A word on Liverpool in a moment, but first let’s deal with Manchester City, who followed up a fine first-half performance with a pathetic display after the break. For a team with so many talented players, they should be embarrassed by their lethargy in the second half. They are now five points behind Chelsea, they have played a game more and you do wonder how long Manuel Pellegrini has left in this job. Where was the desire? City strolled their way to this defeat. Mind you, they must be sick of the sight of Coutinho, who arguably topped his winner in this fixture last season with the goal that won this match. Jordan Henderson’s goal was pretty damn good too and Liverpool - who, lest we forget, played extra-time and penalties in Turkey on Thursday night - move up to fifth place, two points behind Manchester United. Thanks for reading. Bye.
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Full-time: Liverpool 2-1 Manchester City
It’s over!
90 min+3: Aguero scuffs a shot harmlessly wide from the edge of the area and that should be that.
90 min+2: Lampard’s clearance goes straight to Coutinho on the edge of the City area! He knocks it to Sturridge, who can’t make space for the shot! And here come City...
90 min+1: There will be three minutes of stoppage time. A roar goes up around Anfield.
90 min: Yaya Toure rumbles through Liverpool defender after Liverpool defender. The ball breaks to Silva, in space just inside the area, and he wonks his shot wide! It looked like that was going to be the equaliser.
87 min: Daniel Sturridge should have wrapped the game up here! Yaya Toure has his pocket picked again by Henderson and the ball squirts through to Sturridge. He’s in the clear, but he slashes wide of the far post with his left foot. What a miss! City haven’t looked interested at times in this second half. They have been inexcusably lethargic.
86 min: For a moment, it looks like Wilfried Bony is going to be sent off after catching Adam Lallana in the face with a stray arm. Mark Clattenburg takes his time to make up his mind and then settles for a yellow card.
85 min: Slack play from Yaya Toure leads to him losing the ball to Henderson. The ball comes to Coutinho, whose shot from 18 yards is deflected over. The corner comes to nothing.
84 min: Adam Lallana, playing on the left now, is booked for going in late on Milner on the right.
83 min: City replace Samir Nasri with Frank Lampard, who gets the kind of warm Anfield reception you’d expect for a Chelsea legend.
82 min: Milner is booked for wrestling Sterling down off the ball. Kolo Toure is on, Alberto Moreno off.
81 min: Kolo Toure is getting ready to come on. It means that he’ll be playing against his brother Yaya for the first time in their career.
79 min: Aguero is inches away from equalising. Silva lofts a ball into the area, looking for Bony. Skrtel’s header only falls to Aguero, who takes it down on the right and then shoots from a tight angle. The ball slithers just past the far post. I thought that was in and so did Aguero. He can’t believe it.
78 min: James Milner curl the free-kick into the area, but it’s headed away.
78 min: Emre Can gives away a free-kick on the left, handling the ball. Before it can be taken, Wilfried Bony replaces Fernandinho.
76 min: Liverpool immediately bring on Daniel Sturridge for Lazar Markovic. It’s going to be a nervy finale.
GOAL! Liverpool 2-1 Manchester City (Coutinho, 75 min)
Jordan Henderson’s goal was special, but this might be even better from Coutinho! He did it against Southampton last week and now he’s done it against Manchester City! He cut inside from the left, on to his right foot, and whipped a shot that had pace, bend and power on it, the ball always flying past Hart’s despairing dive and into the far corner from 25 yards! Anfield erupts! Exclamation marks! Lots of exclamation marks! Surely it’s not going to be another Coutinho winner against City at Anfield?
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74 min: Markovic skips past Kolarov on the right and sends in a cross. Lallana tries a bicycle kick. Let’s just say that he didn’t score.
72 min: Aguero wriggles into the area. Skrtel has a nibble at his ankles and Aguero stumbles for a moment, but stays on his feet. That could so easily have been a penalty.
70 min: Silva’s free-kick is dreadful.
69 min: For the first time in a while, Liverpool are under pressure at the back Moreno brings Zabaleta down just outside the area on the right.
68 min: Aguero has barely had a touch for 20 minutes. City should probably rectify that.
67 min: “The Welsh Xavi is playing like, well, a Welsh Xavi,” says Paul Ewart. “Our best player by a country mile, too many poor decisions from his fellow Reds.”
66 min: Sturridge is getting ready. I expect it will be Lallana who goes off, although he has had a good game.
65 min: Henderson pings a pass over the top, intended for Sterling. Zabaleta has lost the flight of it, but Hart spares his blushes with a commanding catch.
63 min: The game has become quite bitty, passes going astray and moves breaking down. Not much is happening. Should Liverpool bring Sturridge on?
62 min: Now Markovic overhits a cross. It must be a Serbian joke that we’re not in on.
61 min: Kolarov crosses from the left. The ball goes out for a throw on the other side of the pitch without bouncing once. That’s an achievement.
58 min: City’s goalscorer, Edin Dzeko, is replaced by James Milner.
57 min: Between them, Fernandinho and Nasri combine to bring Coutinho down. Fernandino is booked. City’s level has dropped.
56 min: City are starting to give Liverpool too much space in midfield and, lo and behold, James Milner is getting ready. I suspect Samir Nasri will be taken off.
54 min: What happens if you shake the invisible spray can before using it? While you think about that, a free-kick to Liverpool on the left and it ends with Lallana again having a goal disallowed. Skrtel headed it on, but seemed to be fouling his man, and Lallana looked offside. So that’s a double no-no!
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52 min: Vincent Kompany commits his umpteenth foul of the match. No booking, but Mark Clattenburg says no more. That lecture out of the way, Liverpool attack. Coutinho slips a pass to Lallana. He crosses into the six-yard box and Sterling bundles it wide from close range. It just seemed to be behind him and he couldn’t get his feet sorted out in time.
50 min: Lovren cannot pass. He gifts the ball to Toure, who finds Silva. He seeks out Dzeko, but Mignolet is there.
48 min: It remains to be seen how much gas is in the Liverpool tank. Extra-time on Thursday must have taken its toll on them.
46 min: City get us going again and almost take the lead within seconds of the restart! Nasri finds Zabaleta on the overlap and his chipped cross is headed just over by Aguero, with Mignolet surely beaten.
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Half-time: Liverpool 1-1 Manchester City
That was enjoyable. Jordan Henderson gave Liverpool the lead, but Edin Dzeko’s equaliser means that it’s level at the break. More thrills and spills await.
45 min+1: City almost press the self-destruct button on the stroke of half-time! They allowed Liverpool to get out too easily from a throw and suddenly Adam Lallana was causing mischief in their area. He backheeled it to Sterling, but he wanted too long and his scuffed shot was saved by Hart.
45 min: No. It won’t.
44 min: Coutinho shows great tenacity, strength and ability to win the ball in midfield and find Sterling on the left. He runs at Zabaleta and wins a corner. Not that Zabaleta agrees. He thinks it’s a goal-kick and he’s probably right. Will this prove significant?
43 min: Coutinho tries his lucky from 30 yards. It swerves a bit, but it’s straight at Hart.
40 min: On Sky, Gary Neville is making the point that this first half shows why English teams are struggling in Europe. As good as it’s been as a spectacle, both teams are too open and the defending has been decidedly unimpressive.
37 min: Kolarov hangs a high ball over the top, seeking Aguero. Mignolet is out quickly to claim it.
35 min: Liverpool almost regain their lead! Markovic scoops a ball over the City defence to Lallana, who drags a first-time volley wide. Could he taken it down first? Maybe not. Hart was closing in.
32 min: Edin Dzeko blasts one into the Kop from 25 yards. Worryingly for Liverpool, though, Silva is finding more and more space in those central positions.
31 min: Lovren is a threat to his own side when he has the ball. Liverpool need to make sure not to give him the ball, if that’s possible.
29 min: A lull. A lovely lull.
27 min: Liverpool win a corner on the right, Markovic making good headway down the right, but they can’t do anything with it. City counter and Allen stops them with a cynical trip. Surprisingly he’s not booked.
GOAL! Liverpool 1-1 Manchester City (Dzeko, 25 min)
Oh, this is a brilliant goal from the champions. Everything about it oozed class and Anfield has just been dealt a hefty reality check. It started with a firm pass into David Silva’s feet from Yaya Toure. Silva had pulled inside from the left and in between the lines, away from Henderson, and you knew Liverpool were in trouble. He found Aguero, who raced towards the area, and then played a glorious reverse ball through to Dzeko, who pumped a low, authoritative shot under the advancing Mignolet.
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22 min: Liverpool need a second goal during this period. They have City right where they want them. Coutinho curves a lovely pass down the left, looking for Sterling. He turns and stands Mangala up, before wriggling past the flat-footed City defender. He’s too wide for a shot, though, and his low ball flashes across the six-yard box and away from goal. The ball reaches Markovic, but his cross sails over for a goal-kick.
21 min: City are in trouble when Liverpool down the left. Pablo Zabaleta is not at the races and Samir Nasri isn’t giving him enough protection. Now Moreno runs at Zabaleta, who’s huffing and puffing, and drives into the area, only to whack a wild shot miles wide with his right foot. That’s his swinger.
20 min: There is potential for high farce whenever the ball comes near Dejan Lovren and Simon Mignolet. A long ball down the right should be dealt with easily, but the pair of them leave it to each other. Mignolet wants Lovren to clear it, Lovren wants Mignolet to come and get it, and Dzeko is momentarily interested. Eventually Mignolet does claim the ball, but Anfield is unimpressed. Watch this space.
17 min: On the subject of Henderson’s goal, I’m sure I’m not the only person who was reminded of Marc Keller’s goal for West Ham against Derby in 1998. Here it is in all its glory.
15 min: The camera lingers on Vincent Kompany. He has not been in great form, has he? He made another error shortly after the Liverpool goal, but they couldn’t take advantage. City need their captain to shake himself out of this slump.
14 min: Coutinho batters a shot just over the bar from 25 yards. He’s no Jordan Henderson.
13 min: Sergio Aguero hits the post for City! He scampered on to a long ball over the top and with Mignolet hesitating, unsure whether to stay or to come off his line, he dabs an early shot past the Liverpool goalkeeper from the left. The ball looks destined for the far corner, but instead it bounces back off the post and away to safety!
GOAL! Liverpool 1-0 Manchester City (Henderson, 11 min)
What a goal from Steven Gerrard Jordan Henderson! This is incredible, although it’s another mistake from Vincent Kompany at Anfield! The City captain gave the ball away and Sterling seized on it. He swept a pass to Henderson on the left and he cut inside and rammed an unstoppable shot into the top-right corner with his right foot from 25 yards, the ball fizzing satisfyingly past a helpless Joe Hart! What a goal! There’s no saving that and that’s a redemptive moment for Henderson, given that he was sent off in this fixture last season.
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9 min: Liverpool have woken up all right! Adam Lallana has the ball in the City net, but the flag is up for offside after he collected Coutinho’s cross and slammed a volley into the top corner from a ludicrously tight angle. He was just offside. But it doesn’t matter, because...
8 min: It’s all City at the moment. Kolarov escapes down the left and bangs a low cross into the area. Skrtel clears, but only as far as Toure. He lines one up, but gets it badly wrong, skewing it off towards the right touchline. Luckily he’s spared the embarrassment of it going out for a throw, Zabaleta picking it up. Zabaleta then breaks past Moreno, but his cross is poor, and ... here come Liverpool! Coutinho plays Lallana through on goal, the midfielder streaking through the middle, but he hurries his shot with Mangala closing in and Hart saves easily. But that’s better from Liverpool!
7 min: City are on top. Liverpool are struggling to make their passes and City are squeezing them well. Maybe 4-4-2 can work in a big game if it’s applied properly.
5 min: City’s fans are singing about winning the league. That’s bound to go down well inside Anfield.
3 min: City have started well. Dzeko spins on the edge of the area and pokes a pass through to Aguero. He’s just offside. The signs are that City have their game faces on, which is bad news for Liverpool.
2 min: There’s a buzz inside Anfield. Although here are a few groans from the home fans, Dejan Lovren slicing a panicky clearance out for a throw. He had more time than that.
One last rendition of You’ll Never Walk Alone and then we’re off! Liverpool, kicking from right to left in the first half, get us underway. They’re on the front foot immediately, Sterling darting down the left, surrounded by three City midfielders. He finds Lallana, but he’s stopped by Kompany.
Here come the teams, both of them wearing tracksuit tops for some reason. Will they be playing in them? No. Will they be wearing them in a couple of minutes? No. “I’m sure you would be delighted to hear that Real Sociedad are holding their own against high flyers Valencia,” says Ricardo Silva. “Highlight of the match so far is Moyes shouting ‘vamonos’ ‘vamonos’ to the players from the touchline.”
The teams!
Liverpool: Mignolet; Can, Skrtel, Lovren; Markovic, Henderson, Allen, Moreno; Coutinho, Sterling, Lallana. Subs: Toure, Lambert, Sturridge, Borini, Balotelli, Williams, Ward.
Man City: Hart; Zabaleta, Kompany, Mangala, Kolarov; Nasri, Toure, Fernandinho, Silva; Aguero, Dzeko. Subs: Fernando, Milner, Caballero, Bony, Lampard, Clichy, Demichelis.
Referee: Mark Clattenburg (Tyne & Wear).
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Preamble
Hello. It all got a bit emotional the last time Manchester City were at Anfield: a roaring start from Liverpool, a hush descending over the stadium as David Silva inspired a City fightback from 2-0 down in the second half, Vincent Kompany’s mistake and Phillipe Coutinho’s magnificent finish, a huddle in front of the Kop, this does not slip. Emotions were running high. But you know what happened next.
Today’s match isn’t quite as important given that it doesn’t have the potential to decide the title. But it’s still big! We’ve got Liverpool, the Premier League’s form team, looking to bounce back from their tiring defeat on penalties to Besiktas in the Europa League on Thursday night and continue their push for a place in the top four, and we’ve got City looking to bounce back from their 2-1 thrashing by Barcelona on Tuesday night and close the gap on Chelsea at the top to two points.
Funny team, City. You’re never quite sure what you’re going to get from them. If they fancy it, this could be a very difficult afternoon for Liverpool, yet there are times when this hugely talented team simply cannot be bothered, when they stroll out the tunnel, look around and go ‘Not today, lads’. They don’t have a great record on Merseyside and you do wonder if this is going to be one of those days. Or will Sergio Aguero and chums turn it on? Either way, it has all the ingredients to be a cracker.
Kick-off: 12pm.
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