The Breakdown: Man City and Liverpool Play Out Exciting Draw
By Taylor Smith
MANCHESTER CITY PLAYER RATINGS:
*- Man of the Match
MANAGER: Pep Guardiola: 6; selected a sensible lineup with good balance in the center of the park. City supporters may have wanted to see a midfield with a little more attacking threat, but they can’t really complain. Pep selected his most well-rounded XI and that’s all one can ask for from the gaffer.
GK: Ederson: 7; couldn’t really do anything about Salah’s penalty, but performed his other duties well. Made a good save from close range to deny Alexander-Arnold initially and Jota on the follow-up. Had a fairly quiet second half as Liverpool struggled to get into dangerous positions.
CB: Aymeric Laporte: 7; continued to perform admirably alongside his partner Dias. Was an ever-present, steady presence in the heart of the Manchester City defense. Played pass after pass in possession. The only blemish on his performance was the yellow card he earned after taking Salah down in a bear hug toward the end of the game.
CB: Rúben Dias: 7; looking like one of the transfers of the summer. His developing partnership with Laporte is showing very promising signs of solving last season’s center back woes. Did his job, although not with any particular sparkle or shine. Didn’t put a foot wrong either.
LB: João Cancelo: 7; provided a good outlet and width on the left-hand side. Managed to pick some good passes and get the ball to De Bruyne to play dangerous crosses into the box. Made some crucial interventions defensively, including an important tackle and clearance on Salah in the penalty area with seven minutes left in the match.
RB: Kyle Walker: 6; will be very disappointed he let Mane get the wrong side of him and gave away a cheap penalty. Liverpool’s early lead put Manchester City under unnecessary pressure early on. Mane looked like he was really enjoying the matchup, which is never a good sign. Recovered very well in the second half, managing to keep Mane quiet during a crucial period of the match.
CM: Rodri: 6; did exactly what he’s supposed to do in this side. Broke up play and helped defend against the inevitable Liverpool counter-attack. Put in the hard work and graft needed in a match like this.
CM: Ilkay Gündogan: 6; would have hoped for a more influential first half, but didn’t make any headlines for wrong reasons either. Seemed the most likely to depart with Phil Foden warming up and receiving instructions, but played the full 90 after Pep changed his mind.
CM: Kevin De Bruyne: 6; got the assist for Jesus’ equalizer in the first half. Was his typical excellent self, full of vision and drive. His delivery was also typically excellent. He’ll be extremely disappointed that he didn’t give City the lead before half time, considering that he’s usually so clinical from the spot.
LW: Raheem Sterling: 6; not his usual lively self, but this has recently been the case when facing his former employer. Had one good chance that he couldn’t squeeze past Alisson in the first half. The second half proved to be even less inviting for Sterling, as he faded badly toward the end.
RW: Ferrán Torres: 6; had some decent moments, but much like his teammate on the other flank, fairly innocuous in the first half. Substituted for Bernardo Silva in the 61st minute.
ST: Gabriel Jesus*: 8; rewarded his manager’s faith by getting the equalizer in the first half. Up to that point, he had mostly been neutralized, but it’s the mark of good players that they take their chances when they get them, and he proved that he is a very good player with a key role to play as the heir apparent to the 32-year-old Sergio Aguero.
SUBS:
RW: Bernardo Silva: N/A: came on for Ferran Torres in the 61st minute. Contributed from the right-hand side and put in some dangerous balls. He’ll be wondering what he might have been capable of if he was selected from the start.