The real winner from this is Arsene Wenger, of course, who can rest easy about Manchester City going the season unbeaten. That’s what we’re all taking from this game, right? No? Oh. It’s about Liverpool. Jurgen Klopp, the most relieved man inside Anfield, bounds on to the pitch with a huge smile on his face to salute both sets of players, who put on a sensational show. Liverpool were excellent, making City look very ordinary at the back and threatening to utterly humiliate them when they ran into a 4-1 lead at the start of the second half. That’s one way to get over the loss of Philippe Coutinho. On Sky, Jamie Carragher is wondering if their mini-collapse in the dying moments has taken some of the shine off a win that moves them into third place, 15 points below City, but I’m not sure I’d agree given that they’re the first team to beat the runaway leaders this season. For City, it was a disappointing afternoon. They defended badly and struggled to deal with Liverpool’s pace and pressing, but it remains hard to see them failing to win the title. That’s all from me. Thanks for reading and emailing. Bye!
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Full-time: Liverpool 4-3 Manchester City
It’s all over!
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90 min+5: De Bruyne whips the free-kick to the near post and Aguero’s header brushes the side-netting! The flag was up for offside, though.
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90 min+4: Liverpool make a change before the free-kick, Ragnar Klavan replacing Sadio Mane, who trots off very slowly. De Bruyne is standing over the free-kick.
90 min+3: Walker charges down the right and finds Aguero. He’s tripped to the right of the Liverpool area. Milner’s booked. This is absurd. Anfield is ridiculously nervous now.
90 min+2: Surely Liverpool aren’t going to blow this. Can City put Balotelli and Dzeko on?
GOAL! Liverpool 4-3 Manchester City (Gundogan, 90min+1)
Sane dribbles across the edge of the area and looks like he’s going to shoot. Instead he finds Aguero on the left. The striker chips a ball into the middle and somehow Gundogan’s able to take the ball on his chest and stab it low past Karius! Oh my!
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90 min: There will be four added minutes.
89 min: Bet Oxlade-Chamberlain feels stupid for leaving Arsenal.
88 min: The corner comes to nothing, allowing Liverpool to replace Mo Salah with Adam Lallana. Salah departs with a goal and an assist.
87 min: De Bruyne’s cross is deflected behind for a corner. City still believe. They’ve actually done quite well since, er, going 4-1 down.
85 min:
My mentions today #lookaway pic.twitter.com/aDw8AKKMaN
— Benjamin Mendy (@benmendy23) January 14, 2018
GOAL! Liverpool 4-2 Manchester City (Bernardo Silva, 84 min)
It isn’t over yet. City slice Liverpool open, Gundogan wriggling through and though his shot is blocked, the ball breaks to the right for Bernardo Silva to smash past the helpless Karius with his left foot. Anfield is nervy now.
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82 min: A lull. Not for long, though. Firmino bursts down the left and plays the ball back to Wijnaldum, who shoots wide.
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79 min: James Milner replaces Emre Can.
78 min: Karius is caught under under a high ball, but Otamendi makes a mess of his finish at the far post.
75 min: A City player might get sent off soon. They aren’t happy and are starting to put in a few silly challenges. Liverpool are hounding them. It’s relentless. Robertson has just ended up in the right wing position. He’s the left-back! “Maybe Sanchez should consider a different northern destination?” says Marie Meyer.
72 min: I wonder what Jose Mourinho is making of this. Fernandinho’s booked for pulling back Mane.
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71 min: Bernardo Silva replaces Raheem Sterling, who’s given a long standing ovation as he goes off. Not.
70 min: Of course, it’s almost a year since City lost 4-0 to Everton. They hate Merseyside. No doubt Sam Allardyce will have something similar in store for them when City visit Goodison Park in March.
69 min: Sterling chops Wijnaldum down on the right and gets a booking. City have lost the run of themselves here. They’re all over the place here. Pep out. He has to go.
GOAL! Liverpool 4-1 Manchester City (Salah, 67 min)
Ederson does his best Claudio Bravo impression, running out to deal with a Salah through-ball that was intended for Mane. He succeeds in knocking the ball straight back to Salah, 40 yards out, and the Egyptian takes a touch before brilliantly lifting the ball over Ederson and into the unguarded net! This is turning into a humiliation for City!
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66 min: My colleague Rob Smyth points out that Firmino’s goal was similar to Robbie Fowler’s barge-and-scoop at Old Trafford in Cantona’s comeback game in 1995.
65 min: Liverpool are rampant. Salah surges down the right and nips round Otamendi, who flattens him illegally. Otamendi’s booked.
64 min: Anfield is rocking. Sterling’s getting pelters. Robertson leaves one in on him, much to the crowd’s delight, and Sterling isn’t happy. Andre Marriner has to calm them down.
GOAL! Liverpool 3-1 Manchester City (Mane, 62 min)
They might not regret it! City lose the ball in their own half, failing to deal with Liverpool’s high press, and they’re all at sea as Salah bursts forward. The Egyptian unselfishly looks to his left and finds Mane. He has options left and right - and he’s sometimes accused of being too greedy - but he decides to shoot again and this time his left-footed effort flies high past Ederson and into the top-right corner from 18 yards!
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61 min: Mane should make it 3-1, only to strike the left post from the edge of the area! Will Liverpool regret that?
GOAL! Liverpool 2-1 Manchester City (Firmino, 59 min)
De Bruyne’s annoyed not to get a foul in Liverpool’s half. Play continues and the hosts break forward. Oxlade-Chamberlain has space and, with the outside of his right foot, he looks to play Firmino in. It’s not a great pass and Stones should cut it out. But Firmino hassles the defender, using his strength to lean him off the ball,and find himself one-on-one with Ederson. The goalkeeper’s stranded and Firmino scoops a lovely shot over him, the ball bouncing in off the inside of the left post to send Anfield wild!
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58 min: Walker fails to deal with a high ball on the edge of City’s area, letting Mane in. The forward’s shot is blocked.
56 min: Oxlade-Chamberlain drifts the corner in and Ederson, who hasn’t been convincing, flaps at it. The ball falls to Salah, who lets fly with a thumping volley, only for Ederson to redeem himself with a stunning save! Liverpool keep pushing, though, and Can feeds Oxlade-Chamberlain on the left. He cunningly skips back inside, leaving a City defender to skid off into the distance, and aims for the bottom corner at Ederson’s near post. The Brazilian is down smartly to save, though, conceding a corner. A good spell for Liverpool.
55 min: Mane, who has been fairly quiet after a bright start, wins a corner off Walker on the left. Walker’s annoyed. He reckons the final touch came off Mane.
53 min: City have been excellent since the restart. Liverpool haven’t got much going yet. Then again, they haven’t been allowed much of the ball. City attack again and De Bruyne fizzes in another dangerous low cross from the right. Aguero can’t get there and Liverpool counter, but Can’s pass through to Salah is poor.
51 min: De Bruyne sends the corner into the middle and Otamendi, who got the winner at Old Trafford, sends a powerful header against the top of the bar and over!
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50 min: Gomez drives down the left and crosses low. Ederson gathers in the six-yard box. City counter straight away and De Bruyne tenaciously shrugs off his marker in the middle before moving the ball on to Sterling. Boo! Boo! Boo! Sterling shifts it to Aguero, whose shot is deflected behind for a corner.
48 min: Under pressure, Fernandinho almost concedes a needless corner with a pass back towards Stones, who scrambles to boot it out for a throw.
47 min: Mane loses possession inside his own half and Aguero makes off with the ball, running towards Liverpool’s area before looking to his left for Sane. The German’s forced wide, but he manages to shuffle the ball back to Aguero, who’s crowded out.
46 min: Manchester City get the second half underway.
“Karius should have stopped that but Ederson also slightly at fault, he is leaning left on Ox’s goal and just fails to recover, that shot also could have been saved,” says Richard McGahey. “But great tempo, City beginning to solve high pressure on their back line, Liverpool needs to look to counters in the second half, pull City forward then use pace to attack.”
Half-time: Liverpool 1-1 Manchester City
Oh, Loris!
45 min+2: Liverpool win a late corner on the left. Ederson pats Oxlade-Chamberlain’s delivery down and Sterling batters the ball away.
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45 min+1: There will be two added minutes.
45 min: A City counter-attack ends with Fernandinho whipping a shot wide from 25 yards. A replay of Sane’s equaliser, meanwhile, shows that Karius has hands made out of leaves.
44 min: Otamendi heads Oxlade-Chamberlain’s corner away.
43 min: Danilo, who hasn’t convinced since his introduction, allows himself to be robbed by Oxlade-Chamberlain near the right byline. Liverpool win a corner.
42 min: Anfield is quiet.
GOAL! Liverpool 1-1 Manchester City (Sane, 41 min)
A raking crossfield pass from Kyle Walker, sprayed from right to left and on to the chest of Leroy Sane. Joe Gomez commits himself, getting too close to the winger, and Sane charges past him. Liverpool are open now. Sane’s into the area. He sidesteps Matip and then, with his left foot, lashes a rising shot towards the near post from a tight angle. Karius gets his hands to it, but he can’t keep the ball out, the power too much for him, and City are level! Questions will be asked about Karius.
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39 min: Salah, on the right corner of the City area, tries to curl one into the far corner. Straight at Ederson.
37 min: There hasn’t been a lot of goalmouth action, but this is a very engaging game. Liverpool are putting so much into it, while City are doing everything they can to extinguish the home team’s optimism.
35 min: City break, Gundogan finding Aguero on the edge of the area. He’s closed down. But still City press. Eventually De Bruyne lines one up from 25 yards, but his weak effort is easily saved by Karius. That was City’s first shot on target.
34 min: Mane knocks a pass through to Firmino, but the Brazilian’s touch is slack. Ederson mops up.
33 min: “I don’t know how much they’ve tried to keep him but I’m surprised how easily Liverpool seem to be losing Can,” says Kevin Wilson. “I know Keita is coming so Can may not be a first XI player next season but he’s a more than decent and flexible footballer who’d do a fine job for many European teams.”
31 min: Fabian Delph can’t continue. His knee’s still troubling him and Danilo is on in his place. Danilo’s first involvement is to try to win a 50-50 with Oxlade-Chamberlain, who takes advantage of the substitute’s rustiness by barging him off the ball. Oxlade-Chamberlain whips a cross to the near post, but Firmino heads wide from an awkward angle.
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30 min: De Bruyne scoops a cross into the area, looking for Aguero, but it’s too close to Karius. De Bruyne is starting to find a lot of space, though, and Liverpool need to find a way to shut him down.
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29 min: A patient Liverpool move ends with Oxlade-Chamberlain’s pass drifting just over Firmino.
26 min: Danilo is getting ready to step in at left-back, but Delph is determined to continue. Danilo has to put his bib back on.
25 min: Liverpool attack for the first time in a while, but Mane is on his heels after a cutback from Wijnaldum, much to the crowd’s annoyance. City clear their lines and eventually the ball goes out of play, which means that Delph can receive some treatment after going down with a hip injury.
24 min: De Bruyne’s overhit cross sails behind for a goal-kick. Respite for Liverpool.
23 min: It’s all City at the moment. Walker plays a pass inside to Sane, who turns and shoots from 20 yards. A deflection completely wrongfoots Karius, who’s relieved to see the ball spin wide of the left post.
22 min: City are starting to enjoy a lot of territorial dominance. Matip clips Gundogan on the left, conceding a free-kick. Liverpool are being pushed back. They’ll need to concentrate. The good news for them, though, is they have so much pace on the break. And Sane’s free-kick comes to nothing. “That would mean Oxlade-Chamberlain = Ringo Starr, which is normally a bit of an insult,” says Marie Meyer. “But, just this once, I think we should let that pass!”
20 min: The boos for Sterling continue to pour down from the stands. He’s having to block them out. Here he is on the right, though, taking on Robertson just outside the Liverpool area. After a quick think, he passes back to De Bruyne, who takes a touch before whipping a vicious cross into the six-yard box. What a cross. It’s taken out Liverpool’s defenders and Karius, but it’s just too far in front of the stretching Aguero, who was probably offside.
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18 min: Emre Can wins the crowd’s approval with a fierce but fair challenge on Sterling. Liverpool are up for this. They’re determined to prove they can play without Coutinho. To be fair, they did thump Arsenal without him in August. Then again...
17 min: “Fab Four it is!” says Peter Oh. “Welcome to the band, Alex!”
15 min: Liverpool break after that Robertson tackle, streaming forward, Mane through on the left. He’s held up by Walker, but a backheel releases Firmino on the left. His cross is headed away. City are rocking at the back. Moments later Salah is in on the right. Here’s trouble. He can’t quite work an angle for a curling shot into the far corner, though, and although he does wriggle into a shooting position, he stabs wide of the near post with his left foot.
14 min: Gundogan tries to slip a pass through to Aguero. Robertson is across from left-back to cover.
12 min: City are after a swift response, which is exactly what you’d expect from them, and Liverpool are looking panicked as De Bruyne scoots through the middle. There’s danger here. But the Belgian delays the pass a touch too long and Sterling can’t hold his run. When De Bruyne does release the ball, Sterling’s offside.
11 min: Oxlade-Chamberlain has come in for a lot of criticism this season, but that really was an excellent goal. Maybe there’s hope for him yet. And to think he’s gone and done that on an afternoon when his former club suffered yet another disappointing defeat.
GOAL! Liverpool 1-0 Manchester City (Oxlade-Chamberlain, 9 min)
Oxlade-Chamberlain, so often maligned, picks up possession in an unthreatening position in the middle of City’s half. There doesn’t seem much on. But the midfielder shows a good turn of pace to escape Fernandinho, then he runs at the retreating City defence before using his right foot to drive a low, skimming shot across the turf and low to Ederson’s right from 20 yards! Liverpool lead! Who needs Philippe Coutinho?
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7 min: City burst forward for the first time. De Bruyne, who’ll shoulder much of the creative burden today, dribbles down the right before turning a pass into the area for Sterling. Can is on the wrong side of him. Sterling takes the ball in his stride before falling over, enabling Karius to smother the ball. There’s a slight suggestion that Can brushed Sterling’s heels. Replays are inconclusive. Penalty? Dive? Somewhere in between, I suspect.
5 min: The boos tell us when Raheem Sterling is on the ball.
4 min: Firmino drops deep, collecting a long pass on his chest before hooking a clever pass over City’s high line. The flag’s down and Mane is through, but his touch is poor. The ball drops to Salah, who shimmies on to his left foot before seeing a shot blocked from the edge of the area.
3 min: Liverpool are seeing most of the ball early on. City are happy sitting off.
Peep! Liverpool, attacking the Kop in the first half, get the game underway. The Manchester City fans haven’t waited long to point out that Raheem Sterling is top of the league.
Before we begin, a minute’s applause in memory of Tommy Lawrence, the former Liverpool goalkeeper.
Former Liverpool goalkeeper Tommy Lawrence has died aged 77.
— BBC North West (@BBCNWT) January 10, 2018
This is the moment one of our reporters unwittingly met him in 2015 talking about one of the most memorable games of his career. pic.twitter.com/U4Sn5zpjyE
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Here come the teams! Liverpool in red, Manchester City in sky blue, Anfield in fine voice. We’ll be underway soon! “Van Dijk out with a ‘tight hamstring’?” says Matt Dony. “I’m slightly worried that’s code for ‘Barca are preparing a monster bid’...”
Pep Guardiola speaks! “Every game is exciting and the opponent is so strong. A very good team and manager. But we will try to play our game and win. Both teams are ambitious and we want to play our games.”
Jurgen Klopp speaks! “Virgil is a little bit injured, but it’s not serious. If it’s the last game of the season, maybe you take the season, but it’s not the last game of the season. With goalkeepers you have to do it a bit like this. If you think about the team about Man City with all their players and skill, there could be one weakness and that’s mentality - but it’s not. That is really good.”
Pre-match reading
A win here will take Liverpool eight points clear of sixth-placed Arsenal Football Club, who’ve just lost 2-1 to Bournemouth. No wonder Alexis Sanchez wants out.
Liverpool’s new look, in the post-Coutinho era, features Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in midfield. Today, however, there are more significant changes at the back. Virgil Van Dijk, the £75m man, has a tight hamstring and is replaced in central defence by Dejan Lovren. Sergio Aguero is sitting up and taking note and he’ll also see that Loris Karius is starting in goal instead of Simon Mignolet. It’s a big call from Jurgen Klopp.
There aren’t really any surprises in Manchester City’s line-up. However Klopp will be glad to see David Silva starting on the bench. Ilkay Gundogan, once with Klopp at Dortmund, joins Fernandinho in midfield. It’s ever-so-slightly conservative from Pep Guardiola, though City do have plenty of attacking options at their disposal. It’s a big afternoon in particular for Raheem Sterling, who’s unlikely to receive a warm welcome on his return to Anfield.
Team news
Liverpool: Karius; Gomez, Lovren, Matip, Robertson; Can, Wijnaldum, Oxlade-Chamberlain; Salah, Firmino, Mane. Subs: Mignolet, Alexander-Arnold, Milner, Klavan, Lallana, Ings, Solanke.
Manchester City: Ederson; Walker, Stones, Otamendi, Delph; Gundogan, Fernandinho; Sterling, De Bruyne, Sane; Aguero. Subs: Bravo, Danilo, Mangala, Zinchenko, Diaz, Bernardo, Silva.
Referee: Andre Marriner.
Preamble
Hello. Some games need no introduction. They’re so big that you can get away with simply listing the talent on show or pointing out the high stakes. For example: Sergio Aguero! Mohamed Salah! Kevin de Bruyne! Roberto Firmino! Raheem Sterling!
Philippe Coutinho!
The title race! Jurgen! Pep! Anfield! YNWA! But unfortunately for this MBMer, Big Six league games involving Manchester City this season are not as mouthwatering as they should be. In isolation this should be a cracker, a meeting between two attack-minded teams with neatly contrasting styles, and a contest between two managers whose burgeoning rivalry began while they were at Germany’s top two clubs – and yet City’s massive lead at the top of the table means its wider significance is unclear. It’s more intriguing than massive. If it can’t be built up too much, it’s because the two sides are separated by 18 points. Compare that to the mood before they met in Manchester in September, when they started the day level with each other on seven points, and Liverpool looked capable of victory before Sadio Mane’s red card.
All the same, there are still plenty of things that we might learn this afternoon. For a start, this assignment probably represents the biggest challenge to City’s hopes of going the season unbeaten. They have not won at Anfield since 2003 (Ali Bernabia was their David Silva equivalent that day, Joey Barton their Ilkay Gundogan, Richard Dunne their John Stones) and there have been a few signs of late that their level has slightly dipped. Crystal Palace held them on New Year’s Eve, Burnley and Bristol City both gave them scares in the cup competitions, Gabriel Jesus is still working his way back from a knee injury and now it seems they might not be getting
Faustino Asprilla
Alexis Sanchez. In City’s world, this almost amounts to a crisis. Sort of. Maybe. Not really. But you see what I mean. They aren’t invincible. No team is invincible. It’s impossible. Even Pep’s Barca weren’t invincible. Ask Jose Bosingwa.
And Klopp has given Guardiola a few problems in the past. Borussia Dortmund were awkward opponents for Bayern back in the day and while 10-man Liverpool were thumped 5-0 at the Etihad Stadium four months ago, they took four points off City last season. For Liverpool, this is a wonderful opportunity for them to prove that they can flourish in the post-Coutinho era. Victory wouldn’t mean the title race is back on, but it would give them a huge boost in their push for a top-four push and genuine belief that they can challenge in the Champions League knockouts. Liverpool are unbeaten since the thrashing by Spurs at the end of October and they have the attack to press against City’s vulnerabilities, especially with Salah in flying form. It’s almost enough to make you go Aguero! Salah! De Bruyne! Firmino! Klopp! Pep! Lovren! Delph! Almost. But let’s keep things in perspective. This should be good fun, but in terms of dramatic tension it’s not quite up there with This Does Not Slip Day. Damn you, Pep.
Kick-off: 4pm GMT.
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