
It is less than 14 months since Liverpool came to the Etihad Stadium, Arne Slot outwitted one of his coaching heroes with his use of twin false nines, won 2-0 and took a giant stride towards the Premier League title. Pep Guardiola is not seen off quite that easily, however. Slot’s subsequent visits to Manchester City have been crushing.
Such slim chances as Liverpool had of retaining their Premier League crown ended with a 3-0 defeat in November. Their FA Cup run came to an abrupt halt with a 4-0 demolition here. “An unbelievable disappointment,” said Slot.