And with that, I’m done. It’s been a blast. Bye!
Klopp added a little plea for help in keeping his players fit:
When we came back from international break last time, it’s so difficult. We had to invest absolutely everything. I’m really proud of the boys, how they did it. I have now a little break, the players don’t have that, they go to internationals. It makes life very complicated. If people want to see the best football, we have to start to give the boys a little break. In one moment, somebody – television, clubs – somebody has to think about the players. Because without them this game is difficult to play.
And Jürgen Klopp:
Very intense game. Two very good, organised sides. Sticking to the plan. I think the start of the game for us was really brilliant. Caused them a lot of problems. One fantastic situation, couldn’t finish. But stayed in the game for 90 minutes, lost Milly in the first half which is a big blow because he’s so settled in the moment. All these teams we played in the last weeks apart from Southampton, we had to work against them all. With new players it’s hard to do the right things constantly. We had to be nearly perfect today in defending. The finish of a very intense period for us. I’m really fine with it. You can always wish for more. The boys gave everything and I’m fine with that.
Look, to play perfectly against City you need to be 100% spot on, focused, concentrated, and 100% confident. Maybe because of Wednesday we were only 90% confident. But I liked the game, and the boys tried hard even in small spaces. We did really well. I think we had seven games in the last three, four weeks, and only highest level, so you cannot make a second of a break. Coming back like we did today, I’m really happy with that and to be honest, we won in the past games against City, but we were in no game as level as we were today. We were really difficult to play. We won balls in midfield, we counter-pressed. Today it was a game full of respect. Both teams respected each other a lot. It was really to try not to lose the ball in the wrong moment, because that would have been a big problem. It happened from time to time, but we defended well so it’s all good. I’m fine with the performance.
Here’s Pep Guardiola:
It was good. Good. We competed. We were like we are. We controlled them in terms of the counter-attacks with Mané and Salah. The back four was so good. We made good build-up with a lot of patience, but after that we didn’t create too much. In the last moments we had an option, but it was OK. It’s a good result.
The important thing is we tried. We didn’t concede a shot on target [editor’s note: well, they did, but Liverpool had no genuine clear chances], which at Anfield is quite special. We had our chance, but football is like this. We’ll be good, because we are a young, young team especially in front, and it was a good game for us.
In the training session he shoot perfect penalties. In the end, it’s what it is. The taker was Sergio, Sergio was not there. It sometimes happens. We had our chance in the last minutes to win the game but we missed it. Next time we’ll try to do better.
We played so good. We played so well. If you want to analyse the result, the result is OK, it could be better. The managers have to analyse what we have done, the plan, what we have to do. We were solid, in the back four they controlled very well. It would be better to win at Anfield, but last season we lost here, this season we drew. Maybe next season we’ll win?
I think it was a pretty entertaining game, as good as a 0-0 with hardly any chances gets (which is faint praise, perhaps, but praise nevertheless). Van Dijk was superb, one moment apart, and Wijnaldum excellent. Fernandinho played well for City, even if he occasionally pushed the disciplinary boundaries (somehow he emerged unbooked). Liverpool are perhaps a little edge-of-the-area wizardry away from undeniable excellence.
Virgil van Dijk has a chat now. In summary, he’s happy they didn’t concede:
Not smart to dive in there. It was a penalty. I said to the ref afterwards as well. Shouldn’t happen, but obviously I’m very happy that we didn’t concede.
I think they did well, I think we did well apart from the penalty moment. It was a great game to play. Unlucky that we didn’t score. I think it was a tough game against the champions, and yeah, I’m happy we kept a clean sheet, especially after the penalty.
We were up for it and wanted to bounce back from our defeat against Napoli. I think we did. They have a good team, we knew it was going to be hard. We’re happy with not losing today.
Here’s Daniel Taylor’s match report from Anfield:
John Stones talks to Sky:
So close [to a win]. It’s one of those things in football. He was taking them really well in training all week. It happens. We had to move on. It got the crowd going for Liverpool and we had to dig in right at the end, because those sorts of moments can go both ways. We didn’t score and they could have got a late goal. We had to keep our heads and keep switched on. It’s progress from last season. They’re a top team and to come to Anfield and get a clean sheet is something us as defenders are really proud of. It was such a physical battle today, I thought everyone put a shift in and did a job for the team.
I’ve literally just started celebrating that we got a penalty and a great opportunity to win the game, not taking any notice of who was taking the penalty. It was decided between the boys. Riyad was taking them really well in training all week and had the courage to step up. he’s deflated in there. I think he feels he let us down but how he played today, I thought hew as top. Those things happen and I’m sure he’ll score another one.
It’s a clean sheet at Anfield, not something you can do very often. The attacking threat is brilliant from their team and we stopped that today. We kept them to as less chances as we could and we had chances at the end. We can take a lot of positives from it and be proud of how we performed today.
After the final whistle Pep Guardiola makes a beeline for Mahrez, and after a consolatory chat heads for Jesus, who seemed to think he should have been taking the penalty, and has a word with the Brazilian. Jesus, Sky remind us, has scored one of three penalties for City.
So Manchester City return to the top of the table, with goal difference separating them from Chelsea in second and Liverpool in third. Arsenal and Tottenham are two points further back.
Final score: Liverpool 0-0 Manchester City
90+4 mins: It’s all over, and City’s search for a victory at Anfield continues!
Updated
90+3 mins: City win a free kick just outside their penalty area, and take an age over it. A few seconds remain.
90+2 mins: Liverpool fling a long throw into the area, and City messily clear. “Clear skies here in Northern California,” writes Peter Oh. “I think I just saw Mahrez’s missed penalty streak by overhead.”
90+1 mins: Into stoppage time, and this game has about three minutes to go.
90 mins: Wijnaldum becomes the first Liverpool player to be booked. Mahrez has now missed four of his last six penalties, and it may be a while before he gets the chance to take another.
88 mins: The atmosphere is febrile now. We’re set fair for five minutes of mayhem.
87 mins: The ball has been launched into orbit. It is thumped five yards over the bar, and Liverpool have got away with it!
Hilarious miss!
86 mins: Mahrez’s spot-kick misses the target by absolute miles!
Updated
Manchester City have a penalty!
Leroy Sané runs into the area onto David Silva’s pass, and Van Dijk, who has been imperious today, slides in unnecessarily and catches his opponent!
Updated
84 mins: Mané overhits the ball and Fernandinho reaches it just before him. The City player also raises a forearm, which Mané then runs into neck-first. That looks sore.
81 mins: As City prepare to take a goal kick Sturridge takes off his shirt, takes off his undershirty-thing, drops the latter behind the goal and pops his shirt back on. Is that not a booking, or is taking off your shirt only bad when you’ve just scored? If so, where’s the sense in that? Where?
79 mins: Gomez storms down the right and swings in a cross, which Sturridge heads goalwards. The cross was more loop than drive, and the header bumbles limply to Ederson. Still, it’s another effort on target.
77 mins: Jesús gloriously tricks his way past Gomez and then Lovren, who throws out his left arm as he tries to spin and chase and plants his hand into the Brazilian’s face. Jesús goes down, the referee is unimpressed.
Updated
76 mins: Before City take it, they bring on Leroy Sané for Raheem Sterling.
75 mins: City threaten again. Bernardo Silva’s low cross from the left is pushed away by Alisson but rolls to Mahrez, whose low shot to the near post is also pushed away by Alisson. Corner.
74 mins: City win the ball on the right and break, and moments later Mahrez is running at Lovren, with the green space of the penalty area behind. Lovren goes to ground, and his tackle is perfect!
73 mins: Daniel Sturridge is on the pitch! Roberto Firmino is not.
72 mins: A few scrappy seconds in midfield end with David Silva on the ball and Mahrez running into space to the right. He wildly mishits the pass, which rolls out for a throw-in.
69 mins: Chance for Liverpool! Alisson takes a goal-kick fast to Robertson, whose long ball to Salah is perfect. He controls, and ahead of him Ederson is way off his line, but the shot flies over the bar!
Updated
66 mins: Fernandinho brings down Gomez on the right. City’s defending has been a bit ragged of late, and Martin Atkinson has had to give his whistle a bit of exercise. Salah curls the free kick over everybody and out for a goal kick.
65 mins: City make their first change, bringing Gabriel Jesús on for Aguero, who after 10 appearances now still hasn’t scored at Anfield.
65 mins: Walker gallops thrillingly down the right, but eventually runs into a defender and gives the ball away.
64 mins: Another booking, this one for Mendy, who holds on to Salah to stop him running clear on the right.
62 mins: No shots on target for 61 minutes, and then two in 60 seconds! Gomez passes back to Salah, whose left-foot curler is straight at Ederson.
Updated
62 mins: Now Robertson gives the ball away just outside his own area, and Mahrez has another shooting chance – this one goes straight to Alisson. Still, it’s a shot on target!
61 mins: Chance for City! David Silva’s excellent ball finds Mahrez, who reaches it just ahead of Robertson, twists back onto his left foot and shoots across goal and wide!
Updated
60 mins: The corner comes in, and Van Dijk and Fernandinho jump for it. Fernandinho’s arm is on the Dutchman’s shoulder, but Van Dijk’s arm is in the air, and the ball hits it! City want a penalty, Liverpool get a free kick.
59 mins: Mendy’s long, curling cross is handsome but harmless, but Robertson decides to turn it behind. City have a corner.
58 mins: The fifth shot of the game comes from the right boot of Fernandinho, 40 yards from goal. His effort misses the target by at least that distance. Still no shots on target.
56 mins: The referee gets his book out now, after Aguero arrives late and kicks Henderson in the knee after the ball had gone. The Argentinian is booked.
Updated
56 mins: Mahrez beats Robertson on the right flank with a lovely drop of the shoulder, but Van Dijk anticipates his low cross excellently, and Liverpool clear.
54 mins: A nearly-chance! Liverpool burst down the left, get the ball into the box and it bounces around between Mané and Wijnaldum without quite falling for either, and City eventually clear.
54 mins: City try to play the ball out of defence, and Ederson’s clearance is charged down by Firmino. The crowd roars.
52 mins: Liverpool work some space for Gomez on the right flank, but his cross is overhit and the move ends with a City throw-in.
50 mins: Liverpool have had all the possession in this half, but without any penetration.
46 mins: And they’re off! Again!
The players are back out, with no changes at the interval.
“I think this may be a match that calls for Daniel Sturridge, likely on for Mane who has been about 15% off his best for the last month,” suggests Hubert O’Hearn. “The beauty of Sturridge’s game is that he confuses defences, moving like a leaf in a swirling wind.” Of the substitutes, he and Shaqiri might come in handy in the second half, as indeed could Sané for City.
Half time: Liverpool 0-0 Manchester City
45+3 mins: And that’s half-time. Given that playing at super-high speed is considerably harder than playing slowly, it’s surprising that Liverpool seem to make considerably fewer mistakes when the game is being played at full pace. For 15 minutes they were on top, but City successfully slowed the game down, and Liverpool have offered very little since. One shanked Gomez clearance apart Liverpool have defended their area very well, and have had to.
45+1 mins: Into stoppage time we go, and there’ll be about two minutes of it.
44 mins: Bernardo Silva takes the ball past Henderson, who upends him. City’s players surround the referee in an attempt to gently persuade him to get his book out, but he refuses.
Updated
43 mins: Apparently City have now had a shot. I’m afraid I missed it. It was not on target.
41 mins: The two teams have spent the last few minutes demonstrating some of the many different ways of giving the ball away unnecessarily.
38 mins: City do some good work on the left, involving Mendi, Aguero and David Silva, before Van Dijk bundles the ball behind for a corner, which Lovren heads clear.
Updated
35 mins: With 10 minutes to go to the interval, Liverpool have had two shots to City’s zero, though it’s very much 0-0 when it comes to shots on target.
34 mins: Now Fernandinho tries to beat Mané to the ball, fails, and fouls. There’s a little bit of afters, and the referee delivers a lecture to the City player, but his cards remain pocketed.
Updated
33 mins: Laporte and Firmino go shoulder-to-shoulder. The defender falls over, thereby winning a free-kick. It seemed the very definition of a 50-50 challenge.
31 mins: Alisson shanks the ball straight out of play, emblematic of Liverpool’s current scruffiness.
30 mins: Kieta is now on, and Milner off.
Updated
29 mins: Guardiola, who has spent most of the match slumped in his seat, springs to his feet as Liverpool’s physios come on and spends a few minutes animatedly delivering updated tactical instructions.
28 mins: It looks like Keita is going to come on. Word is Milner has pulled a hamstring.
28 mins: Milner goes down, with nobody near him. He doesn’t look in particular pain, but clearly there is some kind of issue.
25 mins: City have controlled the last couple of minutes, passing the ball among themselves without really threatening the heart of Liverpool’s defence.
22 mins: Bernardo Silva, playing in central midfield, is a little late to challenge Salah and is booked.
20 mins: Liverpool almost self-destruct! The ball is cleared from the centre to Gomez on the right, who bizarrely volleys it right back into the middle and straight to Agüero. He falls over as Lovren challenges and City loudly appeal for a penalty, but no dice.
Updated
19 mins: City have wrestled their way into the game, and win a second corner. It’s played short but inexpertly, Mané gets in the way and the corner is swiftly parlayed into a throw-in.
17 mins: Milner’s ball over the top is only just too strong for Salah, and bounces safely through to Ederson.
Updated
16 mins: Cautious? It’s been absolutely wild.
15. A cautious opening, but we're starting to get a foothold in the game now.
— Manchester City (@ManCity) October 7, 2018
How's the first 15 minutes treated you?
🔴 0-0 🔵 #lfcvcity #mancity pic.twitter.com/vIFngBAUhz
14 mins: Gomez carries the ball into trouble and gives it away just inside his own half, setting up a few uncomfortable moments before the same player gets back to nudge the ball off Sterling’s toes and behind for a corner.
Updated
13 mins: City haven’t really strung two passes together yet, certainly not in Liverpool’s half.
12 mins: Another Liverpool corner, and this one hits Lovren’s head and drops invitingly in the six-yard box, but there’s nobody there to turn it in, and Ederson claims.
10 mins: The home side wins a corner, but Milner sends it looping into Ederson’s gloves. The goalkeeper rolls the ball out to Laporte, who kicks long, but straight into touch.
Updated
8 mins: Liverpool have started excellently, full of pace and aggressive intent. City are, for the moment, clinging on.
7 mins: Now Mané gets down the left and crosses to the far post, where Mendy swings a foot at the ball and prevents Salah from tapping in.
6 mins: Liverpool win the ball off City in their own half and four red shirts streak forward. Salah’s pass is a bit behind Mané, though, and he miscontrols.
4 mins: Salah twists his way past Stones on the right-hand side of the area before shooting wide of the near post. In the build-up Mendy appeared to trip Firmino pretty deliberately on the halfway line – the referee waved play on, and doesn’t return to punish the defender.
Updated
3 mins: Mané has the ball inside the penalty area, but five City players swiftly surround him, and there’s no way out of that trap.
2 mins: Walker breaks on the right and slides the ball to Mahrez, running clear down the middle, but he’s well offside. It has been a manic opening.
1 min: Peeeeep! And off they go!
Preliminaries completed, Sergio Aguero is preparing to kick off …
Updated
I didn’t realise it was Trent Alexander-Arnold’s birthday today. He’s 20 years old, and will celebrate the special day, or at least some of it, on the bench.
The players are out of the tunnel!
The players are in the tunnel!
Just in case you fancy filling these pre-match minutes with some random football reading:
Here’s Don Hutchison’s take on Liverpool’s team. My first impression was also that it suggested Klopp was worried about a particular threat from City’s left, though Alexander-Arnold’s recent form has suggested that he could do with a rest:
Pep has won the team sheet battle.
— Don Hutchison (@donhutch4) October 7, 2018
Klopp thought Pep would play Sane,so Klopp playing Gomez at right back as he is quicker than Trent. #tactics
Sky have spoken to some people about this game. First, Jurgen Klopp is asked what he thinks about Pep Guardiola saying Liverpool’s front three scare him:
I can imagine. That’s how it is on some days when we are at our best. These three, not only these three, they can be scary. That he respects my players I know absolutely. I could write a song about the qualities of all the Man City players. It would be a long song. It’s the Premier League, it’s the highest level.
Here’s Guardiola himself on the Liverpool team:
It’s a team, Liverpool, the strong point is the quality of the players, the manager. When you make a mistake, they use it. This side, when you have some doubts and situations like that, they are so clinical. That’s why they are one of the best teams in the world.
And here’s John Stones:
They’ve got a great attacking threat and they’ve shown that. We’ve worked all week on how we can affect that and show our attacking talent, and be solid at the back. If all those things are put into place I’m sure we can come out with a result.
Chelsea have wrapped up a 3-0 win at Southampton and thus vaulted to the top of the table. A draw at Anfield would take Manchester City back to the summit, and any other result would take the winner top.
Those headphones. Wowzers, they are bold.
The Shark is back! 🦈#lfcvcity #mancity pic.twitter.com/mrh2ezWjRl
— Manchester City (@ManCity) October 7, 2018
Dejan Lovren’s return to the Liverpool team has been welcomed by many. “As a Liverpool fan, I was feeling nervous about this game,” writes Tim Woods. “Much less so now I see one of the world’s greatest defenders is back among the ranks.” Here’s a dramatic photograph of his Anfield arrival:
The last time Manchester City played at Anfield in the league, the home side won 4-3. It wasn’t their first such victory, mind, and even if Jonathan Wilson’s tactical analysis is spot on today won’t be the first time full-backs will prove crucial. Here’s our report of the match played at Liverpool on 21 November 1931. Note the Mourinho-appropriate description of “bad play and bad tempers at Old Trafford” at the bottom (United had lost 2-1 at home to Bury in the Second Division):
The Manchester City team bus has arrived at Anfield, apparently unmolested.
So the teams are largely as expected, but with a couple of intriguing twists. Naby Keita is fit only for the Liverpool bench, while Joe Gomez is preferred to Trent Alexander-Arnold at right-back, meaning that Dejan Lovren makes his first league start of the season in the centre. Benjamin Mendy returns to City’s line-up, while Ilkay Gundogan and Kevin de Bruyne, who Pep Guardiola suggested might be involved, are not involved.
Updated
The teams!
The team sheets are in, and these are the names upon them:
Liverpool: Alisson, Gomez, Lovren, Van Dijk, Robertson, Wijnaldum, Milner, Henderson, Mane, Salah, Firmino. Subs: Mignolet, Fabinho, Keita, Sturridge, Shaqiri, Matip, Alexander-Arnold.
Man City: Ederson, Walker, Stones, Laporte, Mendy, Fernandinho, Silva, Bernardo, Mahrez, Sterling, Aguero. Subs: Muric, Danilo, Kompany, Sané, Otamendi, Jesus, Foden.
Referee: Martin Atkinson.
The Boys in Blue! 🔵
— Manchester City (@ManCity) October 7, 2018
CITY XI | Ederson, Walker, Stones, Laporte, Mendy, Fernandinho, Silva (C), Bernardo, Mahrez, Sterling, Aguero
SUBS | Muric, Danilo, Kompany, Sané, Otamendi, Jesus, Foden
Presented by @HaysWorldwide #lfcvcity #mancity pic.twitter.com/xOKava6cnk
Hello world!
Well this is exciting, isn’t it? First against second in this morning’s league table, the league’s best two defences and England’s finest attack come face to face at Anfield. I could go on, but I’ve got a veritable travelling library of pre-match reading for you to get stuck into and this is a game that probably doesn’t require any further previewage, so instead wrap your chops around Jonathan Wilson’s tactical summary:
And then move onto Andy Hunter and Jamie Jackson’s man-by-man squad-scoring thingamajig:
Before tucking into Paul Wilson’s preview:
And then hold on to your hats and brace yourselves for a whole lot of fun!
