It was an afternoon to forget in Manchester as Liverpool returned from an extended break to suffer a 4-1 defeat at the Etihad.
Mohamed Salah opened the scoring in the early stages but Man City blew the Reds away in the second half and eventually made light work of proceedings.
The result sees the Reds sink to eight in the league table, putting any serious hopes of Champions League qualification in doubt once again.
It provided supporters with plenty of talking points, both on and off the field, including a provocative celebration from Pep Guardiola and a sighting of Thiago.
Arthur shakes Pep’s hand
The Man City manager visibly enjoyed his side’s equaliser in the first half and was seen celebrating in the faces of a number of Liverpool’s substitutes.
Kostas Tsimikas elected to walk past Guardiola during his antics, but Arthur’s decision to accept a handshake offer did not go unnoticed by supporters.
Send him back to Juve on the next plane. Send a few others with him too actually. https://t.co/CRvC7CMujj
— The Liverpool Way (@theliverpoolway) April 1, 2023
The Brazilian was clearly just being polite – though it wasn’t the wisest of decisions!
Thiago closer to his return
Thiago remains unavailable for selection as he continues his recovery from a hip flexor injury, but the Spaniard still made an appearance at the Etihad for the lunchtime clash.
The midfielder was seen at pitchside ahead of kickoff and was even spotted exchanging a few passes with Tsimikas.
Thiago is here this afternoon. Has swapped a couple of passes with Kostas Tsimikas too.#LFC pic.twitter.com/D4nhiFXQBk
— Theo Squires (@TheoSquiresECHO) April 1, 2023
Klopp revealed in his pre-match press conference that Thiago was “in a good way” and “will probably be part of next week’s training.”
Liverpool could clearly do with having him back.
Fans leave early
Liverpool’s away end began to empty out during a shambolic second-half performance, with a number of fans seen heading for the exits.
Jack Grealish’s strike to put the hosts 4-1 up meant that plenty of the travelling support had seen enough, and it is difficult to blame them.
Lots of empty seats in the away end. Can’t blame them for getting off and swerving the closing stages of this chastening defeat. Been badly let down by this second half performance. pic.twitter.com/gOeYfhVgWw
— James Pearce (@JamesPearceLFC) April 1, 2023
It's very rare that Liverpool fans leave a match early. They're fed up. Imagine travelling all this way for this rubbish
— The 8th Horcrux (@gr0uchy_) April 1, 2023
Rodri lucky to escape second yellow?
Two tactical challenges in quick succession led many to feel that Rodri was fortunate not to face dismissal in the first half.
A number of Liverpool players surrounded referee Simon Hooper to complain about the midfielder’s foul on Cody Gakpo, with captain Jordan Henderson leading the protests.
Rodri ? Being on the end of favourable refereeing decisions with a title on the line #lfc pic.twitter.com/6eTVI2ybXC
— Liverpool Photos (@LiverpoolPhotox) April 1, 2023
Liverpool want a second yellow for Rodri…… he's a lucky boy. That's a booking.
City fans respond with 'always the victims'. Grim.
— James Pearce (@JamesPearceLFC) April 1, 2023
For what it’s worth, after the game Jurgen Klopp said: “I’m not sure we would have won against 10 men.”
4-2-3-1 again
Klopp opted for a 4-2-3-1 formation for the second game in a row in a move which appears to be showing signs of becoming more frequent.
The system had been employed away at Real Madrid with the Reds requiring at least three goals to have a chance of progression.
But there is now evidence to suggest that this is a setup that the manager might favour moving forward.
Almost seems to be shaking out 4-2-3-1 here with Gakpo in the ten off Salah so that's different.
— The Legacy Fan Offside (@LFCOffside) April 1, 2023
Could this be how he fits Gakpo, Darwin Nunez and Luis Diaz in alongside Salah?
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