Man City left Anfield with a point, perhaps lucky to do so after Liverpool’s second-half performance, and Pep Guardiola noted Anfield’s influence on proceedings.
Man City have not won at Anfield in front of a crowd for more than two decades, and that run continued on Sunday.
John Stones may have scored the first goal but Liverpool dominated after the break, with Alexis Mac Allister levelling the scores and relighting the fire at Anfield.
In fact, Liverpool’s 12 shots in the second half were the most City have faced after a Premier League interval since May 2021, as per Opta, and the Anfield crowd was consistently urging them on.
Probably feeling as though his team escaped with a point, Guardiola aptly labelled the atmosphere a “tsunami.”
“The second half we spoke about in that stadium if you have something to defend, you have to play and play,” Guardiola told reporters after the draw.
“We gave away the penalty and sooner or later, in this stadium, you have 15 to 20 minutes [where] it looks like a tsunami. [They] come from everywhere.
“But after when Mateo [Kovacic] came on, we can make extra passes and play, not because we didn’t want it [before], but because they are really, really strong at pressing and counter pressing.
“In this stadium, [it] is not easy.”
Jurgen Klopp‘s side were urged on by the raucous crowd, and the Reds boss spoke highly of his side’s performance, saying it was “the best 53 minutes we had against Man City.”
Guardiola, in fact, was quite forthcoming with praise for Liverpool in his post-match press conference, adding: “The best team I’ve ever seen in the high pressing…playing here at Anfield is completely different.
“The environment is a reality and the players know it, but we never tried to forget to play.”
A draw is not the end of the world for Liverpool, if they win every game from here on out, a tall order, they will finish top as City and Arsenal are still to meet at the Etihad.
Ten cup finals to go, and Anfield will be needed for five of them.
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