Manchester City rolled the dice with their set up against Liverpool, missed some big chances and gave their share of them away as well. Hanging on in the second half to walk away with a point. A good point to take but many will left wondering what could have been if the team selection was different or if a chance like Doku or Foden had went our way.

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Liverpool 1-1 Man City Review

Premier League

MOTM: John Stones

Notable Stats:

• In all Premier League games between Guardiola and Klopp at Anfield, the record now sits at four wins (JK), one win (PG) and three draws.

• The 12 shots against Manchester City in the second half was the most they have faced in a second half of a league game since May 2021.

• Kevin De Bruyne has been directly involved in 13 goals in 12 appearances for Manchester City in 2024 (2G 11A). The most of any Premier League player across all competitions this year.

Main Takeaways:

• Not place better to start with than the lineup, Alvarez getting picked ahead of Kovacic the biggest of the two changes with Akanji also in for Dias. My thought in the preview was that we would see something similar to the Copenhagen game at home having Alvarez pull his full back into the middle from the flank. Akanji ahead of Dias suggested that Guardiola was accepting of the attacks Liverpool would get in behind and picked the best players suited for dealing with it. Pace is important for 1v1 despite everything else you could provide.

• The start from City will be overlooked but in the first half they caused Liverpool a lot of problems by getting in the space either side of Endo. Alvarez and Foden both had half chances. That came from City being quite high out of possession, leaving space around Rodri that got exposed once Liverpool settled into the match.

• Often you would see Walker as the player being aggressive up the pitch to win the ball in midfield, leaving Diaz free and able to attack the space left behind. This kind of aggressive approach made City more vulnerable than if the back line didn’t jump and used the midfield to chase instead.

• Eventually getting caught out in midfield in that space, Liverpool closing down a lot of the options Rodri has, Stones and Bernardo being very close together made pressing easier for the Liverpool midfield.

• Once that door was closed to front pressing players, namely De Bruyne, City found themselves struggling to progress the ball forward. All of Rodri options forward have significant risk, Alvarez with his touch is not someone to fire the ball into feet of. Long pass to Foden let’s Liverpool have the time to reset and the lane to KDB is closed.

• Down the left side of City, if you look at the starting line up at the top, our wide players were quite isolated. Alvarez pushed up high onto Quansah, Bernado Silva had came over to the left to follow Mac Allister and Elliot is left to Ake. Floating into the middle and pulling him around.

• Build up shape being too close would be a concern for Guardiola watching, often you would see Rodri and Stones very close to one another which takes away passing options and makes it easier to press. Ake, Walker, Alvarez and Foden all quite isolated out wide. Plenty of space between the full back and centre back on both sides.

• Kovacic coming off the bench had a significant impact and his performance proved it was a mistake to leave him out. In a midfield that was being hounded by the Liverpool press, Kovacic from minute one was able to carrying the ball through to relive pressure and progress the team. Something we struggled doing for a lot of the game. As I mentioned above with the pass to De Bruyne being closed off, he has to be the player to come off. Bernado was needed in the middle. Foden was then allowed to drift more centrally.

• Here are the two heatmaps for Alvarez side by side, starting both games at LW but a clear difference between them. His skill set is not suited to the former and City were not as dominant on the ball as you would need to be, to use him drifting inside and pull Bradley out of position.

• Jeremy Doku may have been limited on his minutes which ruled out a start but made a impact off the bench, could have scored the winner at the end and then narrative post match is very different. Tidy with his touches despite being rushed and used his time on the ball to try make something happen. Tackle on AMC is very risky in the box, would likely be a foul elsewhere on the pitch given the standard is lower than the penalty box. VAR is not going to give it when they see AMA not play for the ball and turn into it. Ultimately down to the referee on field, who was stood as close as needed to see it all.

• Ortega deserves a mention for his shot stopping after coming on and remaining calm on the ball. Part of the team effort to suffer through the second half and hold on for the point. Would be very surprised if he stays in the summer, should have a queue out the door for starting spots elsewhere.

Moving Forward:

There were certainly a lot of points to be concerned on with the City set up and approach to the game but also positives in their strength holding on in the second half. De Bruyne exposing space either side Endo but not managing to release final pass in time before eventually that space got closed off in the second half. A point away at Anfield is always a good point for City, only by setting the expectations this week of it being a must win has that made people feel disappointed. The substitute decisions helped keep that point and also gave City a chances to nick the winner. That all flips for the Arsenal game, a must win for us and a good point for them if it finishes a draw.

Our problems in this season all stem from recruitment, losing players of the quality Gundogan and Mahrez had, then missing out of targets in Bellingham, Rice and Paqueta. The new arrivals having their injury issues along with needing time to bed in. Players like Stones and De Bruyne injured early on, Grealish having a very inconsistent season when he is needed most. City will need an elite player or two in the summer to arrive and go into the first eleven.

All problems that everyone already knew coming into the game. All title contenders have flaws this season. All will drop points again. There will be concerns over team selection in the remaining games and being ruthless with our chances. But if you were told at the start of the season we would be one point behind with ten games to go, everyone one of us takes that and rolls the dice. All on blue.

Interesting Moments and Links

• Tactics Journal post on Kyle Walkers role in the game, here.

• Markstatsbot post on the game stats, here.

• John Stones goal from the corner.

• Manchester City compared to other teams for set pieces this season.

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