It’s tempting to classify Arsenal as the main winners from this entertaining draw at Anfield.
The necessity to highlight Liverpool’s persistent inability to defeat one of their big opponents at home this season may even be appealing.
It may also be impossible not to lament the Reds’ failure to capitalize on their domination in such a crucial game for the league title.
But doing any of those following Liverpool’s 1-1 draw with Manchester City may be missing the point.
Instead, Jurgen Klopp’s players should be lauded for their skill, craft, and boundless energy reserves in not only responding to a goal down against the current English and European champions, but also for being able to trudge off the pitch lamenting what could have been after a second half so dominant it would have been alien to Pep Guardiola’s team.
City occasionally lose, but they are rarely given such a chase as the Reds did here, and Klopp deserves tremendous credit for refusing to change his own ideas in the aftermath of the crushing litany of injuries that left him without so many key players.
Make no mistake, Guardiola’s team was fortunate to depart L4 unscathed and will return up the M62 to the sound of big sighs of relief on the team bus. Treble winners aren’t treated that way.
However, Anfield has always perplexed Guardiola and his teammates. They spent a big portion of the game fighting, clawing, and holding on for dear life after Alexis MacAllister’s penalty cancelled out John Stones’ goal nearly immediately after the restart.
“The best-ever second-half performance against City,” was Klopp’s assessment, and the visitors’ disbelief was palpable, even if it was strange to watch it take hold so firmly for such a talented squad. “The second half was their half with their people, this crowd, and a historic team,” Rodri candidly admitted.
The sight of substitute Kevin De Bruyne having a frank and tense talk with his boss after being withdrawn, as Liverpool’s pressure increased, demonstrated how it was all getting to those at the Etihad.
And the pace with which a scowling Erling Haaland rushed through the post-match mixed zone, head bowed and refused to halt, demonstrated how much the world’s most feared striker had been rendered ineffective by Quansah and superlative captain Virgil van Dijk.
Liverpool, on the other hand, were unable to make it genuinely matter, and Guardiola walked away with his title aspirations intact. A draw is always a decent result for the visitors to Anfield, and that is where the lingering frustrations will be. Klopp’s ambitions are still alive, by the way. Nothing won and little lost.
If City and new league leaders Arsenal draw at the end of the month, Liverpool will reclaim first place if they win at home against Brighton. What a prospect when April arrives.
Klopp went into this game without ten first-team players, and four of his first-choice back five were either absent or, in the case of Andy Robertson, merely on the bench.
Mohamed Salah was also only fit for a second-half cameo, and Quansah was required to deny the most prolific marksman in global football, Haaland, while Conor Bradley was urged to muffle the influence of global Cup-winning Julian Alvarez. Both stood up to the challenge admirably and demonstrated unequivocally that they are now full members of this senior team.
Klopp’s options were further limited by the nearly season-long absences of Thiago Alcantara and Stefan Bajcetic in midfield, as well as Curtis Jones and Ryan Gravenberch. When you factor in Diogo Jota’s injury and Salah’s lack of 100%, a large amount of credit is deposited into Liverpool’s bank account for how they took on Guardiola’s team in the league for the last time under Klopp.
This was another game with elite-level talent all over the field, yet the home team’s young players were not at all intimidated. This bodes well for the manager’s successor, who will take over this summer.
Perhaps the disappointment of missing out on all three points to preserve their lead in the Premier League as we approach the middle of March reflects how far this team has come this season? It’s understandable, but the overall picture is more promising.
Following Stones’ opener from a clever corner, the right-sided combinations of the outstanding Harvey Elliott and the adventurous Bradley appeared to be the best way back into the game, however Darwin Nunez’s failure to pace his runs was an issue. The Uruguay striker was flagged five times in the opening 45 minutes alone, the most notable being when the No.9 went a touch early before assisting Luis Diaz for a goal that was swiftly chalked off.
Nunez’s reaction to Ake’s pass back to Ederson was a watershed moment in this game. The careless goalkeeper cleared out the in-form attacker, injuring himself in the process. He was replaced by Stefan Ortega a few minutes following Mac Allister’s superb penalty kick.
Diaz squandered two key opportunities in a game that saw him terrorize an increasingly struggling Kyle Walker. The Reds’ No.7 was excellent after the break, and the England defender was undoubtedly given his most difficult test of the season against the Colombian.
As Liverpool searched for their 11th goal after 90 minutes this season, Mac Allister was felled by a heavy boot from substitute Jeremy Doku in stoppage time. Liverpool wanted a penalty, with Klopp especially vociferous about his displeasure. His logical reasoning was that somewhere outside the penalty area, referee Michael Oliver would undoubtedly whistle for a foul, but the allegations were dismissed, even after the use of VAR, whose threshold for intervention appeared to be higher than Doku’s studs.
Liverpool may be privately chastising another major, big-game decision that did not go their way following the debacle of Diaz’s goal at Tottenham in September and the failure to spot a Martin Odegaard handball against Arsenal in December, an error later admitted as a mistake by referees’ chief Howard Webb. Few Liverpool fans will publicly air their grievances, but they have made game-changing, if not season-altering, decisions.
Advantage Arsenal? Not based on this evidence. With only one Premier League game remaining this month, the Reds will return in April with several big-name absentees eager to re-join a squad capable of matching City’s. They could possibly be back on top before then.
