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Liverpool took their Premier League title charge to a whole new level on Sunday, with a thrilling 2-0 victory over rivals Manchester City. Goals from Cody Gakpo and Mohamed Salah put the Reds nine points clear at the top of the table, and 11 points ahead of Man City – winless in their last seven games across all competitions.
In honesty, it could’ve and perhaps should’ve been more than the two goal margin, with Liverpool simply blowing Pep Guardiola’s side away.
Former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy spoke exclusively to Anfield Index, who revealed his excitement over the result and the Reds’ recent performances…
Photo: IMAGO
‘Pretty Much Perfect’
“I think it was Liverpool’s best performance of the season,” began Murphy. Arne Slot’s side have picked up numerous brilliant results against top opposition this season against the likes of Chelsea, Bayer Leverkusen and, of course, Real Madrid less then a week ago. Yet, the dominant and humiliating performance against Man City spoke volumes about the quality in this Liverpool side.
“Liverpool have often been stronger in the second half this season,” pointed out Murphy, “But yesterday was a team that knew Man City were low on confidence, and they went for them straight away.” Some have suggested that the first-half was reminiscent of Jurgen Klopp’s prime Liverpool side, that would blow teams away in the opening 20-30 minutes of games.
“Apart from that late mistake from Virgil Van Dijk, it was pretty much a perfect performance from Liverpool,” said Murphy. It’s hard to disagree with – Guardiola’s side could not get near the Reds, both mentally and technically. Liverpool were simply better, comfortably.
Photo: IMAGO
Arne Slot’s Controlling Presence
Murphy was also keen to point out one key difference to Liverpool this season, and especially in Sunday’s victory. That was the controlling aspect displayed by Slot’s side, both on and off the ball.
“The way they managed the games at times, like in the second half when Man City had lots of possession, I thought was brilliant,” said Murphy. The xG statistics alone speaks huge volumes, with Man City being limited to just 0.84xG, despite finishing the game with 56% possession.
As well as being stubborn defensively, Liverpool were brilliant going forward and created a huge 3.57xG throughout the game. Murphy also pointed out this in his dissection of the game, saying: “I really enjoyed the variation in Liverpool’s play. Sometimes they played patiently and broke the lines, but then sometimes they were playing those long balls over the top. City couldn’t get near them!”
Photo: IMAGO
Whether it was the likes of Ryan Gravenberch and Alexis Mac Allister breaking up the play in the midfield and playing through Man City’s flat press, or whether it was Trent Alexander-Arnold spraying a pinpoint 40-yard pass out to Mohamed Salah – the difference in quality was glaring.
Looking forward, Liverpool are undoubtedly now the favourites to win the Premier League title this season. However, it’s crucial to take each game as it comes and before we know it, that nine-point gap could grow even further…
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