Man City 0-2 Liverpool (Salah 14′, Szoboszlai 37′)
Liverpool surged 11 points clear at the top of the Premier League by clinically dispatching Manchester City at the Etihad.
This was yet further confirmation of how far Pep Guardiola‘s side have fallen, a match they never really threatened in with Erling Haaland still ruled out with a knee injury.
Mohamed Salah opened the scoring after a sharp corner routine was precisely flicked on by Dominik Szoboszlai, before the Egyptian returned the favour after a masterful run down the right.
Ederson: Didn’t make a save in the first hour, but not much he could do for Liverpool’s goals. 5/10
Rico Lewis: Kept Diaz quiet but couldn’t fashion much space going forward. 6/10
Abdukodir Khusanov: A remarkably impressive performance given the circumstances. Perhaps could have been quicker to stop Szoboszlai for Liverpool’s second but is beginning to settle in. 7/10
Nathan Ake: Liverpool’s lack of an outright striker meant his one-on-one brilliance went largely untested. Should have started on the left to stop Salah. 6/10
Josko Gvardiol: Gave the ball away in the first two minutes, setting the tone for a poor performance. Erratic passing and struggled to contain Salah, especially for Liverpool’s second. 4/10
Nico Gonzalez: Represents the flaws of this team as a whole. Passed it around comfortably enough and helped dictate possession, but with very little threat. 6/10
Savinho: Grew into the game but was limited by City’s lack of a focal point. 6/10
Kevin De Bruyne: Looks largely lost in matches of this calibre – a real tragedy but something Pep Guardiola needs to accept. One shot nearly ended up with a throw-in. 5/10
Omar Marmoush: Great finish from an offside position early on and ran tirelessly, creating the best of City’s attacking work. 7/10
Jeremy Doku: Had the beating of Alexander-Arnold time and again. Lively without ever looking hugely threatening, guilty of taking the safe option too often. 7/10
Phil Foden: Asked to replaced Haaland as a central striker, and unsurprisingly could not quite match the Norwegian’s heights. A couple of tame shots but never really threatened. 5/10
Substitutes
Alisson: Did what was expected of one of the world’s best goalkeepers, with a series of routine stops. 6/10
Trent Alexander-Arnold: Very lucky to go unpunished after being skinned 11 times – the most of any player this season – but a beautiful ball to tee up Liverpool’s second. 4/10
Ibrahima Konate: Strong and solid, helped by having Van Dijk covering for him at every moment. 7/10
Virgil van Dijk: Imperious as always. Should end the season as a narrow runner-up to Salah in the individual awards races. 8/10
Andy Robertson: Did a much better job of limiting City’s tricky wingers than his counterpart on the right. His attacking contribution was limited to one rash shot but did the job. 7/10
Ryan Gravenberch: Couldn’t take control of this game, with play largely passing him by as the ball was funnelled out to the wings. 6/10
Alexis Mac Allister: As with his midfield partner, this wasn’t a game for him to star in, but he did what was asked tidily enough. 6/10
Mohamed Salah: A goal and an assist takes him to 51 goal contributions in all competitions this season. A master at work and dangerous whenever he got the ball. 8/10
Dominik Szoboszlai: His flick-on for Liverpool’s first was inch-perfect, as was his finish for the second. Would have been instrumental in a third had he not been fractionally offside. 8/10
Luis Diaz: Relatively isolated on the left, but tested Ederson with a powerful strike midway through the second half and worked well defensively. 6/10
Curtis Jones: Struggled to impose himself as a false nine but created space for those around him to excel. 6/10
Substitutes
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