IT’S THE HANGOVER 4

Guard of honour, then City give champs a real headache with painful defeat

KEVIN DE BRUYNE inspired a stunning Manchester City show to thrash title kings Liverpool.

Pep Guardiola’s side stuck four past the new Premier League champions as the Reds suffered a huge hangover seven days on from their title party. De Bruyne, who opened the scoring from the penalty spot, ran Liverpool ragged.

Former Kop star Raheem Sterling, Phil Foden, and an own goal from Alex Oxladechamberlain completed the rout, with City warning they will be right up for a major title fight next term.

THE present is that Liverpool are fine champions, deserving of the lengthy celebrations that probably contributed to this defeat.

But this exhibition match was about the future, the Manchester City future.

And the Manchester City future is Phil Foden.

The careful nurturing is over, the protective cover off.

If he stays fit, there is unlikely to be a player more vital to Pep Guardiola’s hopes of regaining the title than Foden.

In harness with Kevin De Bruyne, he was simply a joy to watch and will surely become a key figure in Gareth Southgate’s rejigged England plans.

It was not just his slick assist and superb goal that captivated the few inside the Etihad, it was his game-long intelligence, his driving runs.

He sees gaps as De Bruyne does, he accelerates as De Bruyne does. Quite simply, he is special. Of course, he was not alone in enjoying himself against a Liverpool side that were, to put it politely, not quite at it.

Having said that, there was no hint of the slackness to come when Mohamed Salah tested Ederson and the upright early on as Liverpool pressed with familiar ferocity.

But the hangover kicked in after City opened the scoring from the spot. The last time Joe Gomez and

Raheem Sterling tangled was in a cafe at St George’s Park, the Liverpool defender still sporting the scar to prove it.

And he came off worse in this latest spat, adjudged the guilty party in a shirt-pulling contest and giving De Bruyne the chance to convert another penalty.

Gomez was booked for his troubles before Sterling added insult to injury, claiming City’s second with a shot that nutmegged his England team-mate.

Sterling’s finish was cute enough but the starring role was the assist, Foden using De Bruyne as a decoy runner before sliding the pass in for Sterling.

This young man is some player.

And his fourth goal since the restart – and City’s third on the night – was a vision of next season’s future.

The master, De Bruyne, and the precocious pupil.

Foden fed it into the Belgian whose return pass could not have been better served had he draped a white, silk napkin over his forearm.

Foden, all left foot they say, lifted the crispest of right-footed efforts over Ederson.

Guardiola had been down on his haunches for a couple of minutes after a falling-out with fourth official Mike Dean. Foden got him airborne. No wonder.

When Pep claimed Foden was the most talented player he had managed – before using him as a cup player – we laughed.

Now, everyone knows where Guardiola (right, with his players) was coming from. If there was proof needed that the young Englishman was good enough to fill the gap left by the departing Spanish magician, David Silva, this was surely it

There have been suggestions that Foden might lack a physical presence but try telling that to a succession of opponents who simply cannot get near him.

In a pleasant second half, Foden again shone and imagine what damage a combination with De Bruyne and Sterling can do.

From De Bruyne’s predictably well-chosen pass, Sterling, back in prime form, looked to have added his second but it went down as an Alex Oxladechamberlain own goal, which pretty much typified Liverpool’s casual night out.

And in the final minute of injury time, substitute Riyad Mahrez thought he added a fifth, only for the goal to be ruled out for an inadvertent handball. It mattered not a jot.

For Liverpool, this was a night to forget and a season to remember.

For City, another look at the future.