TEN memorable moments from Liverpool v Man City

Leaders Liverpool host defending champions Manchester City on Sunday in a match where the Reds could move 11 points clear of Pep Guardiola's side.

Here, football writer Adrian Kajumba picks out some of the most memorable matches, individual performances and incidents from their battles during the Premier League era.

Gerrard’s rallying cry - April 2014

This season marked the first of the modern-day rivalry between the two clubs, and there was a cruel irony to how this Anfield occasion ended.

The match itself, between two of the season's three title contenders, was memorable enough, but what followed its conclusion was unfortunately iconic for Liverpool.

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Liverpool raced into a 2-0 lead in 26 minutes but Man City drew level with two second-half goals in five minutes, before Philippe Coutinho won it with 12 minutes left after Vincent Kompany’s error.

The win was Liverpool’s 10th in a row in the top flight and left Brendan Rodgers’ table-topping side just four victories away from their first Premier League title and with belief growing that this could finally be their year.

On the day Liverpool marked the 25th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster, captain Steven Gerrard could barely contain his emotions as he led Liverpool’s post-match huddle.

“We do not let this slip!” he told his team-mates.

Except, a couple of weeks later that is exactly what he infamously did, losing his footing to gift Chelsea, the other title challengers that season, a goal in a 2-0 defeat for Liverpool.

That proved to be one of the key results which enabled City to overhaul Liverpool to win the 2014 Premier League title by two points in Manuel Pellegrini’s debut season.

Sterling swaps Liverpool for Man City - July 2015 

Raheem Sterling became the most expensive English player in history when he joined Man City in a reported £49million deal. 

But that status did not come without controversy following his acrimonious Anfield exit.

The protracted saga began towards the end of 2014, when it became public knowledge that there was a difference of opinions between player and club in Sterling’s contract negotiations.

Relations, including between Sterling and Liverpool supporters, deteriorated from there. Talks over a new deal were shelved on more than one occasion.

At one stage Sterling conducted a television interview in a bid to explain his side, insisting he was not motivated by money but only a desire to “be the best I can be”. 

That aggravated the situation further. The saga included claim and counterclaim from both sides plus communication breakdowns. 

Liverpool were reluctant sellers but eventually relented when City’s bid reached record levels.

The move guaranteed Sterling a hostile reception whenever he returned to Liverpool, and it was also one that pointed to a power shift in English football, with Sterling pushing to swap a traditional giant for a rising force.

Sterling's Man City highlight reel 2015-2021

Klopp’s first meeting with Man City - November 2015 

Jurgen Klopp’s first taste of this fixture was a sweet one, a 4-1 win at Man City just six weeks into his Liverpool reign.

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Klopp’s side produced one of their best performances of his debut season, storming into a three-goal lead inside 32 minutes on their way to a memorable victory at the Etihad Stadium.

Summer signing Roberto Firmino was among the scorers, netting his first Liverpool goal to make it 3-0.

Highlights of Liverpool's emphatic win at Man City

Klopp and Pep Guardiola, who first crossed paths in Germany with Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich respectively, were then reunited in the Premier League the following summer when the Spaniard arrived at Man City.

Over the years that followed, one of English football’s great rivalries unfolded as the two managers and teams pushed each other to new heights.

While doing so and despite the size of the prizes they repeatedly battled each other for, there was only admiration between the two men rather than the ill-feeling present in so many other managerial rivalries.

Klopp regularly described Guardiola as the best manager in the world and called him his greatest rival. Guardiola hailed Liverpool as the strongest opponents of his career.

Ahead of Klopp’s summer departure from Liverpool, Guardiola said: “I will never forget these battles. Everybody knows Klopp made me a better manager and Liverpool made me a better manager.” 

Five-star City - September 2017 

This was not just a painful day for Ederson but Klopp too.

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Man City’s goalkeeper came off worst in the match’s defining incident when he took a Sadio Mane boot to the face.

The first-half collision resulted in Mane being sent off, while Ederson was forced off injured and left with a facial wound which required stitches.

Already 1-0 up through Sergio Aguero at the time, Man City took full advantage of their numerical advantage.

Gabriel Jesus and Leroy Sane struck twice each as Man City went on to inflict what was the heaviest defeat of his managerial reign on Klopp, until Aston Villa took that honour with a 7-2 success three years later. 

Guardiola’s first win against Liverpool also remains Man City’s biggest in the Premier League against them.

Sane's emphatic second goal v Liverpool

4-3 Anfield thriller - January 2018 

Liverpool were beginning life after Coutinho following his big-money move to Barcelona when Man City visited in January 2018.

And the first sign of how exciting their future could look without the Brazilian was delivered in an unforgettable win as Liverpool avenged their 5-0 loss earlier in the season. 

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Fired up, Liverpool took the game to Man City in a statement performance, blowing Guardiola’s side away to end their 22-game unbeaten start to the Premier League season. 

Liverpool’s Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Man City’s Sane traded first-half goals.

The hosts' exciting front three of Firmino, Mane and Mohamed Salah then all scored stunning goals in a devastating nine-minute second-half spell to take the match away from Man City.

Late strikes from Bernardo Silva and Ilkay Gundogan gave the match a final scoreline that flattered Man City.

This was a rare off day for them in 2017/18. City only lost twice all season and won the Premier League with a record 100 points. 

For Liverpool, it was one to remember. 

"You can watch it as a manager or as a football fan and I prefer to do that - wow!” said a pumped-up Klopp. “What a game. Two teams, full throttle. This was a historic game you will talk about in 20 years.

"People watched this game all over the world and this is why - take your heart, throw it on the pitch and play like this, both teams.” 

Stones’ goalline clearance - January 2019

In 2019, Man City clinched the Premier League title on the final day of the season by just one point after the tightest of races with Liverpool. 

And their triumph by the narrowest of margins underlined how crucial a moment defender John Stones' goalline clearance against Liverpool was that season. 

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With the score still 0-0 at the Etihad Stadium, Stones got back just in time to hook the ball clear after his own attempted clearance ricocheted off goalkeeper Ederson and back towards his own goal. The ball was just 11mm from crossing the line.

Stones said: “I just had to react quickly, and I think those sorts of things can change games.” 

And define title races. 

City went on to claim a 2-1 win which reignited their title bid and ended Liverpool’s 20-match unbeaten Premier League run in the process. It was also the only league defeat Liverpool suffered all season. 

The significance of Stones' dramatic intervention became even bigger once the thrilling 2018/19 title race was finally settled. Man City finished on 98 points and Liverpool 97, the third and fourth-highest points totals in the history of England’s top flight.

Highlights of Man City's 2-1 win v Liverpool

Liverpool win en route to the title - Nov 2019

Liverpool finally got their hands on that Premier League crown they had craved the following season, and a convincing Anfield win over Man City was a crucial result along the way.

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Once again, in 2019/20, Klopp’s side flew out of the traps. 

Their 3-1 victory against Man City, featuring Fabinho’s memorable screamer to open the scoring, was their 11th win in their opening 12 Premier League matches. 

In a positive omen given they are in the same position now, it left them eight points clear at the top after 12 matches, and they would not be caught as their 30-year wait for a top-flight title finally came to an end. 

Liverpool finished the season with 99 points, the second-highest total in English top-flight history, 18 points ahead of Man City. 

Rare Anfield joy for City - February 2021 

During Man City’s historic run of 21 successive wins in all competitions during 2020/21, their thumping victory at Liverpool was significant on multiple levels.

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The win, inspired by two goals from Gundogan and featuring a fine Phil Foden strike plus two uncharacteristic Alisson errors, was number 14 in Man City’s relentless sequence.

That equalled the all-time record for successive wins in all competitions by an English top-flight club.

Having missed out on an October 2018 triumph when Riyad Mahrez skied a late penalty in a goalless draw, this was also Guardiola’s first win at Anfield and Man City’s first there in the Premier League since May 2003. It remains their only away win in the last 21 league visits.

Salah’s Goal of the Season - October 2021

“He is a different level, Mo Salah,” Sky Sports co-commentator Gary Neville said of the Liverpool star after he lit up the clubs' first meeting of the 2021/22 season.

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That was also a fair reflection of his entire campaign. Salah finished it with three individual awards. 

One of them was for the sensational solo goal that left Neville waxing lyrical and was voted Goal of the Season. 

Receiving the ball with his back to goal, Salah rolled away from Joao Cancelo before tricking his way past Bernardo while holding off Foden.

Salah then chopped past Aymeric Laporte before beating Ederson with a thumping finish from a narrow angle to lift the roof off Anfield. 

His 101st Premier League goal was one of 23 goals Salah scored in the Premier League in 2021/22 as he shared the Golden Boot with Tottenham Hotspur’s Son Heung-min.

Meanwhile, his 13 assists also earned him the Playmaker of the Season award.

Despite his individual brilliance, though, Liverpool missed out on the title to Man City by a point once again.  

Haaland makes history - Nov 2023

Liverpool are one of only six sides that Erling Haaland has faced in the Premier League and scored just once against.

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But that lone strike in last season’s 1-1 draw at home was one that made history as the Norwegian became the quickest player to hit 50 Premier League goals.

Haaland reached the milestone in just 48 matches, 17 appearances quicker than the previous record-holder Andrew Cole, who took 65 matches.

And having also witnessed Haaland shatter a string of records previously, Guardiola was almost out of superlatives by this point.

“Just 50? Incredible!” he joked succinctly. 

Highlights of Man City 1-1 Liverpool