Four observations from Man City's 4-1 win at Liverpool

 

Liverpool's title hopes went up in smoke on Sunday evening as they fell to a 4-1 loss to Manchester City. Now 10 points off top spot, there is likely to be a new name atop the Premier League pile come May. Here, we look at four observations from City's first league win at Anfield since 2003. 

 

Curtis Jones impresses upon return to the starting XI 

 

Curtis Jones had made a couple of outings off the bench for Liverpool in recent weeks, but despite the captures of Ben Davies and Ozan Kabak to allow Jordan Henderson to move back into midfield, Jurgen Klopp brought the youngster back into the fold today. Jones made his first league start since the 0-0 draw with Newcastle at the end of December in this evening's welcome of Manchester City. 

 

It's feasible to suggest that the decision to take off Jones midway through the second half cost Liverpool dearly. The youngster came off with a better WhoScored rating (7.00) than any other Reds player, and three of the four goals they conceded came following his withdrawal. During his time on the pitch, Jones made more interceptions (4) than any other player and garnered the second best pass success rate (92.3%) of all Liverpool players. 

 

As Liverpool lost 4-1, Jones is perhaps the only Reds man who can come away from the heavy defeat with any real credit. 

 

Foden starts as the false nine, but tactical change sees him shine

 

Pep Guardiola has chopped and changed his leading frontman this season, with no fewer than seven players starting in the role in the Premier League in 2020/21, including recognised forwards Sergio Aguero and Gabriel Jesus, prior to Manchester City's trip to Liverpool. On Sunday, Phil Foden became the eighth City player to lead the attack in England's top tier this term. 

 

It wasn't the first time Foden had beeen used in the role having done so impressively in City's 3-0 FA Cup win over Birmingham, where the youngster netted in the victory. Given the 20-year-old had scored nine goals in all competitions for City this season - only Raheem Sterling (10) had more to his name - ahead of the visit to Liverpool, it made sense for Foden to lead the charge. 

 

Without a recognised centre forward, it's reminiscent of Guardiola's 2009 Barcelona when Lionel Messi was used in the role, notably in the 6-2 win at Real Madrid. The idea is to create numerical advantage in the midfield and create space for the wingers to cut infield and it's a tactical tweak that has seen the likes of Ferran Torres, Riyad Mahrez, Sterling and today Foden operate as the lead forward in a 4-3-3 setup. 

 

Four observations from Man City's 4-1 win at Liverpool

 

 

However at Anfield, it wasn't a decision that reaped the rewards. Granted, Foden was the WhoScored man of the match with a rating of 9.28 having had a direct hand in two of City's four goals, providing the assist for the second of Ilkay Gundogan's two goals before getting on the scoresheet himself. Yet it wasn't until Foden moved to the right flank after Jesus had replaced Mahrez that he managed to turn the game in City's favour. Guardiola is unlikely to steer clear of the false nine setup that has worked well, but whether Foden is the right man in the system going forward, that remains up for debate. 

 

Manchester City's penalty woes

 

When Ilkay Gundogan stepped up to take a penalty after Fabinho fouled Raheem Sterling, many had expected the German to slot past Alisson with ease. The midfielder has seven league goals to his name this season, all of which had come in his previous 10 league apps, so fans expected the net to bulge as he approached the penalty, only to blaze his effort over. 

 

That penalty miss means no team has missed more penalties than City (3) in the Premier League this season. Of those three penalties, two have come against Liverpool, with Kevin De Bruyne missing the target in the reverse fixture. Missing penalties is no isolated incident for City. Since Pep Guardiola took charge of City back in 2016, they have missed more penalties (13) than any other Premier League team. For all of their attacking talent, this is an area in which they should be better. 

 

It needn't have mattered as City eventually ran out 4-1 winners at Anfield to move five points clear of Manchester United at the top of the table and 10 above Liverpool, but their penalty profligacy could prove costly further down the line. 

 

Calamitous Alisson costs Liverpool 

 

Alisson has been one of the best signings Liverpool have made in the Premier League. The Brazilian immediately improved the Reds' backline and was key in their 2019/20 title success. However, it was the goalkeeper who effectively cost Liverpool a result against Manchester City on Sunday afternoon as Alisson committed two errors leading to an opposition goal, all but ending their title defence. 

 

 

Usually so solid as the last line of defence, Alisson endured a nightmare performance against City, earning a WhoScored rating of just 3.73 in the 4-1 loss, that the lowest in a Premier League match this season.

Four observations from Man City's 4-1 win at Liverpool