TACTICAL ANALYSIS: Liverpool were the better team up against Manchester City until Ryan Gravenberch's harsh red card handed them the initiative
Ryan Gravenberch's second yellow card proved central to City's win but the Dutchman had put on a much-improved performance beforehand
Ryan Gravenberch's second yellow card proved central to City's win but the Dutchman had put on a much-improved performance beforehand(Image: Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
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Liverpool's 3-0 Anfield defeat to Manchester City was a dark day not just for Reds supporters, but for football at large - and turning off from the aftershock would be a perfectly reasonable response.
What cannot be ignored - and what came through loud and clear on the Sky Sports matchday coverage as well as Match of the Day highlights - is the anger Liverpool supporters feel towards City, an anger that will no doubt be shared by many an opposition fanbase for the Sky Blues this season, even those who have fewer grievances to voice than a smouldering Anfield did on Sunday.
City, of course, were found guilty on 114 charges - the majority of them relating to breaches of the Premier League's financial regulations - by an independent Commission last month.
Though City's owners have appealed the decision, uncertainty hangs over their season and the club's future at large, even as their (eventually) emphatic win on Sunday kept the Sky Blues at the top of the league table, three points clear of Arsenal.
READ MORE: Virgil van Dijk promises to speak out on Man City verdict - 'I will definitely have my opinion'
Though fans inside Anfield may have found some satisfaction in airing their fury, it provided little solace as Liverpool were comprehensively torn apart following a highly questionable red card for Ryan Gravenberch, issued by Greater Manchester referee Chris Kavanagh.
But rather than dwell on the negatives - all of which have a very prominent asterisk hanging over them - any time spent reliving that grim 90 minutes should focus on the more promising elements of Liverpool's performance prior to Gravenberch's second yellow, with there being more than one reason for Reds to be optimistic ahead of a tough run of upcoming fixtures.
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'We played two different games'
Andoni Iraola fumed over Gravenberch's first yellow, brandished for a soft foul on Elliot Anderson shortly after half-time, but was more circumspect about his players' display over the course of the 90 minutes.
Speaking in his post-match press conference, Iraola said: "I think the analysis is quite clear, no? I think we played two different games: one until the red card, and one from the red card until the end.
"I think we were the better team until the red card in the first 62 minutes, I think. And they were better than us, obviously, after the red card. And they scored the goals.
"But I think the players deserve credit today, because I think they've given everything. They've given everything."
Iraola was right to commend his players' efforts, up against the Premier League's most dangerous team so far this season. His opposite number, Enzo Maresca, set City up in a highly-attacking 2-3-2-3 shape in possession which should have given the visitors frequent overloads on the attack.
Both of City's full-backs, Matheus Nunes and Nico O'Reilly, inverted into midfield to form a base of three alongside Elliot Anderson, which left their dangerous wingers Antoine Semenyo and ex-Evertonian Iliman Ndiaye one-v-one with Liverpool's own full-backs.
Early in the game, that tactic became even more dangerous for Liverpool when Ronald Araujo was booked for suggesting Marc Guehi should have received a yellow card for handball.
Iraola was unimpressed, but the head coach can have few complaints for what was in reality a routine booking, which left the Uruguayan walking on eggshells for the remainder of the match up against Semenyo, and - later in the second half - the rampaging Jeremy Doku.
All the same, Liverpool handled the first hour of the game impressively up until Gravenberch's dismissal, even with arguably the Reds' best three players this season in Alexander Isak, Cody Gakpo and Dominik Szoboszlai sidelined through injury.
Though Liverpool only saw 44.8% of the ball during this spell, they stifled City's usually-fluent possession game, restricting the visitors to 55.2% - well below their average of 63.4% in the league so far this season.
An energetic press, led by the battling full league debutant Lewis Koumas, led to City losing the ball in their own half 28 times - 11 more than the hosts - with Liverpool also making 11 more final-third entries than the visitors.
This was achieved by an aggressive centre-back press typical of Liverpool's start to life under Iraola. Virgil van Dijk pushed up regularly to restrict the space in which City could operate, and formed an axis with Alexis Mac Allister in possession that helped the Reds move the ball up the pitch quickly - the Argentine making more passes ending in the final third (14) than any of his teammates.
Opta passing graphic: the axis of van Dijk and Mac Allister in possession allowed Liverpool to gain a foothold in the game, with the Dutchman pushing high to compress the space City could operate in
Opta passing graphic: the axis of van Dijk and Mac Allister in possession allowed Liverpool to gain a foothold in the game, with the Dutchman pushing high to compress the space City could operate in(Image: Opta)
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Though clear-cut chances were hard to come by, the Reds were nothing if not competitive. Liverpool edged the duels (51.3%) and aerial duels (52.4%), and were far more effective at winning the ball back - making 12 tackles to City's seven and winning nine of them compared to City's four, along with 10 interceptions to the Sky Blues' four.
Koumas up top only managed one shot - probably the clearest chance for the Reds on the day, forcing a smart stop out of Gianluigi Donnarumma - but Liverpool noticeably grew in confidence after the break, increasingly testing the keeper from range and managing three times as many shots (12) as City prior to the red card.
Called into action six times, this was the first time Donnarumma had had to make more five or more saves in a single Premier League game since City faced Newcastle in February.
It was far from sustained pressure - neither side made more than 3.3% of their recoveries in the attacking third - but it meant Liverpool had the momentum as the clock ticked over to the hour mark.
That was before the outcome of the match was decided by a refereeing decision, depriving viewers of an enthralling finish.
Gravenberch can't catch a break
In truth, there can be few complaints about Kavanagh's decision to issue a second yellow to Gravenberch for his foul on Doku in the 62nd minute, which halted a promising counter-attack for City.
There is a case to be made that, in other games, referees may choose to give a last chance to a player who was perhaps harshly booked the first time around - though, if we are all honest, most of us spend a significant amount of time complaining about a lack of consistency in refereeing.
The frustration instead largely comes from the first yellow, an unfortunate but innocuous foul on Anderson. To brandish a yellow card for that attempt to win the ball in a game of such tension was a poor decision from Kavanagh if we are being generous, and Liverpool supporters can rightly point to a number of City 'challenges' - not least one that looked more like a martial arts move from Ruben Dias on Koumas in the first half - that were more worthy of a booking.
Once down to 10 men, the gap in quality between the two starting XIs could no longer be masked by Iraola's man-marking approach. Yes, Liverpool are blessed with expensive players, some of whom are even capable of making a regular impact on football matches.
But after another transfer window left the Reds with an undersized and imbalanced squad, it is difficult to make the case that they are on an equal footing with City's fair play-defying squad - especially after Maresca brought Doku, Josko Gvardiol, yet another Brazilian called Allan, and the world's most expensive 18-year-old Ayyoub Bouaddi off the bench.
Sending off Gravenberch did more than just hand City a numbers advantage, though. For the first time this season, the Dutchman showed glimpses of the ability that made him Liverpool's most important player in the first half of Arne Slot's debut title-winning season, spinning his way through a congested midfield and driving at the heart of the Mancunian defence.
In fact, Gravenberch's constant attacking threat was so pronounced that he shows up as Liverpool's most advanced player in terms of average positions - a fact that would seem bizarre out of context if not for the Reds' retreat into their own defensive third as City seized the initiative in the closing half an hour.
Nevertheless, Gravenberch pushing on meant that Liverpool could match City's five-man attack, crucially meaning there were more players around the ball when it was lost to counter-press.
Gravenberch made three interceptions and, while he was the only man in red to win possession back in the final third (which happened once during his 62 minutes on the pitch), this did stunt City's ability to create attacks on the transition, and kept the Reds very much in the game right up until his dismissal.
In these tactical reviews, we've explored Szoboszlai's role at length and questioned if his attacking instincts have left the Reds open in midfield at times this season.
But here, Gravenberch played much the same role as the Hungarian, and it was plain to see how effective this can be for defending from the front.
Ryan Gravenberch heatmap (Opta): Gravenberch's forays forward were reminiscent of the positions Dominik Szoboszlai takes up when playing in a double pivot
Ryan Gravenberch heatmap (Opta): Gravenberch's forays forward were reminiscent of the positions Dominik Szoboszlai takes up when playing in a double pivot(Image: Opta)
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Opta heatmap for Dominik Szoboszlai against Ipswich (A), Sep 4
Opta heatmap for Dominik Szoboszlai against Ipswich (A), Sep 4 (Image: Opta)
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Perhaps, with better balance in the full-back positions, Iraola's ideal Liverpool could end up looking not too dissimilar to how Maresca set his City side up, with greater coverage coming from inverting players in these positions in games that require more defensive solidity.
What can't be denied, though, is that, freed from the defensive responsibilities he shoulders when playing alongside Szoboszlai, Gravenberch was able to have far more of an impact on this game.
Prior to the red card, the 24-year-old had the most shots on target for the hosts (two), testing Donnarumma with his underrated shooting from outside the box.
Gravenberch made seven final third entries during his time on the pitch, and finished the game with only one fewer final third-ending pass than Mac Allister, who played the full 90 minutes.
Despite only succeeding with 70% of his passes as he looked to pick the lock, Gravenberch lost possession on three fewer occasions than Mac Allister, succeeding with all four of his dribbles and winning 60% of his duels, including his only aerial duel.
On the whole, it was much better from a player who has had no luck this season. That, of course, continued on Sunday regardless of his improved display, and Gravenberch will be greatly missed against Brentford on Saturday (Oct 17) if Szoboszlai remains in the treatment room.
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A game that should never have been played
If you've made it this far - first, of all, thank you. And if you're still feeling glum after pondering the positives, some perspective is useful.
It's never a good feeling to lose comprehensively at home, but Sunday's match was a game that should never have been played. City have, after all, been found guilty of lying bare-faced to the English football authorities to conceal an orchestrated nine-year campaign of cheating which handed them an enormous financial advantage over their rivals, not to mention their peers in the less-fortunate clubs whose bodies they clambered over to reach the top.
Until appropriate sanctions are handed out, every game City are permitted to continue playing in this league is an affront to their opponents, most of whom are likely to be clubs that have diligently abided by the rules and attempted to build success sustainably, even with the odds stacked against them thanks to the same rules City's owners decided they didn't have to follow.
Whether and how these rules should be reimagined is a topic for another day, but Premier League clubs must agree to follow them before every season - and can vote to change them as a privilege of their membership.
As such, how can a club convicted of the most egregious violations of these agreed-upon rules be permitted to continue reaping the rewards of their transgressions?
The thought of this City side winning the league is an even more sickening one, but that is a very real possibility thanks to the foundations laid by the Abu Dhabi United Group's cheating.
Now knowing the full extent of the scandal as we do, it only puts into further perspective how remarkable Liverpool's 23-year unbeaten run at home to City truly was, and how blessed we were to have witnessed Liverpool teams capable of vanquishing this beast and beating them to the biggest trophies.
Sunday, ultimately, was a pyrrhic victory for City - and one that, should justice prevail, will be rendered utterly meaningless come the season's end.
For Liverpool, though, a new chapter in the history of the most successful club in England is only just beginning.
*All statistics used are from Opta unless otherwise stated.
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