Liverpool beat Manchester City 2-0 at the Etihad Stadium to increase their Premier League lead over Arsenal to 11 points. The Gunners lost their home game to West Ham United on Saturday, providing a huge pre-game boost to the Reds.
While Liverpool have 11 games remaining, Arsenal have a game in hand after rearranging the schedule for the upcoming final. The Reds will face Newcastle United on the 16th of March for the Carabao Cup final as the defending champions.
As for the Premier League defending champions, this is their first Premier League home loss against Liverpool under Pep Guardiola. The Citizens have suffered immensely with a sudden drop in form with numerous factors playing a big role against them.
Guardiola lost Rodri to a season-long injury at the early stages of the campaign followed by numerous other key injuries. They faced the Reds without the services of their top striker, Erling Haaland, who suffered an injury against Newcastle United.
First-Half
The Citizens started the game on the front foot with Jeremy Doku hounding Trent Alexander-Arnold in one-on-one duels instantly. The Reds maintained a strong shape to restrict Man City just outside their channels, resorting to an incisive counter-attacking approach.
Liverpool scored against the run of play early in the 14th minute of the game after achieving a corner kick. While Liverpool have faced criticism for their set-piece play this season as their title rivals Arsenal enjoyed dominance and fame, the Reds scored a sensational goal, arguably, the best set-piece goal of the season.
A training ground routine started with Alexis Mac Allister’s low corner kick towards Dominic Szoboszlai who played an incisive pass. The ball landed perfectly for legendary forward Mohamed Salah to unleash a shot that took a deflection for the goal.
The Reds maintained their counter-attacking approach which proved beneficial when they scored their second goal in the 37th minute. Trent Alexander-Arnold started the move by delivering an incisive pass to Salah who drew the City’s defence towards himself.
The 32-year-old played a delicate ball to Szoboszlai, allowing him enough time to slot a low finish to beat Ederson. While Man City dominated the possession with 68% opposed to Liverpool’s 32%, they had only three shots on target from eight attempts while the Reds had two shots on target from three attempts.
Furthermore, Liverpool allowed only one shot from inside the box as opposed to their two shots inside City’s box. Arne Slot’s men scored from their both shots, securing an emphatic two-goal lead before the halftime.
Second-Half
Man City continued to dictate the game in possession during the second half but never threatened the Reds’ goal. The Citizens had eight shots with two on target compared to Liverpool’s five with two on target.
The Reds almost scored another goal in the 58th minute after a fantastic counter-attack that Ryan Gravenberch started. However, the Curtis Jones goal was disallowed by the VAR after an offside call on Szoboszlai.
Slot made late chances in the second half as City’s dominance in possession amounted to nothing, lacking conviction and creativity. Liverpool secured their first clean sheet since their second-string team’s surprising 1-0 away FA Cup loss to Plymouth Argyle.
Key takeaways
Liverpool maintaining the clean sheet and securing their first away victory in the Premier League against Man City under Guardiola is an immense psychological boost for this season and the long term. Furthermore, Slot has outwitted Guardiola twice by doing the Premier League double in his debut season, a unique feat.
The Reds have 11 games left in the Premier League and cannot take anything for granted right now. However, the travelling fans singing about the Premier League title is a beautiful sight that should boost Liverpool’s morale.
