November 09, (THEWILL) — Liverpool suffered a damaging 3-0 defeat to Manchester City at the Etihad on Sunday afternoon, falling eight points behind Arsenal in eighth place after the Gunners slipped up at Sunderland.
The visitors looked lethargic throughout the opening period, unable to cope with City’s passing patterns or the tactical setup devised by former Liverpool assistant Pep Lijnders.
Arne Slot named an unchanged side after the midweek victory over Real Madrid, but his team bore little resemblance to the champions who triumphed on this ground last season.
City were awarded an early penalty when goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili clipped Jérémy Doku, though the Georgian saved Erling Haaland’s spot-kick.
The reprieve proved temporary, with Haaland bundling home the opener after Ibrahima Konaté inadvertently flicked a clearance onto his head.
Virgil van Dijk thought he had equalised before the break, only for the linesman to flag Andy Robertson offside despite the left-back not obstructing Gianluigi Donnarumma’s view.
Liverpool could not capitalise on that contentious decision, and Nico González’s deflected long-range effort made it 2-0 at half-time, with Van Dijk’s weak touch symptomatic of the visitors’ struggles.
The Reds emerged with greater urgency after the interval and created opportunities through Mohamed Salah and Cody Gakpo, with Rúben Dias denying the Egyptian when well placed.
Doku settled the contest just after the hour mark with a magnificent strike from distance, after which Pep Guardiola allowed Liverpool to dominate possession without threatening a comeback.
Donnarumma saved a powerful Dominik Szoboszlai shot in the 76th minute for Liverpool’s first effort on target, while Salah missed a late one-on-one chance.
The defeat leaves Liverpool’s title defense ambitions in serious doubt, with City moving closer to the summit following their dominant display.
The hosts controlled proceedings for long spells, restricting the visitors to minimal threat until the final half-hour when the result was already beyond doubt. Slot will need a swift response from his side if they are to recover ground on the top two.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
