… and all that without Erling Haaland as well. Jamie Jackson was at the Etihad this afternoon. His report has landed. Here it is! Thanks for reading this MBM.
A downbeat Jurgen Klopp speaks to BT. “We saw a first half against a dominant City side when we were well organised … we were in the game and caused them some problems, scored a wonderful goal … we had a big counter-attacking moment where we could have played it better … so 1-1 at half-time it’s clear we have to defend … they had a massive overload and we don’t even have a challenge … these things cannot happen but they happened … after that they could do what they want … we were lucky they were not in the most greedy mood … there is nothing good to say about this game … we cannot not have challenges in key areas … we cannot be that open … I cannot explain it, I can just describe it.”
Pep Guardiola, celebrating his 100th home win in the Premier League, speaks to BT Sport. “Minute one to minute 93, it was a perfect performance … even when we conceded a goal we were playing really well … it is one of the best performances in my seven years … the game was so stable through 93 minutes … I cannot name one player better than the other one, all were exceptional.”
Jack Grealish speaks to BT in his trademark bubbly style. “It was brilliant … we knew it was going to be tough … the first game after an international break is always difficult … I thought we started the game well … we went 1-0 down and you don’t fear the worst, but you do feel it would be tough to get back into it … I thought we responded brilliantly and were excellent, especially in the second half … I thought we were good in the first half apart from the goal … I was in the toilet all morning, I felt sick, but I feel all right now! … I love football, playing, training, and when it’s going well there’s nothing better … I feel back to my normal self … scoring and getting the assist is perfect … obviously Arsenal are a great team, it’s in their hands, but we’ll do everything we can to chase them down … anyway, I’ll love you and leave you, I need to go into the changing room to see how many days off I’ve got!”
Pep and Klopp hug respectfully. That was a statement victory by the reigning champions, albeit one with a slightly strange narrative arc. Liverpool gave Manchester City a match in the first half: they went ahead, had a gilt-edged chance to go two up, and can legitimately question why Rodri didn’t receive a second yellow card. And yet despite all that, they surely can’t argue with this outcome, so outplayed were they by the end. City got them chasing from the first minute until last, eventually wearing them down until their spirit was completely sapped. Jack Grealish, Kevin De Bruyne and Ilkay Gundogan were all sensational, a class above. City played football of relentless quality, scored some fine goals, and Liverpool had no answer. Top four is beginning to look like a pipe dream for the Reds; a third title on the bounce is still very much a live possibility for City. Over to you, Arsenal!
FULL TIME: Manchester City 4-1 Liverpool
City have now won their last three games to the cumulative score of 17-1. That’s why they’re champions.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arsenal | 28 | 40 | 69 |
| 2 | Man City | 28 | 45 | 64 |
| 3 | Man Utd | 26 | 6 | 50 |
| 4 | Tottenham Hotspur | 28 | 12 | 49 |
| 5 | Newcastle | 26 | 20 | 47 |
90 min +2: Oxlade-Chamberlain works his way down the right and crosses low. Alisson smothers. That’s about as much as Liverpool have achieved in attack during the second half of a very lop-sided match.
90 min: There will be three added minutes.
Updated
88 min: Grealish makes way for Palmer. As he departs, he’s named player of the match by BT Sport pundit Lucy Ward.
86 min: Liverpool are now in Rabble Mode. Nunez ships possession out on the right, allowing Mahrez to stride clear and cross. Alisson deals with that situation. Grealish comes again down the left. He should be stripped of possession, but Henderson, the head addled, simply gifts him the ball back. Konate sorts this one out. The visitors hanging on, in the hope of retaining at least a scrap of dignity.
84 min: Nothing comes of the corner. Liverpool just want to get out of Dodge. City could keep playing all afternoon. They stroke the ball around. The crowd enjoy the spectacle in the Spanish style.
83 min: City win a corner on the right. Before they can take it, Silva comes on for Rodri. Liverpool meanwhile sacrifice Gakpo for Milner, the erstwhile City player getting pelters as he takes to the pitch.
82 min: De Bruyne loops a cross in from the right. Grealish, running in from the left, creams a volley towards the bottom left. Alisson parries with his chest. That would have been a hell of a goal.
Updated
81 min: City have made exactly twice as many passes as Liverpool: 508 to 254. A statistic that will give Klopp pause.
80 min: “You’re getting sacked in the morning.” The City fans serenading Klopp. It’s a bit of a bold prediction, to be fair, but they’re enjoying themselves. Not so the Liverpool players, who still can’t get a touch.
78 min: Liverpool will do well to get to full time without conceding more goals. City are all over them. Strange thing, confidence: Liverpool were giving City a good game in the first half. But now look. Their season in microcosm.
76 min: Liverpool look absolutely shattered. Meanwhile in the stands, the City faithful engage in the Poznan.
GOAL! Manchester City 4-1 Liverpool (Grealish 74)
Grealish has been magnificent this afternoon, and here he gets his reward. Gundogan finds him on the left touchline with a raking diagonal. He slips De Bruyne into space down the channel. De Bruyne cuts back for Grealish, who leans back and guides a first-time shot across Alisson and into the bottom right!
Updated
72 min: City continue to toy with Liverpool. Grealish sashays in from the left but can’t quite make enough space to shoot. Mahrez crosses from the right, forcing Alisson to punch clear.
70 min: Liverpool make a quadruple substitution. Salah, Jota, Elliott and Robertson make way for Firmino, Nunez, Oxlade-Chamberlain and Tsimikas.
68 min: The corner comes to nothing. Not that Liverpool can reclaim possession. City still have the ball, and they’re in no mood to turn it over.
67 min: Liverpool look a beaten docket. They can’t get hold of the ball at all. City utterly dominant. After a 874-pass move, Mahrez cuts in from the right and wins a corner off Van Dijk.
65 min: City stroke it around in the imperial style. Meanwhile Niall O’Keeffe has lost patience with the man he perceives to be Liverpool’s weakest link: “What is Van Dijk doing. Standing three yards off opponents when he’s in his own box. Arms behind him. Seems to be his modus operandi this season. Surely he has to leave?”
63 min: Mahrez reaches the byline to the right of goal and crosses into Alisson’s arms. City have enjoyed 84 percent of possession in the last five minutes.
62 min: Alvarez bears down on Alisson and nearly wins the ball. Alisson wriggles out of trouble with a slick Cruyff turn.
60 min: Robertson crosses from the left. The ball trickles behind Salah. Ake miscontrols and Gakpo attempts to get to the loose ball. Gakpo goes over and wants a penalty, but Gakpo was looking for it. He’s fortunate not to be booked for a dive. City counter, Grealish curling towards the top right. Alisson tips around for a corner, from which nothing comes. There are more goals in this game.
Updated
58 min: City stroke it around the middle of the park in the patient fashion, because that’s what they’ve earned the right to do now. “The way Liverpool are defending, inviting passes into their own final third, passive defending and slow reaction from midfielders, it is as if they’re coached by Antonio Conte,” quips Yash Gupta.
56 min: Nothing comes of the resulting corner. The campeones song rings around the Etihad.
55 min: Liverpool haven’t given this up yet, though. Gakpo dribbles in from the left and aims a curler towards the far corner. His shot clips off Dias and wide right of goal. Just. Had that been on target, Ederson was rooted and never getting there.
GOAL! Manchester City 3-1 Liverpool (Gundogan 53)
This is a lovely team goal. Patient triangles. Left to right. Then suddenly Alvarez one-twos with Mahrez out on the right. Alvarez dribbles around the penalty spot and struggles to get a shot away. When he does, it’s blocked, but the ball pings to Gundogan, who takes a calm touch before rifling a shot into the top left. Daylight!
Updated
52 min: Grealish wedges in cutely from the left for Gundogan, whose whipped cross from the byline is smothered by Alisson. Next goal huge here … and this game doesn’t feel like a match that’s going to end 2-1. It’s very open.
50 min: Alexander-Arnold flicks a ball down the middle and springs Gakpo clear. Gakpo spins and shoots, only to be denied first by a brilliant Ederson save, then the offside flag. A good response to City’s second from Liverpool here.
49 min: A free kick for Liverpool out on the right. Alexander-Arnold swings it in long. Van Dijk wins a header but neither Jota nor Gakpo are able to meet the dropping ball.
48 min: That was an appalling goal from a Liverpool point of view; an excellent counter from City’s. How huge does that Grealish interception from Salah look now?!
GOAL! Manchester City 2-1 Liverpool (De Bruyne 46)
Mahrez is sent scampering down the right by Alvarez. He’s in acres! Robertson can’t get across. Alisson opts not to come and clear. Mahrez crosses, De Bruyne slots, and that was so simple for City! On the touchline, Klopp is furious with his own players. Everyone in red was asleep!
Updated
46 min: Robertson dribbles hard down the left but it’s all for nought as his cross pings off Stones, back off his own leg, and out for a goal kick.
Liverpool get the second half underway. No changes.
A delay to the restart as referee Simon Hooper requires a new pea in his whistle, or something similarly technical. He’s been getting a lot of love from both sets of fans on the old social media, I see.
Here’s some amusing/outrageous footage of Pep Guardiola celebrating City’s equaliser. Kostas Tsimikas is unfortunate enough to be wandering by the technical area at the time, and Pep seems to ask him if he wants to give him five. It’s all about timing your run at this level.
"I don't know how Tsimikas hasn't pushed him out of the way there!" 👀
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) April 1, 2023
Pep Guardiola didn't hold back in his celebrations in front of the Liverpool players... 😂
🎙️ @rioferdy5 pic.twitter.com/d5v9oS6eiu
Half-time entertainment. Also this week in Granadaland …
HALF TIME: Manchester City 1-1 Liverpool
Well that fair flew by. More please, Manchester City! More please, Liverpool!
45 min +1: Mahrez hits the corner long. Rodri, on the left-hand edge of the six-yard box, volleys goalwards but the ball pings off Akanji and harmlessly out for a goal kick.
45 min: De Bruyne’s persistence wins a corner off Robertson down the right. He leaves it to Mahrez to take. There will be two added minutes.
44 min: Mahrez dribbles down the right and cuts back for Gundogan, whose first-time goalwards slam is blocked brilliantly by Fabinho. City are pressing to take the lead before the break and change the dynamic of the half-time team-talks.
42 min: Elliott has an opportunity to slip Alexander-Arnold clear down the left, but opts to pass to Salah on the right instead. Everyone in the stadium, including Salah, knows he’s miles offside, but a farce is allowed to play out for a few seconds before the flag eventually goes up.
40 min: Mahrez swings the free kick in. Robertson prods it out for a corner. Before it can be taken, Akanji and Henderson collide and exchange viewpoints. The referee is forced to deliver another of his lectures. The corner comes to nothing.
39 min: Alexander-Arnold tussles with Grealish and fouls the latter. Grealish falls over. Alexander-Arnold, in the process of berating the linesman, accidentally kicks Grealish in the ear. VAR takes a look but it was clearly accidental. Not so the challenge Alexander-Arnold makes on the same player when City launch their next attack. Free kick out on the left and a chance for City to load the Liverpool box.
37 min: Alisson is forced to blooter long. Jota flicks a header towards Salah down the right. Salah races into space again … but once again doesn’t have the confidence to take a shot on himself, and the move breaks down.
35 min: Now Rodri clatters into Gakpo from behind. Liverpool want a second yellow. City don’t. A melee around the referee. No second booking, despite Henderson’s long protestations, though you suspect Rodri needs to watch his step now.
Updated
33 min: Jota spins away from Rodri, who tugs at his shirt cynically. A booking for the Spanish international, who spoke so eloquently after the Scotland game this week of his love of free-flowing football.
32 min: This game is being played at 101 miles per hour, with no real drop in quality as a result. It’s a fun watch. Perhaps more so right now for City fans: their team were very close to going two down there, but Grealish almost single-handedly turned the tide. A big couple of minutes from him, right there.
30 min: That was a lovely smooth move upfield from City. Things escalated when Gundogan, his back to goal on the edge of the Liverpool D, spun and spotted the killer ball towards Grealish, who made no mistake in teeing up Alvarez. In the stand, Haaland celebrated in the grand fashion.
GOAL! Manchester City 1-1 Liverpool (Alvarez 28)
Having just stopped a goal, Grealish makes one! Gundogan slips a pass wide left for Grealish. It’s sprung the Liverpool trap. Grealish rolls across the face of goal for Alvarez, who can’t miss from six yards and slams home. City are level!
Updated
26 min: A City corner … from which Liverpool break at pace. Elliott plays a clever first-time rake down the left to release Salah, who having started his run from his own half, is onside! He’s clear … but loses a footrace with Grealish, who catches up, stops him shooting, then blocks the attempted cross to Jota.
25 min: Grealish looks super-lively this afternoon. He makes a nuisance of himself again down the left, combining with the omnipresent De Bruyne. Fabinho gets a toe in and shovels away from danger, but only at the expense of a throw. City are pushing Liverpool back again.
23 min: Liverpool ping a few triangles down the left, Jota and Henderson in the thick of it. The ball’s played infield for Elliott, who attempts to release Gakpo with a first-touch ping down the middle. Gakpo is free, but he knows he’s offside and doesn’t challenge Ederson. Then the flag goes up.
Updated
22 min: City soon come back at Liverpool and Mahrez races onto a pass rolled down the inside-right channel … only to blooter it wildly over the bar from the edge of the box. A good response to falling behind by the hosts.
21 min: Grealish and De Bruyne combine down the left and open Liverpool up. Gundogan tickles a cross along the front of the six-yard box, but it agonisingly rolls behind Mahrez and Alvarez and Liverpool clear their lines.
20 min: Salah is booked for hoofing the ball away in anger, the award of a throw having gone Ake’s way instead of his. The daftest of bookings.
Updated
18 min: There’s a VAR check for offside, but Akanji was playing Jota on in the middle of the park. Jota did exceptionally well to keep that move going, because when he failed to get a shot away, you suspected that was that. But his pass back to Salah was perfectly weighted, and he made sure to position his body in the way of Akanji so the City defender couldn’t block Salah’s shot.
GOAL! Manchester City 0-1 Liverpool (Salah 17)
City offer a way through here, though! A simple long ball down the middle by Alexander-Arnold, and Jota is clear! He heads forward but can’t get a shot away, so traps and cushions the ball back into Salah’s path. Salah romps in and sends a pearler into the top left. What a finish!
Updated
15 min: Elliott drives towards City’s box and slips Salah into space on the right. Salah shifts back infield and shoots. Blocked. Elliott tries again. Blocked. City offering no way through, Dias and Ake standing firm.
14 min: De Bruyne shapes to take the free kick, but leaves it for Mahrez, who aims a power curler towards the top left. Inches wide. Had that been on target, Alisson was rooted to the spot.
Updated
13 min: Gakpo and Henderson attempt to one-two their way upfield from the edge of their own box. They make a mess of it, and in an attempt to salvage the situation, Henderson stands on De Bruyne’s toe. A free kick just to the right of the D. Danger here!
12 min: Liverpool attempt to respond with some possession football of their own, but after Robertson and Henderson are forced to turn back from a left-wing sortie, Van Dijk plays a diagonal pass to nobody in particular, and City have their ball again.
11 min: De Bruyne and Mahrez combine well down the right. The ball’s worked infield to Rodri, who aims a rising drive towards the top left from the edge of the box. Alisson parries and claims. City are well on top now.
9 min: De Bruyne curls deep from the right. Gundogan, on the left-hand corner of the six-yard box, cushions a pass across the face of goal. Alisson drops to smother just before Alvarez can slam home. City are beginning to dominate.
Updated
8 min: Grealish strides down the left and is skittled by Fabinho. The referee gives Fabinho a proper talking-to this time, and you sense the Liverpool midfielder is already in the last-chance saloon with regards to a yellow card.
6 min: De Bruyne sends a diagonal towards Mahrez on the right-hand corner of the box. He cuts back for Alvarez, who floats in an easy pick for Alisson.
5 min: Liverpool are fizzing around in the heavy-metal style. City appear in a more patient mood, a jazz odyssey. But suddenly Grealish picks up speed, cutting in from the left and drawing a foul from Fabinho. Free kick, just to the left of centre, 35 yards out.
3 min: Gakpo drives at the City box with great purpose. He slips a pass to the left for Robertson, who looks for Salah in the middle but doesn’t deliver well. A bright enough start by the visitors, though.
2 min: Grealish prepares to take a throw. Gundogan and Fabinho shove each other. Gundogan goes down claiming to have taken a deliberate one in the face. It all looked reasonably innocent, and the referee gives both players a stern talking-to.
1 min: Gakpo, pressing hard from the get-go, nearly blocks Ederson’s clearance. A slightly nervy start by the City keeper.
Manchester City get the ball rolling. The Etihad roars! I’ve just noticed the lesser-spotted Arthur Melo is on Liverpool’s bench.
The teams are out! The champions in sky blue, the visitors in red. The atmosphere crackles: na na na Hey Jude. We’ll be off in a minute or two!
The table. It’s been a while, so let’s remind ourselves of the current state of play … and why both teams, for differing reasons, really could do with the three points this lunchtime.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arsenal | 28 | 40 | 69 |
| 2 | Man City | 27 | 42 | 61 |
| 3 | Man Utd | 26 | 6 | 50 |
| 4 | Tottenham Hotspur | 28 | 12 | 49 |
| 5 | Newcastle | 26 | 20 | 47 |
| 6 | Liverpool | 26 | 18 | 42 |
| 7 | Brighton | 25 | 15 | 42 |
| 8 | Brentford | 27 | 9 | 42 |
| 9 | Fulham | 27 | 1 | 39 |
| 10 | Chelsea | 27 | 1 | 38 |
| 11 | Aston Villa | 27 | -4 | 38 |
| 12 | Crystal Palace | 28 | -16 | 27 |
| 13 | Wolverhampton | 28 | -19 | 27 |
| 14 | Leeds | 27 | -9 | 26 |
| 15 | Everton | 28 | -18 | 26 |
| 16 | Nottm Forest | 27 | -27 | 26 |
| 17 | Leicester | 27 | -9 | 25 |
| 18 | West Ham | 26 | -10 | 24 |
| 19 | AFC Bournemouth | 27 | -29 | 24 |
| 20 | Southampton | 28 | -23 | 23 |
… and now BT collar an equally cheery Jurgen Klopp. “Darwin Nunez had a little problem … he had a cut on his foot that is really uncomfortable … he’s now back in training so that’s why we start like we start … the main thing against City is to cut off the passing options between the lines … that is a massive challenge … we have had exactly one session with all the boys together [after the internationals] … [Klopp is asked if he would describe Liverpool’s season as a rollercoaster] … actually, a rollercoaster is a nice thing! … oh God … let us talk again after! … it’s not that the boys don’t want it, it just didn’t click in some games … some things developed a bit in a negative way, when we went 1-0 down the reaction was not great … because we are Liverpool and we used to be successful, but all of a sudden we are not there … it’s a process to fight against it in a confident way … but we have had sensational games this season too … [it’s pointed out Liverpool have the best record in a mini-league containing the top six] that’s a surprise, isn’t it! … you need to win against everybody and we were good at it, but this year we were not … there is still a lot to go for, and we will still try.”
Updated
A chirpy Pep Guardiola speaks to BT Sport. “Erling Haaland is much, much better but not fully fit for today … no risk … I am fully confident … another player is going to play … during the season these kind of things happen … [if City don’t win today] I have a feeling it will be more difficult! … but if we win we will be closer … in football many things can happen … we had a feeling last season that Liverpool would not drop many points and this is a feeling we have this season with Arsenal … we have to try to win … until the last moment we have a chance, we will fight … we have tough games ahead of us, them as well, so it is step by step … to still be in contention for other competitions, this is amazing … it is not easy … it makes me so happy … let’s try it.”
Updated
Erling Haaland hasn’t recovered from the groin injury he picked up while rattling in his sixth hat-trick of the season against Burnley in the FA Cup. He’s not in the squad, and one of six changes to the Manchester City side from that match. Ederson, John Stones, Nathan Ake, Ilkay Gundogan, Jack Grealish and Manuel Akanji come in; Kyle Walker, Rico Lewis, Aymeric Laporte and Stefan Ortega drop to the bench, while Phil Foden is also on the recovery table alongside Haaland.
Liverpool make two changes to the XI named for their 1-0 defeat at Real Madrid two-and-a-half weeks ago. Jordan Henderson and Harvey Ellliott are back, with James Milner and Darwin Nunez dropping to the bench.
Updated
The teams
Manchester City: Ederson, Stones, Akanji, Dias, Ake, Rodri, Gundogan, De Bruyne, Mahrez, Grealish, Alvarez.
Subs: Ortega, Walker, Phillips, Laporte, Bernardo, Gomez, Perrone, Palmer, Lewis.
Liverpool: Alisson, Robertson, Van Dijk, Konate, Alexander-Arnold, Elliott, Henderson, Fabinho, Gakpo, Jota, Salah.
Subs: Kelleher, Gomez, Milner, Firmino, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Tsimikas, Nunez, Arthur, Matip.
Your City XI 📋
— Manchester City (@ManCity) April 1, 2023
XI | Ederson, Stones, Akanji, Dias, Ake, Rodrigo, Gundogan (C), De Bruyne, Mahrez, Grealish, Alvarez
SUBS | Ortega Moreno, Walker, Phillips, Laporte, Bernardo, Gomez, Perrone, Palmer, Lewis#ManCity | @HaysWorldwide pic.twitter.com/QFJnvRH9TN
The Reds to take on Manchester City 🔴#MCILIV
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) April 1, 2023
Updated
Preamble
A rivalry that in recent years has defined the title race takes on a different flavour this season. Manchester City are still going for the big prize, and are desperate for three points that would keep them on Arsenal’s shoulder. Liverpool’s need for a win is no less great, although this time round their gimlet eye is trained on the comparatively modest achievement of fourth spot. Will the champions prevail? Can Liverpool keep on Tottenham and Newcastle’s tail? Is Erling hearty and hale? Answers to all these questions coming right up! Kick off is at 12.30pm BST. It’s on!
