Manchester City Vs Liverpool.

Defending Champions Vs Current Champions

Image Source: pinterest.com

After 30 long years, the dream has come true for Reds supporters as Liverpool have confirmed champions of England as the defending champions Manchester City were beaten by Chelsea. This was the third time the Blues victory over their opponents have decided the title as they had previously done in the past. Coincidentally, the Merseyside outfit were so close to winning the title in 2013/14 season until Steven Gerrard's slip sealed their fate. 

Similarly, Chelsea's victory against Spurs in 2015/16 confirmed Leceister City as champions of England. The Merseyside outfit was close to winning the title last season only to narrowingly miss out to Manchester City. Fast forward from now, Liverpool have established a comfortable lead in the top of the table before the lockdown and have since then held on to their lead and won the title by a big margin.

Image Source: skysports.com

This was expected to be a tight game between these two clubs as both the outfits have earned a reputation of playing a fast-paced style of football. The last time these two teams visited, Klopp's men won the game 3-1 though it did not end in controversy as City were denied a penalty after the VAR showed that the ball touched Trent Alexander-Arnold's arm when he was attempting to intercept the ball.

 With the Reds confirmed as champions, Pep Guardiola confirmed that this side would welcome Klopp's men by 'Guard Of Honour' as a sign of respect to the newly crowned champions. As both sides are ready to face each other, City will be determined to claim 3 points while Liverpool looks to complete a double over the defending champions.

Key Points:   

Image Source: google.com

1. Pep's men score 3 goals before the half-time: 

As the whistle blew, The Reds began the game by applying early pressure which indicated that Klopp's men were determined to score an early goal. The early minutes of the game was dominated by Liverpool and were close to scoring 2 goals. Eventually, City began to control the game with its rhythmic passes and began to show signs of attacking with intensity. In the 25th minute, Sterling won a penalty for his side by running past Joe Gomez who tried to hold him back. The ref wasted no time in awarding the spot-kick as the incident occurred in front of his eyes. De Bruyne stepped up and scored the penalty to give his team the lead. 

The defending champions continued their dominance with De Bruyne leading the charge and delivered an exquisite pass to Jesus who wasted his chance to score. Pep's men extended the lead when his side made full of use of the counter-attack by helping the ball on Foden and then turning and dashing into the left-hand side of the box. Taking advantage of the space, Foden slipped the ball to Sterling who scored past Alisson. The misery continued for Klopp's men as City yet scored another goal when Foden ran past through Robertson and passed the ball to De Bruyne and spun himself to deliver a pass to the youngster and scored the third goal for the Citizens.

Image Source: google.com

2. Kevin De Bruyne continues to impress: 

Since the season began, De Bruyne has been in an excellent form. The Belgian star-man has never failed to impress after signing from Wolfsburg in 2015. He went on to play an important role in his side success under Pep Guardiola with most notably in the centurion's campaign. He spent more time in the sidelines last campaign due to injury. But he has returned strongly and certainly made a difference to his side. The former Wolfsburg playmaker continued to impress after the season returned from the lockdown by putting up a solidifying performance against The Gunners by scoring a penalty. 

In the return fixture against The Reds, he played a crucial role by controlling the tempo of the game and breaking the deadlock for his side. He further continued his impressive form by setting up the third goal by combining well with Phil Foden who added his name to the scoresheet. He was also involved in setting up the fourth goal by passing the ball to Sterling who slotted past Alisson only for an own goal thanks to Oxlade-Chamberlain. The Belgian playmaker increased his tally to 17 assists and is close to breaking the record which was set by the Gunners legend Thierry Henry. 

Image Source: google.com

3. Klopp's men lose for the second time this season: 

Honestly, I expected to be this game very competitive. I am shocked to see the way the Reds played this game. Klopp's men were outclassed by the defending champions. After a shocking loss at the hands of The Hornets, this is the second time the Reds have conceded more number of goals. Joe Gomez and Andy Robertson looked sloppy and did play a part in conceding goals for their side and also the Reds front three were kept at bay with mainly Kyle Walker man-marking Sadio Mane. In simple words, a solid performance by the defending champions. 

Image Source: the guardian.com

Overall, Liverpool's performance was underwhelming and the way Robertson and Gomez performed was very disappointing. Kevin De Bruyne and Phil Foden dominated the game by combining very well and City's backline held on and made important clearances to deny Liverpool a goal. The only time the Reds were close to scoring a goal when Salah hit the post. After that, it was the Citizens who were all over the field. Manchester City has indeed developed a reputation for demolishing big teams which we have seen in the past as well as in the present. Even though Liverpool are the champions, this is not a performance by a title-winning team and Sterling finally scored a goal against his former side. The interesting part is Phil Foden is an exciting prospect who has shown signs of an impressive display. Touted by a long-term replacement for David Silva, he looks the person to fill up those big shoes. 

Author,

Zaid