Manchester City vs Liverpool

Etihad Stadium

KO: 4.30pm

Sky Sports

8th of November 2020

From goal comebacks to bus bombardments, Liverpool and Manchester City’s rivalry has grown in intensity and acrimony over the years; this will be one of the biggest showdowns of the season between the reigning champions and runners-up.

Manchester City will be desperate to prove they are capable of pushing Liverpool this time around. Pep Guardiola’s side hasn’t managed that so far this season, being beaten by Leicester and dropping points against West Ham. While Jurgen Klopp, will have a defensive headache ahead of the game, in deciding whether Joel Matip, Rhys Wiliams, or Nat Phillips will partner Gomez in defence.

The Reds have had the measure of City in recent seasons and will arrive in east Manchester, believing they have a decent chance of winning at the Etihad, which could prove a materially significant match.

So, ahead of the game tomorrow afternoon, in my match preview; I have picked five matches that I believe have defined the Liverpool-Man City rivalry in the modern era.

Since their encounter in 1893, City has won just 57 of the 215 meetings between the two. Liverpool has been the victor on 105 occasions. The record for City reads better in the modern era. Since the takeover by Abu Dhabi United Group in 2008, City have nine out of the 30 matches against the Reds (who have 12 wins.)

Here Are My Top Five Liverpool VS Man City Matches

Kuyt Flying- 2-3 October 2008,Etihad Stadium

I can’t quite believe, it’s been 12 years, since Khaldoon Al Mubarak embarked upon his ambitious project to make City a major force in English football. While Liverpool, on the other hand, were arguably at their peak in 2008 under Rafael Benitez and ready to challenge for the title, having gone unbeaten in the opening six weeks of the season.

It was new money versus old, young pretenders up against the old establishment force and the best-attacking team on the stingiest defence; the subtext to the clash was fascinating in a way, and seeing the friction of those differences manifesting itself in this fixture added another layer to what turned out to be an entertaining clash.

City took a two-goal lead into halftime through a brilliant Stephen Ireland volley and a terrific Javier Garrido free-kick. It was a phenomenal start for City, but of the starting eleven that day, only three went on to be stapled first-teamers for years to come; Joe Hart, Vincent Kompany, and Pablo Zabaleta.

Looking back, it’s not at all surprising then that they could not hold onto the lead. This team was far from the finished article and despite the fact, their defence contained tough men like Kompany, Zabaleta, and Richard Dunne, the rest of the squad belied a soft touch; with the likes of Robinho, Jo, and Shaun Wright-Phillips.

And yet, City had an opportunity to kill off the game completely in the second half. Liverpool’s No 9 Fernando Torres had gotten one back, but a City counter-attack soon after saw Wright-Phillips entered the 18-yard box at a leisurely pace before crossing it into the path of Robinho. The Brazilian had goalkeeper Pepe Reina beaten, but he managed to knock the gilt-edged chance over the bar.

That would surely have killed any momentum the visitors had on the comeback trail. But instead, Zabaleta got a straight red for a rash tackle and Liverpool capitalised by getting an equaliser through Torres before Dirk Kuyt scored a dramatic winner in injury time.

That win kept Liverpool neck and neck with Chelsea at the top of the table and six points ahead of Manchester United after seven games, although the Red Devils would ultimately win the title ahead of their Merseyside rivals. City, meanwhile, finished in a disappointing tenth place, but the narrative of buying success would rumble on for the next decade and play a key role in the burgeoning rivalry between these two clubs.

Liverpool Go Again- 3-2, April 2014, Anfield

I remember this match; like it was only yesterday!

After that second-place finish in 2009, it would be another five years before Liverpool would challenge for the Premier League. In the meantime, Man City had won their first top-flight title in 44 years.

Under Brendan Rodgers though, Liverpool embarked on an incredible 11 game-winning run in the 2013/14 campaign that put them in the driving seat for first place. The Northern Irishman had his charges playing a chaotic brand of football which was very much the embodiment of “you score three, we’ll score four”, empowered by the likes of Luis Suarez, Daniel Sturridge, Philippe Coutinho and, young Raheem Sterling.

Liverpool’s home meeting with City in April of 2014 was a classic example of this. They took a deserved two-goal lead through Sterling and Martin Skrtel after 26 minutes and should have seen the game out without a bother. But a David Silva strike and a Glen Johnson own goal after the break shifted the momentum entirely. Typical.

But just as they had done so many times on that unbeaten streak, they just would not die; Coutinho capitalised on an uncharacteristically poor clearance from Kompany to smash a winner home in the 78th minute. Also typical.

After the final whistle Steven Gerrard gave his famous “we go again, do not let this slip” speech to his teammates as they leaped ahead of Chelsea in the table, but it was sadly a precursor for things to come; the captain did indeed slip in a 2-0 defeat to the Blues, before drawing 3-3 at Crystal Palace.

This 3-2 win was the one that gave them the belief they could win the holy grail, but it’s the hope that kills you. That, and Tony Pulis.

City’s Demolition Job- 5-0 September 2017,Etihad Stadium

Man City was a juggernaut in the 2017/18 campaign, something Liverpool learned very early on in the season. The Reds started off well, but it was the hosts who took the lead after 24 minutes through Sergio Aguero. If that wasn’t bad enough, disaster struck for the visitors soon after.

Struggling to latch onto a long ball from Joel Matip, Sadio Mane inadvertently booted goalkeeper Ederson square in the face. The Senegalese was predictably sent off for the challenge, landing his side with the most uphill of tasks. With a defence featuring Ragnar Klavan and Alberto Moreno, they simply weren’t up to it.

A brace apiece for Gabriel Jesus and Leroy Sane completed a major demolition job of Jurgen Klopp’s men. The final goal was the best of the lot, the German winger left in acres of space on the edge of the box to send the ball top bins. It is Klopp’s heaviest defeat as Liverpool boss.

Bus Attack- 3-0 April 2018, Anfield

That challenge would come sooner than expected, as the two Premier League clubs were drawn together at the quarter-final stage of that year’s Champions League.

Anyone who expected a similar kind of ding-dong battle to the one that occurred just months previously were in for a rude awakening, as Liverpool unexpectedly destroyed City. It was no fluke either; they dominated the game from start to finish, and looked decidedly more comfortable at the back with Van Dijk in the starting line-up.

Mane and Salah scored either side of a Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain screamer to give themselves an incredible lead, all within the first half-hour of the game. But the main talking point after the match concerned the Man City bus, which had been pelted by objects from the home support as it made its way to the stadium. Did it rattle them? Who knows for sure, but it certainly looked that way.

Done and Dusted- 3-1 November 2019, Anfield

Title races are never decided in November, but this result essentially consigned Man City to also-rans. Holding a five-point lead in the table going into this match, Liverpool seized the initiative and never looked back.

After just six minutes of play, Fabinho hit a stunning effort from range to open the scoring, and by the 13th minute, Mo Salah had doubled their lead. It was the first time since December 2016 against Leicester City that City conceded twice in the opening 15 minutes of a league match.

Any chance of a comeback was smothered just after the second-half began, as Sadio Mané struck home in the 51st minute. A Bernardo Silva consolation late on could not hide the reality that was now facing City: Liverpool were going to be champions this season; the 30-year wait was over!

City was missing two key players in the form of Ederson and Aymeric Laporte, meaning Fernandinho had to play alongside John Stones in the centre of defence. They couldn’t handle the ferocity of the host’s attack and it was only natural that they succumbed to such a battering.

The previous season Liverpool within literal milli-meters of scoring the goal that may have been enough for them to win the league, only for Stones to clear it off the line in the nick of time. This time they were definitive and didn’t let the opportunity slip through their fingers.

This sets it up nicely, in what will be an enthralling contest on Sunday Afternoon!

Come On The Reds!

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