“Film this geezer!” – how did Guéhi perform amid boos at Anfield? | OneFootball

Erling Haaland had just broken Liverpool hearts, his assist and penalty late on in the tie sealing a monumental three points to keep Manchester City in the title race. He had one simple instruction for the cameraman.

“Film this geezer!” he said. “Run after him, go on, go film him! He got booed all the time. Go on, he’s there!”

Every touch, every pass, each and every action, it all came under harsh scrutiny as boos rang out around Anfield, directed at City centre-back Marc Guéhi. Most games between Liverpool and Manchester City are fiery as they are, with a lot usually at stake, but the 25-year-old’s transfer saga added an extra layer of tension that was audible from the kick off.

Guéhi assured his move to Merseyside collapsing was not in his control, rather that “God’s plan” had come into effect. The home support would not be moved on their opinion of the Englishman, and let him know the extent of his apparent betrayal.

“I said in previous interviews, it wasn’t really up to me”, he said. “It was God’s plan, and God’s plan has come to fruition. I listened to the project and talked to the important people and I was very sure.

“Just being here for two minutes, it feels like I’ve learned so much from every single person – from the players, the staff and of course the manager.”

The former Crystal Palace captain would ultimately have the last laugh, as his side turned the game on its head in six second-half minutes to win 2-1 late on. But it was also a chance to showcase just how much he’s taken on in his short time as a City player so far. How did he get on amid the noise?

It was expectedly hectic, appropriately branded as “basketball” by Sky Sports commentator Peter Drury, stationed up in the gantry. You attack, then we attack. And so on and so fourth.

More than once was Guéhi quick to get across to provide cover, snuffing out Mo Salah on the right, standing up an in-form Hugo Ekitike, and producing a huge block to deny Florian Wirtz on the counter.

He produced 13 defensive contributions, ranking joint-second in the match with Rodri and bested only by Liverpool’s Ibrahima Konaté. Arguably the standout came as he timed a sliding interception perfectly to prevent substitute Curtis Jones from laying Salah clean in on goal and with a real chance to equalize late on.

The centre back made 12 passes into the final third, including a promising high ball up to Haaland that gave the Norwegian one of few openings he had all game – almost catching the hosts out.

His performance returned a rating of 7.4 on Fotmob, making for quite the rebuttal to the boos from the home crowd.

Gianluigi Donnarumma’s wonderful save to keep out Alexis Mac Allister’s piledriver from way out is sure to be remembered and revisited, but Guéhi’s contributions were easier to pass under the radar – even in their abundance.

While the yellow card could be seen as a slight blemish on an otherwise good performance, the foul on Salah was admittedly a smart one that both denied him a shot on goal and conveniently disrupted the flow of the game as the pressure on City was building.

It’s clear that Pep Guardiola has acquired a top quality performer, who he will hope is able to rectify his side’s shortcomings this season. They’ve dropped 11 points from matches they’ve led at half time, and had an even more difficult task of turning the game on its head in just a quarter of an hour.

But it could’ve been worse for City without the contributions of the man Liverpool were so desperate to sign themselves.