Manchester City have looked to Liverpool as their rivals, even during their times of great success under their manager Pep Guardiola.
Put simply, the team that caused Pep Guardiola the most anxiety was Klopp’s Liverpool. He found them so difficult to defeat that he described it as very painful!
A few months ago, Liverpool beat City in a game at Anfield. But this time it was different; City beat Liverpool 4-1 and could’ve won by more. Meaning the gap between them had become much bigger now than before.
Liverpool were unhappy after they got some damage on the bus ride to their game this week. They want to do well, but won’t win any awards this season and are struggling to stay in the top four of their league. Then things looked up when it became clear that Erling Haaland, their strongest player with 42 goals, wouldn’t be playing for their opponents – City – at all.
To make an even bigger impression, Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah scored a goal just 17 minutes into the game! That gave them a big advantage over the other team.
After that, Liverpool lost big time to City. Even though it was an impressive victory, Guardiola mentioned the difficulties of facing Liverpool, calling them “the biggest challenge I ever faced”.
It is clear that things have changed between the two teams when City didn’t have any difficulty getting here, even without Haaland. They were able to find ways to get through and all that Guardiola was disappointed about was that they could have easily beaten their rivals if they had used all their opportunities.
City have been doing really well lately and their newest player, Julian Alvarez from Argentina who won the World Cup, was a great replacement for Haaland. He even scored one goal and helped make another!
Manager Guardiola surprised everyone by playing John Stones in an unusual role as a midfielder, which surprisingly worked great! He was amazing at possessing the ball, passing it accurately and also defending his area. But even more impressive was Jack Grealish who really shone at the center of everything.
It took Jack Grealish some time to find his feet at City, but today he showed us his true quality. He assisted Alvarez with an equaliser and then scored the 4th goal before getting a standing ovation. His performance changed the game with a generous act of selflessness.
In the game, Liverpool were winning 1-0 when Mohamed Salah had a chance to shoot at the goal or pass it to one of his teammates. Everyone in the stadium watched and held their breath as Jack Grealish rushed back to stop Salah from scoring.
Then, Grealish quickly passed the ball to Alvarez who scored an equalizer for City – this made everyone cheer.
When Liverpool players walked away after losing the match, many of their fans had already started taking the highway back home.
After the game, Klopp looked really sad and said he will be alright. But can these same feelings of confidence be shared by Liverpool who have been defeated badly in their last 3 matches, even though they beat Manchester United a few times with 7-0?
Liverpool is going through a tough time right now, where they have some real good performances but then quickly go back to not doing so hot. During the match against Manchester United, there was an argument that Liverpool’s player Rodri deserved to get two yellow cards instead of one in the first half. However, even though six different players from their team tried convincing the referee about this, nothing came out of it.
Liverpool really wants to buy teenager Jude Bellingham from Borussia Dortmund, but the cost could be really expensive (more than £100m). Plus, Manchester City and Real Madrid are also interested in signing him.
Having Bellingham would be great, however it wouldn’t solve all of Liverpool’s issues.
Fabinho and Jordan Henderson were struggling to keep up in midfield before the game was even over. Virgil van Dijk, known for being almost unbeatable, isn’t as strong anymore. Additionally, Trent Alexander-Arnold’s skills at right-back have been widely talked about and are causing worries for Liverpool.
Bellingham cannot fix all the problems. When Salah was taken out of the game with only 20 minutes left, it looked like Klopp had given up and was looking for help that he couldn’t find. He made five changes in who was playing before Guardiola made even one.
Liverpool and their coach Klopp really want to finish in the top four this season. To do that, they need to get back on track very soon – especially by Tuesday when they face Chelsea.
At the end of the season, Klopp’s team will need some help if they’re going to keep doing well.
It has probably been tough for Klopp and Liverpool because Manchester City is so much better than them – even though they don’t have the best striker!
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