Liverpool 1-0 Manchester City: Player ratings as Reds pick up huge three points | OneFootball

Manchester City’s unbeaten start to the season came to an end as they were defeated 1-0 by Liverpool at Anfield.

The hosts had the better of the early stages, and twice came close to opening the scoring. Diogo Jota planted his header straight at Ederson from Harvey Elliott’s cross, before Andy Robertson fired over when well placed.

But Man City responded with a couple of chances of their own. Erling Haaland saw his attempted chip saved by Alisson, and couldn’t find the net with two headers from Kevin De Bruyne crosses.

The half time whistle went shortly afterwards, with the game still goalless.

The second half began in explosive fashion, with both sides coming close to scoring. First, Mohamed Salah was played through on goal by Roberto Firmino, but he was denied by the finger tips of Ederson.

Moments later, Pep Guardiola’s men thought they had taken the lead when Phil Foden slammed in from a tight angle. However, the goal was ruled out after VAR spotted a shirt pull on Fabinho by Haaland in the build up.

The action continued at both ends, but the opener still wouldn’t come. Diogo Jota headed wide from Salah’s cross, and Haaland had an effort stopped by Alisson.

With 15 minutes remaining, the breakthrough finally came – and it went to Liverpool. A long ball by Alisson was brought down brilliantly by Salah, who outmuscled Joao Cancelo and finished into the bottom corner.

The Cityzens pushed for an equaliser, but were unable to get past a determined Liverpool defence. Cancelo put in a cross that seemed destined to be tapped in by Haaland, but Virgil van Dijk did excellently to cut it out.

The win was the first for the Reds in the league since August, taking them up to eighth place. As for Man City, it was their first league defeat since February, leaving them four points off leaders Arsenal.

Liverpool

Alisson (8/10) – Made a couple of important saves. Produced a wonderful long pass to assist Salah.

James Milner (7/10) – Despite being expected to struggle, he didn’t look out of place. Occasionally beaten by Foden.

Joe Gomez (9/10) *MOTM* – A fantastic performance by the Englishman. Dealt with Haaland effectively and had an answer for everything thrown at him.

Virgil van Dijk (8/10) – Played a big part in keeping City out. Made one particularly impressive clearance when Haaland looked poised to score.

Andy Robertson (7/10) – Defended well. Didn’t contribute as much going forward as usual.

Fabinho (7/10) – Helped limit De Bruyne’s influence on the game. Given a tougher ride by Gundogan.

Thiago (6/10) – Battled well and worked hard, but was unable to fully show his quality.

Harvey Elliott (6/10) – A few nice touches and passes. Miscontrolled when well placed early in the second half.

Mohamed Salah (8/10) – A constant threat. Scored a fantastic goal, and could have had more.

Roberto Firmino (7/10) – Linked up well and gave the City centre-backs a hard time. Unlucky not to have got an assist for Salah in the first half.

Diogo Jota (7/10) – Got into some good areas and worked hard right until his injury.

Substitutes

Darwin Nunez (5/10)

Jordan Henderson (6/10)

Fabio Carvalho (6/10)

Trent Alexander-Arnold (NA/10)

Kostas Tsimikas (NA/10)

Manchester City

Ederson (7/10) – Made one fine save to deny Salah early in the second half. Can’t be blamed for the goal.

Joao Cancelo (5/10) – Showed plenty of attacking threat, but allowed Salah to get the better of him in the lead up to the goal.

Manuel Akanji (6/10) – Had a couple of shaky moments late on at 1-0. Solid otherwise.

Ruben Dias (5/10) – Sometimes got caught out in behind. Struggled to deal with Liverpool’s frontline.

Nathan Ake (6/10) – Defended well enough. Offered very little in attack.

Rodri (6/10) – Fought hard and kept his composure in the middle. Wasn’t able to control the game like usual.

Ilkay Gundogan (7/10) – Played a more advanced role and got into some great areas. Sometimes picked the wrong pass.

Kevin De Bruyne (5/10) – Way off his best. Unable to pick the killer pass that he’s often consistently able to produce. Poor cross in the lead up to the winner.

Bernardo Silva (5/10) – Failed to make much of an impact on the game. Occasionally slowed down City’s attacking play.

Erling Haaland (5/10) – The Norwegian’s scoring run comes to an end. Had a couple of half-chances to get on a goal, but was generally kept quiet by the Liverpool backline.

Phil Foden (7/10) – The visitors’ most threatening player in attack. Had a goal ruled out at 0-0.

Substitutes

Julian Alvarez (NA/10)