Liverpool have completed a clean sweep in the title race. Like Arsenal in August, like Chelsea in September, Manchester City were beaten by Jurgen Klopp’s effervescent upstarts. They proved again that they raise their already impressive game when they face the best.
They now have nine points from nine against the rest of the top four. They left City 10 adrift of leaders Chelsea, facing an uphill task if they are to reclaim the title. Georginio Wijnaldum’s terrific header means Liverpool maintain their momentum. A 12th win in 16 league games came soaked in sweat and was another sign they can cope with the pressure challenging brings.
Liverpool looked a team with a nine-month head start on City. Klopp took charge in October 2015, Pep Guardiola 2016. It showed. Liverpool looked more advanced in their development and more cohesive as a unit. The pressing game comes naturally to them. They are a team with a willingness to chase everything, as though they think wins are secured because of miles covered. The relationship between running and results is more indirect, but Liverpool’s energy rouses the crowd and worries opponents alike.
They knocked City out of their stride, subduing them for much of the match.
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It amounted to a trademark win for Klopp and his exuberant charges. In contrast, a glum-faced Vincent Kompany watched on from the Anfield Road End, City’s injured captain stood among their fans and enduring a miserable evening.
It began badly for City as the Premier League’s top scorers in 2016 added an 87th of a productive year. Adam Lallana was shifted from his usual central role to operate on the left. It soon paid dividends, the in-form Englishman crossing for Wijnaldum to arc a header past Claudio Bravo. It was the culmination to a terrific move, with Roberto Firmino dropping off to supply a penetrative pass, and highlighted why Klopp changed a winning team. He dropped Divock Origi to allow Firmino to return to the false-nine role where he can be at his most devastating.
Firmino likes such stages. His first Liverpool goal came against City. He scored against them in April, too. He had the opportunity to make it three in as many league meetings when the former City man James Milner supplied a defence-splitting ball. The Brazilian’s first touch was not quite good enough.
The deficit could have been greater. Emre Can’s audacious curling effort almost curled in. Lallana was sent scurrying clear on goal by Firmino only to be adjudged offside: had the Brazilian passed sooner, the lead may have been doubled. Yet Firmino was irrepressible. When he picked out Nathaniel Clyne, the rightback sliced a shot on his left foot. Yet the risk was that an inability to add a second could cost Liverpool. Their early efforts perhaps told as City grew into the game after the break.
Their personnel were attacking, especially with Sergio Aguero making his comeback after a four-match ban, yet they struggled to fashion chances. They did not produce anything clear-cut until nine minutes into the second half when Aguero’s 20-yard shot was directed straight at Simon Mignolet. Within a minute, David Silva had angled an effort narrowly wide. Yet it was not the cue for a famous fightback.
Klopp’s response was to introduce striker Origi when midfielder Jordan Henderson had to be withdrawn. It gave Liverpool renewed attacking impetus. Klopp’s oft-criticised defence, meanwhile, showed a newfound solidity. Mignolet was a spectator for long periods.
Their confidence was summed up by the sight of their sometimes tentative goalkeeper flicking the ball calmly over Aguero before volleying a pass clear. It was a moment, and a match, for Liverpool to savour.
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