[ad_1]
And breathe. If any football game can define the old saying of a tale of two halves, we just witnessed it.
The first half saw both Liverpool and Manchester City committing players to keep going, leading to end-to-end competition and plenty of scoring opportunities. The second half was the exact opposite. It seemed that both teams were afraid of losing rather than giving their all to win.
It will be a matter of concern for Jürgen Klopp to be forced to withdraw Trent Alexander-Arnold, adding to the already worrying injury situation currently in the club. We can only hope that the next two weeks will give the fullback time to recover and get back to top form as soon as possible.
The 1-1 draw leaves Liverpool in third place in the table, which is not bad at all considering that we are only eight or nine games away from the league season. Now is the time for the international break, sigh, and after a tough streak of matches that begin in fifteen days.
Here’s our podium from a frenzied match at the Etihad Stadium.
Gold: Midfielder duo
There were certainly a lot of raised eyebrows when the Liverpool team was announced an hour before kick-off. Four attacking players with just two midfielders, Gini Wijnaldum and Jordan Henderson, seemed like an obvious area for City to take advantage of.
That did not happen. Both Wijnaldum and Henderson were excellent, helping lead the press and closely marking opposing midfielders to prevent them from passing out from behind so easily.
It’s certainly interesting to move on to see if Klopp continues with Diogo Jota and Roberto Firmino on the flank to force the alteration of the midfield. Having said that, if Thiago Alcântara were fit and available, he would almost certainly have started, and that in itself provides a headache for the national team going forward.
Silver: Joël Matip
There weren’t too many prominent artists from Liverpool, but Joël Matip was one of them. Let’s not forget that he was injured coming into the game and had not played since the draw with Everton last month.
Returning from injury in a game of this magnitude was never going to be an easy task, but Matip reminded us all why Klopp and Liverpool regard him so well. He’s a strong, dominant center-back, and he adds that aerial presence in handling set pieces that not many other defenders who are in shape right now can do.
Moving forward, raise the question of whether and when to give Matip a break. His injury record is not that good, and keeping him fit for most of the season is paramount if Liverpool want to compete for the biggest titles this season.
Your content written from Liverpool, but done differently and straight to your inbox.
You know what it is about, that it offers you the best in-depth, alternative and current content, but it also takes Liverpool, the Football Club and the city to wherever you are in the world.
If you’re too busy to scroll or search, simply sign up for our newsletter to receive your daily selection of written content, from transfers to tactics, delivered right to your inbox. You will also receive a weekly summary personally written by the editor, as well as the opportunity to stay up to date with any of the latest offers and exclusives we have.
All angles of the champions covered.
For all Liverpool fans on the planet.
How do you register?
It’s easy and only takes a few seconds.
Just type your email address in the box at the top of this article and click “Subscribe.”
And that’s it, you are ready.
Bronze: Mohamed Salah
Another day, another goal from Salah.
The Egyptian did not make much of a note during the game, apart from putting the ball in the net when it mattered. To be fair, there weren’t many other standout Liverpool players, but Salah did what he does best and scored the vital goal when his team needed it.
It was not just his goal, but also his entire game. Salah is not the tallest player in the world and yet he managed on several occasions to keep the ball up for his team and help them regroup after a City attack. He deserves credit for that too.
Honorable mentions to Alisson Becker, Joe Gomez and Andy Robertson, who all put in solid performances against a very strong City frontline.
(Image: Simon Stacpoole / Offside / Offside via Getty Images)
You must do better: handball law
What’s not exactly a sanction these days? It seems that every weekend we are talking about a handball being given away, when everyone who looks at it knows very well that it is a bad decision.
When the ball hit Gomez’s arm in the area after a cross from Kevin De Bruyne, even though it wasn’t initially hit, one knew that after VAR intervention a penalty would be awarded. Not because it was a penalty, but because it is not the first to happen this season.
Gomez was running at a pace and his arms are naturally at his sides. What are you supposed to do with them? He clearly tries to get them behind their back and he just fails, but it all goes back to the change of the law.
The way the law is interpreted means that almost everything that hits the arm is handball, when that is not the case. The powers that be to realize this, we are already beginning to see the result of the law change with more and more sanctions. Maybe that’s what they want, more goals. It certainly makes it more entertaining for neutrals, but not for fans of the team they watch.
Something has to change and fast.
[ad_2]
