Liverpool vs Manchester City was a thrilling match where Mohamed Salah saved the day
In what seemed to be a chilly air hovering over Anfield this Sunday and after a dry 45 minutes in the first half of the game, the game of Liverpool vs. Manchester City made Anfield erupt in what became a “game of passion,” as dubbed by the Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp.
Liverpool vs Manchester City was intensified and seemed to have an immensely weighed tug-of-war between the two clubs. However, it was Salah who brought the Reds a lead which was unchallenged till the winning whistle went up for them.
This fixture which could be helmed as a modern classic was filled with finesse from Manchester City and the valiant tactical overpowering by Klopp. City had their first loss of the current season, which puts them just four points behind the Gunners, who are having an incredible season this year.
Liverpool was playing with a 4-2-3-1 but what seemed an interesting change was the liberty for Salah to move up in the front.
His role shifted from being a forward to a central forward who seemed to have the freedom to make his way amidst the central defenders of City.
The first chance for Liverpool:
Van Dijk passed a really good one to Jota, who passed it to Milner. Milner crossed it only to be defended by the City goalkeeper Ederson after which the ball fell to Robertson. The city defenders came in whizzing to defend their post while Robertson took the shot but only to find the ball taking off to the stands.
Salah: The talisman
The night belonged to the Egyptian forward, who has been criticized for quite a long for his lacklustre performance this season. However, he had recently scored a quick hattrick in the Champions League when they faced Rangers before he faced this much-anticipated match.
Given the freedom to switch between the role of a forward and a center forward, Salah was seen to helm a more unconventional forward position.
In the 50th minute, he got a chance to be one-on-one with the keeper. The ball was shot which looked from the side to be just a bit wide. However, the replays revealed the goal, in fact, was magnificent save by Ederson.
Salah was at it again when he was in a deft float pass to Jota. Jota managed to head it, and the ball managed to touch the net but only on the outside. The match became more thrilling as more nail-biting moments started to surface.
With just 15 minutes to go, Allison saw a chance and took an instant to kick a flat one to Salah. Salah managed to catch the ball with his foot in what was a skilful grounding of the ball and turned to take the ball ahead of everyone on the field with only the goalkeeper in front. But, it was on the halfway mark, and a skilful dribble was required, which indeed came out of him. Ederson came forward but could not stop a curl from Salah, scoring a remarkable goal.
Jason Burt, in his match report in Telegraph, wrote, “Where has this Liverpool been all season? “ Rightly so, while Liverpool fans’ chanted loudly – “This is Anfield”- to the City manager Pep Guardiola, Liverpool seemed to emulate how they had been playing in its recent years, barring this season.
Halland: Pretty good, but not enough!!
The Norwegian behemoth has been thrilling stadiums with every match he has played this season. Here he was impressive though he did not look the alien player that he had been all season.
In the 33rd minute, he tried to chip the ball over Alisson’s head but was denied by the latter.
Just 7 minutes later, he got an opportunity again, which he accurately headed toward the post; however, the Brazilian keeper was again ready with his safe mitts and stopped the ball without any difficulty.
The final denial to Haaland came in the 65th minute again by the Brazilian goalkeeper Alisson. The striker got the ball, but eventually, it ended up being a little far away from what could have been a comfortable strike. Haaland’s incredibly still managed to give it a shot from an extended reach with his foot, but the shot lacked tenacity, and Alisson, in what was a fantastic game for him, safely saved it.
Erling Haaland in the first half vs. Liverpool:
— Squawka (@Squawka) October 16, 2022
◉ Most touches in opp. box (9)
◉ Most shots (4)
◉ Most shots on target (2)
No goals so far though.. pic.twitter.com/y6jBEHSU3r
City gets disallowed
The 54th minute saw Alisson from Liverpool defending a shot from Haaland in a dive and eventually going down. The ball, however, was saved for a tiny duration as it fell to the English player Foden who successfully netted it. The stadium erupted though the Liverpool fans were more aghast and frustrated because they were calling a foul from Haaland on Fabinho just a bit earlier when the forward was trying to build up the goal. The officials soon used technology to scrutinize the situation and soon denied the goal, which would have given City the lead.
❌⚽️ Foden's goal is disallowed for a foul on Fabinho by Haaland #LIVMCI pic.twitter.com/X8xPGTXVEX
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) October 16, 2022
Klopp sent off
It was an animated day for the Red’s manager, as for the most part of the match, he could be seen lurking around the assistant referee and hurling angry and disappointing rants at them. The sight was quite animated and, at some times, seemed to suggest wild spite from the manager as he kept displaying antics to show his disgust towards the officials.
In the 86th minute, however, an enraged Klopp was shown the Red Card by Anthony Taylor, and the former seemed more in disbelief as to what was happening. The manager was so appalled that he took himself away from the pitch, sprinting and hurling shouts.
Also see: Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp denies 7-year management cycle strategy
The final match summary:
Liverpool 1 – 0 Manchester City
Line-ups:
Liverpool:
Alisson 1, James Milner(C) 7, Andrew Robertson 26, Joseph Gomez 2, Virgil van Dijk 4, Thiago 6, Harvey Elliott 19, Fabinho 3, Roberto Firmino 9, Diogo Jota 20, Mohamed Salah 11
Substitutes:
Darwin Núñez (27) went in at 72’
Fabio Carvalho (28) went in at 73’
Jordan Henderson (14) went in at 73’
Trent Alexander-Arnold (66) went in at 90’
Konstantinos Tsimikas (21) went in at 90’ + 9’
Manchester City
Ederson 31
Nathan Aké 6
Rúben Dias 3
Manuel Akanji 25
João Cancelo 7
Phil Foden 47
Rodrigo 16
Bernardo Silva 20
Erling Haaland 9
Kevin De Bruyne 17
Ilkay Gündogan (c) 8
Substitutes:
Julián Álvarez(19) went in at 89’
