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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Sport
Liam Wood

'Saved our a**' - Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp makes Alisson admission after Man City draw

Jurgen Klopp admits Liverpool had to rely on Alisson 'saving their a**' during a pulsating 2-2 draw with Manchester City on Sunday afternoon. The points were shared at the Etihad Stadium and the two title rivals are set to continue trading blows during an eagerly-anticipated run-in.

Goals from Kevin de Bruyne and Gabriel Jesus twice put City in front - only for Diogo Jota and Sadio Mane to earn the Reds a share of the spoils. Each team has seven matches still to play with a point between them.

According to Klopp, his men did enough to earn a draw. However, the charismatic German also gave huge credit to goalkeeper Alisson after he produced a stunning save to deny England international Raheem Sterling in the opening minute of a hugely-entertaining Premier League showdown.

READ MORE: Kevin de Bruyne sends Man City title reality check after Liverpool draw

During his post-match interview, Klopp said: "What a game. Wild. What a start from City in the first half. I think we can describe it as a boxing fight, both arms down for a second and get a massive knock - and you can shake a little bit and then the next one is coming from the other team.

"I liked a lot of things and I thought we were closer than ever in all moments when we played football, controlled the game, played simple passes and we were dangerous for them. That's how we scored the goals."

Klopp added: "They were much more direct than us. We also had some direct moments, but that was not planned. They had more direct idea and we wanted to let them in our possession, defensively we were in a rush in moments with high balls they were better with second balls, they put us under pressure and we can defend better.

"These were the two things. I wanted us to play proper football more often in the second half than the first half. It wasn't always possible as it's really intense. They needed breaks, as well, the counter-attacks are not bad, it's really smart how they do it, their decision-making is really good.

"The chance in the first minute where Ali made the save. Wow. Ali saved our a** there. We were completely fine. A deserved draw and [it was] the right result."

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