Super sane stuns kop
Sane slashes Liverpool’s title lead in thriller
LEROY SANE blew the title race wide open with a stunning winner for City.
The German struck in the 72nd minute to cut the gap at the top to just four points and end Liverpool’s unbeaten league record.
The moment of magic came just as it seemed the Reds had taken control of the contest after Roberto Firmino’s leveller.
The visitors appeared to have the champions on the ropes when the Brazilian scored from close range to level Sergio Aguero’s first-half opener.
Yet Jurgen Klopp’s side had looked uneasy in defence all
PEP GUARDIOLA questioned whether Liverpool had the bottle to win their first title for 29 years.
Now we will find out, after Manchester City inflicted a first league defeat of the season on the Reds to blow the title race wide open.
City’s stunning win narrowed the gap on Liverpool to four points, with Jurgen Klopp and his men feeling the champions breathing down their necks.
On a pulsating night at the Etihad, City reminded the football world just why they are champions, despite their recent blips, and showed Liverpool just why this absorbing title race is far from over.
A win here would have seen Liverpool open up a seemingly unassailable nine-point lead at the top of the table and a 10point advantage over City.
Now, after a first league defeat of the campaign, comes the real test for Liverpool. Can they recover from this setback or will the weight of history and expectation prove too much for them? The answers will come in the weeks and months ahead, but one thing is certain – City are not giving up their crown without a fight to the finish, while Tottenham, six points off Liverpool, remain firmly in the title mix.
With so much at stake, it was perhaps no surprise both sides made error-strewn starts, the intensity and magnitude of the occasion stripping the title rivals of their usual fluency and verve.
The game exploded into life in the 18th minute after a sublime move from the visitors ended with Sadio Mane’s shot coming back of a post, before the real slapstick began.
John Stones was first to the loose ball but his attempted clearance rebounded off keeper Ederson to go spinning back towards the City goal.
Stones somehow managed to scramble back and clear, the goal decision system showing he had done so by the most slender of margins.
It was a massive let-off for City, and a reminder of Liverpool’s devastating ability to rip apart opponents in a matter of seconds.
City created a gilt-edged chance in the 28th minute, Fernandinho releasing Raheem Sterling, who found David Silva, but he took a touch and his shot
was blocked.
The Blues had another slice of fortune on the half-hour,
when Kompany took out Mo Salah with a two-footed lunge trying to retrieve a pass from Stones. The City skipper was cautioned for what looked a red-card challenge.
Then five minutes before the break, Aguero got to Bernardo Silva’s cross ahead of Dejan Lovren, took a touch and turned smartly to arrow the ball high into the net from the most outrageous of angles.
The goal continuing his run of scoring in every one of his seven home appearances against the Reds.
Liverpool were back on level terms in the 64th minute after Danilo missed the ball, allowing Robertson to turn it back across goal for Firmino to score with a diving header.
City’s defensive frailties, which had cost them so dearly in recent weeks and allowed Liverpool to open up a sizeable lead, were exposed once again, with Klopp’s men taking full advantage to equalise.
But the Blues restored their lead seven minutes later. Sterling was allowed to surge forward unchallenged before finding Sane, who drilled an unstoppable shot past Alisson and in off his far post. Salah went close late on, Emerson swiping his effort behind, while City were forced into some desperate defending. Bernardo went close in the last minute, with Sterling somehow screwing the rebound wide.
It mattered not, for Sane’s goal proved the decisive moment and reignited the title race.