Terry: Liverpool title hopes dead & buried

Monday night’s 2-2 draw at home to Birmingham City has left the Reds flailing in seventh position as their faltering start to the season continues.

And with Rafael Benitez’s men already 11 points adrift of leaders Chelsea, England captain Terry believes they are now almost certainly out of contention.

“Liverpool have slipped away a bit and it’s going to be difficult for them to get back in the frame the way the top three [Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester United] are playing,” Terry said in The Sun.

However, local rivals Arsenal have made an impressive start to the campaign, netting 36 goals in their opening 11 outings.

And Terry – who hopes to win his 59th cap for his country against Brazil on Saturday – believes the Gunners could be strong challengers this time around.

“Arsenal are definitely contenders,” he said. “They are looking good, playing free-flowing football and scoring lots of goals.

“It will be interesting to see how they cope if they pick up injuries and lose key players.”

Sunday’s 1-0 victory over champions Manchester United handed Carlo Ancelotti’s side a five point lead at the summit and in a strong position to end United’s stranglehold over the Premier League for the past three seasons.

“We lost the title last season because we didn’t win our games against our main rivals and we drew too many times at home," he said.

“So I’m delighted we’ve got the victories against Liverpool and Manchester United this time and also won all of our games at Stamford Bridge.

“Beating United is a massive result for us. We stressed before the game how important it could be for us in the final reckoning.

“It’s not the be-all and end-all at this stage of the season but to have a five-lead before December is a great cushion."