Mohammed Salah put Liverpool in front early moments of their match with Manchester City and the Reds played well in the first half, but even without star player Erling Haaland, the Citizens had more than enough power to overcome the deficit and defeat Liverpool 4-1.
Alisson claimed a City header in the 8th minute and made another save in the 11th. The match then opened up as Salah had a shot blocked. The Citizens sprinted to the other end, but a big block allowed the Reds to spring the counter-attack Diago Jota chased down a long ball and lay it off for Salah who fired a strike in the bottom corner for a 1-0 Liverpool lead in the 17th minute.
City continued to look dangerous, however, and they found an equalizer in the 27th minute. Julián Álvarez was the beneficiary of a beautiful buildup play as he poked the ball past Alisson to tie the match at 1-1.
The match then got chippy from that point. Salah picked up a yellow card as did City's Rodrigo. Rodrigo nearly picked up a second yellow late in the half after a hard foul, but cooler heads prevailed and the match went to halftime tied at 1-1.
Second Half
Manchester City scored in the first minute of the second half. Kevin De Bruyne found the back of the net from close range thanks to a nice assist by Riyad Mahrez. The home side struck again in the 53rd minute as tight passing in the box led to an Ilkay Gündogan goal.
Cody Gakpo had a shot blocked out for a corner in the 56th minute, but aside from that City controlled the pitch. Alisson did make a good save against English International Jack Grealish. Alison could stop his shot in the 74th minute as Grealish gave City a 4-1 lead which ended up being the final score.
Salah Ties Dalgish
Every time Liverpool and Manchester City have met this season (4), The Egyptian Kinng has found the back of the net. He now has 11 goals vs City in a Reds shirt which ties him for second-most all-time with Sir Kenny Dalglish. The great Ian Rush leads the way with 15.
A Rocky Road
Liverpool have only won three times away from Anfield this season in League play. Their point disparity between home and away fixtures this season is the most in the Premier League. Liverpool have failed to win 6 straight road matches at City with the last victory coming in 2015.
Sinking Fast
The loss drops Liverpool to 8th on the table with the Top 4 becoming more and more of a distant dream with each passing day. Realistically, Liverpool needs wins vs Chelsea and Arsenal in the coming days to stay in contention for the Champions League next season.
LFC Globe Verdict
The first game after the International break was supposed to represent a fresh start for the Reds, but instead, it was the same old story for Liverpool. They had moments of brilliant play, such as the build-up to Salah's goal, but it was not consistent. The same issue has plagued Liverpool all season long. If the club can not turn things around, some tough changes could be coming during the offseason.
Man Of The Match & What's Next
For the first 20 or so minutes it looked as if there would be plenty of candidates for this honour. But when Liverpool's performance began to fall off in the second half, it became clear that Salah's play and goal were the best things to happen for Liverpool on the day.
Special mention should also go to City's Jack Grealish. Not only did he score, but he looked as if he was having fun playing football which is great to see at this level of competition.
What's Next
Things do not get any easier for the Reds as they travel to Chelsea on April 4th Kickoff is set for 20:00 BST. A list of Liverpool FC streams is available so fans around the world can follow the action.
Goals
Liverpool
- Mohamed Salah 17'
Man City
- Julián Álvarez 27'
- Kevin De Bruyne 46'
- Ilkay Gündogan 53'
- Jack Grealish 74'
Substitutions
Liverpool
- Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain for Harvey Elliott 70'
- Darwin Núñez for Mohamed Salah 70'
- Roberto Firmino for Diogo Jota 70''
- Kostas Tsimikas for Andy Robertson 70''
- James Milner for Cody Gakpo 82'
Man City
- Bernardo Silva for Rodrigo 83'
- Cole Palmer for Jack Grealish 89'
