Dion Fanning – Reporting from Eastlands
Liverpool’s stunning victory against Arsenal before the international break was an example of all that can be achieved through Jurgen Klopp’s approach to football. Arsenal’s weak resistance may have been a contributing factor, but Liverpool exploited it fully.
Referee Jon Moss may have been a contributing factor in their defeat to City here on Saturday, but wastefulness in attack and familiar failings at the back had already been displayed before Moss made the decision to send Sadio Mane off which enraged so many.
The game may have reached a fascinating point and Moss may well “have ruined it as a spectacle” – even though it’s not up to the referee to protect the game as a spectacle, but to protect the players – yet, by the time Mane was sent off, Liverpool had already hinted at familiar vulnerabilities.
Liverpool had conceded a goal too easily when Kevin De Bruyne had space to hit a ball straight through the defence for Sergio Aguero to finish. They had also wasted every opportunity to exploit another characteristically confused performance from Nicolas Otamendi.
Pep Guardiola demands a lot of his players and Otamendi played on Saturday as if he was trying to flick through a folder of Pep instructions he had brought with him on to the pitch, while simultaneously also attempting to defend against the pace of Salah.
Vincent Kompany’s injury playing for Belgium against Gibraltar ruled him out and highlighted an ongoing weakness and Otamendi demonstrated once again that he is not the solution.
Liverpool found space down Otamendi’s side, but whenever they did, Salah did little with the opportunity.
He has scored three goals for Liverpool already, but he’s also missed several chances and here he wasted a critical one, shooting tamely at Ederson after Mane had brilliantly played him in.
For all the excitement and intrigue surrounding these two coaches, in the opening half an hour, it seemed as if the game would be determined by the weakest players. Otamendi was identified as the most likely by Liverpool, while Klopp’s decision to select Ragnar Klavan may have been as big a factor in the result as Moss’s decision.
Klopp could point to the alternative Dejan Lovren as a reason for his decision, but Klavan brought an added layer of tension to the back four which can always do without added tension and will have to wait a bit longer for a calming presence.
Without it, Trent Alexander-Arnold struggled at right-back. Guardiola applauded on two occasions when City players hit long balls straight out of play when they were aiming for Alexander-Arnold’s side of the pitch.
But if Alexander-Arnold was struggling, Klavan was static for the pass that allowed Aguero in and found himself struggling to deal with Gabriel Jesus at times.
By the time, Mane chased the Joel Matip long ball which ended with him kicking Ederson, Liverpool were already chasing the game and that’s rarely a position which suits a Klopp side.
On balance, Moss made a decision that was the correct one, not just because Ederson spent so long subsequently being treated, even if that did seem to establish that he had endangered the safety of an opponent and was guilty of serious foul play.
There was no intent in Mane’s challenge but that didn’t matter. Liverpool had lost their most important player, a player whose powerful running and willingness may define the Klopp era.
City’s weaknesses had not been exploited when they could have been and once Liverpool were down to ten men, City were able to display their strengths.
Gabriel Jesus scored a second in the seventh minute of first-half injury time. Many City fans then left their seats in search of refreshments, but Liverpool supporters could have headed home.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain came on after the break. His last game for Arsenal had been in a 4-0 defeat so he was quickly up to speed as Jesus scored again and Leroy Sane came on to make things worse.
City cruised through the second half and even Otamendi looked relaxed before being replaced with 20 minutes to go
Sane scored again in injury time and Liverpool could blame the scoreline on the sending off. But they will know too that they could have set up a very different spectacle if they hadn’t made their own mistakes.
