IT was a defeat that left Manchester City 11 points off the pace at the top of the Premier League table.
That’s the furthest Pep Guardiola’s side have been from the league leaders since they last failed to win the league in 2019-20. It’s a deficit that even this all-conquering side has never recovered from to win the Premier League.
The gap has since been reduced to nine points after Liverpool drew with Newcastle in midweek, but nevertheless, last weekend was Man City’s sixth defeat in seven games in all competitions – which is as many as they had suffered in their previous 101 beforehand.
But it was only the second time in the last 10 Premier League games between Liverpool and Man City that the Reds came out on top.
So, how did Slot’s side do it?
The bare stats don’t make for pretty reading for Guardiola’s side. They were outshot 18 to eight, gave up five big chances to one, and the final expected goals (xG) score was 3.57 to 0.84 in Liverpool’s favour. It was as comfortable as a game of this stature gets.
Indeed, even when removing Salah’s spot-kick, their non-penalty xG of 2.78 was the second-highest Man City have faced in a Premier League game under Guardiola.
And in turn, it was also the second-heaviest ever non-penalty xG deficit Man City have suffered (-1.94) in a league game under the Spaniard.
Reds fans will fondly remember the one match above Sunday’s result in both tables – it was the Citizen’s 2-1 defeat to Chelsea in June 2020, the game which confirmed Liverpool as Premier League champions, no less.
Sunday’s win by no means crowns Liverpool as champions this time – far from it – but it severely dented Man City’s hopes of a fifth successive title.
What is concerning for the Sky Blues is that in the first table above of highest non-pen xG they have faced in a Premier League game since 2016-17, three of the top six instances have come this season. Indeed, of the 16 occasions they have faced a non-pen xG of two or above in this time, five have been in 2024-25 (31.3%).
There is a defensive fragility to this season’s Man City that we haven’t seen before under Guardiola. Liverpool took advantage on Sunday.
On commentary, Gary Neville called it a “0-0 battering”. And that was before Cody Gakpo put Liverpool 1-0 ahead in just the 12th minute.
It took 39 minutes for Man City to record their first shot of the match. By that point, Liverpool had had nine efforts and accumulated an xG of 1.68.
It was the latest into a Premier League game that Man City recorded their first shot since way back in April 2010 against Arsenal.
39 – Manchester City’s first shot attempt at Anfield came in the 39th minute; their longest wait for their first shot of a Premier League match since April 2010 versus Arsenal (58th minute). Frozen. pic.twitter.com/8DfG0SLb6r
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) December 1, 2024
The reason it took Man City so long to register their first attempt was the relentless pressure Liverpool put them under. The Reds recorded 11 high turnovers (7 of which were in the first half), with four resulting in them recording a shot on Man City’s goal. That’s the highest the Citizens have faced in a league game this season.
The second half was different – Liverpool’s possession in that period was below 34%, having been over 53% in the first half.
But they still won the ball high up the pitch which led to earning the penalty that sealed the three points, all while remaining resilient at the back.
Half of Man City’s shots in the entire match came in the final 10 minutes when they were already 2-0 behind. They had mustered just four shots in the first 80 minutes of the game. Kelleher didn’t need to make a single save until the 82nd minute.
Liverpool went from full throttle intensity in the first half, to digging in and playing on the counter in the second. They exacted both gameplans to perfection. The only fault they made as a team was not scoring more goals than they did.
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