“Sacked in the morning, you’re getting sacked in the morning.”
Liverpool fans love a good sing-song, and they absolutely belted out this old football classic towards Pep Guardiola.
Manchester City’s manager took it well, smiling and holding up six fingers to signal the number of the Premier League titles he’d won.
Liverpool fans applauded him back and some shouted thanks for reminding them of the number of Champions Leagues they’ve won. Liverpool even won that exchange.
Guardiola put on a brave face as he walked off, but he must be furious at the way experienced internationals have become shadows of their former selves.
From Invincibles to Invisibles, from champions to a side struggling for a Champions League place, City are fifth and riddled with self-doubt.
This is Guardiola’s greatest challenge: reviving City.
Time has caught up with some like Kyle Walker, Ilkay Gundogan and Bernardo Silva. A relentless workload has temporarily drained others like Phil Foden.
City need new blood, new energy. The winds of change may only be felt positively through an open transfer window and Guardiola’s coaching and man-management.
Too many of his players look stuck in quick-sand and he’s struggling to pull them out.
City weren’t beaten by moments of sublime skill. They were beaten in the application of the basics. Liverpool wanted the ball more. They wanted victory more. And that should embarrass City.
Yes, they’re missing Rodri, their most important player, but they have so much talent, so many serial title winners, but all underperforming, barring honourable exceptions like Nathan Ake, Ruben Dias and Rico Lewis.
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Arne Slot’s players won the ball time after time because they were faster to it, hungrier for it than Guardiola’s players were.
They had more belief, and should have won by far more than Cody Gakpo’s tap-in and Mohamed Salah’s late penalty.
They won their duels, especially Virgil van Dijk in subduing Erling Haaland, and Trent Alexander-Arnold in taking the ball off the anonymous Matheus Nunes.
Nunes made one important interception, racing back to thwart Gakpo, but otherwise didn’t seem to understand the depth of City’s plight. City need fighters now more than ballers.
Ryan Gravenberch again bestrode midfield, shredding Guardiola’s tactics.
The City manager instructed Manuel Akanji to step into midfield and Foden to drop back so giving Silva, Lewis and Gundogan support against Liverpool’s outstanding trio of Gravenberch, Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister.
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Gravenberch took the opening whistle as a trigger to take control, a heavyweight against the lightweight City midfield.
He set the tone in the first minute by pressing Gundogan and winning the ball.
Gravenberch and Gakpo have been made even better players by Slot’s coaching.
His players resemble confident climbers scaling a peak whilst Guardiola’s stumble down, exhausted by their exertions over the past four triumphant seasons.
If this game highlighted why Liverpool are increasingly overwhelming favourites for the title, it also showed why their owners, Fenway Sports Group, have to seal a deal to keep Salah.
If it’s all about length of contract make it for two years plus a third based on performances.
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FSG love numbers and Salah added to his own here with his 11th assist and 13th goal of the season.
Nathan Ake put in a fine display at left-back, earning praise from Guardiola afterwards, but even the mobile Dutchman could not cope when Alexander-Arnold drilled one of his 50-yard specials to release Salah after 12 minutes.
The Egyptian crossed for Gakpo to score from close range at the far post. Where was Kyle Walker? Wrong post-code.
City were rattled and ratty. Nunes was booked for fouling Alexander-Arnold. Foden followed him into the book for pulling back Gravenberch.
Gundogan was a picture of frustration, losing it, and fouling Mac Allister.
Silva, Walker and Lewis had the temerity to walk off at the break, debating decisions with the officials. They should have saved their breath for calling some of their team-mates like Nunes out.
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City tried to raise their game, and Jeremy Doku arrived to give some energy down the left.
But it was one of those moments when City needed Julian Alvarez charging on, giving a goal threat through the middle, but of course he’s been sold.
Slot was able to send on Darwin Nunez, who caused chaos with his constant running and pressing, dragging City’s defence all over the place.
Liverpool had so many contenders for man of the match in Van Dijk, Gravenberch, Gakpo and Andrew Robertson, who has slipped below his high standards at times this season but was terrific here.
Luis Diaz delivered a performance of sustained stamina, giving Walker grief, and winning a penalty when Stefan Ortega came flying out and took him out.
Salah dispatched the penalty low and hard past the keeper with 12 minutes remaining.
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The game was over. Only now did Guardiola send on Kevin De Bruyne. Too late.
De Bruyne did almost score, exploiting a rare mistake by Van Dijk, but denied by Caoimhin Kelleher.
And shouldn’t the Irishman keep his place ahead of Alisson? Kelleher has not put a foot – or glove – wrong.
Again, this was another contrast with City. Ederson was dropped by Guardiola but his stand-in, Ortega, is good, but not Kelleher level. None of City’s players were at Liverpool’s levels.
What will alarm Guardiola most is how they have slipped from their own stellar levels of recent years and seem unable to reverse it.
Guardiola’s not getting sacked in the morning, but he should be getting stuck into his underperforming players in the morning.
