And now you will believe them.
A 2-0 victory against Manchester City means that Liverpool opened an 11-point lead at the top of the Premier League table. Their triumph at the Etihad stadium means that they finished a double of the league on the champions, and Arne Slot seems ready to steal the crown of Pep Guardiola in the first year.
An erroneous city was greatly hampered by the absence of Erling Haaland having benefited from many territories and a large part of the ball. The Blue Sky storms were altered with Aplomb by the effective Reds, who succeeded in the competition in the second period after taking an advance of 2-0 before half-time.
Here are the two best and the worst players of the significant duel teams on Sunday.
January signature Omar Marmoush Announced the Premier League with a hat-trick against Newcastle last weekend, and the city supporters should no doubt be encouraged by the talent they have at their disposal.
The victory over Eddie Howe’s Magpies has shown how effective Marmoush will be while operating in tandem with Haaland. He was forced to ensure greater responsibility against the Reds with Guardiola who again chose to use it as part of a false pair of nine with Phil Foden. There was a lot of drift, with sparks emerging when it fell between the lines, and its finish (from an offside position) described how effective it can be.
Liverpool’s imperious central defenders endured this a huge challenge, but the threat of the Egyptian was obvious at the opening time. He is able to produce something from anything.
A concerted effort was made to preserve Kevin de Bruyne For the “big” opportunities during what is likely to be Belgian swan song in Manchester. The midfielder, however, was an unused substitute in Madrid on Wednesday, and he had barely an hour in his locker here.
Physically, from Bruyne, 33, is no longer a force. While the Belgian can still weave his magic wand and masterfully create the two feet, the racing power of his apex has dissipated. The hamstring surgery he suffered in 2023 has wreaked havoc.
The iteration of De Bruyne who was manifested against Liverpool was far from the power of the city which led several triumphs of titles. He had to watch Dominik Szoboszlai with a bubbling desire.
Liverpool was brilliant as a collective, with the foundations of their victory deposited from the rear. Alisson cleared its calm after a nervous punch, and their appearance as a central defender defended the box with vintage vigor.
However, it is the inevitable force of the Reds that turned out to be the difference.
City Limited Liverpool at times, but that’s all Mohamed Salah Required to lead visitors to an imperative triumph. The Egyptian has the Bournemouth coach to thank (and the delicious film by Dominik Szoboszlai) for the extension of his powerfully impressive goal race which has extended to eight games.
Salah then made the favor before the break, trying Szoboszlai to mark the second of Liverpool who put the game beyond the hosts. He has now won 50 goal contributions in all the competitions in this quarter (41 in the Premier League) and continues to embark on one of the big individual seasons of all time.
It would surely have been a different game if Erling Haaland was parading around the Liverpool box since the city’s wingers played against their respective lateral rear.
Savinho and Jeremy Doku could not deliver with reliable precision situations of crossing, but a large part of their approach – to use a golf reference – was brilliant. They were implacably capable of creating a separation site, and Doku was particularly effective against Trent Alexander-Arnold. The back of England has constantly tried to move away from the possession of the Belgian when they aligned themselves with a head-on-one, but Doku’s feet were far too fast.
Alexander-Arnold was dribbled in front of eight times in the first half, and Slot finally made changes which offered more support when Wataru Endo entered the fray and joined the Liverpool bottom line. Andrew Robertson was also replaced on the left by Kostas Tsimikas.
It was certainly not Manchester United at the bad house of Alexander-Arnold, who offered a certain value in possession, but Doku made this a difficult outing for him.
