Five Things Learned: Manchester City 0-2 Liverpool (Premier League) | OneFootball

Manchester City suffered a 0-2 defeat against Liverpool at the Etihad Stadium over the weekend to fall 20 points behind the visitors in the Premier League table.

The two sides have locked horns in memorable meetings over the last few years, producing classic displays. However, Pep Guardiola’s side were miles behind the Arne Slot-led team when the two met on Sunday afternoon.

Despite dominating possession, the hosts could not trouble Liverpool, who found two goals in the first-half through Mo Salah and Dominik Szoboszlai. Omar Marmoush managed to find the back of the net but was caught offside to cancel out the effort.

City started the match well, but attacks failed to pose a genuine threat to Alisson. The Liverpool goalkeeper calmly dealt with the Blues’ set-pieces on a few occasions when Marmoush’s corners were not struck out by the first man in defence.

On the contrary, the visitors bagged their first goal through a well-worked set-piece from the training ground. Alexis Mac Allister’s low corner met Szoboszlai, who flicked it towards Mo Salah, and the Egyptian directed toward the goal tricking Ederson via a deflection.

City managed to fend off other attacks while Marmoush and Phil Foden saw shots comfortably denied by Alisson. Liverpool doubled their lead close to the end of the first-half, with Salah collecting the ball and finding a way past the Blues with ease and laying it off to Szoboszlai, unmarked inside the box.

The hosts amped up their attacks in the second-half but could not make anything out of them. Their opponents again found the back of the net through Curtis Jones, but it was ruled out after VAR deemed Szoboszlai offside in the build-up.

Jeremy Doku and Savinho did well on the wings but could not find help from those in the centre, eventually being forced back. A long effort towards Phil Foden also did not help, who was marked by Virgil Van Dijk throughout. Marmoush’s shots forced Alisson into action, but he had a relatively comfortable evening as Liverpool saw out the game with a clean sheet.

That marked the eighth defeat for City in the Premier League this season, but they retained fourth place after the weekend’s games. The Blues are level on points with Newcastle and only a point ahead of Bournemouth and Chelsea, who are in the sixth and seventh respectively.

Pep Guardiola’s team will be back in action against Tottenham in a crucial meeting on Wednesday night as the race to the top-four intensifies. But before that, we look at Five Things We Learned from Manchester City’s 0-2 loss against Liverpool in the Premier League!

Abdukodir Khusanov remains impressive

In what was arguably the biggest positive from Manchester City’s loss, Abdukodir Khusanov put on a splendid display in the defence.

Facing one of the most ruthless attacks in the Premier League so far this season, the Uzbek’s tasks primarily involved manning the last line of defence alongside Nathan Ake, mainly when Josko Gvardiol and Rico Lewis drifted into midfield during build-up.

His positional awareness was commendable, and the promptness reflected quite well in recovery runs, which prevented his side from conceding two more. This came days after his impressive performance against Vinicius during a Champions League clash with Real Madrid.

If anything, Abdukodir Khusanov’s response was brilliant after his debut for Manchester City last month, which was widely labeled as a ‘nightmare’ after his sole mistake in the match against Chelsea.

The best and worst of Jeremy Doku

The Manchester City winger ran the show against Liverpool, relentlessly building attacks on the flank against Trent Alexander-Arnold, turning the Liverpool defender inside out on multiple occasions.

At times, Mo Salah had to fall back and contribute to defence to contain Doku’s pertaining threat as he dribbled past Alexander-Arnold on 12 occasions from 15 take-ons – the second-highest number recorded in the Premier League over two decades.

That said, there were warranted questions about his end product. While Doku had the most dribbles for any player on the pitch, he struggled to make anything come from it in front of goal.

And this is not the first time a good performance from the Belgian has been under scrutiny due to the lack of a compelling play in the final third. But he could have perhaps had an assist or two if others in a Manchester City shirt capitalised on the chances he did manage to create.

Phil Foden shocks with form

Pep Guardiola fielded an attacking team with Phil Foden as false-nine. This is not the first time the England international has donned the role up front, but it accounted for one of his most disappointing performances in the Premier League to date.

Foden is well off his form of last season and has struggled to create a consistent impact over the last few months. It did not help that the 5′ 7″ could not find a way to win aerial duels against 6′ 4″ Virgil Van Dijk – one of the strongest defenders in the Premier League.

The few times he did manage to get the ball, Foden failed to produce anything that could help. When City saw its best players go past their prime, many expected him to step up and take on responsibility on the pitch to drive the attack.

Unfortunately, that did not happen for Phil Foden, and it perhaps further stresses the importance of Erling Haaland on the pitch, who was unavailable for the game against Liverpool owing to a recent injury concern.

Foden has played multiple roles across wings and midfield. Perhaps Pep Guardiola could have had him exchange roles with Omar Marmoush. It may have benefitted both players, which essentially saw them forced into a negligible presence against a resilient Liverpool defence.

Defensive errors made it too easy

Manchester City’s defensive woes through poor form and injuries have been apparent all season. The result was unsurprising, especially when a frail backline faced an in-form Mo Salah at his best.

The Egyptian scored a goal via a deflection and then assisted another to seal the three points for the table leaders at the Etihad Stadium. Fortunately, a third was ruled out for offside, further stressing the Blues’ new habit of forging their misery.

Liverpool’s first came from a well-rehearsed set-piece, during which Rico Lewis was seen marking Virgil Van Dijk. A massive mismatch in physicality easily swung things in favour of the Liverpool defender.

Josko Gvardiol, who has had a better season than most in a Manchester City shirt, once again bore the punishment for not controlling his pace right before tackles. Ruben Dias also struggled with his decision-making at the back.

And lastly, Ederson – despite making critical saves – saw Mo Salah and Dominik Szoboszlai easily score past him. The description above could practically fit almost every Manchester City loss since November, with a few names changed.

The Blues momentarily saw their attacking prowess return in December and mid-January, but its severe lack in the last few weeks has once again added to the pressure on their failing defence.

The conflict between City’s possession and attacking perils

Although Man City could not avoid a predictable defeat, they showed progress compared to their recent outings. The team did better to control possession, with players looking better on the ball. However, it is not enough for the team at the moment as they chase a Champions League qualification this season.

Despite sowing a better composure while controlling the ball, City struggled to make an impact throughout the afternoon due to their lack of creativity. The lack of imagination was particularly concerning with Kevin De Bruyne and Phil Foden’s presence on the pitch. Most of City’s efforts came through Doku and Savinho, but the wingers could not impact the game as much as they would have liked.

Pep Guardiola has repeatedly focused on the need for a rebuild this summer, which would see the side’s several big names exit. Injuries have worsened things for the aging squad, and hopefully, the club has better plans to bring in fresh legs that can make the most of City’s typical possession-centric philosophy on the pitch.