Mohamed Salah scored the only goal of the game as Liverpool beat Manchester City 1-0 at Anfield in the Premier League.
Liverpool handed Manchester City their first Premier League defeat of the season thanks to a Mohamed Salah strike in an enthralling encounter at Anfield.
The Egyptian raced onto a long pass from Alisson with 14 minutes remaining before slotting past Ederson to give the Reds just their third league win of the season.
City were frustrated to see Phil Foden’s second-half goal disallowed after a VAR review for a foul on Erling Haaland in the set-piece.
The result leaves Pep Guardiola’s men four points behind league leaders Arsenal, while Liverpool move up to eighth after a much-improved performance.
A high-octane start to the match did not lead to many early chances, with Ilkay Gundogan forcing an early save from both keepers in the 15th minute, but his promising strike from 25 yards was easily dealt with by Alisson.
Liverpool’s first chance came from Diogo Jota, who could only head Harvey Elliott’s cross straight at Ederson before Andrew Robertson got the ball to the left of the box after the City stopper had flicked on James Milner’s cross. The Scot shot over the crossbar.
Bernardo Silva hit a free-kick from the edge of the box after half an hour, while Haaland twice tested Alisson and also saw a header loop over the bar.
The visitors should have been in front shortly after the restart when Salah was put through on goal by Elliott, but Ederson took the slightest touch to head the Egyptian just wide of the right-hand post.
City thought they had the lead moments later when Haaland broke through to force a save from Alisson before Foden put the ball into the net on the rebound, but referee Anthony Taylor ruled it out after VAR asked him to check the monitor, with Haaland fouled . Fabinho in the lineup.
It was Liverpool who took the lead in the 76th minute when Alisson latched on to Kevin De Bruyne’s free-kick before unleashing it down the pitch to Salah, who outwitted Joao Cancela and calmly finished past Ederson.
Reds manager Jurgen Klopp was sent to the stands by Taylor late on after reacting furiously to the referee’s refusal to award his team a free-kick, but it didn’t matter as Liverpool held on for a win that could overturn their slow start to the game. campaign.
Liverpool vs Man City: Player ratings – Premier League
1. Liverpool (4-3-3)
GK: Alisson – 7/10 – Massively let off the hook by VAR, but made amends with a shrewd long punt to assist Salah.
RB: James Milner – 7/10 – Held his own after being thrust into the XI for a huge game. Kept Foden very quiet.
CB: Joe Gomez – 8/10 – Monstrous performance to match Haaland physically but also maintain concentration throughout. Seriously impressive.
CB: Virgil van Dijk – 7/10 – A solid partner for Gomez and covered accordingly.
LB: Andy Robertson – 7/10 – Disciplined display as expected. Did very well to nullify City’s right flank and force them to go down the left instead.
CM: Fabinho – 7/10 – A combative performance from the Brazilian, who looked more like his usual self.
CM: Harvey Elliott – 6/10 – Lacked the confidence to make a decision on the ball when needed. Was key in helping Milner defensively, though.
CM: Thiago Alcantara – 6/10 – Would’ve liked to have seen him try to hold possession more often to relieve some pressure on his side.
RW: Mohamed Salah – 9/10 – Came to life in the second half and was the perfect outlet on the counter attack. Having missed his first one vs one, he was never missing the second. Turned Cancelo into dust.
ST: Roberto Firmino – 6/10 – Quietly did his best work in spells, threading through his colleagues by dropping deep.
LW: Diogo Jota – 7/10 – Should’ve scored, but worked tirelessly on and off the ball to set the tone in a mammoth performance. A shame to see him stretchered off with injury.
SUB: Jordan Henderson (72′ for Fabinho) – 6/10 – Settled things down from the bench.
SUB: Darwin Nunez (72′ for Firmino) – 5/10 – Didn’t get his head up when Liverpool were three on one; could’ve been a second goal.
SUB: Fabio Carvalho (72′ for Elliott) – N/A
SUB: Trent Alexander-Arnold (90′ for Salah) – N/A
SUB: Kostas Tsimikas (90′ for Jota) – N/A
Manager: Jurgen Klopp – 8/10 – Pragmatic and brave, Klopp’s decisions paid dividends. Returned to a more familiar shape, but set his team up to counter attack. A brilliant tactical performance, marred by his late sending off.
2. Man City (4-3-3)
GK: Ederson – 6/10 – Down bravely to deny Salah with a fantastic save early in the second half.
RB: Joao Cancelo – 4/10 – Loose touches, lacked confidence and crucially caught under the ball for Salah’s goal. He won’t want to see that again. Ouch.
CB: Ruben Dias – 5/10 – Did well to block a dangerous cross from Robertson in the first half, but was spun into oblivion by Salah after the break and often looked stretched. Shaky.
CB: Manuel Akanji – 6/10 – Confident both in possession and when challenged defensively. Has slotted into City’s back line seamlessly.
LB: Nathan Ake – 4/10 – Shifted inside to form a back three in possession. Made City appear somewhat imbalanced.
CM: Rodri – 5/10 – Stalled on the ball too often in the first half; looked uncharacteristically nervy.
CM: Ilkay Gundogan – 6/10 – The German ensured City maintained possession in key areas and pressed intelligently.
CM: Kevin De Bruyne- 4/10 – Played some lovely passes as the game opened up, but nowhere near effective enough considering his ability.
RW: Bernardo Silva – 6/10 – Industrious as ever. Would’ve liked to have seen him help Foden out in taking advantage of Milner more often, but still impressive.
ST: Erling Haaland – 5/10 – A mixed performance. Suffered due to poor performances around him, but also lacked his usual, clinical edge. Finally fires a blank after 10 consecutive scoring appearances.
LW: Phil Foden – 4/10 – The England international finished well when called upon, but didn’t hurt Milner enough at all.
SUB: Julian Alvarez (90′ for Gundogan) – N/A
Manager: Pep Guardiola – 5/10 – Didn’t trust his bench, which was strange considering City’s wealth of options and the clear fact that something wasn’t working. His side looked robotic and times and fell into too many traps.
