatov, a Premier League champion with the Red Devils in 2008–09 and 2010–11, said his former manager Sir Alex Ferguson would never entertain title talk at this stage of the season.

“He would say if we stay first after the Christmas period we win the league,” he told Amazon Prime.

“He was always very strict around this time of the year – ‘stay at home and don’t go out’. It was worth it – it is about winning the title at the end of the day.”