Liverpool vs Manchester City Player Ratings as Liverpool extend their domination at the top

Two arch rivals, over the last decade, Liverpool and Manchester City squared off at Etihad Stadium in the 26th gameweek of the Premier League on Sunday. While the onus was on Manchester City to come out of the woods after losing to Real Madrid in the Champions League, Liverpool did not allow their opposition to gain any points at the end of the 90 minutes. Mohamed Salah and Dominik Szoboszlai found the back of the net early in the game to go 2-0 up at halftime. In the second half, Manchester City tried hard but could not find a goal, leading to Liverpool’s victory. With the win, Arne Slot’s men are now 11 points clear of title-chasing Arsenal. 

Here’s how the game unfolded at Etihad Stadium:

Manchester City dominate the early proceedings but Liverpool strikes first

In the early exchanges of the game, Manchester City dominated both possession and shots. Omar Marmoush and Jeremy Doku continued to threaten the opposition defense, but nothing registered on target. On the other hand, Liverpool were destructive on the counter-attack, with Mohamed Salah getting sight of the goal. When the time arrived, Mohamed Salah and Szoboszlai linked up perfectly to find the back of the net. A routine from the training ground saw the Egyptian King scoring his 13th goal against Manchester City, the highest by any player against City in the Premier League era.

Szoboszlai doubles the lead, Liverpool go to the half time with a big cushion 

While Manchester City went on to find the equalizer after conceding a goal as early as the 13th minute, Liverpool held the fort. Omar Marmoush and the Belgian international, Jeremy Doku, continued to threaten the Merseysiders' defense. On one occasion, the tactics had yielded a result, with the new signing, Marmoush, finding the back of the net. However, the goal was ruled offside.

In the 37th minute of the game, a lofted ball from the heart of the Liverpool midfield found Mohamed Salah perfectly. Manchester City’s defenders were caught napping, and the Egyptian international squared the ball perfectly to the Hungarian international to double the lead for the table-toppers. While the Hungarian had strayed offside earlier, it was Salah who latched on to the ball to bag an assist. Despite City’s late possession football in the first half, Arne Slot’s men went into halftime with a two-goal advantage.

Manchester City dominate the possession but without any real impact 

Manchester City came out of the woods, going all guns blazing at Liverpool in the second half. But Liverpool’s defense was up to the task. Manchester City dominated the proceedings with possession and shots, but there was no real penetration into the box or any significant shot on target that could trouble Alisson Becker.

At the hour mark, Liverpool midfielders Szoboszlai and Curtis Jones combined to score the third goal. However, VAR scrapped the goal as the Hungarian midfielder had strayed offside by the barest margins.

Pep Guardiola brought in academy kid McAtee in place of Kevin de Bruyne to try to halve the deficit. The side struggled to create any chances, and subsequent changes from the Manchester City gaffer did not yield any results. With this defeat, it marked Pep Guardiola’s first home defeat against Liverpool in the English Premier League.

Stats galore: In the game, Pep Guardiola’s men had around 66% of the possession, while Liverpool maintained their structure when out of possession. On the other hand, the Merseysiders were prolific in front of goal, with a shot accuracy of 50%, having four shots on target. Meanwhile, Manchester City had 16 shots, but only five were on target, all of which were comfortably caught by Alisson.

Manchester City vs Liverpool: Player Ratings

Manchester City

• Ederson - 6
• Rico Lewis - 6.5
• Abdukodir Khusanov - 7 
• Nathan Ake - 6
• Josko Gvardiol - 6
• Nico Gonzalez - 6 
• Kevin de Bruyne - 5.5
• Phil Foden - 6
• Omar Marmoush - 7
• Savinho - 6
• Jeremy Doku - 7.5

Substitutes: James McAtee (6), Ruben Dias (5), Ilkay Gundogan (6), Mateo Kovacic (6)

Liverpool 

• Alisson Becker - 6.5
• Trent Alexander Arnold - 6
• Ibrahima Konate - 7.2
• Virgil van Dijk - 7
• Andy Robertson - 7
• Alexis McAllister - 7
• Ryan Gravenberch - 6
• Curtis Jones - 7
• Mohamed Salah - 8.5
• Dominik Szoboszlai - 8
• Luiz Diaz - 6.5

Substitutes: Wataru Endo (6), Kostas Tsimikas (6), Cody Gakpo (6), Harvey Elliott (NA), Quansah (NA)

Next Match for Manchester City: vs Tottenham Hotspur, English Premier League 27th GW, 26th February

Next Match for Liverpool: vs Newcastle United, English Premier League 27th GW, 26th February