After an exciting match between Liverpool and Manchester City ended 1-1 at Anfield on Sunday, Arsenal continued on top of the Premier League. With ten games remaining, Alexis Mac Allister's penalty negated John Stones' first goal, putting Liverpool behind the Gunners on goal differential and City one point behind in third. Johan Klopp and Pep Guardiola's final Premier League matchup did not let down as Liverpool, despite being severely injured, came back with a fantastic second half. If Klopp's men fails to end City's run of three straight titles, they may look back at their many chances to win a crucial match. Even though City hasn't won in front of an Anfield crowd since 2003, they had a late chance to win when Jeremy Doku struck the post. With eight straight league wins to seize the lead, Arsenal emerged victorious from the weekend's action with a share of the spoils. However, their next league game is on March 31 at City. Alongside Andy Robertson, Mohamed Salah was the only player fit enough to start for Liverpool; Alisson Becker, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Ibrahima Konate, and Diogo Jota were all sidelined by injuries. Kevin De Bruyne found space in the defence early on, trying the strength of Liverpool's weak defence. His bold attempt to chip Caoimhin Kelleher went just wide, and then the Irish keeper parried a driving long-range effort from De Bruyne. With Salah and Jota out of the picture, Darwin Nunez had to lead Liverpool offensively. However, for the opening forty-five minutes, the Uruguayan kept straying offside. Nunez had strayed during the build-up, so despite the fact Luis Diaz had the ball in the net for the home team, the goal was disallowed. Both goals in a highly anticipated match between two of the greatest teams in the world came from basic defensive errors. A De Bruyne corner took Liverpool off guard, and Stones' attempt was too strong for Kelleher to stop. The stronger team at the end of the first half was Klopp's team, who rallied magnificently. Diaz shot inches wide from the boundary, and Dominik Szoboszlai headed a decent chance over. However, Liverpool had to wait only a few seconds into the second half for their equaliser, which the visitors presented to them nicely wrapped. Nunez was taken out by Ederson after he pounced on Nathan Ake's short backpass. Despite the lengthy wait for Ederson's medical attention, which ended up in Stefan Ortega replacing him, Mac Allister remained composed and skillfully struck his penalty goal into the top corner.
City cling on
Liverpool then pushed forward as City was left holding on, their confidence
restored. At the hour sign, Salah and Robertson were introduced, and the
Egyptian almost made an immediate impression.
Diaz missed a fantastic opportunity after Salah's pass played him clean
through. Before Salah missed the target again, Kyle Walker made a last-minute
save to deny Diaz. Nunez then attempted a shot, and Ortega had to go off his
line quickly to block it. To the horror of Kevin De Bruyne and Julian Alvarez,
Guardiola responded, and the Belgian stated his displeasure to his manager.
But the arrival of Jeremy Doku and Mateo Kovacic helped to steady the City
ship and gave them a chance to even steal it. Virgil van Dijk kept Erling
Haaland remarkably quiet, but in the last minute of the 90, he found Doku, who
shot off the inside of the post. When Doku's high foot caught Mac Allister in
the midst of eight minutes of additional time, Liverpool fans cried out for a
second penalty. However, neither VAR nor referee Michael Oliver wanted to
leave the championship race hanging in the balance.
