BRUYNE FREEZE

Honours even at the Etihad as champions get

KOP THAT Alisson after De Bruyne’s missed pen

AS Sven-goran Eriksson famously used to say – first-half good, secondhalf not so good.

In fact, the first-half was e electric, the two best teams i in the l and producing a b breathless spectacle packed with goals, end-to-end action and penalties, but unable to maintain that level after the break.

Kevin De Bruyne, Manchester City’s matchwinner on so many occasions in recent years, will be racked with recrimination over the missed first-half penalty which ultimately cost his side victory.

De Bruyne had a 100 per cent record with penalties since taking over spot-kick duties from Sergio Aguero in February, scoring five and proving to be unflappable under pressure.

But he screwed the ball horribly wide, and with it went City’s chances of clawing their way to within two points of Jurgen Klopp’s champions and their main title rivals.

By the end, the teams were fighting their own fatigue as much as each oth er, the relentless demands of the fixture schedule taking their toll, as both managers seemed content with a point. Honours even was not a disaster for either side at this early stage of an already unpredictable season, Liverpool moving up to third , within a point of league leaders Leicester.

For City, their slow crawl up the table continued, Pep Guardiola’s side edging up a place to 10th, albeit with a game in hand on

Klopp’s side. They may not be anywhere near their best yet, but they are h eading i n th e right dire ction , now unbeaten in nine games in all competitions.

City felt th e y should have been awarded a freekick in the 11th minute when Raheem Sterling was clipp ed by Diogo Jota as he surged goalwards, but the winger stayed on his feet.

Sterling’s honesty ultimately

cost City, as Liverpool went up the other end straight away and won a penalty, Kyle Walker fouling Sadio Mane after the forward had executed a smart turn. n.

It was a clumsy and needless foul, Mo Salah ah

( r i g h t ) c o nv e r t i n g from the spot for his

10th goal of the season.

Guardiola was furious with the e failure to award City a free-kick, making hi s feelings known to fourth f h official Andre Marriner in the wake of Salah’s penalty.

But City levelled in the 31st minute, Walker feeding the ball in to De Bruyne, who in turn found Gabriel Jesus.

The Brazil f orward turned sharply, holding of f Trent Alexander-arnold and Jo e l Mat i p , b e f o re prodding the ball beyond Allison.

The goal marked a shift in momentum. City began to play with a swagger and were awarded a penalty i n the 39th minute i when Joe Gomez handled a De Bruyne cross, referee Craig Pawson making the decision after checking the pitchside VAR monitor. But De Bruyne dragged the ball wide.

Both keepers were called into action early on after the break, Allison cutting out a dangerous De Bruyne cross, while Ederson saved s ma r t l y from Andy Robertson and Jota.

Jesus, unmarked and left with a free header, managed to miss the target from Joao Cancelo’s fine angled cross, wasting a chance to win the game.

Yet with both teams unable to maintain the frenetic speed of the game, there was an inevitable dip midway through the second half, with both ultimately cancelling each other out.