Liverpool Ends Guardiola's Dominance at the Etihad with Commanding Win
In the marquee matchup of the 26th round of the Premier League, two of the league's fiercest rivals, Manchester City and Liverpool, faced off at the Etihad Stadium. Despite being outplayed in possession (33%) and outshot (8 to 16), Liverpool emerged victorious with a 2-0 win, extending their unbeaten run against Pep Guardiola's side and dealing a significant blow to City's title hopes.
The hero of the match was once again Mohamed Salah. The Egyptian forward opened the scoring with a clinical finish after a clever pass from Dominik Szoboszlai, the ball deflecting off Nathan Aké and leaving Ederson with no chance. On the 31st minute, Omar Marmoush thought he had equalized for City, but the goal was correctly ruled out for offside after a VAR review.
Liverpool doubled their lead shortly after, with Salah turning provider this time. The Egyptian delivered a precise pass back to Szoboszlai, who unleashed a perfect strike to beat Ederson and put the Reds firmly in control.
City had their chances, with 16 shots in total, but none truly tested Alisson Becker. The Brazilian goalkeeper dealt comfortably with everything that came his way, while Liverpool's defense stood firm to deny City any clear opportunities.
Liverpool thought they had a third goal in the 56th minute, but Curtis Jones was ruled offside by the narrowest of margins. Ederson then made two crucial saves to deny Luis Díaz and Salah, but it was too little, too late for City.
In the end, Liverpool secured a vital 2-0 victory, claiming three crucial points at a stadium where they have often struggled in the past.
2024-25, England - Premier League
Manchester City - Liverpool 0:2 (0:2)
Goals: Salah, 14 (0:1); Szoboszlai, 37 (0:2)
Manchester City: Ederson; Ake (Dias R., 77); Gvardiol; Lewis R.; Khusanov; Nico González (Kovacic M., 78); De Bruyne (Mcatee, 66); Foden; Sávio Moreira; Marmoush (Gundogan, 77); Doku J.
Bench: Ortega S.; Vitor Reis; Grealish; Bernardo Silva; Matheus Nunes
Liverpool: Alisson; van Dijk; Konate; Robertson A. (Tsimikas, 74); Alexander-Arnold (Quansah, 90); Szoboszlai; Mac Allister A.; Jones Cur. (Endo W., 74); Gravenberch R.; Salah (Elliott H., 90); Luis Díaz (Gakpo, 79)
Bench: Kelleher; Chiesa F.; Jota; Núñez D.
