Manchester won at Anfield for the first time since 2003. Liverpool lost their third game in a row at Anfield.
The 23rd round of the English Premier League super confrontation took place at Anfield Road, where Liverpool hosted Manchester City, and this match decided a lot, especially for the hosts. The game was preceded by sharp statements by Pep Guardiola and Jürgen Klopp. The German said City rested for 2 weeks because of the coronavirus, to which the Spaniard responded cynically.
In addition, for Liverpool in practice it was probably the last chance to maintain the championship ambition and the victory would really raise the mood of the “Reds”. However, what we already knew this season made this game even stronger – Liverpool are in crisis, and Manchester City are probably in the coolest form in Europe.
Liverpool 1: 4 Manchester City
The first half ended goalless, which was logical given the scenario of the game. However, in the 37th minute, Manchester missed an ideal opportunity to score. Ilkay Gundogan kicked a penalty but missed the goal. The German corrected a mistake at the start of the second half and added Allison’s cool save to the defense. Klopp’s boys were able to fight once, and Mo Salah converted his own penalty – 1: 1. However, this turned out to be the maximum.
Then Alisson got involved in the case, who played unusually weakly. He made two gifts to the opponent in a 3-minute interval. In both cases, Allison made an inaccurate pass to his own penalty kick. He passed the ball directly to Manchester players, and the visitors did not miss it once. First Gundogan doubled, then with a cool pass from Bernardo Silva Raheem Sterling knocked on an empty door. The “Cityzens” did not believe that either and Phil Foden scored an effective goal – 1: 4.
It is noteworthy that Liverpool lost their third game in a row at Anfield, while previously having a 68-match unbeaten streak. Also at Anfield, Manchester City beat Liverpool for the first time since 2003 (9 draws, 19 losses).
Manchester City are in the first place and are 5 points ahead of their closest follower Manchester United, with less playing time, while Liverpool are only in 4th place after 23 rounds and things are going so well that this season they will have to fight more for the Champions League zone than for the championship.