da bet7k： There are no question marks over the legitimacy of the German's triumphs at Anfield and he is now perfectly poised to complete his masterpiece

da winzada777： 'This means more' – it was a self-aggrandising slogan pushed by Liverpool's marketing department a few years back that understandably annoyed the hell out of rival supporters.

The implication was that no matter how many trophies other clubs won, they would never carry quite the same weight as those lifted by Liverpool, which was – and remains – pure bullsh*t. Other supporters have suffered too, after all. Liverpool do not have a monopoly on meaningful title triumphs (nor do they own the copyright on fist pumps while we're at it!).

So, Trent Alexander-Arnold's take on the Liverpool-Manchester City rivalry that has defined the Premier League over the past five years will have left many football fans rolling their eyes once again.

"It's tough," the right-back told FourFourTwo. "We're up against a machine that's built to win – that's the simplest way to describe City and their organisation.

"Looking back on this era, although they've won more titles than us and have probably been more successful, our trophies will mean more to us and our fanbase because of the situations at both clubs, financially. How both clubs have built their teams and the manner in which we've done it, probably means more to our fans."

GettySome victories more valuable than others

Ruben Dias and Erling Haaland have already issued biting replies to Alexander-Arnold's comments, pointing out that the right-back has no idea how it feels to win a treble. The thing is, though, there is an element of truth in what Alexander-Arnold is saying. Not about what the titles mean to the fans, of course.

The City supporters who remember the nightmare of relegation to the third tier of English football are now revelling in a beautiful dream. Each and every trophy must feel so unbelievable and, therefore, so precious. However, there is simply no denying that certain victories are more valuable than others. It has ever been thus in football.

Francesco Totti always insisted that he was never in the least bit jealous of Juventus' success during his playing days, and still has no regrets over remaining at Roma for the duration of his professional career, because one Scudetto with his hometown club was "worth 10 elsewhere".

Kylian Mbappe, by contrast, is closing in on a sixth Ligue 1 title in his native Paris – yet the championship he won with Monaco will forever be a far more significant achievement given PSG's dominance of French football for well over a decade.

And surely even Liverpool fans would admit that their first English top-flight title for 30 years was no more special than Napoli's long-awaited Serie A win last season – and that neither feat compares to Leicester City's Premier League miracle of 2016?

AdvertisementGetty Legacies on the line at Anfield

The point is that when it comes to appraising success, context is always key, which is why Sunday's latest meeting between Liverpool and Manchester City is so important. Legacies are on the line at Anfield.

This is no title-decider, of course. It's too tight at the top of the table to make such a lofty claim at this stage of the season, particularly when there are more than 10 rounds remaining and a third team in play, with Arsenal likely to end the day at the summit of the standings if Liverpool and City play out a draw for the second time this season.

Nonetheless, the victor at Anfield would undeniably benefit from a massive amount of momentum, which could well prove decisive given both sides are flying as it is.

Liverpool won the first major trophy of the season, the Carabao Cup, in extraordinary circumstances, with the injury-ravaged Reds defeating Chelsea "billion-pound bottle jobs" with a selection of "Jurgen Klopp's kids".

However, if the return of the "mentality monsters" is a terrifying prospect for Liverpool's rivals, then so too is the sight of Pep Guardiola's winning "machine" once again clicking into gear at the business end of the season.

City's current 20-match unbeaten run stretches all the way back to December, making a mockery of Guardiola's claim that his stellar squad has next to no hope of winning a second-consecutive treble. It is not only possible; it is actually probable.

City are just a point behind Liverpool in the Premier League table (with a more favourable fixture list), are the clear favourites to win the Champions League and face Newcastle in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup. History is there for the taking.

GettyKlopp's chance to put Pep in the shade

Of course, Liverpool are also attempting something unique: a quadruple. In truth, it still appears a distant dream, given the state of their squad (Alexander-Arnold, Diogo Jota and Alisson Becker are among several senior stars still sidelined by injury). But the Premier League is clearly a realistic goal – and a hugely important one at that.

Whether victory would mean more to Liverpool or City fans is highly debatable. Liverpool may have only won one Premier League title but past comments from Pep and his players has underlined that City would undoubtedly derive as much pleasure from denying their greatest rivals another title as winning an unprecedented fourth in a row.

What's also clear, though, is that Klopp winning a second Premier League would see him bid farewell to Anfield having unquestionably surpassed Guardiola's achievements at the Etihad. That may sound strange, when one considers that Klopp will leave Liverpool having won fewer trophies than Guardiola – no matter what happens between now and the end of the season.

But it's true, given the disparity in resources and the very stark contrast in starting points.

GettyFrom crisis club to champions of everything

Klopp arrived at a club in crisis that had never actually won the Premier League and inherited a shockingly poor squad from Brendan Rodgers containing the likes of Christian Benteke, Joe Allen and Steven Caulker. Through almost flawless recruitment, genius man-management and sheer force of personality, he transformed Liverpool into the champions of everything.

Guardiola, by complete contrast, took over a team that had won the title two years previously and was greeted at the Etihad by Kevin De Bruyne, Sergio Aguero and David Silva, as well as a host of familiar faces from his time at Barcelona that had been patiently awaiting his arrival.

Thanks to a bottomless well of Abu Dhabi money, Guardiola's former colleagues had constructed a club in the Catalan's image. This wasn't just fantasy football, it was made-to-order management. Success was inevitable, it was only ever a question of when it would arrive – and the only surprise surrounding Guardiola's time at the Etihad is that it took so long for City to conquer Europe.

Money has never been an issue, after all. Whereas Liverpool's rise to the top was greatly aided by an almost flawless record in the transfer market, City could afford to make mistakes. £100 million ($129m) signings like Jack Grealish and Josko Gvardiol can be just left on the bench until they are ready to make a contribution. There's always another international waiting in the wings to take their place.