REDS ROAR INTO CHAMPS LEAGUE SEMIS
MAN CITY...1 LIVERPOOL...2
MAN CITY...1 LIVERPOOL...2 JOHN CROSS AT THE ETIHAD LIVERPOOL WIN 5-1 ON AGG
WE never thought they would be able to trump last week’s game – but the sequel was even better.
It was breathless and brilliant as Manchester City gave everything – and somehow Liverpool triumphed after an incredible white knuckle ride.
Typically it was Mohamed Salah with his 39th goal of the season that proved decisive at a time when Liverpool were on the canvas never mind the ropes.
Roberto Firmino got a second late on but the tie was already Liverpool’s by then.
Salah’s goal was magical, brilliantly executed, what he has been doing all season and at this rate, he could carry them all the way to Champions League glory in Kiev next month.
But that only tells half the story about a game full of controversy, incident and drama with Pep Guardiola sent to the stands in fury after seeing City robbed of a perfectly good goal that would have put Liverpool on the rack.
Little wonder Guardiola lost the plot because it was a bad decision and his City players gave everything, they deserved more and yet ultimately could not match Liverpool’s brilliance at Anfield six days earlier.
Delighted boss Jurgen Klopp said: “It was difficult, especially with the start – this wonderful goal that we served them on a plate. I was expecting something like that but I liked the reaction.
“It’s not about perfection it’s about the result, the character, the mentality, really fighting for the result. We defended well, it’s not our best game but we deserved it at the end.”
City threw the kitchen sink at
Liverpool. They hit the post, laid siege to the visitors’ penalty box. It must have been pure torture for Klopp on the touchline.
The thunderstorm the German predicted didn’t do it justice. It was more like a whirlwind and City made a start every bit as fast as Liverpool at Anfield last week.
Guardiola’s gamble of playing three at the back looked risky but it quickly reaped rewards because City’s high octane football seized on Liverpool’s nerves and left Klopp’s men unsure whether to stick or twist.
If anyone had any doubts as to whether City believed they could do it, they disappeared within two minutes. Just one minute 56 seconds to be precise. And suddenly the Etihad was rocking.
Virgil van Dijk screamed foul as Raheem Sterling challenged him after the ball had gone and David Silva and Fernandinho combined brilliantly to launch a counter-attack.
Sterling squared it to Gabriel Jesus and the Brazilian slotted the ball into the bottom corner with a clinical finish. Suddenly the roof came off the place. City had lit the blue touch paper as Guardiola got his dream start.
From then on, City’s pressure was relentless with Leroy Sane, Sterling and Jesus all going close.
Bernardo Silva crashed a shot against the post and then City were robbed of a perfectly good second goal after 42 minutes. Spanish ref Antonio Mateu Lahoz and his linesman ruled Sane’s effort offside when Pool’s James Milner got an important touch.
That angered Guardiola, whose protestations as the teams left the pitch at half-time saw him sent to the stands.
His absence from the touchline was crucial. Without his presence and orders, City lost hope and direction. And when Salah scored in the 56th minute, it was all over.
Sadio Mane raced into the box, went round Ederson and, with the ball running loose, Salah slotted home an ice-cool finish.
Guardiola put his head in his hands, the energy drained out of the stadium and Liverpool were gifted a second after 77 minutes.
Nicolas Otamendi’s sloppy pass let in Firmino who raced through and fired past Ederson as Reds fans went wild.
Guardiola said: “I told him it was a goal when the ball was passed to Sane, that’s why he sent me off. It would have been different to go in 2-0.
“The ref ’s a special guy, likes to be different. When people see things, he’ll decide the opposite. Big congratulations to Liverpool, hopefully they represent England well in the semi-final.”