Manchester City 0 Liverpool 2: City player ratings as City toil away but are outclassed at the Etihad | OneFootball

Manchester City 0

Liverpool 2 (Mo Salah 14′, Dominik Szoboszlai 37′)

Here are the City player ratings as Manchester City went down to Liverpool 2-nil at the Etihad. Goals from Mo Salah and Dominik Szoboszlai were enough for Arne Slot’s side to pick up all three points. Manchester City had their moments in possession but lacked any real threat in the final third.

Erling Haaland wasn’t deemed fit enough to play and his absence did cost Pep Guardiola’s side today. There was a lack of cutting edge to City’s play, and if Haaland had been in the starting lineup, it may have been a different story.

The City player ratings show that while Manchester City tried hard, they lacked any quality up front to truly get at the Premier League leaders.

First half

The game kicked off in the Manchester rain and Liverpool started well in possession in the game’s opening minute. Following that, Manchester City has a couple of corners, with Jeremy Doku also getting the better of Trent Alexander-Arnold on City’s left. The first 5 minutes showed that both teams were up for the occasion.

Mo Salah scores against Manchester City again.

Liverpool would take the lead in the 14th minute. After Rico Lewis was caught in possession in a dangerous area of the pitch it led to a Liverpool corner. A well-worked short corner routine saw Mo Salah set up from the penalty spot and his strike went in off of Nathan Ake to give Liverpool the lead. It was a quality set piece from Arne Slot’s side, but the goal came from some hesitancy from Rico Lewis, which led to the corner.

Following Liverpool’s goal Manchester City did become dominant in possession. Their only shot on target in that spell of play was an ambitious effort from Omar Marmoush in the 22nd minute. But it was easily saved by Alisson.

Omar Marmoush would have a goal ruled out for offside in the 30th minute. It was a neat move from Manchester City and a fine finish from the Egyptian international. But he went a fraction early when Foden’s ball was played. But the path through the Liverpool defence was shown by that City attacking move.

Dominik Szoboszlai makes it 2-nil to Liverpool as City fall further behind.

Liverpool would make it 2-nil in the 37th minute. A simple ball over the top of the Manchester City defence played in Mo Salah on City’s left-hand side. His driving run into the box saw him pick out Dominik Szoboszlai whose calm finish made it 2-nil. For all of Manchester City’s possession and bright play, Liverpool’s ruthlessness in front of goal was the difference between the two sides.

Nico would see a deflected strike from distance easily saved by Alisson in the 46th minute. Liverpool would take a 2-nil lead into the interval. Manchester City had their moments in the first half but Liverpool’s quality in the final third was the difference between the two teams.

Second half

Manchester City kicked off the second half knowing they needed two goals to get back into the match. Pep Guardiola’s side had some possession but no end product. Liverpool was always a threat on the counter, and that stood out in the first 10 minutes of the second half.

Liverpool would have a third goal scored by Curtis Jones disallowed by VAR for offside in the 56th minute. Dominik Szoboszlai had strayed offside in the build-up. Following that Omar Marmoush had a shot saved by Alisson two minutes later. But Jones’s disallowed goal showed just how easy Manchester City’s defence is to get behind.

Ederson would deny Luis Diaz in the 64th minute. The Colombian international unleashed a powerful strike from the left-hand side of City’s area, which Ederson parried over.

Jeremy Doku hit a volley straight at Alisson in the 72nd minute after some good play on the right wing from Savinho. But it summed up City’s attacking play. Pep Guardiola’s side were having plenty of possession but lacked the quality to pose any real threat to Arne Slot’s side.

The final twenty minutes of the game would play out without incident as Liverpool defended strongly and Pep Guardiola’s side toiled away but had no end product. That was the story of the game as Manchester City went down to a 2-nil defeat to Liverpool.

Summary

You can’t fault the effort of Pep Guardiola’s side today. They had their moments in possession but lacked the quality in an attacking sense to pose any real threat to Liverpool. The City player ratings reflect the fact that Pep Guardiola’s side toiled away, but Arne Slot’s side had too much quality in the final third. That was the difference between the two teams.

City player ratings

Ederson-6/10: Could do little about Liverpool’s goals and did make one good save.

Rico Lewis-5.5/10: Gave away possession which led to the corner that gave Liverpool the lead. Lewis was better after that and he wasn’t City’s worst player of the afternoon.

Abdukodir Khusanov-7/10: Another good performance from Khusanov. Defended well and his pace and strength are becoming crucial to City’s defence.

Nathan Ake-6/10: Got through 77 minutes before being substituted. Did nothing wrong but also didn’t stand out.

Josko Gvardiol-4/10: A poor performance from Gvardiol. Given a torrid time by Mo Salah and didn’t offer a lot in possession.

Nico-7.5/10: Manchester City’s best player by some distance while he was on the pitch. Played well in midfield both with and without the ball. He does need support in midfield but that won’t come until the summer.

Phil Foden-5/10: Played as a false 9 and was largely ineffectual. You do wonder if he played in midfield and Marmoush up front if City could have offered more in the final third.

Kevin De Bruyne-4.5/10: De Bruyne tried hard but he’s not the player he was. We are witnessing the end of one of the greatest players in Premier League history storied career in England. That stood out as De Bruyne toiled away against a younger and hungrier opponent.

Savinho-6/10: Had his moments but had no end product. To his credit, he never stopped working for his team.

Jeremy Doku-6.5/10: Doku was City’s biggest attacking threat up against Trent Alexander-Arnold. But for all of his trickery, the end product was lacking.

Omar Marmoush-5.5/10: Toiled away but couldn’t affect the game as he would’ve liked. Could have been a different story if he hadn’t strayed offside for his disallowed goal in the first half. Perhaps he should have started up front rather than in the pockets behind Foden as a false 9.

Substitutes

James McAtee-5.5/10: Came on for Kevin De Bruyne but didn’t offer a lot.

Ruben Dias-N/A: Not on long enough to mark.

Ilkay Gundogan-N/A: Not on long enough to mark.

Mateo Kovacic-N/A: Not on long enough to mark.