Arne Slot’s in-form Liverpool claimed a comfortable 2-0 victory over Pep Guardiola’s woeful Manchester City in their blockbuster Premier League clash on Sunday, December 1. The Reds, bubbling with confidence after their 2-0 win over Real Madrid in midweek, ran circles around the English champions at Anfield Stadium, ending the game with an xG of 3.57. City, meanwhile, finished with just 0.84.
Cody Gakpo and Mohamed Salah Seal Commanding Win for Liverpool
Liverpool started the game on the front foot and came agonizingly close to finding the back of the net in the 11th minute. Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai combined for a short corner before the Hungary international floated the ball into the box. Virgil van Dijk attacked the delivery with vigor, but the woodwork kept his thumping header from going in. Surprisingly, Van Dijk’s effort did not wake City up, and they paid for their lack of urgency in the following minute.
Trent Alexander-Arnold found Mohamed Salah with a fine through ball toward the corner flag. The Egyptian latched onto it and barged into the box. Salah looked poised to pull the trigger, but he ended up playing the ball across the face of the goal, allowing Gakpo to tap it home. Van Dijk could have doubled Liverpool’s advantage in the 19th minute, but his header missed the target by the narrowest of margins. Man City’s first goalscoring opportunity fell to Rico Lewis in the 39th minute, but the youngster’s 15-yard effort veered off target.
Gakpo and Salah came close to adding to the Reds’ advantage inside the hour mark, but neither attacker managed to apply the finishing touch. The game was finally settled in the 78th minute, with Salah beating Stefan Ortega from the penalty spot.
Mo Salah is the ultimate big-game player. 👏 pic.twitter.com/GJPES3TZeI
— talkSPORT (@talkSPORT) December 1, 2024
The victory at Anfield saw league leaders Liverpool pull 11 points clear of Man City in the Premier League rankings. Arsenal are now second in the rankings with 25 points, with them sitting nine points behind Slot’s men.
Manchester City Boss Pep Guardiola Taunts Anfield With Six Fingers After Defeat
The defeat at Anfield saw Manchester City extend their winless run to seven games in all competitions, with six ending in defeat for the top-flight holders. This is by far the worst run of form Guardiola has gone through in his career.
On Sunday, Liverpool fans mocked Guardiola for his poor run of form, chanting “you’re getting sacked in the morning” toward the end of the game. Instead of ignoring the chants, Guardiola came up with a witty response, showing six fingers — the number of titles he has won at Man City — to Liverpool fans.
The manager also said that he did not expect Anfield to belt out such chants but acknowledged that it was all part of the game.
“I didn’t expect that at Anfield. I didn’t expect it from the people from Liverpool but it’s fine,” said Guardiola.
“It’s part of the game, and I understand completely. We’ve had incredible battles together. I have a respect for them.”
Manchester City will be eager to avoid their fifth consecutive defeat in the Premier League when they host Nottingham Forest at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday, December 4.
