Liverpool moved a massive 11 points clear of Manchester City with a comfortable 2-0 victory at Anfield, condemning the reigning champions to their sixth defeat in seven games.
It took Liverpool just 12 minutes to open the scoring, as Cody Gakpo was gifted a tap-in by Mohamed Salah to make the Reds’ early dominance pay. Mo Salah then made up for his inexplicable second-half sitter by scoring a well-taken penalty to seal the win late on.The fixture marked the first meeting between managers Arne Slot and Pep Guardiola, as well as City’s first trip to Anfield – a stadium they’ve come to fear – in the post-Jurgen Klopp era. Guardiola came away with yet more misery and was subjected to chants of ‘sacked in the morning’ from the home crowd.1. Guardiola drops Ederson in ruthless call
Five losses and six defeats should spark drastic changes for any time. But this is Manchester City. Did their dire form really warrant dropping their six-time Premier League-winning goalkeeper?
Yes, according to Guardiola, who revealed pre-match that he ‘just wanted to change something’. Stefan Ortega, the unlikely hero late in last season’s title race, got the nod at Anfield over Ederson, who had to watch from the bench. The German shot-stopper has never let Guardiola down and made a solid save early on, but Ortega’s second job was to pick the ball out of his net.
2. Gakpo rubber-stamps rampant start
‘A 0-0 battering’ – that’s how Gary Neville described the opening stages. Liverpool came out of the blocks firing on all cylinders, pinning City back and firing off a slew of shots.
Twelve minutes somehow felt like an age for Gakpo to open the scoring, as the in-form Dutchman couldn’t miss after Salah flashed the ball across goal. Virgil van Dijk had hit the post just seconds earlier from a corner and Gakpo’s compatriot nearly made it 2-0 with another heady which went narrowly wide soon after.
Liverpool gently lowered their intensity as the half wore on but Arne Slot’s men were still in control. City were chasing shadows, with a Rico Lewis shot which dribbled past Caoimhin Kelleher’s far post their only shot in a nightmare 45 minutes – but they were still in the game.3. City’s frustration shows
So it’s not just Jurgen Klopp’s tactics which can suffocate the reigning champions at Anfield. Not for the first time in recent weeks, Punch-drunk City looked shaken and couldn’t get a grip of the game, staring down the battle of an 11-point gap to Slot’s side.
Their three yellow cards picked up in the first half epitomised their frustration, with Matheus Nunes, Phil Foden and Manuel Akanji all going into the book. Guardiola had work to do in the dressing room with the score 1-0 at half-time.4. Salah fluffs his lines
Mo Salah had the game at his feet. After pick-pocketing Manuel Akanji around 40 yards from City’s goal, the Egyptian crowd burst away and only had Ortega to beat.
The away end held their breath while the rest of Anfield rose to their feet ready to celebrate. But after opening up his body for that ever-reliable left-footed finish, Salah somehow shot wide.
It was deju vu for Liverpool supporters, who’d also watched Salah miss the chance to make it 2-0 against Real Madrid in midweek. City then took hold of the game but couldn’t even carve out a clear-cut chance in front of the Kop.
5. Red-emption
For all of their possession in the second half, City always seemed vulnerable. The introduction of Darwin Nunez only increased Liverpool’s chances of picking them off and he combined with Luis Diaz to help win the decisive penalty which wrapped up all three points for the Reds.
Ruben Dias lost possession under pressure from Nunez and Diaz raced away towards Ortega. With a touch away from City’s goalkeeper, the Colombian felt contact and went flying over.Chris Kavanagh immediately pointed to the spot and once again Salah had the chance to double Liverpool’s lead. With ice in his veins, the red-hot forward made amends for his midweek miss, hitting the back of the net and wheeling away in celebration.
Eleven points. That’s the kind of margin you expect to be created at the back end of the campaign, not on the first day of December. Although Arsenal are still in the race while Chelsea and Brighton also sit above City, it’s the difference between the four-time champions and Liverpool which is the biggest talking points in this season’s title race.
Guardiola’s champions are known to put together winning runs and chasing down the leaders, but this season, in this form, it looks an extremely difficult task. For Slot, the dream start to his Anfield tenure is suddenly within reach.
