- Liverpool overcame an early deficit to battle the Premier League champions to a 1-1 draw.
- The draw ended Manchester City’s incredible 24-game winning streak at the Etihad Stadium.
Liverpool overcame an early deficit to battle the Premier League champions to a 1-1 draw, ending Manchester City’s incredible 24-game winning streak at the Etihad Stadium.
Erling Haaland’s historic 50th goal in the English Premier League gave Pep Guardiola’s team the lead early on, but a brilliant finish by Trent Alexander-Arnold 10 minutes from time put City at risk of dropping out of first place in the next few hours.
How the game unfolded
Although Haaland’s selection in the home team’s starting lineup made headlines, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp also gave the green light to three players from his South American contingent—though he may have begun to second-guess his choice to start Alisson Becker.
After a disastrous mistake by the Brazilian goalkeeper in the 12th minute, which gave Phil Foden a chance on the outside of the box but saw the Englishman fire a weak shot into his appreciative hands, Haaland was unable to capitalize on a mix-up between Alisson and Curtis Jones.
Between the two nervous moments for Alisson, his countryman Ederson had to make a save to deflect a header from Darwin Nunez in the 16th minute, but Liverpool’s opportunities were few and far between as City kept applying pressure.
Despite not receiving a punishment for his previous two errors, Alisson would not have been so lucky a third time. With 27 minutes remaining, the Brazilian stumbled and sent a goal kick skyward, which Nathan Ake managed to grab down within the Liverpool half.
Erling Haaland celebrates after scoring against Liverpool. Photo/Goal
The Dutchman easily slid past Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexander-Arnold before finding Haaland who in turn found the far corner with the assistance of Alisson’s hands, shattering yet another record and scoring 50 Premier League goals in just 48 games.
A frustrated Liverpool team attempted many attempts at scoring before halftime but were unsuccessful. In the 35th minute, Nunez, who had been spotted by Szoboszlai, struck the side netting from a tight angle.
Liverpool started the second half sharper until Diogo Jota exited the pitch with an injury and Luis Diaz took his place. Alisson made partial atonement for his earlier errors in the 44th minute when he tipped Foden’s low shot past the post after the Englishman had cut inside from the right.
As Ryan Gravenberch entered the game Liverpool’s attempts to test Ederson remained fruitless, mostly because of a string of wasteful corners.
Rodri’s long-range shot in the 64th minute was blocked by Joel Matip’s backside, which gave Rodri the impression that Matip had briefly used his hand to deflect the ball. This set off City’s pursuit of a second goal.
In the 68th minute, the hosts had a great opportunity to teach Liverpool a set-piece lesson when Ruben Dias tapped in at the back stick after Alisson allowed a corner go past him. However, he was under pressure from Manuel Akanji and was spared by a questionable foul call.
Replays indicated that there was little contact, so Liverpool should have counted their lucky stars that the VAR room sided with Chris Kavanagh’s first judgment. The Reds took full advantage of their 80th-minute reprieve.
Trent Alexander Arnold shushes the City home fans after scoring. Photo/ Goal
Alexander-Arnold was set up by Mohamed Salah, who was one goal shy of 150 in the Premier League, to shoot from the outside of the box. The right-back then curled a fantastic low shot into the far corner.
Despite having to deal with one more City corner with an injured Alisson who had gone down clutching his thigh but was forced to play on because Klopp had already used up his five replacements, Liverpool were unable to find a winner in the eight minutes of added time.
As City maintained their one-point lead over Liverpool at the top of the league, tensions between Nunez and Guardiola erupted at the conclusion of the match. However, Arsenal’s victory against Brentford this evening will allow them to pass both clubs into first place.
Man City’s next match comes at home against RB Leipzig in the Champions League on Tuesday, while Liverpool plays LASK Linz in the Europa League two days later.
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