Manchester Metropolis suffered a fourth consecutive loss within the Premier League with a 2-0 defeat to Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday, leaving them 11 factors adrift of the summit.
The storied rivalry between the 2 sides noticed the reigning champions battle towards one among their largest rivals in Anfield, succumbing to their seventh consecutive defeat throughout all competitions of their newest conflict. Arne Slot got here ready to tackle Pep Guardiola, who noticed his facet punished by the desk leaders in a composed style.
To say that Man Metropolis had a nervy begin at Anfield can be an understatement. Misplaced passes from Manuel Akanji, Mattheus NNunes’ball retention, a struggling Ilkay Gundogan, and Kyle WWalker’sroutine errors left gaping holes within the group’s setup for Liverpool to take advantage of from the primary whistle.
The hosts knew to place strain on Guardiola’s males proper from the opening minute. Trent Alexander Arnold’s exceptional link-up with Cody Gakpo troubled the reigning champions, rendering all the Metropolis midfield pointless through the build-ups.
Mohammed Salah, as at all times, remained the largest risk, and he was additionally the one who arrange the primary blow for the visiting facet. Gakpo quietly adopted up behind an unaware Kyle Walker whereas Salah ran free on the opposite facet of the pitch.
The Egyptian made a chic cross contained in the Metropolis field whereas Gakpo snuck previous Walker to drive the ball inside the online. Ortega, who had withstood the strain till now, managed to graze the ball however couldn’t cease it from falling into the trail of an incoming Gakpo.
The benefit with which the Liverpool ahead ran behind Walker for the objective was harrowing. An argument seemingly ensued between the Englishman and Ruben Dias, foreshadowing the worst of Metropolis’s defensive woes that may be displayed later within the recreation.
There have been nonetheless loads of unwise decisions, together with the man-marking through the set items. The Blues didn’t concede one other objective within the first half, which was a brief reprieve within the context of their current performances and LLiverpool’spure high quality.
Though Man Metropolis’s protection improved as time handed, the group’s offense was negligible. GGuardiola’sside struggled to seek out concord of their build-ups, which frequently met with disappointing endings. Metropolis registered their first shot on track virtually half an hour into the sport with Rico LLewis’large shot from the sting of the field.
Man Metropolis elevated the frequency with which they created possibilities, creating hopeful spells after they returned within the second half. Nunes stopped Gakpo from doubling the lead for Liverpool and shortly made means for Jeremy Doku, who proved to be an even bigger problem for Trent Alexander-Arnold.
The reigning champions had simply began to achieve momentum when a sequence of blunders from Metropolis defenders led to them conceding one other objective. This time, Luis Diaz escaped with the ball after errors from Ruben Dias and Kyle Walker earlier than working into Ortega, who had dedicated a foul.
The hosts got the penalty, and Salah transformed from the spot to provide the desk leaders a much-needed benefit. Kevin De Bruyne’s introduction late within the second half pushed the Liverpool facet again inside their half, however the Belgian taking pictures straight on the keeper didn’t assist.
Liverpool toyed with Man Metropolis’s confidence for some extra time earlier than the referee blew the ultimate whistle. The Sky Blues suffered a seventh successive defeat, their fourth within the Premier League, and fell 11 factors behind their opponents.
The loss additionally extends the worst spell in Pep Guardiola’s managerial profession, who had a cheeky second at Anfield with the house followers when he signaled what number of league trophies he has gained. Nevertheless, the Catalan now has a monumental activity to revive this Man Metropolis facet as they put together for his or her subsequent match towards Nottingham Forest, scheduled for later this week.
Right here’s how we fee Man Metropolis gamers’ efficiency of their defeat towards Liverpool right this moment.
Participant Scores
Beginning XI
Stefan Ortega
Changed Ederson as a result of the latter made errors, made a mistake that led to the penalty., That stated, he made a number of saves, and with out him within the objective, the guests would have most likely needed to endure an embarrassing scoreline
Kyle Walker – 2
Errors might be forgiven, however the captain’s unaware, nonchalant, and irresponsible efficiency was undoubtedly Metropolis’s weakest level.
Ruben Dias – 5.5
He was higher than different Metropolis defenders till his mistake, adopted by errors from Walker and Ortega, led to a penalty.
Nathan Ake – 5
Nathan Ake prevented a objective however picked up a yellow card after committing a foul in his determined try and play a ball from Bernardo SSilva’smistake.
Manuel Akanji – 4
His passes had been misplaced to start with, particularly the one directed at Gundogan, who couldn’t withhold Liverpool attackers however grew higher as the sport progressed.
Ilkay Gundogan – 5
He struggled within the midfield and couldn’t forestall any of the Liverpool build-ups however acquired higher after setting within the recreation.
Rico Lewis – 6
He was allowed to play increased and was good with the ball regardless of overwhelming spells of assault. He paced via Liverpool’s midfield with the ball at his toes.
Bernardo Silva – 5
Uncharacteristically poor efficiency towards Liverpool. His passes had been horrible, along with his solely memorable second being his slight tiff with Slaah – however he can be higher off forgetting the identical.
Phil Foden – 5
Obtained a yellow card for an avoidable foul, struggled within the last third, and did nothing related.
Mattheus Nunes – 5
He struggled to seek out his well past the Liverpool full-backs and couldn’t discover Erling Haaland contained in the field, stopping a large objective from Gakpo.
Erling Haalad – 4
Video games like these scream for goalscorers; he might not have acquired the ball as typically, however he ought to have achieved higher with the possibilities that had been created.
Substitutes
Jeremy Doku – 6
Elevating all the Metropolis assault along with his vitality pressured Liverpool to defend deep, which helped his different teammates to get contained in the field.
Kevin De Bruyne – 5
He missed a straightforward objective – at the least by his requirements – and the one that might have been a game-changer.
Savinho – 5
He paired properly with Doku however couldn’t replicate the latter’s stream on the pitch.
Jack Grealish – 5
Much like his final look, he didn’t do sufficient to warrant a score of his efficiency.