Roy Keane was thoroughly impressed by what he saw in the clash between Manchester City and Liverpool, insisting both teams were hungry for a win.
Roy Keane, throughout his punditry career, has been synonymous with bashing teams for their terrible displays, particularly Manchester United. However, in the aftermath of the mammoth draw between Manchester City and Liverpool, the former midfielder had positive words of praise.
Manchester City and Liverpool shared the spoils on Sunday at the Etihad Stadium as the game ended in a 2-2 draw after a pulsating contest between the two best teams in England.
Kevin De Bruyne opened the scoring for the hosts, but soon Diogo Jota equalised for Jurgen Klopp’s side. Gabriel Jesus restored Manchester City’s lead, and Liverpool were lucky to have not conceded another goal before the break.
Liverpool came out flying in the second half, and Sadio Mane equalised very early in the period. However, the game saw no more goals, although Raheem Sterling saw his strike getting ruled out by VAR for offside. After the game, some criticised particular players, while others praised the two teams for their massive efforts.
Keane lavished praise on the two sides after their pulsating draw. Speaking on Sky Sports (h/t talkSPORT), the former Manchester United captain explained how both sides were hungry and eager to secure a victory in the game, a factor that thoroughly impressed him.
Keane said, “I think the quality, and what impressed me with all these top-quality players is the desire to keep going to try and win the game at the end. The chances, no team was ever really gonna dominate the game for long spells because there was so much quality on both sides.”
Keane then touched upon how Liverpool came out charged up in the second half and credited Klopp for motivating the players after a difficult period in the game.
“Liverpool struggled to get going, but then in the second half, they showed their character. We saw at the start of the second half, Jurgen Klopp obviously had a go at them at halftime and said, ‘Listen, you’ve gotta start showing your true colours.’ We saw that in the second half, but then City had some great chances as well.”
“It was just a great reminder to us all about what this game is about, that’s why we love this game, I thought it was fantastic. I really enjoyed it and credit to all the players, I thought they were fantastic,” Keane said.
Liverpool and Manchester City will face each other soon in the FA Cup semi-finals. Both teams are vying for multiple trophies before the season finishes as they go neck-and-neck into the last part of the Premier League season with a solitary point separating them.
