Liverpool largely dominated reigning champion Manchester City (2-0) this Sunday, December 1 during a shock at the top at Anfield. Egyptian Mohamed Salah, author of a remarkable assist and a penalty goal, was cheered by Liverpool supporters after his performance. The Reds soar in the standings with nine points ahead and seem destined for the coronation.
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King City is fallen. Faced with the infernal Reds who crush everything in their path and perfectly led by a flamboyant Mohamed Salah, the Mancuniens were no match this Sunday at Anfield (0-2) and plunged a little further into doubt with a seventh match rank without victory.
The Reds immediately took on the muddled and doubtful Mancunians, with several dangerous chances during the first minutes of play: Ortega had to work to deflect a strike from Gakpo (4th) and long-range attempts from Szoboszlai (7th, 10th). Stifled by the pressure from Arne Slot’s players, and after a header on the post from Virgil van Dijk (11th), the Cityzens logically gave in to a brilliant inspiration from Mohamed Salah who slipped the ball low to the far post to allow Gakpo to open the scoring (12th, 1-0).
Completely overwhelmed and dominated in all duels, the Mancunians narrowly escaped the KO with a new powerful header from van Dijk right next to Ortega’s post (19th). After twenty minutes of suffering, Manchester City finally got their foot back on the ball, without managing to defeat the solid defense of Liverpool led by their Dutch colossus. Alexander-Arnold was very close to doubling the lead with a shot from the edge of the area which ended up hitting the post (34th). Powerless from start to finish, City never managed to appear threatening and only got one shot, off target (39th), in a one-sided first act.
Mohamed Salah beaming and given a standing ovation by Anfield
Liverpool continued to keep the Mancuniens under pressure in the second half, with a good breakthrough from Gakpo in the area and a shot blocked at the last minute by Nunes (50th), followed by yet another attempt from van Dijk, imperial in the aerial sector until ‘now (51st). Mohamed Salah then missed the break point for the Reds, after a ball lost by Akanji, by curling his shot just above Ortega’s crossbar (56th). The Egyptian was once again at work a few minutes later, but his acceleration ended with a loose shot (63rd).
Still as impressive despite their one-goal lead, Salah and his team multiplied the clear chances without managing to confirm their domination. Alexander-Arnold came up against the Mancunian goalkeeper again (66th), just like a very restless Gakpo but not sharp enough to score a double (69th). A double loss of ball by the Mancunians and a foul in the area by Ortega on Díaz finally allowed the Reds to seal their victory on a penalty, thanks to an impeccable shot from Mohamed Salah into the right side of the net (78th, 2-0) . City could have returned to the game after a failed check by van Dijk, poorly exploited by De Bruyne who came up against Kelleher (83rd).
This is the seventh match in a row without any victory since 2016 and the arrival of Pep Guardiola on the bench of Manchester City, unheard of for the man who has been crowned six times in the Premier League with the Mancunians. The Spanish coach also made a point of reminding City supporters at the end of the match of the number of titles won under his leadership, by brandishing the number “six” with his fingers. For their part, the Reds seem unstoppable and record an 18th victory in 20 matches in all competitions. “ We weren’t perfect, but we were close to perfection. It’s the only way to beat a quality team like City “, simply summed up Liverpool coach Arne Slot after the match. With a nine-point lead at the top of the standings, they seem to be heading towards the English crown at full speed.
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