Liverpool 4-3 Man City: The Citizens' unbeaten run comes to an end.
An explosive night at Anfield saw a total of seven goals, four of which belonged to the home side Liverpool, thus ending Manchester City's unbeaten run.
Liverpool: Ox-Chamberlain (9'), Firmino (59'), Mane (62'), Salah (68')
Man City: Sane (40'), B. Silva (84'), Guendogan (90'+1)
Man City were thrashed at Anfield this morning. Not only did they suffer their first Premier League defeat of the season, but they also lost convincingly 3-4 to Liverpool's high-intensity gegen-pressing style of play.
Liverpool entered the match against Man City with a clear determination to secure all three points, despite their opponent being an unbeaten giant this season. That's why Liverpool proactively pushed forward and launched an early attacking onslaught right from the opening whistle, quickly scoring the opening goal in the 9th minute. It was a goal that bore the mark of individual brilliance from Alex Chamberlain, as he bravely dribbled past the visiting team's defense before unleashing a shot into the far corner, beating goalkeeper Ederson.
Ox-Chamberlain opened the scoring.
Liverpool continued their impressive form after opening the scoring. With their fast-paced and creative attacking trio of Salah, Mane, and Firmino, they continued to cause problems for Guardiola's side. However, Liverpool's opponents last night were the team currently sitting at the top of the Premier League. Guardiola's team had no difficulty containing their opponents' momentum, thanks to their excellent ball control.
Man City quickly regained control of the game and re-attacked Liverpool. In fact, Pep's team didn't create many real chances afterwards, but they possessed many high-class stars in excellent form, including Leroy Sane. In the 40th minute, the German star showed great skill in the penalty area before unleashing a powerful shot from a tight angle to equalize 1-1 for Man City. Towards the end of the first half, both teams played cautiously, awaiting instructions from their managers during the break.
Sane equalized for Man City.
What happened in the second half showed that manager Klopp hadn't changed his aggressive gegen-pressing style of play. And this style of play is truly the nemesis of tiqui-taca, as it fully exploited its potential. Liverpool quickly took a 2-1 lead in the second half. In the 59th minute, from a very quick attack, Roberto Firmino broke free to receive a through ball from Salah, then skillfully chipped the ball over goalkeeper Ederson.
Man City were truly disoriented after conceding the second goal. This turned their possession-based style of play into a double-edged sword. MC constantly lost possession in midfield. And just two minutes later, the visitors conceded a second goal from a powerful long-range shot into the near corner by Sadio Mane.
Mane's goal.
Man City completely collapsed after the third goal. Every move they made was clumsy and inaccurate. It was a failed clearance by goalkeeper Ederson in the 68th minute that allowed Salah to easily extend Liverpool's lead to 4-1 with a long-range lob into the empty net.
Salah scored a spectacular goal.
With nothing left to lose after being 1-4 down, Man City threw their entire team forward in attack in search of a goal. As a result, they scored two goals in quick succession towards the end of the match, courtesy of Bernardo Silva and Ilkay Guendogan. Fortunately for Liverpool, that was all Man City could manage in this game.
Liverpool became the first team to beat Man City in the Premier League this season and climbed to third place in the table.
Starting lineup
Liverpool: Karius; Gomez, Lovren, Matip, Robertson; Wijnaldum, Can (Milner 79'), Oxlade-Chamberlain; Salah (Lallana 88'), Mane (Klavan 90'), Firmino.
Man City:Ederson; Delph (Danilo 31'), Stones, Otamendi, Walker; Fernandinho, Guendogan; De Bruyne, Sterling (B. Silva 71'), Sané; Agüero.