Premier League: Liverpool bites its fingers after the draw against Manchester City

It was the poster all of Europe had been waiting for this weekend. A shock made in England with a sweet final scent. Manchester City traveled to Anfield in Liverpool this Sunday afternoon, during the 28th day of the Premier League. The Cityzens and the Reds therefore crossed swords for a meeting that smelled of gunpowder in this title race. At home, the Reds were organized in a 4-3-3 with Caoimhín Kelleher who officiated as the last line of defense. In front of him were Conor Bradley, Jarell Quansah, Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez. Alexis Mac Allister, Wataru Endo and Dominik Szoboszlai found themselves in midfield. Harvey Elliott and Luis Diaz accompanied Darwin Nunez in attack. For their part, the Sky Blues played in a 3-2-4-1 with Ederson Moares in goal. In defense we found Kyle Walker, Manuel Akanji and Nathan Aké. Rodri Hernandez was placed on sentry duty with John Stones at his side. Alone at the forefront, Erling Haaland was placed just ahead of Phil Foden, Bernardo Silva, Kevin De Bruyne and Julian Alvarez.

The meeting got off to a flying start, with a significant pace on the Mancunian side. From the outset, Manchester City imposed a strong tempo on Liverpool who found themselves quite stifled, the image of this double opportunity from Kevin De Bruyne (8th, 9th) but the Belgian’s dive first went to the -over the frame, before his next attempt was saved for Caoimhín Kelleher. The Reds nevertheless found color with a better possession phase. Found behind by Harvey Elliott, Alexis Mac Allister gave a good ball to the right of the area for Darwin Núñez. The latter crossed hard in front of the goal for Luis Díaz who finished at the far post. His goal was nevertheless logically refused for offside (13th). Despite this start, it was the Cityzens who opened the scoring. On a corner kicked on the right by Kevin De Bruyne towards the near post, Nathan Aké blocked Alexis Mac Allister well. John Stones took the opportunity behind to burst out and put the ball in the back of the net (23rd, 0-1). Twice, Jürgen Klopp’s troops tried to react before the break. First with Dominik Szoboszlai who saw his helmet hit just to the right of the Manchester City goal (31st) then with Luis Diaz on a heavy strike which grazed the Mancunian cages (42nd). Slight advance for Pep Guardiola’s players at half-time.

Alexis Mac Allister capsizes Anfield!

The second half saw a complete change of scenario. After a bad back pass from Nathan Aké to his goalkeeper, Ederson violently clipped the legs of Darwin Núñez who collapsed in the area. Logical penalty for Liverpool which Alexis Mac Allister transformed without trembling to equalize (50th). Even if the Brazilian goalkeeper escaped the red card, he still gave way to Stefan Ortega, injured in contact with the Uruguayan striker. Under the cheers and songs of Anfield, the Reds did everything they could to continue and created a multitude of chances. Often found by his teammates, notably Salah (62nd) and Núñez (64th), Luis Diaz first missed his shot then saw Kyle Walker fend off the danger. Mohamed Salah was also at the heart of a double opportunity for Liverpool after Andy Robertson’s corner but Ortega lurked to stop the first shot, before the Egyptian missed the second (65th). The German goalkeeper stood out once again afterwards. Found in front of the area on the left side, Alexis Mac Allister curled a heavy shot towards the right of the goal. The second Cityzens goalkeeper took no risks and pushed the ball back for a corner (66th). On the left, Andrew Robertson then overflowed and crossed hard in front of the Manchester City goal. Darwin Núñez cut to push the ball from close range but Stefan Ortega once again intervened with authority (71st).

Manchester City has managed to get its head above water. With a strong cross to the left from Nathan Aké towards the penalty spot, Caoimhín Kelleher emerged and deflected the ball which bounced off Phil Foden and ended up crashing into the top of the Liverpool bar. A real scare for the Reds (73rd). The locals moved forward once again. On the right, Jarell Quansah zoned out and appeared in front of the box to arm a heavy cross shot to the left of the goal which was saved by Stefan Ortega – again. Found on the left by Haaland, Jérémy Doku provoked at the entrance to the area in front of Joe Gomez and armed a cross shot which crashed on the right post, before finishing in the gloves of Caoimhín Kelleher (89th). Cleats forward, Jérémy Doku committed a huge foul on Mac Allister in the area. Despite the intervention of the VAR, the referee did not flinch, no penalty was awarded (90th + 9). A decision that will be debated (1-1). In the rankings, the race is still raging at the top. Arsenal leads the English championship with 64 points, the same number of points as Liverpool currently in 2nd. With one point less, Manchester City closes the Premier League podium. Next weekend, the Reds face rivals Everton in the Mersey derby, while the Skyblues take on Brighton.