Daniel’s Debrief: Manchester City 1-1 Liverpool

Absolutely buzzing with that.

What a point that is. All I wanted was for us to be competitive. For us to give them a game and put in a performance. We’ve had one league win there in fifteen years. 

But aside from bad results there, we’ve had some stinking performances and been on the end of a few good seeings to.

It’s the fixture I dread the most.

And we’ve looked a bit dodgy away from home anyway this season. While City have won every single home game in 2023.

So to come away with not only a positive result, but a positive and brave performance, is an extremely good sign not just for today, but for where we are and what our direction of travel is.

Jurgen Klopp’s team selection is one that wants to win - Darwin Nunez and Diogo Jota starting - I had a feeling that Cody Gakpo and/or Luis Diaz may get the nod given how much emphasis he puts on off-the-ball work, but he chooses his most potent and in-form options up top.

I was intrigued by City’s team selection - Pep Guardiola never seems to name a predictable lineup against Liverpool and with no Kevin De Bruyne, John Stones, Matheus Nunes or Jack Grealish, it’s another interesting one. Grealish is a huge miss and he always does well against Liverpool, both for Aston Villa and City.

City start reasonably strong and try and bring pace to the game out wide and control in the middle. Jeremy Doku is such a threat and is a bit of a classic winger in terms of how he uses his feet and his pace. Trent Alexander-Arnold looks like he’s going to struggle with him but Mohamed Salah is there, time and time again, to double up and support.

So much of City’s attack - 42% to be precise - comes down our right flank, and the Reds do well to stand up to the challenge that Doku poses. Joel Matip has a great game as the right-sided centre-back and reads the game excellently for much of it.

What’s interesting is how well Liverpool manage their approach early on. You never expect to have much of the ball away from home at City but when you do get it, you need to be brave, but marry it well with not being too panicky.

Liverpool do this perfectly and carve open a few opportunities, for Nunez in particular. The first one, you’d love his first touch to be a bit more crisp. He just can’t get it out of his feet. There’s good work from Dominik Szoboszlai involved in there. 

Nunez also has a header well saved by Ederson from a superb Mohamed Salah cross - all comes from a nice line-breaking dribble from Matip.

They’re brave on the ball, Liverpool. They’re not conservative in possession. We end the game with over 40% possession - we had just 30% the last time at the Etihad - that’s what having a technical midfield brings you.

However, as a team, Liverpool win far too few tackles and duels in that first half, and while they are very good technically, just don’t compete physically.

And that’s where the goal comes from. From a City corner, Alisson tries a repeat of last October with a long ball downfield to Salah. Frustratingly, Salah has broken free and is isolated. You’d back him to at least get a chance from there.

Unfortunately, Alisson completely miscues his pass and it ends up with Nathan Ake. He does well, the Dutchman. He beats Szoboszlai and Trent Alexander-Arnold far, far too easily and feeds Erling Haaland. Virgil Van Dijk and Matip are split too widely and Haaland finishes, in off the fingertips of Alisson.

The first touch from Haaland is devastating and don’t let our Liverpool bias distract you from the achievement of 50 Premier League goals in 48 games - alien numbers. But this goal is so, so avoidable from a Liverpool perspective.

Not necessarily Alisson mistakes, but moments of ‘should do better’ bookend this goal. Playing against arguably the best side in Europe, and the most clinical striker in the league, it’s always likely you’ll concede, but what a shite, avoidable goal. It could’ve been stopped three or four times in the making.

Alisson has such a strange day. Earlier on, he gives the ball away to Phil Foden, who shoots straight at him, and his second half is a bit messy too, with some less-than-impressive distribution and two extremely dodgy moments at corners.

One of them, he gets lucky with. I don’t think it’s a foul from Manuel Akanji before Ruben Dias taps in. I’d be seething if that was given against Liverpool. I was amazed VAR didn’t overturn that goal.

He does, however, make a good save down to his left from Foden soon after and produces another moment of quality from close-range in the second half. 

I think he has one or two of these days each season where he becomes human for the day and just gets a bit rattled. They seem to come in quite big games - City in 2021, Madrid last season.

Given that he’s played for Brazil twice in the last ten days, something he doesn’t often do, and lost both games, you wonder if that’s had any impact on his performance in the early kick-off today.

He’s the best keeper in the world, still though. Fingers crossed he’s alright. Ederson is also a top keeper and my word, can he pass a ball, but I’d still take Alisson.

We react to the goal reasonably well and at half-time, you feel a bit annoyed to be 1-0 down because we’ve had chances - and you don’t get many of them away at City.

They’re good on the ball but hopeless off it in that first half, City look so much stronger and competitive in the tackle. Rodri is a phenomenal footballer and the single most important player to any team in the league. 

Bernardo Silva, his composure and technique on the ball, Jesus fucking Christ. One of the most technically brilliant footballers I’ve seen in this league.

Alexis Mac Allister and Szoboszlai have good moments on the ball but don’t do enough without it, while Curtis Jones has one of his worst games in a Liverpool shirt. Loses so many of his battles and is very indecisive with the ball at his feet. 

I found myself ultra-disappointed with him because this was a big game for him - tasked with limiting Rodri and Silva’s influence - but is way off it.

We just need to be more physical in these big games, especially away from home. Win tackles. Everyone thinks of Guardiola’s teams as technical geniuses but they are built upon the foundations of winning duels.

We aren’t bad in the first half, but considerably better in the second. It feels like something is coming. 

Ryan Gravenberch makes such a difference from the bench when he replaces Jones. He drives with the ball consistently and doesn’t lose it, and he’s athletic enough to compete physically. I think his cameo is great.

Clever play from Salah has Nunez in at the near post and you wonder why he doesn’t try and go across Ederson but it’s one of a few half-chances the Reds get and a series of set-pieces.

For much of the second half, you could feel it coming. City felt they needed that second goal but don’t get it - thanks to VAR - and Liverpool hang in there, and at times, more than hang in there.

Some of Liverpool’s passing is good and precise and gets them out of trouble. I’ll say it again, Liverpool’s bravery is really admirable today.

Alexander-Arnold’s passing is incredible all day long. There’s one long pass to Salah in the first half which looks like a hoofed clearance but is actually a pinpoint ball, on his fucking left foot.

After Jota’s injury - hoping for good news on that one too - Diaz comes on with Gravenberch and puts in an iffy cameo. He has one moment on the counter where he’s in a great position and has such a simple chipped ball to play and Salah would be in, and he doesn’t get anywhere near enough weight on it. 

Minutes later, parity, and it comes from a City attack which sees Alisson save well from Foden. Mac Allister gets it away and Gravenberch drives forward superbly. Diaz is on the ball and plays another poor pass but Salah does so well to recover it and set up Alexander-Arnold to touch and shoot.

What a finish this is. What a goal this is. He gets the ball out of his feet so quickly and so well and it’s a perfectly arrowed strike into the bottom corner. So clean.

I feel like he’s been a bit quiet so far this season, so for him to deliver this late on in such a huge game is massive for him personally, on a day when he is arguably Liverpool’s best player.

Don’t ignore Cody Gakpo’s role in this goal too. He comes on for Szoboszlai in the midfield and brings more physicality and his intelligent run just distracts Silva from Alexander-Arnold as the shot comes in.

Klopp brings on Wataru Endo and Harvey Elliott to see it out. This might be seen as negative but I think the manager knows that a point here is a very good result.

City have more of the ball in added time but don’t exactly lay siege to Liverpool’s goal and bar the one late on which flies across the face, the Reds are reasonably comfortable at 1-1.

Highly valuable point and a thoroughly competitive performance. At no point do Liverpool look like they’re going to get battered, and they always look like they’re in the game.

That’s the best we’ve played at the Etihad since 2015, for me.

Matip and Van Dijk largely very good again, Alexander-Arnold with a stunning display, while Mac Allister, Szoboszlai and Gravenberch are good with the ball. Salah and Jota don’t get a chance at goal between them but they, and Nunez, do so much hard work which is essential to a collective effort at the Etihad.

But Liverpool’s best player today is Tsimikas, who does not put a foot wrong all game. There was so much rightful fear of him starting in this game, from myself included, but he keeps everything tidy and defends finely, while occasionally supporting the attack too. This was probably the best performance of his Liverpool career so far.

We’re at the state now where I once again consider these two teams to be the best two in the country.

Liverpool are right in this fight. 

Two points off the top after thirteen games, having been to Brighton, Chelsea, Newcastle, Tottenham and City already.

And they believe they’re in it. I’ve not seen a team be that brave on the ball at City away in a long time. It was a performance of a team that are bright and a team that know what they’re about. And Van Dijk on Instagram says we didn’t get what we came for.

They mean business.

Today was always going to be a barometer of where we are.

I’m very happy with the reading.

Daniel