After two convincing wins in a row, including a scintillating performance against Real Madrid in the Champions League in midweek, it felt like the Reds finally had a little bit of momentum built up heading into the match up with Manchester City. While the final score line may flatter Pep Guardiola’s side (in his 100th match in charge), Liverpool really never seemed to have much of a foothold on the match. There were a few fluid moments, but in general is was again a performance fraught with too many
poor turnovers in key moments and a stagnant attack from the Reds. Below, we take a look at some winners and losers on the night, and attempt to disentangle narrative from fact.
Winners
Giorgi Mamardashvili
It’s odd to think a goalkeeper could be a winner in a match where his side conceded three goals, but Mamardashvili could do nothing with any of the goals conceded. He was also harshly adjudged to have given a penalty away early in the match, but he atoned for the foul given with a brilliant penalty save. The Georgian keeper has made a name for himself as stellar in penalty kick situations. Beyond the penalty save, he had two other saves on the day, including another acrobatic effort when the Reds were still in the match.
Jérémy Doku
The Belgian has long been derided for his lack of productivity in the final third despite all sorts of dribbling stats. He certainly gave Liverpool fits, absolutely roasting Conor Bradly time and time again on the dribble and then putting the ball into dangerous areas. On the day, he completed a match-high 7 dribbles, provided 3 key passes, and was involved in two goals. Doku created the first goal by taking a gifted chance from Ibrahima Konaté and drawing a penalty. He absolutely deserved the plaudits for the third goal, ripping a shot from distance into the top corner while running at top speed.
Losers
Ibrahima Konaté
The French defender again had a torrid day. He created the situation to give the penalty away in the first half with a really poor decision and bit of play. He then decided to flick on a header rather than try to put it away, deflecting the ball onto the forehead of Erling Haaland for a goal. In general, Manchester City seemed happy to allow Ibou to received the ball before pressing, waiting for him to make mistakes.
Mohamed Salah
After two really strong performances in a row, Salah was again poor on the day. With his speed no longer blazing, Salah has been trying to get earlier starts on his run. He did not time things well against Manchester City, getting caught offside all too frequently. His decision making on when to shoot or pass was also lacking, seeing multiple of his shots blocked in situations where it was obvious there was no way the ball would get through.
Liverpool’s Luck
While the score line makes it look like Liverpool were overrun, the Reds were not great but not actually terrible. The penalty conceded (and subsequently saved) was off of a very slight touch that we have seen both awarded and not awarded on different days. The second goal conceded came off of a deflection from the heel of Virgil van Dijk that left Giorgi Mamardashvili stranded. Overall, Liverpool held Manchester City to 0.81 xG from open play opportunities per FotMob.
Probably the most unlucky, and momentum turning, moment of the match was having Virgil van Dijk’s header disallowed for a subjective offside interference call. The goal should have stood, but was another instance of a law that is interpreted very differently on different days.
From the Manager
“I think it’s obvious and clear that the wrong decision has been made, at least in my opinion. Because he [Robertson] didn’t interfere at all with what the goalkeeper could do. Immediately after the game someone showed me the goal that the same referee allowed City against Wolves last season. So it took the linesman 13 seconds to raise his flag to say it’s offside. So there was clearly communication. That could have influenced the game in a positive way for us because in the first half we were so poor.”
-Arne Slot on Liverpool’s disallowed goal
What Happens Next
Liverpool will now head into the November international break sitting eight in the Premier League table. The Reds will return to action on Saturday, November 22 for a match with Nottingham Forest. That will kick off what looks like a friendly run of fixtures that will hopefully help Liverpool get back on track.
