Manchester City Vs Liverpool

Etihad Stadium

Final Score: 1-1

Goals: Salah (13′) P, G. Jesus (31′)

8th of November 2020

It really was a tale of two halves- the first was sensational, the second scrappy; and it all ended in a 1-1 draw at the Etihad.

For Liverpool, they started superbly, springing a surprise formation by playing a 4-2-4 system. Liverpool’s “Fab Four” of Roberto Firmino, Diogo Jota, Mohamed Salah, and Sadio Mane would all start for the Reds, which produced in a fantastically attacking line-up. Klopp has made his name for being bold in his decisions, and for the first half, his team elevated his philosophy of “heavy-metal football.” They operated with such speed and intricacy. For Red’s fan, or actually any football fan, the first half was sensational to watch- it was a showcase in which Liverpool took the game to their opponents.. They played like champions!

Liverpool’s formation unsettled City- in particular, Kyle Walker, as Liverpool struck hard and struck first in the opening exchanges, and in the 13th minute, they got their reward. The penalty itself wasn’t contentious, as Mane was barged into clearly and needlessly by Walker. But City will argue, they should have had a foul before, Liverpool countered when Jota charged into Raheem Sterling as he attempted to enter into the penalty area. But as Sterling remained on his feet, referee Craig Pawson played on, meaning the penalty stood.

And Mohamed Salah does what he does best; and drove the ball powerfully past goalkeeper Ederson, giving Liverpool an early 0-1 advantage. The Egyptian’s fifth penalty, he has scored this season.

It wasn’t until the 25th minute of the game, that City slowly played their way back into the match, with their first effort on target. They began to play with a rhythm, which afforded them the chance to draw level. On 31 minutes, Man City worked a ball wide to Walker, who pushed it infield to Kevin De Bruyne; the Belgian found striker Gabriel Jesus, who brilliantly beat Alexander- Arnold, and stabbed the ball past Allison.

And then came the penalty, where Joe Gomez was penalised after Kevin De Bruyne’s cross struck his arm. The referee initially pointed for a corner before going to review the incident on the on-field monitor, and then awarded a spot-kick.

Any fan watching, could clearly see the ball was hit with such pace, that Gomez never had the time or opportunity to get his arm out of the way. His arm was not in an unnatural position; and yet it was given. If penalties are going to be given this season, for non-deliberate handballs, then players will just have to play with their arms behind their backs; it’s really getting that farcical! Everyone just wants common sense to prevail in these decisions… and at the moment, that’s still not happening…

Joe Gomez echoed these sentiments admitting, in his post-match interview, these are “frustrating decisions,” and made an interesting point, by urging referees to re-watch the replays at normal speed and to take into consideration the scenario at hand, rather than purely judging whether the ball hit his arm or not. A clever VAR point, I thought the 23-year old made.

It seemed justice was served when De Bryne dragged his effort wide from 12 yards; and the match remained at 1-1 going into half-time. He is the first player to miss the target from a spot-kick in a Premier League fixture since Riyad Mahrez blazed over at Anfield in October 2018.

But how costly, could De Bryne’s penalty miss be in Manchester’s City bid to regain the title over Liverpool? The answer only time will tell…

Liverpool was close to regaining the lead shortly before the interval when goalkeeper Ederson grabbed the ball near the line, after initially spilling it.

After such excitement, the second-half lacked intent from both sides; possibly tiredness and the extraordinary effort of such an entertaining and open first-half began to take its toll. Both sides seemed exhausted physically and mentally, and seemed both content with a draw, and possibly avoiding a defeat come the final whistle.

For Liverpool, maybe the realisation that a draw- was not such a bad result, going into the international break. The Red’s are a point behind league-leaders Leicester; who we play next.

There were still moments in the second half, where either team could have taken the lead. Diogo Jota shot weakly at Ederson, after the goalkeeper punched a cross at him, and Joao Cancelo sending a ball for Jesus to steal- but his header went wide.

Despite the debate, a draw was probably the fairest result. The title race, could come down to fine margins but- as suspected it does appear Liverpool and Manchester City are the teams to beat.

But for Liverpool, a point away at the Etihad could be crucial, and it could turn out to be their most-hard earned- and most important point of the Premier League campaign.

The Reds have sent out a clear message to those wanting to snatch their crown; they remain the team to beat.

Finally, this hard-fought draw wasn’t without cost, as Trent Alexander-Arnold limped off with a suspected calf problem. He won’t be available for international duty; and as Red’s fans we hope these two weeks will allow him a speedy recovery.. in time for Leicester’s visit to Anfield!

Man Of The Match

For my MOTM accolade, it was a tough call between Allison Becker and Sadio Mane; but in the end I went with the goalkeeper and here is why…

For me, the 28 year-old showed real leadership yesterday from the back with Liverpool’s ever changing defence. Since Virgil Van Dijk’s ACL injury, Liverpool have had to make several changes to their starting backline. And I thought Allison, remained calm in what was a big occasion, and was able to organise the backline effectively in set pieces. He wasn’t afraid to be vocal, and direct the team when needed.

He eased Joel Matip, who has just returned from injury and Joe Gomez into the game; allowing the Matip/Gomez partnership to grow in confidence as the game progressed. For me, this defensive partnership is crucial for Liverpool going forward this season, and Allison plays an important role in it.

You could say to some extent that it was a relatively quiet evening for the No. 1 in terms of the saves required of him – or maybe it’s because he makes everything look easy. But I thought his leadership on the pitch, was excellent!

The brilliant save with his legs to deny Raheem Sterling was his standout moment, and what was key was his speed off his line and his safe hands in the wet conditions.

There was little he could do to deny Jesus from close-range.

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