Man City need a win to continue chasing Arsenal in the championship race while Liverpool are more desperate for points than ever to keep alive their hopes of competing for a place in the Top 4.
That is the reason why the rematch between the two teams has become the most anticipated match of round 29 of the Premier League. More than anyone else, home fans are eager to witness Man City's "debt collection" after the 0-1 defeat in the first leg at Anfield more than 5 months ago.
The match at the Etihad was not without its share of heated debates.
Erling Haaland has not yet recovered from his injury, so he was not registered to play in this match, even on the reserve list for Man City. Instead, coach Pep Guardiola gave the responsibility of playing the highest position in the home team's attack to Julian Alvarez, supported by Jack Grealish and Riyad Mahrez. For Liverpool, Diogo Jota and Cody Gakpo were placed by Jurgen Klopp alongside Mohamed Salah, the "killer" who has scored in all three matches against Man City this season.
Mohamed scored his fourth goal in four appearances against Man City this season
With the support of a large home crowd, Man City created a situation of pressure against Liverpool in the first 15 minutes of the match, but unfortunately the strikers could not turn the opportunities into goals. The surprise happened in the 17th minute when Liverpool took the initiative to counterattack quickly and Alexander-Arnold kicked the ball long into the Man City field for Diogo Jota to break the offside trap and get down. Center back Manuel Akanji could not keep up with Jota's speed and the Portuguese striker passed the ball back very conveniently for Mohamed Salah to make a very strong curling shot, opening the score for Liverpool.
Julian Alvarez seized the opportunity no less than Erling Haaland...
... to equalize for Man City just 5 minutes after falling behind
Just 5 minutes later, Man City equalized. The smooth coordination between Riyad Mahrez, Ilkay Gundogan and Jack Grealish gave Julian Alvarez the chance to run in and finish close to the goal, leveling the score 1-1 for the home team. The entire Etihad Stadium exploded with joy at this beautiful goal. The score reflected the fairly balanced situation in the first 45 minutes and no one could have imagined the situation would change so quickly in the second half of the match.
De Bruyne scored his own goal in the 46th minute.
A minute into the second half, Man City launched a quick counter-attack and Julian Alvarez sent a pass to Mahrez down the right flank. Centre-back Van Dijk couldn't keep up with the move and De Bruyne ran up and tapped the ball in to make it 2-1 for the home team.
Ilkay Gundogan scored...
In the 53rd minute, Riyad Mahrez dribbled the ball and crossed very skillfully into the middle, eliminating all three red shirts of Liverpool and Julian Alvarez finished very quickly. The away team's defender Alexander-Arnold blocked this shot but Liverpool's net still shook after a close-range shot by Ilkay Gundogan. The score continued to be raised to 4-1 in the 74th minute after a diagonal shot by Jack Grealish, the most outstanding player of this match for Man City. The English star received the ball from captain Gundogan and coordinated with De Bruyne before receiving the ball back, shooting past goalkeeper Alisson Becker!
Jack Grealish was not to be outdone with his goal to make it 4-1.
Winning 4-1 at home, Man City and Liverpool "draw" after four matches this season with two wins each. However, Man City's successful "debt collection" at the Etihad Stadium is extremely important as they reduce the gap with the top team Arsenal to only 5 points and still have a game in hand.
Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp after the match
Liverpool are trying to get back on track, but their third consecutive defeat in all competitions - their first hat-trick of defeats in 14 years - could make all their efforts useless once the players' morale is so low that it will be difficult to recover anytime soon.
Man City has not given up on defending the throne
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