Manchester City and Liverpool are arguably the two strongest teams in the Premier League and are the main favourites for the title.
City and Liverpool locked horns with each other at Anfield at the Etihad Stadium in the Premier League on Sunday evening.
It was expected to be a classic and a game of free-flowing entertaining football, and the first half lived up to expectations.
It was end-to-end football, with both Liverpool and City creating chances. Jurgen Klopp’s side surged ahead in the 13th minute when Mohamed Salah converted a penalty after Sadio Mane was adjudged to have been brought down by Kyle Walker.
Gabriel Jesus restored parity for City on 31 minutes, and then in the closing stages of the first half, Kevin de Bruyne failed to convert his spot kick, controversially awarded after his cross hit the arm of Liverpool defender Joe Gomez.
Fans hoping for a similarly exhilarating second half were left disappointed, though, as the two sides cancelled out each other and the game ended without any more goals.
Here are three things we learned from City’s 1-1 draw with Liverpool on Sunday evening:
Defensive stability for Manchester City
City did not look great defensively last season, and that was a key reason why Liverpool finished so far ahead of them. This campaign, though, manager Pep Guardiola seems to have found his back-line solid. Ruben Dias and Aymeric Laporte formed a strong partnership against Liverpool and kept the Reds’ attackers at bay, especially in the second half.
Not the thriller in the second half we thought it might be, but for the first time since Kompany left, @ManCity look like they have a strong, reliable central-defensive pairing.
— Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker) November 8, 2020
Manchester City need a world-class striker
True, Jesus scored, but some will doubt whether he meant that brilliant flick. Was it a miscontrol? Nevertheless, the Brazil international is not a world-class striker. Sergio Aguero is, but the Argentina international has had injury problems and is also 32 years of age. Liverpool’s front-three of Roberto Firmino, Salah and Sadio Mane are at the peak of their powers.
Did Gabriel Jesus mean that first touch for his goal? Former center forward @richardajkeys has his say! 😂#beINPL #MCILIV 📺 HD11
Watch – https://t.co/hkoevnV6B4 pic.twitter.com/QVul4AZtWw
— beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS_EN) November 8, 2020
Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp are big-time moaners
After the match, both Guardiola and Klopp complained about the Premier League’s decision not to use five substitutes in a match this season but stick to the usual three. The fact is that at the start of the season the majority of the clubs in the top flight of English football voted against the idea. Interestingly, Guardiola made just one change during the game on Sunday, while Liverpool boss made two.