Match Summary
Here’s the lineup of both teams.
Liverpool showed how versatile they are. They gave up the possession but dominated the game, scoring from a set piece when Man City started to find themselves comfortable in possession and were about to dominate the game. Another one came from exploiting the space in behind to play over the opposition middle block.
Overall, however, Man City applied well organised high pressing with much better intensity than ever in this season, forcing Liverpool to make some errors in their half or kick the ball away. This was the biggest difference from their previous bad form.
0-15mins
Great start from City but only goal matters
The home side started the game very well by pressing with more organised structure than previous games. Foden in a striker position and Marmoush and De Bruyne as two 8s tried to force the opposition to play to Konaté instead of Van Dijk.
Against this pressing, Liverpool tried to find either of Szoboszlai or Jones in between the lines next to the single pivot González.
Man City had sharpened their pressing as the game progressed, but Liverpool found the spare players quickly from the beginning. After finding someone who received the ball and faced forwards inside City’s block, often Gravenberch or Man Allister, they switched the ball to the opposite winger where especially Díaz could take Lewis on in huge space left by narrow City’s midfield (Díaz wasn’t in good form in this game though).
On the other hand, City could also progress the ball from the back, even though Gvardiol made a mistake in their own half in the first opportunity to play out, which is something happened so many times this season. City let Lewis play inside next to González around Liverpool’s front two to stabilise the possession. As Liverpool prioritised to be in a compact shape rather than applying pressure high up the pitch with a stretched shape, City hadn’t struggled so much when it comes to keep the possession at the back.
The example above was in 4th minutes of the game, which City bypassed Liverpool’s pressure with the third man combination and individual ability. Using a third man combination like this to find Salah’s back in the left side was a key in the game while in the right side, as Lewis was inside, De Bruyne pulled wide to find space where Gvardiol occupied in the left.
It was Liverpool who scored the first. A great set piece routine straight from the training ground, which luckily deflected to find the right corner of the net. No matter how good you play, only goals can matter in a game.
15-30mins
Keep pushing but the block is solid
After conceding the first goal, City became able to have the possession more than ever, but couldn’t find a space in the box (throughout the game). Especially the left winger Doku had quite easily beaten Alexander-Arnold again and again, but no crosses could past Konaté at the first post. City were in control, but so were Liverpool.
More importantly, after the first goal, City’s pressing became more intense and Liverpool weren’t able to play through from this period to the end of the game. It might not be a problem for them though, Liverpool just started to let Alexander-Arnold play long and hope something. When Marmoush found the back of the net, which was ruled out due to the offside, City applied pressure even on Alisson, won the ball in the opposition half and played a quick counterattack.
30-45mins
Effectiveness in possession
Then it was Liverpool who scored another one.
They were in possession in the middle third. Alexander-Arnold played in behind, Salah received it and Szoboszlai were in open space in the box. This was the biggest difference between the two teams. When City arrived in the box, the space was crowded, but when Liverpool arrived in the box, the space was open. Liverpool have seemed to score with limited chances this season, but each chance is more dangerous than those of other teams.
Compared to this, City tried to penetrate the opposition box, but the space was packed.
Additionally, the absence of Haaland might be the reason of the lack of options around the box. He could fight in the air, but no one in the squad could do that in this game. So, Doku was only able to deliver low crosses to see them cleared by Konaté. But with Haaland, City might not be able to press as intense as they did or stabilise the possession.
45-60mins
City’s pressing’s been better than ever
In the second half, City kept pushing and applied pressure high up the pitch. Unlike the previous games, they were well organised and forced the opposition to kick the ball away. And also, the defenders frequently recovered the ball to keep playing in the opposition half. Even though Liverpool were about to find the third, which was offside, City could do what they wanted to do. But yet they hadn’t scored one.
60-90mins
No way to break down
It was like Arsenal. But the difference was Liverpool kept the lead. Liverpool occupied their own box to defend deep and City couldn’t find space in front of the goal. In 74th minutes, González chipped the ball in behind and Savinho cut it back first time, which was one of the best penetration in this game. When City are good, they don’t hesitate to do this kind of stuff and worry about losing the ball.
Even though City lost, their performance was much much better than ever this season and it is the positive for them to aim the top four (or five) finish to earn the spot in the Europe next season.
And Liverpool, they will win the league and let’s see how far they can go in the Champions League.
