It was a five-goal thriller in the Premier League as Manchester City played Liverpool off the pitch. Five was well and truly the name of the game, as that is now how many points clear City are at the top of the table. Winning by four goals to one, it was the man in form Gundogan who scored two, whilst Raheem Sterling and Phil Foden would round the scoring off.
Mo Salah would score Liverpool’s only goal of the game as he found the net from the penalty spot. However, whilst the team only managed one goal, it was instead keeper Alisson whose performance would be questioned. The Brazillian international would find himself with the unfortunate statistic of causing two errors leading to goals.
Classy City are back to their best:
It seems obvious to say that the Premier League leaders Manchester City are the best side in the league. Especially as they stretch their unbeaten streak in all competitions to twenty-one, but if there was any doubt left the match against Liverpool put those to rest.
Facing their toughest test in the defending Premier League champions, City looked a class above.
Whilst the first half was a plodding affair with it taking almost thirty minutes for the first save. There was one real moment of note a missed Manchester City penalty in the thirty-sixth minute. Sterling would be brought down by a clumsy leg from Fabinho. Despite Gundogan’s hot form of late, he would miss the chance to put City ahead.
After the missed opportunity in the first-half, City became a different beast in the second. Coming out all guns blazing it was only a matter of time before the Premier League leaders went ahead. Gundogan would make up for his missed penalty by capitalising on an Alisson save.
Despite a Salah penalty, it would not be long before Gundogan had his second. In the seventy-third minute, Alisson would fail to distribute the ball, and Phil Foden would pounce. The Englishman put the ball across for City to reclaim their lead.
Not learning from his lesson Alisson would again make the same mistake just three minutes later. Playing the ball straight to Bernardo who would lift the ball over the keeper for Sterling.
If the first three goals were lacklustre, the fourth was something special. Foden would find himself in space, cut inside and blast the ball into the roof of the net. A goal worthy of winning any Premier League game.
Limp Liverpool?
In a Premier League season where so much has seemed to go against Liverpool, Sunday’s game against Manchester City marked a real low point. Whilst not massively outperformed in stats (even matching City for shots) it still was a real whimper for Liverpool.
For a side who in the last three season’s have reached two Champions League finals, won one and ended their thirty-year wait for a league title. This was a shadow of that side. Never for a second looking in control of the game, it felt less like a clash of the titans and more like City were playing with their food before eating it.
Whilst Liverpool’s long-running defensive injury issues remained present, as Roy Keane rightfully pointed out “They still had their best attacking players on the pitch”. The manager has not changed, much of the starting eleven remained the same and yet the performance was lacklustre, to say the least.
Limited clear-cut chances on the attacking end, combined with defensive stalwarts Alisson and Robertson under-performing, Liverpool looked lost. For fans of The Merseyside club seeing some of their most reliable players crumble epitomised their mediocre title defence.
What’s next?
For Liverpool, they now have just two wins in their last nine Premier League games. With manager Jurgen Klopp stating a top-four finish is now the aim. It is feeling more and more like an admission of defeat with each passing week, and that their Premier League title is beyond retaining. With a tough away fixture to Leicester this coming Saturday, Liverpool will need to improve drastically to have any hope of this not being the case.
Manchester City will have a mid-week FA Cup fixture away to Swansea on Wednesday. This is before they play Spurs on Saturday. The second game is one of many tough upcoming Premier League games for The Citizens, as their next five games are against sides currently in the top ten places.
With City in such good form, is it possible one of these sides could cause an upset?
Enjoyed this article? Let us know in the comments! And why not follow our socials? You can Follow, Like and Subscribe to WD Sportz for more football news and updates.
