Liverpool picked up a 1-0 win over Manchester City in the Premier League on Sunday evening thanks to a second-half strike from Mohamed Salah.
Mohamed Salah scored in the 76th minute to secure a priceless victory for Liverpool over Manchester City on Sunday.
It has been a difficult season for Liverpool, and they were in the bottom half heading into the contest. But Sunday’s win has now propelled them to eighth on the table, and they will be hoping to close in on the top four in the coming weeks.
The Reds produced a complete performance to hand the defending champions their first defeat of the season in the Premier League. Jurgen Klopp’s men could have scored more goals, but Ederson Moraes did well to contain the hosts.
The defeat leaves Manchester City second in the league table, four points adrift of league leaders Arsenal, who beat Leeds United on the day. Pep Guardiola will be disappointed with the result and the performance. It remains to be seen whether Manchester City can bounce back strongly in their next outing. Here at The Hard Tackle, we look at how both sets of players performed in the game.
No Goalkeeper in Premier League history has more Goal Involvements than Alisson Becker (1G+4A). #LFC pic.twitter.com/fnqfs4WZQC
— StatATM (@StatATM) October 16, 2022
Liverpool
Alisson Becker: 8/10
The Brazilian goalkeeper produced another impressive performance in goal. Alisson produced some important saves and his catching was on point throughout the game. The Liverpool no. 1 created the winning goal of the game with an outstanding long-range pass in the second half which sent Salah clean through on goal.
What a save to keep the score level, @Alissonbecker 🧤 pic.twitter.com/3MaVVYLMyx
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) October 16, 2022
James Milner: 8/10
The experienced midfielder was handed a start as the right-back in the absence of Trent Alexander-Arnold. Few would have expected Milner to perform as well as he did. The Liverpool vice-captain produced one of the finest performances of his career and nullified the threat of Phil Foden and Bernardo Silva throughout the game. Read the game well and was rock solid at the back.
Joe Gomez: 9/10
Ain’t nobody… like @J_Gomez97 🎶
An excellent performance from your #LIVMCI @Carlsberg Player of the Match 👌 pic.twitter.com/zEAR1Y0uqb
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) October 16, 2022
Gomez has had his fair share of injury problems, but he was handed a start here in the absence of Joel Matip. He did reasonably well as a right-back during his cameo against Arsenal, but Klopp decided to deploy him in his natural role against Manchester City.
The 25-year-old was the best defender on the pitch, and he was exceptional in dealing with Erling Haaland. Gomez was strong in the air and his recovery pace proved to be invaluable for the Reds.
Virgil van Dijk: 8/10
The Dutchman has not been able to hit his usual high standards this season, but he seemed like getting back to his best against Manchester City. Van Dijk was flawless at the back, and Haaland barely had a sniff of the goal. He produced an important clearance in the second half and prevented the Manchester City striker from scoring a tap-in.
Virgil van Dijk still hasn't lost a Premier League game at Anfield since joining Liverpool 🤯 pic.twitter.com/H5opxSy1KU
— GOAL (@goal) October 16, 2022
Andrew Robertson: 7.5/10
A solid display from the Scottish full-back. He was impeccable with his positioning and reading of the game at the back. However, he would have expected to perform better going forward. Robertson had a good opportunity to score in the first half, but failed to make contact with the ball properly and skied his effort.
Fabinho: 7/10
The Brazilian midfielder has not been at his best this season, but he showed considerable improvement on Sunday. Fabinho did well to win the ball back multiple times and set up counter attacks for the home side. He supported Thiago well in the middle of the park with accurate passing and composure on the ball.
Thiago Alcantara: 7.5/10
The Spanish international did his usual job and helped Liverpool control the game during crucial stages of the contest. Thiago caused all sorts of problems for the Manchester City full-backs with his delightful cross-field balls that found Diogo Jota and Salah time and again. He worked hard defensively as well.
Harvey Elliott: 8/10
Harvey Elliott was the top player for final third passes in the first half, and created Liverpool’s clear/cut chance. pic.twitter.com/DY3629sumF
— Andrew Beasley (@BassTunedToRed) October 16, 2022
Handed a start ahead of club captain Jordan Henderson, Elliott justified his manager’s decision with a flawless performance. He worked tirelessly and helped out the Liverpool defence. He was incisive and accurate with his passing as well. The young attacking midfielder created a glorious opportunity for Jota in the first half, but the Portuguese international headed it straight to Ederson.
Mohamed Salah: 9/10
Mohamed Salah against Manchester City in a high-octane clash – there is a sense of inevitability about it. The Egyptian scored the match-winning goal of the game and tormented the visitors’ defence with his relentless pressing and link-up play. Undoubtedly the best player on the pitch. Salah could have scored another had it not been for Ederson’s remarkable save.
⭐️Most Goals v Man City in all comps since Salah joined Liverpool in 2017
9⃣ Mohamed Salah
7⃣ Sadio Mane
6⃣ Heung-Min Son
6⃣ Jamie Vardy
5⃣ Anthony Martial pic.twitter.com/qdwbKVImKX— Sky Sports Statto (@SkySportsStatto) October 16, 2022
Roberto Firmino: 6.5/10
Firmino worked tirelessly during his time on the pitch and linked up well with Salah and Jota. However, his goalscoring touch was missing against Manchester City. Firmino has been in impressive scoring form this season, and he will be disappointed to have come away empty-handed.
Diogo Jota: 7/10
The Portuguese international was a constant nuisance for his compatriot Joao Cancelo throughout the game. Jota created all sorts of problems with his pace, flair and movement in the wide areas. Cancelo was mostly restricted to his own half because of Jota. He had the chance to score with a header in the first half. His injury in the second half is the only negative in an otherwise fantastic outing for the Reds.
SUBSTITUTES
Fabio Carvalho: 6.5/10
The youngster was brought on to cause problems for Manchester City on the counter when the visitors were chasing the game. Carvalho looked composed on the ball and linked up well with Salah and Nunez.
Darwin Nunez: 6/10
Nunez looked dangerous with space to run into, but his decision-making needs improving. He could have settled the game with an easy pass to Salah late on in the game but decided to take the Manchester City defence on all by himself and wasted a glorious opportunity.
Trent Alexander-Arnold: N/A
Was brought on to tighten things up at the back and had very little time to make any significant impact. Alexander-Arnold could have scored late on from a Nunez cross, but he failed to connect properly because of the pace on the delivery.
Jordan Henderson: N/A
Henderson tried to shore things up in the middle when he came on. Very little sample size to warrant a rating.
Manchester City
Ederson Moraes: 7/10
Respect Ederson. 🤯🚫 @SkySportsPL pic.twitter.com/yp9YKWYQvr
— City Xtra (@City_Xtra) October 16, 2022
The Brazilian was tested a lot more than his compatriot Alisson, and he managed to come up trumps. Ederson produced an excellent save to deny Salah early on in the second half and kept Manchester City in the game until the very end.
Joao Cancelo: 3/10
The Portuguese defender had a nightmare outing at Anfield. Cancelo failed to make an impact in the final third and was poor defensively as well. He struggled against Jota throughout the game and ended up gifting Salah the chance to win the game for his side with poor judgement.
🗣 "Schoolboy defending."
Roy Keane has his say on João Cancelo's defending for Mo Salah's goal pic.twitter.com/CNW0Xll1rK
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) October 16, 2022
Manuel Akanji: 5/10
The summer signing did reasonably well against Liverpool. Akanji was nothing spectacular but kept things simple at the back.
Ruben Dias: 6/10
Dias struggled with Salah’s pace at times but produced some important blocks and clearances throughout the game. Overall, an error-free display for the Portuguese ace.
Nathan Ake: 6.5/10
Probably the pick of the defenders for Manchester City. Ake looked solid at the back and produced the goods when defending in 1v1 situations against Elliott and Nunez.
Ilkay Gundogan: 6/10
The German international failed to assert himself in the middle of the park. Gundogan did well at times, but overall it was a subdued performance. The visitors struggled to suffocate the opposition with possession like they usually do, and Gundogan’s mediocre showing was one of the main reasons behind that.
Rodri: 6.5/10
Rodri started the game poorly, and Liverpool bypassed him with ease in the first half. However, he improved as the match went on and won the ball back numerous times in the second half. His improvement in the second half allowed Manchester City to wrestle control of the midfield.
Kevin De Bruyne: 7/10
Manchester City’s best player along with Ederson. De Bruyne created a number of chances for his teammates, but he was not at his vintage best.
Phil Foden: 5/10
The young attacking midfielder had a game to forget. Foden struggled against Gomez and Milner throughout and could not create a single meaningful chance for his side.
Bernardo Silva: 6/10
Silva did well to link up with the attackers and helped Manchester City control the ball in the final third. However, his incisiveness was missing.
Erling Haaland: 5/10
Haaland did not manage to get on the scoresheet. He was expected to hand Liverpool a thrashing here, but van Dijk and Gomez kept him under wraps throughout the game. Haaland had a couple of good opportunities in either half, but Alisson was well-positioned to deny him.
Erling Haaland has scored or assisted in all but two games this season:
Liverpool 3-1 Man City ❌
Liverpool 1-0 Man City ❌ pic.twitter.com/LTpkfNX6f8— B/R Football (@brfootball) October 16, 2022
SUBSTITUTES
Julian Alvarez: N/A
Came on too late to make any meaningful impact.
Roy Keane and Richard should not forget their spectacles in future so that they see everything in the field of play.Pep was just overwhelmed by emotions just like any other human being. It was an interesting game to watch for both teams but as a matter of fact there can be one winner in any game.Well doneLFC.