Football: a “spellbinding” encounter at Anfield
With each team in the Premier League having played seven games, it is Chelsea who sit at the top of the table, said Paul Joyce in The Times. But anyone lucky enough to have watched Sunday’s 2-2 draw between Liverpool and Manchester City at Anfield would be in no doubt that the table is “home to a lie”. For the inescapable conclusion of this spellbinding encounter was that these are the two teams “who will shape the season”. This was a pulsating, high-quality game, said David Hytner in The Guardian – and one that City really ought to have won. Pep Guardiola’s side dominated the first half, but failed to capitalise on several chances. After the interval, Liverpool rebounded brilliantly, and twice went ahead courtesy of Sadio Mané and Mohamed Salah. Both times, though, City swiftly restored parity, thanks to well-taken goals by Phil Foden – who was outstanding all afternoon – and Kevin De Bruyne.
It really was a miracle that City didn’t win this match, said Martin Samuel in the Daily Mail. For not only were they the better side overall, but the hosts were given a big helping hand by the referee. Playing makeshift right-back for the Reds, James Milner twice committed seemingly glaring fouls – one of which would have handed City a penalty, and the second of which probably should have got Milner sent off (as he was on a yellow card). Both times, however, referee Paul Tierney – not “fancying sending off a Liverpool man at Anfield”, it would seem – inexplicably waved play on. Liverpool can at least take heart from the fact that in Salah, they had the afternoon’s most brilliant player, said Jason Burt in The Daily Telegraph. The Egyptian capped another vintage performance with a truly sensational goal – for which he surged into the area past three City players before unleashing an unstoppable “crossshot” with his right foot. The 29-year-old, whose contract expires in 2023, is quite possibly the best player in the world at present. Liverpool must do “whatever it takes” to keep him.
The criticism frequently levelled at Guardiola’s side – that for all their creative flair, they aren’t clinical enough in front of goal – won’t have been quelled by Sunday’s performance, said Sam Lee on The Athletic. Had they had an out-and-out goalscorer like Salah, they surely would have put the match to bed. Nonetheless, when they are at their fluid passing best, there is no more joyous sight to behold. The previous week, they were “brilliant” in defeating Chelsea, and they were then “more or less the same” against Paris SaintGermain in the Champions League, despite losing that match 2-0. On Sunday, if anything, they achieved a still higher level. All of which bodes ominously for the rest of the competition.