November 8, The City of Manchester Stadium, Manchester, UK | Manchester City and Liverpool played out a hard-fought draw in the English Premier League on Sunday.
The result takes Liverpool into third place on 17 points behind leaders Leicester City and Tottenham, while Manchester City moves into 11th place on 12 points. Some long-standing questions about lineups for both sides were answered when the team sheets were announced an hour before kickoff.
Gabriel Jesus, who made his return from injury midweek in City’s Champions League comprehensive win over Olympiakos, was fit enough to lead the line against Liverpool. Guardiola didn’t really spring any other surprises, however, selecting a balanced midfield and the promising duo of Laporte and Dias in the heart of the defense.
Jurgen Klopp deemed Joel Matip fit enough to start this match, hoping that he would add nous and experience to the Red’s backline. Matip was an unused substitute in Liverpool’s 5-0 thrashing of Serie A side Atalanta, but most believed that Klopp would go with the Cameroonian if he was fit enough for this match in the English Premier League.
The lineup surprise came in the form of Diogo Jota and Roberto Firmino. Much of the pre-match punditry had been spent discussing whether Klopp should start the lagging Firmino or replace him in the side with the sparkling Jota fresh off a hat-trick in European competition. Klopp decided to start them both, electing an attacking side that was clearly set up to try and win maximum points.
Manchester City Starting XI: Ederson; Laporte, Dias, Cancelo, Walker; Rodri, Gündogan, De Bruyne; Jesus, Sterling, Torres Formation: 4-3-3
Subs: García, Stones, Aké, Silva, Zinchenko, Steffen, Foden
Liverpool Starting XI: Alisson; Gomez, Matip, Robertson, Alexander-Arnold; Wijnaldum, Henderson; Jota, Firmino, Mané; Salah Formation: 4-2-3-1
Subs: Milner, Adrián, Shaqiri, Origi, Jones, Keita, Phillips
THE MATCH: Manchester City 1-1 Liverpool
Liverpool began the game very sharply, putting lots of pressure on City who looked a little jittery to start the match. Liverpool’s attacking 4 looked capable of causing the City defense some serious headaches.
They did just that, in fact, earning an early penalty within the first quarter of an hour, as Kyle Walker brought down Sadio Mane after a good turn in the area. Salah stepped up to coolly dispatch the penalty past Ederson, giving the Reds a crucial early lead.
Just before Liverpool were awarded their penalty, City had their own penalty shout as Jota knocked Sterling off the ball in the area, but the referee wasn’t interested and Pep was left nonplussed with the refereeing in yet another match with Liverpool.
After conceding early, Pep urged his side to recover and stay on plan. They regained their composure with the rain coming down and had decent possession. Liverpool, meanwhile, looked very content to try and hurt City on the counter-attack with their terrific pace up top in the form of Salah, Mane, and Jota. Firmino in the number 10 role did what he does so well in matches like this: find pockets of space, hold the ball up, and initiate threatening counters.
Liverpool’s game plan became clearer as the match went on, with the early lead only solidifying the shape and intent of Klopp’s side. The 53-year-old German clearly meant to frustrate City, limit clear-cut chances, and hit Pep’s side on the break as City pushed for goals. And it worked. Liverpool broke with menace time after time in the first 30 minutes and looked much the more dangerous side.
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City were pressing Liverpool well, but they simply didn’t have enough sharpness in the final third for the first 30 minutes. Sterling did manage to force Alisson into a good save after a peach of a cross from Kevin De Bruyne, but City had to wait until Jesus’ fortunate touch in the box gave him the space to poke the ball past Alisson for the equalizer.
There was yet more VAR controversy as Joe Gomez inadvertently handled Kevin De Bruyne’s cross in the box. Referee Craig Pawson awarded City a penalty after initially deeming that Gomez had done nothing wrong.
VAR was spared its blushes, however, because Kevin De Bruyne failed to punish Liverpool, sending his penalty just wide. The weekly VAR nonsensical sideshow episode is becoming a real bore and, frankly, a detriment to the game.
Liverpool could have scored just before the stroke of halftime, but Ederson did well to retrieve his spilled save from Trent Alexander-Arnold’s close-range effort. The Reds had another good chance sail over Ederson goal, as Alexander-Arnold’s free-kick effort was off target. Both sides went into halftime level.
After the restart, the contest almost immediately became somehow frantic, chippy, and open all at once. It was chance after chance at both ends, and Liverpool really should have taken the lead back but Jota’s scuffed half-volley hit right at Ederson. Both sides seemed to abandon the plan momentarily as they went for the jugular in their bid to claim a crucial win for their side at this early stage of the Premier League season.
City had a big chance after 55 minutes played, but Jesus put his header wide of the post even though he was completely free in the area.
At this point in the match, both teams began trading blows, and had the two sides been a little more clinical in the attacking third, it could have also resembled an NBA game. Naturally, the frenetic pace of the game could last. Injuries, substitutions, and fouls started to turn the game into a stodgy affair, even though both teams made attacking substitutions to try and keep the chances coming for their side.
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Unfortunately for Klopp and Reds supporters, Trent Alexander-Arnold pulled up with an apparent calf/achilles injury and was forced to depart proceedings, with James Milner taking his place at right-back.
With 15 minutes left, the realization that the next goal may very be the match-winner began to dawn on the players. City pressed for the winner, while Liverpool looked to stay solid and compact in order to look for dangerous opportunities on the counter-attack. The winner was not meant to be, though, as both sides started showing the signs of playing a game every three days.
Their energy level depleted, neither team looked likely to break the deadlock in the pouring Manchester rain. The game played out without drama, despite Craig Pawson’s attempts to make himself the story of the match for all the wrong reasons. Liverpool will be the happier of the two sides, as an away draw is a respectable result given the fixture congestion. Manchester City, on the other hand, will be lamenting De Bruyne’s penalty miss that would have been the difference between the two sides.
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.
LIVERPOOL PLAYER RATINGS:
MANAGER: Jurgen Klopp: 7; was the bolder of the two managers, choosing to start both Firmino and Jota at the expense of being a little more defensively solid—on paper anyway. Klopp would have been happy that Matip was fit enough to start the game, instead of handing Nat Phillips an unnecessary test against their main rivals for the title.
GK: Alisson: 6; was unlucky to see the ball in the back of the net after Jesus’ fortunate touch allowed him to equalize. It wasn’t all unlucky, however, as Kevin De Bruyne pulled his penalty wide in an uncharacteristically inaccurate effort. Alisson had gone the wrong way and wouldn’t have had a chance to save had it not been off target.
CB: Joe Gomez: 6; was extremely fortunate not to be punished for his VAR handball. All VAR controversy aside, Gomez really shouldn’t have had his hands in that position as it’s becoming fairly commonplace these days to give those inadvertent handballs as penalties. Other than his close call, defended and passed the ball well.
CB: Joël Matip: 7; will be pleased to be back in the lineup and playing in big games like these. Did his job in the first half with little to no fuss and didn’t appear rusty after a few weeks on the treatment table. Typically dominant in the air and kept the ball well.
LB: Andy Robertson: 6; provided good defensive cover against some tough opponents on City’s right side. Wasn’t his sparkling best going forward, however. He’ll be relieved that Liverpool didn’t repeat their performance from this fixture last season.
RB: Trent Alexander-Arnold: 6; unlucky that Gabriel Jesus’ touch off De Bruyne’s ball took him completely out of the play and allowed City to equalize. Injury was added to insult when he pulled up lame and was substituted in the 62nd minute. Klopp will hope it’s minor and that he won’t have another crucial player fall prey to the injury bug.
CM: Georginio Wijnaldum: 6; although he was typically solid in tight areas and good in possession, didn’t do enough going forward. It seemed as though Klopp had given pretty clear instructions to both midfielders to stay disciplined and avoid giving up space on the counter. Had a crucial intervention in the second half to dispossess Sterling who had the ball in a dangerous area.
CM: Jordan Henderson: 6; put in the hard yards in a good game. A game like this call for leadership and Henderson always delivers in that respect. He just wasn’t as influential going forward as he would have wanted to be.
AMR: Diogo Jota: 6; did quite well early in the game to find space and get on the ball. Unfortunately, he didn’t have the same sharpness he had against Atalanta, otherwise, he may have had another hat-trick. Struggled to get into the game in the second half, like most of his teammates.
AMC: Roberto Firmino: 6; Had a good start to the game and got involved well. Unfortunately for him, he faded as the game went on. Substitute for Xherdan Shaqiri in the 60th minute.
AML: Sadio Mané: 7; did really well to earn the penalty that gave Liverpool the early lead. The classy turn left Walker with no choice but to make a rash challenge. Mane was well and truly up for this match and looked very sharp in the first 45. The batteries looked quite drained, even though Mane was Liverpool’s most consistent threat until the end.
ST: Mohamed Salah: 7; dispatched his penalty with great composure, in keeping with his excellent penalty record at Liverpool. He looked very dangerous on the counter on account of his blistering pace. He’ll be pleased with another goal, although he would have hoped for a more influential second half.
Subs:
AMC: Xherdan Shaqiri: 6; Came on in the 60th minute for Firmino. Struggled with the declining pace of play, and had to spend more time defending than orchestrating the attack.
RB: James Milner: N/A; Came on the for injured Alexander-Arnold in the 62nd minute. Did his job as Mr. Versatile and Mr. Reliable.