A stunning strike from Mohamed Salah was enough to seal an emphatic win for Liverpool over Man City, with a pulsating clash decided by a 1-0 scoreline.
Liverpool 1-0 Man City
Premier League (9), Anfield
October 16, 2022
Goals
Salah 75′ (assist – Alisson)
Regardless of the two sides’ form, the bluster of the fixture saw a fierce start play out at Anfield, with Harvey Elliott‘s robust block on Nathan Ake setting the tone for the home crowd.
Both Liverpool and City looked to size each other up early on, and with Thiago man-marking Kevin De Bruyne to cut off the supply to Erling Haaland, Ilkay Gundogan and Diogo Jota were the first to test the two goalkeepers.
A brilliant, sustained spell of possession led to a chance via Virgil van Dijk‘s sweeping pass out to Elliott, but the ball landed to entirely the wrong man as Andy Robertson blasted high and wide.
The next big chance fell to Elliott, who enjoyed a brilliant first half, but with Salah squaring to the teenager for a one-on-one with Ake, he spurned it by trying to cut onto his stronger foot.
There was time for one real opening for Haaland before the break, coming at the first instance of De Bruyne being given space, but thankfully, Alisson was there to deny the striker’s thumping header.
HT: Liverpool 0-0 Man City
The second half kicked off with a huge chance for Salah, racing through after combination play from Elliott and Roberto Firmino, only to be denied by the fingertips of Ederson.
City then had the ball in the back of the net through Phil Foden, only for referee Anthony Taylor to rule it out following a VAR check, with Haaland fouling Fabinho in the buildup.
It brought Anfield back into life, and Liverpool almost went ahead immediately after, but Jota miscued his header from a fine Salah cross, diverting it over from close range.
As the pendulum swung, Jurgen Klopp turned to his bench for a triple change, as Jordan Henderson, Fabio Carvalho and Darwin Nunez all came on.
Then came a sensational goal from Salah, taking down Alisson‘s long pass with a stunning turn and beating Ederson with a well-placed finish.
There was a late red card for Klopp for protesting one of many blatant fouls overlooked by Taylor, but manager or no manager, Liverpool were able to hold on for a priceless win.
TIA Man of the Match: Mohamed Salah
Referee: Anthony Taylor
Liverpool: Alisson; Milner, Gomez, Van Dijk, Robertson; Fabinho (Henderson 72′), Thiago; Elliott (Carvalho 72′), Firmino (Nunez 72′), Jota (Tsimikas 90+9′); Salah (Alexander-Arnold 90′)
Subs not used: Kelleher, Phillips, Bajcetic, Jones
Man City: Ederson; Cancelo, Dias, Akanji, Ake; Rodri, De Bruyne, Gundogan (Alvarez 89′); Silva, Foden, Haaland
Subs not used: Ortega, Laporte, Gomez, Wilson-Esbrand, Lewis, Palmer, Mahrez, Grealish
Next match: West Ham (H) – Premier League – Wednesday, October 19, 7.30pm (BST)
Fan Comments