SANE SHINES FOR FIVE-STAR CITY
Supersub finishes off rout after Mane sending off leaves Reds with no chance
IT WOULD be too much to suggest that this was the day that Manchester City’s title challenge fully ignited. In fact, Jurgen Klopp, enduring the worst defeat of his short Liverpool career, called it about right. ‘If City take too much confidence from this game, they would make a mistake,’ he said. ‘And if we lose too much confidence from this game we would make a mistake.’
That was because of the awful error of judgment from Sadio Mane, whose 37th-minute boot to the face of City goalkeeper Ederson became the defining moment of a much-anticipated match.
From then, 1-0 down and with 10 men after Mane’s expulsion, Liverpool’s fate looked sealed. So it proved and judgment on City will be reserved until they face a sterner challenge from 11 men.
Events yesterday played to their attacking strengths and hid their defensive weaknesses. Indeed, before the turning point, Mane and Mo Salah had skipped past City challenges enough times to cause Pep Guardiola alarm. But given an opportunity to show their attacking prowess, which is considerable, City took it. Kevin De Bruyne ran the game, Sergio Aguero flourished, Gabriel Jesus scored twice as did Leroy Sane, who added a glorious footnote with two superb goals.
‘Of course it’s easier against 10 men,’ said Guardiola. ‘But we read the situation well. Obviously there is room for improvement defensively but offensively that is a big step forward for us.’
City are an extraordinary attacking phenomenon when given the chance. All of their front players shone, but none more so than De Bruyne. Guardiola just puffs his cheek in admiration when the Belgian is referenced.
‘He’s intelligent,’ said the City manager. ‘You say an instruction and he understands immediately. He produces a huge number of passes, a huge number of assists. He is a complete, complete player. We are a lucky club.’
But he will know, too, that Nicolas Otamendi and Benjamin Mendy were frequently exposed before the sending off. John Stones, too, looked unsure. Klopp knew this was an opportunity missed.
‘I told the boys at half-time I thought if it had been completely spot on — and I know it’s difficult after international break — that we should have been in the lead,’ said the Liverpool manager. Salah’s miss when put clean through by Mane on 31 minutes was a key moment. But there should have been more chances, given the ease with which Liverpool were getting behind City’s defence.
‘I know we can be really good, and I will try to get the boys to ignore the result but not the mistakes,’ said Klopp. ‘One-nil down against City is not a good place to be but we do it in training where with seven players against 14 they cannot create chances if you are really in the right spaces. But we didn’t do it for the second goal. And 2-0 down against City with 10 men is not really a cool situation. It was a hard lesson. I know the boys well enough to know they will learn from it.’
However, Klopp’s assertion that he was ‘not concerned in the long term’ was more questionable. With Dejan Lovren and Nathaniel Clyne out, the latter long term, they turned to Roger Klavan and Trent Alexander-Arnold. Neither was good enough. And unless £35m was spent on Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to play at right-back, that problem won’t be solved soon. As with City, no one doubts the attacking quality, it is the defence which is flawed.
Even with 11 men, Liverpool conceded their early momentum in ridiculous circumstances. City picked up a loose ball from a Simon Mignolet clearance and Fernandinho, with a crucial challenge on Georginio Wijnaldum, helped it on to De Bruyne, who exposed a stretched back four with an exquisite through ball for Aguero, who swept past Mignolet to score. Not long after Salah’s big chance came that defining moment. Mane raced clean through on goal from Joel Matip’s long pass. With the ball bouncing in no man’s land between keeper and striker, Ederson bravely rushed towards it and headed away. Mane, his foot already raised dangerously high to meet the ball, instead met the goalkeeper’s chin.
It looked awful and merited the expulsion it received. Ederson was treated for eight minutes and left
the game in a neck brace before Claudio Bravo replaced him.
Three minutes before half-time, De Bruyne bewitched Alexander-Arnold with a hint of a Cruyff turn to cross for Jesus, unmarked 10 yards out, to head in.
The challenge became steeper still on 53 minutes, with a Liverpool long ball intercepted and their defence exposed within seconds. Fernandinho’ pass evaded Emre Can and found Aguero. Clean through on goal, he generously squared the ball to Jesus, who made it 3-0.
Sane, on for Jesus, scored his first on 77 minutes after exchanging passes with Mendy before finishing cleanly from close range.
And with 90 minutes gone, Sane, 20 yards out, eyed space to the right of Mignolet and curled a delicious strike into the far corner. It was a fitting finale.