It was fitting that there was nothing to split Liverpool and Man City in what was Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola‘s “last dance” before Klopp departs at the end of the season....CONTINUE READING THE FULL ARTICLE>>>
The draw means that City go into the final ten games of the 2023/24 Premier League season just one point adrift of Liverpool and table-toppers Arsenal, as Pep Guardiola’s side remain firmly in contention to repeat the remarkable treble they won last year.
Dominik Szoboszlai did provide a welcome boost, though, making his first Premier League start since January.
Man City made two changes from the team that won last week’s Manchester derby, with Manuel Akanji and Julian Alvarez replacing Ruben Dias and Jeremy Doku.
Man City started on top and made their dominance count midway through the first half, when Stones scored from a clever Kevin De Bruyne corner.
De Bruyne whipped the ball to the near post, where Stones was left unmarked after Nathan Ake had blocked Mac Allister in a smart screen move.
It was De Bruyne’s 13th goal involvement in 12 Man City appearances in 2024, the most of any Premier League player across all competitions so far this year.
Szoboszlai then headed Harvey Elliott‘s cross wide, and there was a mouthwatering moment just before the break as two of the Premier League’s stars in their position went head-to-head. Haaland was set through in a 1v1 with Van Dijk, who held up the Man City striker and forced a weak shot that was straight at Kelleher.
Coming into the match, Liverpool had won 22 points from losing positions this season, the most of any team, and they showed their grit once again to equalise five minutes after the restart, although they needed a helping hand to do so.
Ake played an underhit backpass that Nunez reached before Ederson, who gave away a penalty, hacking down the Liverpool striker in his attempt to reach the ball first. Mac Allister converted the spot-kick.
To make matters worse, Ederson was injured in the act of conceding the penalty and shortly after was replaced by Stefan Ortega.
Roared on by a rampant Anfield crowd, Klopp brought on Salah, who almost immediately made his mark. The Egyptian played an incredible through-ball to Luis Diaz, who shot wide in a 1v1 with Ortega.
Less than two minutes later, Diaz missed another big chance, failing to get his shot off in another 1v1 after being set up by Darwin Nunez.
There were two more big chances at either end, with Kelleher spreading himself in an Alisson-like action to thwart Phil Foden, while Ortega flung himself at Nunez’s close-range effort.
But it was City who came the closest to winning it. In the 89th minute, Doku’s shot from the left side of the box beat Kelleher, smashed against a post and bounced across goal and out.
It was the last meaningful chance of an absorbing contest featuring 29 shots, 19 of which came from Liverpool, who also edged possession.
It ends Man City’s run of nine away wins in a row in all competitions, and means Liverpool have lost only one of their last 21 home Premier League matches against City.
But the big winners of the match were Arsenal, who leapfrog both teams after their late win over Brentford on Saturday and are in pole position to go on and win a first Premier League title since 2003/04…CONTINUE READING>>
