Manchester City 4-1 Liverpool: Manchester City convincingly dealt with Liverpool on Saturday afternoon. Jürgen Klopp’s team still took the lead in the Premier League squatter, but Pep Guardiola’s team responded very strongly and especially impressed in the phase just after the break.
City thunders over powerless Liverpool in an exciting cracker
And that while club top scorer Erling Haaland was still missing due to an injury. From the stands, the Norwegian goal getter saw that City still had the best of the game with Julian Álvarez as his replacement in the striker position. The only thing missing in the opening phase was the right completion. Goalkeeper Alisson did not get into trouble with shots from Ilkay Gündogan and Rodri and saw a free kick from Riyad Mahrez fly wide of the goal.
Liverpool had not reported much in front of Ederson’s goal until then. But they struck immediately at the first opportunity in the seventeenth minute. After a long pass from Trent Alexander-Arnold, Diogo Jota escaped offside. City’s defense, where Nathan Aké played at left back, was completely open and Mohamed Salah skillfully punished that after Jota had laid the ball well.
For example, Liverpool seemed on track to beat City for the third time this season. But Guardiola’s team straightened their back. Jack Grealish played a crucial role in this. The left front first prevented Salah from passing Jota in a dangerous breakout and then stood at the basis of Álvarez’s equalizer, which was the end station of a well-played attack.
Thus, the exciting topper at the Etihad Stadium became one of a high level. At times, tempers ran high. For example, the Liverpool players were angry that Rodri was not given a second yellow card for a foul on the otherwise unseen Cody Gakpo and Grealish was angry after Alexander-Arnold footed him in the face. Furthermore, it was mainly football that predominated.
Second half
The best attacks came from City. Alisson kept Álvarez from scoring just after the 1-1, but was beaten immediately after the break. When the Liverpool defense was ripped open by a pass from the Argentinian striker. Mahrez was the receiver and offered Kevin De Bruyne an opportunity not to be missed: 2-1. It was the start of a whirlwind phase for City, which thundered over Liverpool. It quickly resulted in Gündogan’s 3-1.
Liverpool’s defence, with Virgil van Dijk in the center of the back, was unable to cope with so much football violence. Klopp made a quadruple substitution twenty minutes before the end, but there was nothing left to save. A few minutes later, the outstanding Grealish delivered the final blow by shooting on a pass from De Bruyne: 4-1. City is creeping somewhat towards Arsenal again, Liverpool suffered the third defeat in a row.
