Man City-Liverpool: "Super classic" of English football

Haaland will still be the attacking spearhead that Van Dijk must be wary of. (Photo: MCFC)

A fateful encounter

In his pre-match press conference, Pep Guardiola insisted that Liverpool are his biggest rivals and the perfect team for Manchester City to play in his 1,000th game as a manager.

Looking at the statistics since Pep Guardiola arrived in the Premier League, Man City and Liverpool have shared the last eight titles. The Blues have won six and the other two have gone to their Red rivals. Clearly, City's rivalry with Liverpool has been the main theme over the years.

In more detail, coach Pep Guardiola's army has faced Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool 22 times, winning seven, losing eight and drawing seven times. Last season, City lost twice to Arne Slot's Liverpool.

Asked if Pep believes Liverpool are the team that pushes him the most, the Spaniard replied: "Definitely. In terms of timing. I think we pushed Liverpool to play better and they pushed us to do the same. That's for sure."

Facing Liverpool, Pep will reach the milestone of 1,000 matches as a coach. (Photo: MCFC)

Man City are currently in third place with 19 points. The Citizens have shown their formidable strength by winning four of their last five Premier League matches. They crushed Burnley 5-1, overcame Bournemouth, Everton and Brentford with convincing performances. The only defeat against Aston Villa was like a temporary stumble in their journey to regain their peak form.

Star Erling Haaland continues to maintain his superb scoring instinct. He has scored 18 goals in 14 matches in all competitions. Behind him, Phil Foden, Doku and O'Reilly are gradually finding a common voice, making City's playing style more unpredictable than ever. All three are gradually maturing, not only in their creative roles but also in their scoring ability. All create an attack that can explode at any time, capable of penetrating any defensive system.

As Manchester City's midfield gradually showed sophistication in their passing combinations, everyone once again took their hats off to Pep Guardiola's way of constantly developing his players and giving them solutions to win.

"I told Jeremy Doku, you can come inside when you feel comfortable, go out when you feel comfortable. When you go out, Nico O'Reilly and Phil Foden can play inside. In the end, it's not about tactics, it's about having the ball, keeping the ball and trying to play your way," Guardiola shared.

O'Reilly, Phil Foden and Doku are playing extremely well together. (Photo: MCFC)

Against Bournemouth, Pep deployed a lot of players inside. The wingers moved inside to exploit the spaces with the full-backs pushing forward. Even when the opposition were compact and didn’t leave much space, Cherki and Foden were still able to play one-touch passing with great speed and coordination.

Moreover, Man City is entering a rare period with almost full squad. Only Mateo Kovacic is definitely absent due to ankle injury. Rodri is still not in the best shape. John Stones is also back, allowing Pep to flexibly rotate the squad. The availability of a series of stars will make City's attack unpredictable, especially when they play at the Etihad fortress.

Since losing to Tottenham in August, the Etihad has seen the home team win six games in a row, scoring 19 goals and conceding just three. Ruben Dias' experience and Josko Gvardiol's youth are expected to continue to form a solid shield in front of Gianluigi Donnarumma's goal.

When faith returns

Just as Pep Guardiola has shown respect for Liverpool and seen them as Man City's biggest rivals in the Premier League, Arne Slot has compared the clash between the two teams to Spain's El Clasico. The reigning Premier League champions will head into the tough encounter with renewed confidence after back-to-back wins over Aston Villa and Real Madrid.

"When I'm not working here, in the Netherlands, I always know when this match is on and make sure I'm in front of the TV. It's like El Clasico. Even if you're not part of the game, you always look forward to it. I think this game is always worth watching because there are so many great individuals playing this game and these two teams always give you what you expect," Arne Slot affirmed.

Liverpool have been struggling to overcome the waves this season. They are sixth with 18 points - just one point behind Man City. The Reds have lost six of their last nine games. However, two consecutive wins, against Aston Villa in the Premier League and Real Madrid in the Champions League, have rekindled hope.

Victory over Real Madrid gives the Reds momentum for their trip to Etihad. (Photo: UEFACL)

After a comprehensive and costly overhaul in the summer, it was surprising to see Slot return to familiarity and stability to get Liverpool back on track. The wins over Villa and Madrid were achieved through two key changes. Andy Robertson was brought back to left-back, replacing new signing Milos Kerkez. Dominik Szoboszlai brought more balance and physicality by returning to his attacking midfield role from last season.

Notably, creative players like Alexis Mac Allister and Florian Wirtz are becoming important cogs in Slot's system. Mac Allister's flair and Wirtz's ability to create chances give Liverpool more options to penetrate, especially when Salah moves wide to stretch the opposition defence.

If a change of scenery is needed, Cody Gakpo or Federico Chiesa can be brought in. These are “trump cards” with the ability to cause a change with their speed and skills in tight spaces.

Gakpo is in good form this season. (Photo: LVFC)

Overcoming a series of consecutive losses, the Red Brigade gradually returned to the image they had shown throughout the previous season. Obviously, Arne Slot had a headache finding a way to assemble new stars in the squad. It was this turmoil that created instability for the port city team.

Up to now, both Man City and Liverpool have spent heavily in the transfer market. With Man City spending around 180 million pounds in January and another 220 million pounds in the summer. Liverpool have also reached the spending mark of 450 million pounds. However, very few new players have shown their full potential.

Liverpool travel to Manchester on November 9 with Alisson Becker and Jeremie Frimpong still sidelined with hamstring injuries. Giorgi Mamardashvili, the young Georgian goalkeeper, will continue to start, while Conor Bradley will take the right-back role.

Up front, Alexander Isak is still doubtful of playing. Mohamed Salah and Ekitike continue to be the big hopes to penetrate the blue shirt defense. Meanwhile, Dominik Szoboszlai and Mac Allister will still bring abundant energy in the midfield.

Dominik Szoboszlai played well when he returned to the attacking midfield position. (Photo: LFC)

Arne Slot insists: Playing away from home against Man City is one of the toughest challenges you face all season.

However, the Reds are still full of confidence to beat Man City like they did in February last year. At the time Arsenal were held to a draw by Sunderland, the result of the English football "super classic" will greatly affect the upcoming championship race.

MINH PHU

Source: https://nhandan.vn/man-city-liverpool-sieu-kinh-dien-cua-bong-da-anh-post921781.html