Days after Jugen Klopp conceded Liverpool could not compete with Manchester City, the German saw his side beat the champions at Anfield in a thrilling Premier League encounter.
Clearly, Klopp was not talking about matching Pep Guardiola’s team over the course of one game and instead pointed to a wider issue in football but it was telling to see how Liverpool reacted to both those comments and a poor start to the season as a whole.
Were it not for this Liverpool team, it’s not hard to imagine City cantering to even more League titles than they already have in the Guardiola era. While the Merseyside giants cannot spend like their rivals, it is a testament to Klopp’s coaching that it is possible for them to beat City.
A renewed sense of confidence at Anfield was obvious from the beginning. During those opening stages, it was like going back in time to Klopp’s early days, with the high-pressing not giving City space to breath.
Though the away side grew into the game and will feel aggreieved to have seen Phil Foden’s would-be opener ruled out due to Erling Haaland’s foul on Fabinho in the build-up, it was Liverpool who had the better chances. Ironic to see Haaland contribute to a goal being chalked off, on what was an off day for the Norwegian.
The excellent Mohamed Salah saw a one-on-one saved by Ederson just after the interval but made little mistake on the 76th minute mark after turning Rodri and Joao Cancelo to race through on goal and open the scoring.
A fiery game saw Klopp sent off for appearing to shout in a linesman’s face after a foul was not given on Salah as City pushed and pushed for a leveller.
That, in turn, left spaces Liverpool should have exploited but Darwin Nunez could not find a final ball during a tense finish.
In the end, a Liverpool team who have to drain every drop of resource to compete with City over the years conquered them once more.
