The top spot in the Premier League rankings after round 28 depends on the result of the match between Liverpool and Man City. After two halves at Anfield, Arsenal was the beneficiary.
Liverpool entered the match with a patchwork squad. Mohamed Salah recovered from injury but did not start. However, the home team still plays on par, sometimes even surpassing Man City.
Liverpool extended their unbeaten streak when they welcomed Man City at Anfield to number 20
John Stones scores after Man City designed a methodical corner kick situation
Haaland had difficulty facing Van Dijk
Mac Allister equalized for Liverpool
Liverpool and Man City entered the game fiercely, played quickly and created an attractive match right from the first minute. Man City is confident when being a guest at Anfield, the away team pushes their attacking squad high after the opening whistle. However, the defending champions’ finishing touches did not really put Kelleher’s goal in danger.
After a short time of letting their opponents dominate, Liverpool pushed Man City back and created a balanced match.
In a match where high-speed football occurred continuously, the goal came from a careless moment from both sides’ defense.
Taking advantage of the moment of distraction in Liverpool’s corner defense situation, Man City opened the score in the 23rd minute. This was also an intentional combination by the away team.
Nathan Ake blocked a Liverpool player, creating space at the near post for John Stones to move to catch Kevin De Bruyne’s low pass. The Liverpool goalkeeper could not block Stones’ close-range shot.
The two teams did not create many real scoring opportunities in the remainder of the first half, so the 1-0 score remained until the break.
Not long into the second half, Liverpool received a penalty because Ederson fouled Nunez in the penalty area after Nathan Ake’s careless pass.
The home team’s pressure caused Man City to make a mistake at the beginning of the second half.
Darwin Nunez rushed in one step faster than the Man City goalkeeper and was fouled in the penalty area. Alexis Mac Allister successfully converted the penalty to equalize for Liverpool.
Not only did they concede, Man City also suffered a big loss when goalkeeper Ederson was injured and had to leave the field.
The match continued to be exciting for the remainder. Liverpool created more chances, especially when Salah was brought on. Man City could not control the midfield area and was somewhat outmatched, but they also had regretful moments when the ball hit the post and bar.
Liverpool tried to attack until the last minute and continuously made Man City’s defense struggle. Liverpool counter-attacked very impressively and created good scoring opportunities, but unfortunately Diaz missed it when facing Oterga.
Diaz kicks out while facing Oterg
Man City did not play well in the second half. The away team’s only notable opportunity came in the 88th minute when substitute Doku shot the ball against the post and rebounded.
Controversy occurred in the last minute of extra time when the referee and VAR did not give Liverpool a penalty after a collision between Jeremy Doku and Mac Allister.
The match ended with a score of 1-1. Liverpool lost the top spot. They are equal in points to the top team, Arsenal, but have a lower score. Man City is closely following in third place, only one point behind the two teams ranked above.
