Liverpool 3-1 Manchester City: 3 talking points after Reds make a sensational 3-1 win over Manchester City to win the title win clash.
Manchester City faced the worst catastrophe, as Liverpool stunned Pep Guardiola’s side after netting three goals to win the fixture which was supposed to shape the Premier League title race.
Now, with 34 points after 12 games, Liverpool seems stronger than ever before, but on the other side, Manchester City has faced the 3rd defeat in this Premier League season, which brings them at the 4th position behind Leicester City and Chelsea respectively.
Surely, this game was full of entertainment and lived up to its hype and also had its own share of controversies which directly affected the game.
As the results follow, Manchester City’s poor result record at the Anfield continues, as they have failed to win the game at Liverpool’s ground for a while, and have lost points in every visit.
With this, we will discuss three talking points from the game, which are prominent enough as Manchester City faces a big blow in the league title race this season.
Also read: Pep Guardiola loses his rags on the sidelines after being denied yet another handball vs Liverpool
1. VAR implementation once again surrounds controversy
In the first half, VAR was subject to major criticism as Manchester City were earlier denied a penalty by VAR check as Trent Alexander Arnold allegedly made a handball foul in his own box.
Although, at the same time Bernardo Silva also made a handball, but none of the instances made the game stop. Instead, Liverpool went onto score the opener on the counter from Fabinho’s sensational strike.
Later, Mohamed Salah was also subject to offside before he netted in the 2nd goal. However, it was not even examined by VAR. This point is not trying to accuse Liverpool of an illegitimate win but over the utilization of VAR.
In the match against Sheffield United Vs Tottenham Hotspurs, a goal was examined so closely by VAR that it took almost three minutes away from the regular playing time.
Thus, it seemed strange as Salah looked offside initially and even if it was not, VAR must have followed the same procedure as it is being done since the start.
2. Liverpool’s defence showed its quality once again
Liverpool’s defence was performing as a shadow of itself in the games before this one, as in many performances they were below par even though their earlier scoreline doesn’t signify it.
However, tonight Liverpool’s defence was better organized and hardly gave space to Manchester City’s forward line. Sergio Aguero was left frustrated with the tactical organization of the back four.
Even Raheem Sterling was kept quiet until 60 minutes of the game after it the English International was quite good. Manchester City attempted 18 shots in total out of which 5 were on target, except for once, Liverpool managed to thwart all of them away.
At the same time, Manchester City’s defence was abysmal and was vulnerable, making Liverpool take advantage of all the weaknesses whenever possible.
Thus, in the battle of defence Liverpool obviously won, which also is reflective in the final result. The Reds’ defence was also provided support from Jordan Henderson and Fabinho, both of them gave exceptional performances.
3. The title race is slowly getting over
Even though there are seven months left in the league but Liverpool has brilliantly managed the gap and have now widened it even further to an extent that Manchester City is slowly going away from the title race.
It wouldn’t be wrong to say that its Liverpool’s title to lose now, as they are clear on the table with 8 points advantage over second-placed and third-placed Leicester City and Chelsea respectively.
Meanwhile, Manchester City has slipped to the fourth spot after the result. Now, Liverpool can relax for a while, as their biggest challenge in the league has already faced a defeat from them this season already.
If Liverpool manages to maintain this form and consistency then we would not have to wait till the final matchday to see the Champions. Hence, Liverpool would be eyeing to remain motivated in order to win their first Premier League title and 19th league title.
