Liverpool’s standout performer in ridiculous first half vs Man City may shock fans

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Empire of the Kop

·4 April 2026

Liverpool’s standout performer in ridiculous first half vs Man City may shock fans

Joe Gomez has been Liverpool’s standout performer against Manchester City, according to the stats.

The Reds defender, featuring at right-back in place of Jeremie Frimpong, did very well to shut down Jeremy Doku in the first 45.

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However, there was little the Englishman could do to prevent a moment of carelessness from Virgil van Dijk, as the skipper brought down Nico O’Reilly in the box.

Erling Haaland converted the resulting penalty kick to hand the Sky Blues the lead.

Joe Gomez has been near-perfect on the right-hand side

Gomez picked up a score of 7/10 from Fotmob for his first-half efforts – the highest from any Liverpool player on the pitch in Manchester.

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* Joe Gomez’s stats against Man City in the FA Cup quarter final (Fotmob)

To be fair to Liverpool, the auxiliary right-back was hardly the sole strong performer of the opening half.

We were treated to some superb link-up play between the likes of Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike, with the latter finding himself with ample space inside the Man City box after an excellent bit of build-up play.

Unfortunately, the Frenchman couldn’t convert with his opportunity, firing high and wide out of danger.

A familiar tale for Liverpool and Arne Slot

One can’t help but sympathise with Arne Slot watching his Liverpool side enter the half-time break two goals down.

We can’t really blame the manager’s decision-making for either of the two goals conceded. Virgil van Dijk’s moment of madness was entirely preventable, while the spotlight must also shine on Florian Wirtz, who was found to be slowly wandering back as City mounted a counter.

* Man City vs Liverpool stats in the FA Cup quarter-final (BBC Sport)

It’s been a strong first half overall, but Liverpool are yet again finding themselves let down by daft individual mistakes.

Not really good enough, is it?