EPL: Liverpool Dominate Manchester City to Move Nine Points Clear at the Top

Liverpool strengthened their grip on the Premier League title with a convincing 2-0 win over Manchester City, extending their lead to nine points.

Liverpool strengthened their grip on the Premier League title race with a convincing 2-0 victory over Manchester City at Anfield on Sunday. The win extended Liverpool's lead at the top of the table to nine points, as Manchester City's struggles continued. Cody Gakpo's 12th-minute strike set the tone for the Reds' dominant display.

The hosts' first-half performance was rewarded with Gakpo's early goal, and they sealed the win through Mohamed Salah's penalty. The victory marked Liverpool's 18th win in 20 games under manager Arne Slot, who was delighted with his team's performance.

Manchester City's woes continued as they slumped to fifth place in the Premier League, a staggering 11 points adrift of leaders Liverpool. The Citizens' dismal run has seen them go winless in seven games, with six defeats in that period. This slump has all but ended their hopes of securing a fifth consecutive English title.

The battle for supremacy now appears to be between Liverpool and their closest challengers, Arsenal and Chelsea. With Manchester City's crown slipping, it seems increasingly likely that a new champion will be crowned this season. Liverpool's dominant form has left them in a strong position to claim the title, while Arsenal and Chelsea will be looking to capitalize on any slip-ups by the leaders.

In the closing stages of the match, Pep Guardiola was subjected to taunts from the crowd, with chants of “you're getting sacked in the morning” ringing out. However, the Manchester City boss remained unfazed, responding to the jibes by holding up six fingers, a reference to his six Premier League title wins in the past seven seasons.

Despite his confident demeanor, Guardiola acknowledged that his team's current form is a cause for concern. “When you win you laugh, when they win, they laugh. It's part of the game,” he said, referring to his interaction with the crowd. Guardiola also conceded that winning the title this season will be extremely challenging. “Now it will be so difficult to repeat (winning the title) this season but all the club, we will reflect together, to try and come back strong,” he added.

Manchester City's recent struggles continued, with their only point since October 26 feeling like a defeat. In their midweek Champions League match, City squandered a 3-0 lead in the final 15 minutes, ultimately drawing 3-3 with Feyenoord. This collapse seemed to have a lingering impact on the team's performance.

In response to the disappointing result, Pep Guardiola made several changes to his lineup, dropping goalkeeper Ederson and reinstating Kyle Walker and Ruben Dias to the defense. However, these changes failed to inspire a turnaround in City's fortunes. The defending champions were utterly dominated in the early stages of the match, struggling to escape their own half in the opening quarter. The pressure eventually told, as Cody Gakpo scored the opening goal, bundling in Mohamed Salah's inviting cross to the back post.

Virgil van Dijk was a dominant force for Liverpool, hitting the post with one effort and powering another headed chance inches wide as the hosts continued to create scoring opportunities. The Dutch defender's impressive display was a testament to Liverpool's superiority on the day.

The Anfield crowd played a significant role in Liverpool's victory, with their energetic support proving too much for Manchester City to handle. Even during City's most successful seasons under Pep Guardiola, they have struggled to contain the power of the Anfield crowd. In fact, City's only away win against Liverpool since 2003 came behind closed doors during the 2021/22 season. Liverpool manager Arne Slot acknowledged the impact of the crowd on the game. “Today really stood out,” Slot said when asked if this was his finest day as Liverpool boss. “The culmination of the energy we had and the energy the crowd had.”

Although Manchester City managed to stabilize their defense either side of halftime, they were still vulnerable to Liverpool's counter-attacks. The hosts squandered several opportunities to extend their lead, with Stefan Ortega making saves from Cody Gakpo and Trent Alexander-Arnold. Mohamed Salah also missed a gilt-edged chance, firing wide when one-on-one with the German goalkeeper.

Liverpool's persistence eventually paid off, as they scored the decisive second goal following a turnover deep in City's half. Luis Diaz dispossessed Kyle Walker and embarked on a surging run before being brought down by Ortega. Mohamed Salah stepped up to take the resulting penalty, having missed from the spot in Liverpool's 2-0 Champions League win over Real Madrid on Wednesday. This time, the Egyptian made no mistake, finding the bottom corner with his 13th goal of the season to cap off a dream week for Liverpool.

“Real Madrid and Manchester City have been and are so good, with managers that have won so many trophies, so it is always nice to come out of those situations as a winner,” added Slot.

“But they were able to win every single three days. We understand what we want to achieve is more than this winning once or twice, even against these big teams, if you want to win big things.”

In a desperate bid to turn the game around, Pep Guardiola introduced a quartet of attacking talents from the bench in the second half, including Jeremy Doku, Savinho, Jack Grealish, and Kevin De Bruyne. However, despite the influx of fresh legs, Manchester City's attacking threat remained largely blunt.

The visitors' reliance on Erling Haaland for goals was once again evident, as the Norwegian striker was effectively nullified by the imperious Virgil van Dijk. Haaland's usual potency was diminished by Van Dijk's dominant defensive display. However, the Dutch defender did experience a rare lapse in concentration late on, gifting the ball to De Bruyne. Nevertheless, the City midfielder was unable to capitalize on the opportunity, as Caoimhin Kelleher produced a fine save to deny him.