Liverpool 2 Manchester City 2
It was a goal worthy of winning any game. Only not this one. When Mohamed Salah picked up possession for Liverpool in the inside-right channel on 76 minutes, there did not appear to be too much on.
But Salah is in a rare groove of form and, after getting the position on Rodri, the roll with his studs to beat Bernardo Silva was of almost ridiculous quality. Into the area, Salah went one way and then the other to bamboozle Aymeric Laporte before slotting a finish in off Ederson’s right-hand post.
As the Liverpool support felt the plot career away from them, a penny for the thoughts of Manchester City. They had just cancelled out Sadio Mané’s 58th-minute opening goal with one from the excellent Phil Foden and, having exerted almost total control over the first half, they might have felt that it was not to be their day.
The defending Premier League champions refused to wallow and what shone through as they found a second equaliser was the strength of their character as much as their ability. The goal was created by Foden and, when Kyle Walker missed his kick, Kevin De Bruyne’s shot deflected off Joël Matip to beat Alisson.
It was a game of the highest quality, a thriller between surely the two best teams in England and it nearly carried a late sting. First, Rodri made a saving block to deny Fabinho after Ederson had missed a Salah cross – the City goal was gaping – and then Raheem Sterling, on as a substitute to the usual jeers, led a break only to lack conviction. He passed to Gabriel Jesus, whose shot was blocked.
Never mind the date, it was impossible to see this fixture as anything other than a title-shaper and not only because it had served as such in the previous two seasons. When Liverpool beat City 3-1 here in November 2019, it ignited a belief that they could end their long wait for the championship and, when City won it 4-1 last February, they knew that they were also on the way.
The draw here was a result that favoured City, although hard and fast conclusions as to the destination of the title will have to wait.
The beauty about this showpiece is that it features two teams who are utterly committed to playing their football, to making the game and finding ways to win. Pep Guardiola’s idea at the outset was his latest reimagining of the false nine. The pre-match talk had been that it would be Foden. Or maybe Jesus in a slightly less false incarnation.
In the event, it was Jack Grealish – the left-sided attacker who had not previously played in the position for City and it was a struggle to remember whether he had done so for his previous club, Aston Villa, either. Remember it was arguably the most important game of the league season. On so many levels, it was classic Pep. After the Champions League tie at Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday night, how many training sessions had they had to work on it with Grealish?
For much of the first half, everybody seemed to be trying to work out what Grealish was doing there, including Grealish himself. But all around him, City won the duels and they took control. Their dominance up to the interval was almost total. Maybe Guardiola’s move simply scrambled Liverpool.
City made repeated inroads up the left through Foden. Klopp had persisted with James Milner at right-back in the place of the injured Trent Alexander-Arnold and he endured a torrid time. He was eventually booked on 42 minutes after hauling down Foden, having been beaten by him yet again.
City’s big chance of the first half followed an incredible piece of skill by Silva, who executed a 360-degree spin that, at various times, took him past each of Liverpool’s three midfielders. Silva then darted back inside Fabinho and the centre-half, Virgil van Dijk, before playing in Foden. Alisson made a vital one-on-one save.
City had plenty of other openings before the break with the pick of them being a De Bruyne header at the far post from Foden’s cross, which he sent high. He had to do better. Moments earlier, Foden had wanted a penalty after being checked by Milner – the contact seemed to come outside the area; strangely, there was no whistle for anything – and Alisson would also deny Foden after a long ball from Ederson, leaving his line and throwing out a leg to tackle him.
The change in Liverpool upon the second-half restart was remarkable. It was as if a switch had been flicked, the energy pouring from them and, in turn and with a vengeance, the crowd. Klopp’s players took up higher starting positions and they were simply more forceful.
Diogo Jota threw two sky blue shirts on the edge of the area with a jink but not a third in Rúben Dias and he did then spin away from the City centre-half after a Van Dijk pass only to see Ederson save his shot.
Liverpool scented blood and they tasted it when Salah beat João Cancelo and skated clear up the right before ushering in Mané with a lovely pass. Mané’s acceleration was too much for Dias and the finish was lethal.
City had to respond. Guardiola had to respond. He swapped Grealish with Sterling and, moments later, his team were level. It was a lovely run from Jesus, right to left, evading challenges and the pass was made to measure for Foden, who arrowed a clinical left-footed shot into the bottom corner.
Who knows how things might have turned out if Milner had received a second yellow card for a foul on Silva in the 74th minute; Guardiola lost himself in a fury. Instead, it was the prompt for the see-saw finale. – Guardian
