Liverpool vs Manchester City: What. A. Game. - 6 Conclusions

littlevoice (55)in #football • 7 years ago (edited)

"What the f*** was that" said an ecstatic Jurgen Klopp after the game and we understand what might have induced such a response from him. There were absolutely no words to describe that spectacle that occurred in front of our eyes. We might have just witnessed the game of the season. Here are 10 conclusions which can be drawn from the game.

1. Coutinho who?

One of the most important player of Liverpool has just left them for a record-breaking move and no one even talks about it, such has been the performance of the players in that team. With a plethora of attacking options in their arsenal, life after Coutinho seems very bright.

2. Oxlade-Chamberlain shows Wenger's decline

Man of the match Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain showed exactly what fans of Wenger out were all about. Arsene Wenger was seen as the epitome of a world class coach, by giving youngsters chance and improving them for the better. That Wenger, however, is nowhere to be seen in the recent times and Chamberlain is a proof of that. Now playing in his favoured position the Englishman almost ready to take that next jump from a player of potential to a genuinely good forward. No player created more chances (3). No Liverpool player completed more dribbles (5). No Liverpool player had more touches (67). Wenger had all the ingredients at his disposal, but Klopp seems to have found the recipe.

3. Firmino is the most underrated player in the league?

These were the words of the Liverpool legend Carragher and after last night's performance, they sure hold some weight. The Brazilian terrorised the city defence all night long with great hold up play and devastating counter-attacks. He bullied Stones and delicately chipped in Ederson for a beautiful goal, that changed the whole complexion of the game. Up until then, City were looking like the scorers of the next goal however that goal and the way it was scored threw them off balance and they couldn't recover from the onslaught that followed.

4. Has the blueprint to defeat city been created?

Hurt their back four and you have a chance against City. This was the biggest takeaway from yesterday's game and other teams now have a glimmer of hope when facing City next. Stones have made three high profile mistakes in the last few games and sure Otamendi has looked very good going forward but he isn't in the same class as City attackers and midfielders.

5. What next for City

City had an off day yesterday with most of their players apart from De Bruyne and Sane not performing at the same level as they usually do. This result won't hurt their title chances which they'll march to in the coming months. Guardiola will do anything to make their weakness less pronounced since it's out to the public after this defeat. I think he'll be mildly happy that this result came in the league rather than any knockout game like the Champions League or the Carabao Cup. This game would rather work as a traction control and would add defensive solidarity to the team which is only a good thing since next few months will be filled with knockout games.

6. English Premier League and fans are the real winners

Now, all that talk of City spoiling the league with sheer dominance can be thrown out of the window. City CAN be defeated if played to their weaknesses and it teams actually try to play the game instead of just trying to dodge the onslaught. Sure, this defeat hasn't thrown the league-wide open but it has shown all the other teams that anything is possible if you play with no fear against a top-class team and that lesson is destined to make the coming few months really special for the fans.