Pep moves to -4 behind leaders Arsenal, Haaland misses a penalty but then makes amends. For the Reds seven defeats in the last 10
For his bench number 1,000 Pep Guardiola could not have had a better gift: the confirmation that Manchester City is back. It’s difficult not to read this verdict in the convincing 3-0 over Liverpool with which the Cityzens took second place in the Premier League and the official investiture as the first rival of Arsenal, now 4 points ahead in the standings. The success over the Reds was clear, devastating, unequivocal. Like the fall of Liverpool, which erases the attempts at rebirth shown with the victories over Aston Villa and Real Madrid, sinking almost without having tried. The two-week break will have to be used by Slot to study how to transform the Reds back into the battleship that with 7 defeats in the last 10 games they are far from being.
THE KEYS
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Guardiola won the match with tactics, the usual goal from Erling Haaland and the irresistible Jeremy Doku, who crowned a man of the match performance with a splendid curling shot from the edge of the area which in the 63rd minute effectively closed the match with 3-0. The Belgian was devastating with his acceleration, his dribbling, his unique ability to wreak havoc on the wing and carry it all the way to the penalty area. Haaland had a hand in it with the imperious header to give City the lead, also good for making amends for the missed penalty at the start: he reached the 99th goal of his career in the Premier League (14 this year) in his 108th appearance. Around them, City showed awareness of their abilities from their best days, snarling against Liverpool from the start, controlling the game, dominating in the first half and controlling (more easily thanks to Doku’s pearl) in the recovery. Liverpool did not come anywhere close to the excellent level reached with Real Madrid: the attack was in vain, the midfield was dominated, the defense went down, without making sensational errors but never managing to respond to City’s moves. If Guardiola can say with certainty that City is back (as he explained after the victory over Dortmund on Wednesday in the Champions League and as he has been repeating for a while) and the horizon now becomes the race against Arsenal, the only team so far that has proven clearly superior to the former rulers of England, Slot can only note that Liverpool’s involution has not been stemmed. The enthusiasm that the last two victories had brought, especially the one against Real Madrid, was erased by this colorless performance under the almost constant downpour of the Etihad. Now it’s not just Arsenal who are superior to the champions, but also this reborn City who chose Guardiola’s 1000th match to announce their rebirth.
THE MATCH
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The match gets underway in the 9th minute, with referee Kavanagh who after a trip to the monitor awards a penalty to City which Haaland lets Mamardashvili talk to. The Norwegian made amends in the 29th minute with a sensational header that sent City ahead. Liverpool thought they had equalized in the 38th minute with a precise header from Van Dijk from a corner, but the referee ruled out the goal because Robertson was offside and in the path in front of Donnarumma. A goal arrives before the break, but it’s 2-0 City with a great shot from outside by Gonzalez deflected by Van Dijk. The second half begins with Liverpool clearly improving, canceled out by the magic of Doku who overwhelms Mamrdashvili with an unstoppable right-footed shot from outside and definitively launches City in pursuit of Arsenal.
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