SUMMARY
- Manchester City and Liverpool recently drew 1-1, thanks to John Stones and Alexis Mac Allister's goals.
- Kevin De Bruyne's assist for Stones' goal looked too familiar and brought back memories of a Liverpool game.
Manchester City and Liverpool are caught up in yet another title race this season. Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola have been going at it in the last few years, and this time around Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal are included as well. The recent 1-1 draw between City and Liverpool meant that The Gunners moved up to the top of the table, with 64 points. The Reds are level on points, but Arsenal have a better goal difference right now.
Man City broke the deadlock thanks to a John Stones goal. But what was special about the opener was Kevin De Bruyne’s assist. The Belgian wizard took the corner quickly in the 23rd minute. De Bruyne made a low cross to Liverpool’s front post which Stones converted with ease.
De Bruyne using the ‘Corner taken quickly’ against Liverpool
You don’t throw Stones in glass house 🫵🏾💀
— 𝐌𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐊 (@TheMahleek) March 10, 2024
Liverpool just got done by the corner taken quickly…
Oh for how long I’ve dreamt of this day 😂
— Neal 🇦🇺 (@NealGardner_) March 10, 2024
We just hit Liverpool with the “corner taken quickly” at Anfield 😭😭😭
— ¹⁰ (@SxrgioSZN) March 10, 2024
We just hit Liverpool with the “corner taken quickly” at Anfield 😭😭😭
— ¹⁰ (@SxrgioSZN) March 10, 2024
It was like watching Trent Alexander-Arnold’s moment vs Barcelona all over again. The Brit made an assist to Divock Origi to help Liverpool come back from a 3-0 deficit in the UCL that year. That turned out to be pivotal for The Reds, who eventually won the Champions League that year after beating Tottenham in the final.
Liverpool’s shout for a late penalty goes in vain
Liverpool equalized in the 50th minute after Ederson gave away a penalty. The Brazilian goalkeeper tried to tackle Darwin Nunez and suffered an injury in the process. City then replaced him with Stefan Ortega before the penalty was taken. Since Mohamed Salah was not subbed in at the time, Alexis Mac Allister converted from the spot and equalized for the team.
The 19x league winners had some decent chances after Salah came on, but failed to hit the target at times as well. Toward the end of the game, it was looking like it would end as a draw until Jeremy Doku’s controversial control in his team’s box.
📸 – NO PENALTY GIVEN FOR LIVERPOOL! pic.twitter.com/UqPVIrcqyH
— 𝐀𝐅𝐂 𝐀𝐉𝐀𝐗 💎 (@TheEuropeanLad) March 10, 2024
In the 98th minute, Doku attempted to clear the ball but caught Mac Allister with a high boot. The Argentine player even went to the ground but match official Michael Oliver and VAR officials declared that it wasn’t a foul on the Liverpool star.
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola surprisingly takes Kevin De Bruyne early
Kevin De Bruyne has been nothing but class for City so far this season. In just 13 games, the Belgian has scored 2 goals and made 12 assists. It must be mentioned that he grabbed an assist almost instantly after coming back from a serious injury a few weeks ago.
What’s Pep saying to KDB here? 😅 pic.twitter.com/QXFpDz2qNT
— SPORTbible (@sportbible) March 10, 2024
Pep made a surprising decision to take KDB off in the 69th minute and the player didn’t look too happy with the decision as well. The pair shared a short conversation right after he made his way back to the bench.
The Spanish coach has struggled to beat Klopp’s team on multiple occasions in the past. Taking off arguably the best playmaker in the world seems like a questionable decision, which is what the fans seem to think as well.
But it is no secret that he has made some surprising calls in the past, some of which have turned out to be absolute masterclass in the end. With that said, it will be interesting to see how the title race fares, especially with the three teams now close from each other.