City and Liverpool share spoils after De Bruyne penalty miss as Rodgers’ Leicester go top of table
Gabriel Jesus cancelled out a Mohamed Salah penalty but Kevin De Bruyne missed a spot-kick as heavyweights Manchester City and Liverpool played out an entertaining 1-1 draw.
The champions took an early lead in a gripping Premier League contest at the Etihad Stadium when Salah struck after a foul by Kyle Walker on Sadio Mane.
City responded with a fine goal from Jesus but De Bruyne spurned the chance to put them ahead when he fired wide from 12 yards before the break.
Both sides had opp or tunities in the second half but neither could break through, meaning Liverpool dropped from first to third over the course of the weekend while City remained in mid-table.
Liverpool were rewarded for a positive start with a penalty after 13 minutes. There were few complaints when Craig Pawson pointed to the spot after Walker clipped Mane. Salah made City pay the price by smashing home from the spot.
City levelled just before the half-hour mark as De Bruyne fed Jesus with his back to goal. The City striker beat Trent Alexander-Arnold with a clever flick and turn and then poked past Alisson.
DeBruy ne drove wide from distance moments later and then had an even better chance to put City ahead when they were awarded a penalty before the break. After a lengthy VAR review, Joe Gomez was ad judged to have handled as he tried to pull his arm away from aDeBruynec ross. Liverpool contested the decision but escaped damage as De
Bruyne rolled his shot wide.
Liverpool almost took advantage of the miss to score themselves as Ederson allowed an AlexanderArnold shot to squirm from his grasp and roll towards the line, but he grabbed at the second attempt as Jota swooped in.
The second half began at the same breathtaking pace with Andy Robertson and De Bruyne having shots saved at either end. Jesus then had a glorious chance from a Joao Cancelo cross but put a free header wide.
Perhaps inevitably, the frenetic pace dropped in the latter stages and both sides had to settle for a point.
Jamie Vardy fired Leicester to the top of the table after a gritty 1-0 home win over Wolves.
The striker's early penalty sent Brendan Rodgers' side to the summit following a third straight victory.
The league' s joint eightgoal top scorer was also denied a second from the spot by Rui Patricio's save. The Foxes now go to Liverpool on Saturday for the latest test of their title credentials.
Harry Kane struck his 150th Premier League goal two minutes from time as Tottenham beat West Brom 1-0 at the Hawthorns.
Kane headed home his landmark effort as Spurs, who sit second in the table, continued their 100 per cent away record this season.
Ollie Watkins hit a quickfire double as Aston Villa stunned Arsenal 3- 0 at the Emirates Stadium.
Watkins scored a secondhalf double to add to Bukayo S aka's own goal with Villa also unlucky to see a firstminute John Mcginn strike ruled out for off side. The result takes Villa up to sixth in the table.