Liverpool took a big stride towards winning the Premier League title after Mohamed Salah starred in a statement 2-0 win over Manchester City.
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The Liverpool-City rivalry has been one of the standout stories of recent seasons, but Arne Slot’s team proved their title credentials with a superb display at the Etihad Stadium.
Salah got the ball rolling with a deflected strike in the 14th minute and then teed up the impressive Dominik Szoboszlai to score before half-time.
City, without the injured Erling Haaland, had their moments, but never truly came close to a comeback as Liverpool claimed their first league win Man City since 2015.
Liverpool are now 11 points clear of Arsenal, who lost to West Ham United on Saturday, albeit having played a match more, while City stay in fourth.
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Liverpool
LIV
|
27 | +38 | 64 |
| 2 |
Arsenal
ARS
|
26 | +28 | 53 |
| 3 |
Nott'm Forest
NFO
|
26 | +11 | 47 |
| 4 |
Man City
MCI
|
26 | +15 | 44 |
| 5 |
Newcastle
NEW
|
26 | +10 | 44 |
How the match unfolded
A bright City start faded when Rico Lewis was caught in possession by Curtis Jones, leading to Luis Diaz forcing a corner. Szoboszlai’s clever flick from the resulting set-piece fell to Salah, whose first-time strike deflected in off Nathan Ake.
Omar Marmoush saw an excellent finish rightly flagged offside, but Liverpool were 2-0 up in the 37th minute – Salah brilliantly got in behind and held off Josko Gvardiol before offloading it to Szoboszlai, who calmly slotted home.
Szoboszlai looked to have turned provider for Jones to score Liverpool’s third in the 56th minute, but the Hungary international had just strayed offside, with the goal disallowed after a VAR review.
Alisson tipped a fine Marmoush effort wide as City searched for a response, but that was the closest the hosts came.
They also needed a fine last-ditch block from Abdukodir Khusanov to prevent Szoboszlai from adding further gloss in the closing stages.
Magnificent Salah leads Liverpool’s charge
Salah is still not sure of his Liverpool future, but as he heads into what might well be his final four months at the club, the 32-year-old is playing as well as he ever has.
He was again integral to Liverpool’s attack. When City started brightly, it was Salah who offered the Reds’ first meaningful threat, getting away from Ake with a wicked turn of pace down the right flank.
There may have been an element of good fortune about his opener, with Ake’s attempted block diverting the ball over Ederson’s dive, but Salah still had to make a sweet connection.
Salah’s pace, strength and skill then caught out Gvardiol in the build-up to Liverpool’s second, which the Egyptian coolly set up with a perfectly weighted lay-off to Szoboszlai, returning the favour for his earlier assist.
He now has an extraordinary 41 goal contributions in the league this season – he is only seven shy of surpassing the all-time record for goal contributions in a single season, which is shared by Alan Shearer and Andrew Cole.
Not that Salah was Liverpool’s only star performer. Virgil van Dijk marshalled the defence; Jones was typically energetic in midfield and Szoboszlai matched Salah in regards to directly contributing to goals.
But this is Salah’s team – he is driving the charge towards Liverpool’s second Premier League title and, given Arsenal’s injury crisis and most recent slip-up, it is difficult to see the Gunners catching up.
Haaland’s absence felt
Haaland was watching on from the stands after he was not deemed fit to feature – City’s superstar striker having sustained an injury in the 4-0 win over Newcastle United last week.
And Pep Guardiola will have been lamenting his lack of a focal point, as City did actually manage to create plenty of opportunities that Haaland would have surely relished.
One battle City did win on the day was between Jeremy Doku and Trent Alexander-Arnold.
The Liverpool full-back was regularly beaten by Doku, who also managed to deliver some excellent crosses, but there was no natural No 9 there to gobble them up.
Marmoush, fresh from his hat-trick against Newcastle, did an admirable job and showed his quality with that neat first-half finish that went in off a post, only to be denied by the offside flag, but it is a case of what might have been for City.
With their UEFA Champions League quest also over, it has been a dour week for the four-time reigning Premier League champions, whose focus now is to get back on track when they head to Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday.
Club reports
Man City report | Liverpool report
What the managers said
Pep Guardiola: "If you lose, you have to lose the way we lost today. I saw many things that this club has a bright future with the players that we have. Except Kevin de Bruyne and maybe Nathan Ake, all the players are so, so young. What the club decides next for the future, there is a bright future for this club in the next years."
Arne Slot: "Three days ago we had a draw at Villa and people told me we weren't in a good place and then three days later we won and it changes again. We work every single day to achieve this and it is three months of very hard work to maintain this."
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Key facts
Man City have conceded the opening goal on 12 occasions in the Premier League this season, already the joint-most in a single campaign under Guardiola (12 in 2019/20).
In Arne Slot’s first season with the club, Liverpool have done the Premier League double over City for the first time since 2015/16 (which was Jurgen Klopp’s maiden season in charge).
Liverpool are now 11 points clear at the top of the Premier League; their largest lead on second place at the end of a day since the final day of the 2019/20 campaign (18), when they last won the title.