City seek to damp down euphoria but point to major step
Jurgen Klopp has been here before. Not too often, and never while Liverpool manager, but the humbling defeat by Manchester City brought back a sore memory.
“For Dortmund against Bayern, it was 5-1,” Klopp said, recalling a similar loss in September 2009. “Things like this happen. It’s really bad, and we have to take the blame for everything we saw. A couple of weeks ago we got all the credit. This time, we have to take the not-so nice part, which is criticism.”
Liverpool fans on a straw-clutching expedition will note Dortmund recovered to win the Bundesliga the next season – proof that the most chastening afternoons can be a catalyst, rather than catastrophe.
For City and Liverpool, this was an afternoon that gets overcrowded bandwagons rolling. For the victors the talk is about title statements. For the vanquished, it was the inevitable blame game, querying why Liverpool did not sign a centre-back, as if Southampton’s Virgil van Dijk could have prevented Sadio Mane’s boot from accidentally smashing into Ederson’s cheek.
If Van Dijk is referenced every time Liverpool suffer a setback it will absolve others of responsibility. Do not ignore how a Liverpool midfield were superb in the 4-0 win against Arsenal but submissive when a man down against City.
Given the circumstances, there was restraint in the broader assessment from both sides. City’s players were as swift as Liverpool’s to point to the mitigating factor of Mane’s 37th-minute red card. That moment denied us the chance to measure the true credentials of either team, even if we can conclude City were merciless when given the time and space to punish stricken opponents and Liverpool worryingly inept when damage limitation was all they had.
What happens before the clubs switch focus to the Champions League in midweek is a psychological exercise, Pep Guardiola urging his players to forget what facilitated the hammering, savour it and repeat, while Klopp looks to dismiss it as a horrific one-off that should not puncture the optimism
of four wins in five previous games. Aside from his suspension for three domestic games – Mane can still play against Seville on Wednesday – the African’s absence ensures Philippe Coutinho’s first-team exile ends sooner rather than later.
“I’m not sure it’s quite that easy, but if we bring him [Coutinho] in and then everything is great again, then that’s cool,” said Klopp, defending the reasoning for initially prolonging his absence. “This was the decision we took. If people blame me for this, no problem, but it was a decision taken for the season. He came back after a long flight, after three weeks without playing. We thought give him three or four days of training and then he’s available.”
Against 11 and 10,
City looked more equipped to challenge for the main prize,
Kevin De Bruyne being their standout performer. Guardiola’s side were bereft of defining results against the title contenders in his first year, although the manager and his players were adamant it was the outcome, rather than standard of performance, that differed here.
“The only thing we didn’t do last year was win the big games,” said De Bruyne. “I thought we deserved to win a few more games than we did. It makes a difference – that’s five or six points extra and they are losing those points, so then you are closer together.” Guardiola was most enthused by the smallest of details when Sergio Aguero elected to pass to Gabriel Jesus for City’s third – a sign of a flourishing partnership between players previously vying for the same role.
“That means a lot for me, what Sergio did,” said Guardiola. “They both want to score goals and we need that, but it is still important to choose the right decision. When it happens the next time, Gabriel is going to do that for Sergio.”
Now City and Manchester United are level on points at the top of the table. The opening fixtures are spent searching for clues rather than certainties, but the pattern of this season is already clearer.