A team flying at the top of the league playing at home against a side without a win in six games brought the result you would expect, as Arne Slot’s Liverpool went nine points clear on Sunday with a 2-0 win over Manchester City.
The home side went at City from the start and were ahead early through Cody Gakpo after a brilliant cross from Mohamed Salah, but that was surprisingly the only goal of a first half Liverpool dominated.
City manager Pep Guardiola made tweaks in an attempt to stop the Premier League leaders, but his wobbling four-in-a-row champions could not cope and victory was sealed when Salah converted a penalty in the second half after goalkeeper Stefan Ortega fouled Luis Diaz.
Sam Lee, Gregg Evans and Thom Harris break down the action from Anfield.
Twelve minutes that set the tone
City would have hoped they could unsettle Liverpool by turning them around at the toss and forcing them to attack the Kop in the first half, yet it had the opposite effect.
Pumped up, the Premier League leaders set the tone by flying out of the blocks in the opening stages and playing on the front foot. One banner in the crowd asked: “Arne you not entertained?” and the home supporters certainly were.
Slot’s side pressed hard and efficiently, winning possession on multiple occasions, and were clearly testing Ortega, in for regular first-choice Ederson, with shots from all angles.
Liverpool 🤝 Gladiator pic.twitter.com/U2EqSJtej1
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) December 1, 2024
By the time Gakpo scored on 12 minutes, Liverpool could have easily been two or three up, with Virgil van Dijk coming close with a header that crashed off the post after other chances went begging.
Winning a few early corners in front of the Kop also helped lift the atmosphere which played a part in their dominance.
39 – Manchester City’s first shot attempt at Anfield came in the 39th minute; their longest wait for their first shot of a Premier League match since April 2010 versus Arsenal (58th minute). Frozen. pic.twitter.com/8DfG0SLb6r
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) December 1, 2024
City played too many short passes in their own half, were dispossessed easily and didn’t manage a shot until the 39th minute. By the halfway stage of the first half, Liverpool had registered 45 touches in the final third, compared to just five by City (and there was no way back for the reigning champions).
Gregg Evans
What did Guardiola try to do from the start?
The major team news before kick-off was Ortega starting in goal ahead of Ederson. Obviously, the German conceded the penalty for the second goal, but he was stitched up by mistakes from City outfield players in front of him and it is hard to imagine Ederson, or any other ’keeper, doing better in that scenario.
This was obviously a rough day for City and it was always going to be, given their current issues. But Guardiola made other tweaks, too.
Even without Josko Gvardiol’s recent struggles (two errors leading to goals in the previous two matches), there was a strong case for Nathan Ake to start up against Salah, who has terrorised many a City full-back (indeed, many a full-back) over the years. Ake is strong in those scenarios and, as much as anything, Gvardiol has probably been run into the ground as a result of being just about the only City defender who has not been injured in the last month.
In terms of Matheus Nunes starting, City fans had hoped to see it today but that was most likely through the middle, with the logic that his energy alone would be exactly what the team need in central areas, given the struggles of Bernardo Silva, Ilkay Gundogan and Rico Lewis of late.
Nunes was started on the left by Guardiola (Carl Recine/Getty Images)
But Guardiola used Nunes on the left, where in fairness he did well before the November international break, but when he actually had to provide an attacking threat he did not, perhaps understandably, have that extra level.
He showed what he can do working back, and that should be useful as City try to find their feet in the coming games. Quite what his selection here means for Jack Grealish is another story.
Towards the end of the match, with Guardiola’s side nearing another defeat, Liverpool fans made their views known as they mockingly chanted he would be getting sacked in the morning.
The City manager responded by holding up six fingers, one for each Premier League title he has won since joining City in summer 2016.
Sam Lee
Even when he misses, Salah still delivers
Liverpool are a well-oiled machine, capable of controlling games and seeing them out in style. But without Salah, none of it would be possible.
This was the sixth Premier League game in a row where the Egyptian found his way onto the scoresheet. After missing a glaring opportunity midway through the second half, he made amends by slamming home from the spot to secure the win.
It was also his assist for Gakpo that helped get the ball rolling early on, as his prolific goalscoring form continues to be matched by such relentless creativity, too.
This was the 36th time Salah has both scored and assisted in a Premier League game, equalling Wayne Rooney’s record. At 32 years of age, he is showing no signs of slowing down and continues to be crucial in this table-topping team.
Already this season, he has 24 goals and assists in 20 appearances, an incredible achievement for a player whose contract expires in the summer and is no closer to signing a new one.
Gregg Evans
Did City’s build-up play into Liverpool’s hands?
City’s structural issues out of possession have been laid bare for all to see throughout their poor run of form, but a dismal first half at Anfield, during which they lost possession 15 times in their own final third, was underpinned by uncertainty with the ball at their feet.
Liverpool hunted the ball tirelessly in the opening half an hour, buoyed by the feeling that their aggressive pressing plan was bearing fruit. Slot’s side pushed on to City in their usual 4-2-4 shape, with Dominik Szoboszlai joining the front three to form a barrier of four attacking players who all worked hard to block passes into midfield.
Particularly from goal kicks, City looked vulnerable. Ortega became an auxiliary centre-back while Manuel Akanji pushed forward and provided an option behind that Liverpool front line, but the Swiss centre-back struggled to turn away from pressure when the ball was passed into him with his back to the play.
With the ball further up the pitch, Bernardo would drop into deeper areas to help try to chisel a passage through that four-man block, but City did little to pull the two deeper midfielders — Alexis Mac Allister and Ryan Gravenberch — out of position, making it difficult to find Phil Foden with any meaningful forward passes.
The second half was better, as Liverpool dropped off. Their press was more of a 4-3-3 than a 4-2-4, and allowed City a bit more time to string together moves without being hassled and harried by the front line. But even then there were sticky moments; Lewis waved furiously on several occasions for Ruben Dias to play a more direct pass up to Erling Haaland, but the Portuguese centre-back did not seem to back himself to produce such a pass.
City will have wanted to calm the Anfield crowd with assured possession play in the game’s opening stages, but their attempts to open a path through Liverpool were unimaginative, and left their defensive players flapping under the red shirts’ pressure.
Thom Harris
Are there any positives for City?
This is obviously a deep, deep hole that City find themselves in and, in some senses, today’s result does not change that. Going 11 points behind surely rules them out of a fifth title in a row but in reality, even if they had found a way to win this game, their problems cannot be fixed by a morale boost from one match.
They need players to come back from injury soon, and with Dias back here they got a big boost, Akanji and Ake too. But even so, they are weaker in midfield than ever, between those players who are out and the ones still ‘fit’ getting run into the ground by playing so many games. That is the big issue which means even had City got a result here, they would still be at risk of dropping further points in the coming weeks.
It’s what Guardiola was getting at on Friday, when asked if victory at Anfield could kickstart their season, and it is the simple reality for City. They were deservedly beaten today, and that is no good thing, but there were spells where they did well and considering how low on confidence they clearly are, it is positive for Guardiola to still see that fight.
As long as more players come back from injury, they will improve again, but they need a new face (or two) in the January transfer window (and for any arrivals next month to make an instant impact) to get back to their very best.
There is no doubt that things are bleak at the moment but City will find a way out of it, eventually.
Sam Lee
What did Arne Slot say?
Slot, speaking to Sky Sports, said, “Yeah (it was almost a perfect match), and if you look at work-rate I think it was perfect. The amount of chances we missed made it tight at the end. But maybe that’s nice for matches like this. It should be like this. But it would have been nicer to score the second goal earlier.
“We always press high but they’re so good at build-up. So you have to work very hard. Our players had energy. Apart from our players, the crowd was fantastic today as well.
“I don’t think anyone, including me would have predicted this (start). I knew Jurgen (Klopp) left the team in a good place. But still, against all the teams we have played.
“But we’re not the only ones. I saw Arsenal yesterday and City, they will come back.”
On injuries in his squad, Slot later added: “Today I only had five defenders available. They (Ibrahima Konate and Conor Bradley) will both be out for a few weeks and I have said many times before, it is always difficult to judge how many weeks this exactly is because you can think in the beginning, ‘Oh, probably going to be like this,’ and the end stage of an injury process can always differ a bit. But they will not be in the team this week for sure, both of them.
“Actually, I don’t think Kostas (Tsimikas) will be with us in the upcoming week as well. These players that we have available now, it is important for them now, even more than normal, for them to stay fit. And that is why I took Trent (Alexander-Arnold) off after 70 minutes.”
What did Pep Guardiola say?
Guardiola, speaking to Sky Sports, said, “The first 15-20 minutes they were unstoppable, they started so strong, we tried to play with a lot of control and passes, but it was difficult to take it.
“I congratulate them and we’ll reset and start from zero and it is difficult to believe it. I rely a lot on these players, I know they are doing in this position. We’ll see what happens by the end of the season.
“All the stadiums want to sack me, it started at Brighton! Maybe they are right with the results we’ve been having. I didn’t expect that at Anfield. They didn’t do it at 1-0, but at 2-0.
“Maybe they should have sung it in the past. I didn’t expect it from the people from Liverpool but it’s fine, it’s part of the game, and I understand completely. We’ve had incredible battles together. I have a respect for them.”
What next for Liverpool?
Wednesday, December 4: Newcastle United (A), Premier League, 7.30pm GMT, 2.30pm ET
What next for Manchester City?
Wednesday, December 4: Nottingham Forest (H), Premier League, 7.30pm GMT, 2.30pm ET
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(Top photo: Adrian Dennis/AFP via Getty Images)
