Liverpool once again sent their faithful home happy as they triumphed 3-1 (BBC Match Report) against current Premier League champions Manchester City!

Jurgen Klopp’s men held their nerve at Anfield as they went nine points clear over Man City as we head into the next international break.

The Reds two full-backs Andrew Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold were once again on hand to produce solid performances, helping both defensively and in attacking areas too.

Trent had the unenviable task of trying to keep fellow England international and former Liverpool forward Raheem Sterling quiet.

Alexander-Arnold didn’t manage to fully keep Sterling off the front foot but he did manage to frustrate Raheem enough to stop him from having a deciding impact on the game.

City boss Pep Guardiola and his main hitman Sergio Aguero felt extremely miffed that the referee didn’t give their side a penalty in the lead up to The Reds first strike.

The ball did strike Alexander-Arnold’s arm inside his own penalty area but VAR decided (rightly in my opinion) that it was neither meant nor was his hand in an unnatural position. Liverpool then broke away and Fabinho scored a screamer to give The Reds the lead on the sixth minute, with their first attack.

Later on, Pep would once again be in a rage on the touchline as Sterling pinged a ball directly off Trent’s arm and the official waved away any calls to award a penalty to the visitors. This was far more clear cut and again I fully agreed with the refs interpretation.

In the thirteenth minute Liverpool doubled their advantage.

Scottish left-back Andy Robertson was once again terrific. It was he who delivered a wonderful early cross into City’s box. Mohamed Salah timed his run to perfection as he got in between his two markers, Andy’s ball was pinpoint and Mo steered his header beyond City keeper Claudio Bravo. Oh by the way, that move all started with a wonderful diagonal pass from Alexander-Arnold to Robertson!

Liverpool then had Sadio Mane to thank for their third as he headed in another goal early in the second half before Bernardo Silva struck for The Citizens to give the champs a glimmer of hope with just twelve minutes to go.

Liverpool held on and they now have a big advantage in the Premier League title race.

Everyone did their job for the Merseyside club this evening. Alisson was assured as always, the front three cause countless issues for City’s defence and The Reds midfield boss the game for the most part.

But I really appreciate the work the two full-backs do.

Robertson made an important defensive headed clearance just under his own bar and that interception took the ball away from a City head and stopped a certain Man City goal in the first half.

Both full-backs work so hard for their team and teammates. They bomb forward at every opportunity but they also show a strong discipline to get back and help their centre-backs when needed. At times Trent or Andy would take the ball deep into City’s half just to relieve the pressure on their defensive colleagues and keep hold of possession.

Robertson’s determination and commitment didn’t go unnoticed within the stadium as the Anfield crowd sung his name just before the final whistle as he fought for yet another ball.

Before the game Reds boss Jurgen Klopp stated the importance of his full-backs:

“You have to be really strong on the wings, however you do it, because the goal is in the centre of the pitch and the area around the goal is the most crowded area,”

“So you have to find a way to go through – that’s in behind, you pass it on the wings or you try to find little spaces between their lines.”

Via LiverpoolFC.com

Klopp told Pep Guardiola what Liverpool were going to do and yet Manchester City still couldn’t stop the full-backs from doing their business.

If the Liverpool side can show the same commitment, passion and durability as their two full-backs then I just can’t see them giving up this title lead!

Posted on November 10th, 2019 by scott
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