City v Liverpool - Post Match Thread

[hihosilva]

It makes me laugh listening to all of these ex strikers saying that Mane had every right to go into the challenge with a high foot.
Could you imagine the stick Ederson would have got if it was the other way around.

 

[Rolee]

It makes me laugh listening to all of these ex strikers saying that Mane had every right to go into the challenge with a high foot.
Could you imagine the stick Ederson would have got if it was the other way around.

The stick? He would've been crucified nd likely have got much longer than a three game ban.

 

[blueonblue]

20 minutes in, the odds-on a 5-0 win must have been very slim indeed. it was a very even contest

I doubt you will find many games where we won by a big score that was not much the same, first you have to win the individual battles before you impose your game.

 

[Chris in London]

All the talk before the game was of how dangerous Liverpool's front three were. Even with Kompany in for Stones or Otamendi they would have created chances. We actually kept them to a couple of free kicks around the edge of the box (we will concede a few goals from such free kicks this season, but not on Saturday), a couple of through balls which Ederson dealt with (one resulting in THAT challenge from Mane) and a couple of chances for Saleh coming in from the right, one of which was a poor effort, one of which was a good save from Ederson - but that Saleh chance at 1-0 was actually the only time that they really carved us open and got through clear on goal in 37 minutes of play when it was 11 v 11. By the same stage of the game, we had created 3 or 4 really good openings - the goal, for instance, Gabriel's run (at the end of which he was could, not that much has been made of that) and Stones' shot following a corner.

Frankly, Liverpool are going to create those sorts of chances against every team in the league in every game they play, home or away. We had some dodgy moments but generally I thought we defended well - and as we all know, the key in pep's eyes to defending well starts with not letting the opposition have the ball in the first place.

Of course, Klopp threw in the towel at 2-0, so we weren't tested in the second half. But whilst we didn't exactly pass the test they did set us in the first half with flying colours, it was one of the toughest examinations we will have at the Etihad this season, and we came through it unscathed. Credit, maybe, where credit is due.

 

[Dax777]

How anyone can say it's not a red is befuddling!! If Ederson had not touched the ball and clattered into Mane, it would have been a definite red, so why is it so difficult for them to believe other way round? Mane does this (high-foot challenge) all the time and because he's usually faster, he draws a foul (or worse), or he manages to poke the ball away from the GK and is through on goal. This time Ederson was up to it and was fouled. It was a risky maneuver and it didn't pay off this time for Mane and he should have no regrets about the red card. We've been punished for much less..

Also, Pool fans cribbing about us booing Milner is laughable. And then justifying their booing of Sterling because of the way he moved to City is pathetic. Sterling had to face a smear campaign from Rodgers and Liverpool, and City paid a huge amount to smooth things over.
Milner left on a free and cost us a transfer fee, and then had the temerity to bad-mouth City. He claimed to leave City because he wanted a midfield role, only to play mostly on the right for Liverpool last season, and now, just substitute appearances. Funny how things have turned out, eh Milner?

While I agree its a red card on its face. It is not the same rule that would have caused Ederson to get a red card if he had flattered Mane.

So the opposite being a red card wouldn't actually make this a guaranteed red. But it was a red on its own merit.

 

[dave_blue12]

All the talk before the game was of how dangerous Liverpool's front three were. Even with Kompany in for Stones or Otamendi they would have created chances. We actually kept them to a couple of free kicks around the edge of the box (we will concede a few goals from such free kicks this season, but not on Saturday), a couple of through balls which Ederson dealt with (one resulting in THAT challenge from Mane) and a couple of chances for Saleh coming in from the right, one of which was a poor effort, one of which was a good save from Ederson - but that Saleh chance at 1-0 was actually the only time that they really carved us open and got through clear on goal in 37 minutes of play when it was 11 v 11. By the same stage of the game, we had created 3 or 4 really good openings - the goal, for instance, Gabriel's run (at the end of which he was could, not that much has been made of that) and Stones' shot following a corner.

Frankly, Liverpool are going to create those sorts of chances against every team in the league in every game they play, home or away. We had some dodgy moments but generally I thought we defended well - and as we all know, the key in pep's eyes to defending well starts with not letting the opposition have the ball in the first place.

Of course, Klopp threw in the towel at 2-0, so we weren't tested in the second half. But whilst we didn't exactly pass the test they did set us in the first half with flying colours, it was one of the toughest examinations we will have at the Etihad this season, and we came through it unscathed. Credit, maybe, where credit is due.

Good post.

We had a few scares early on but in the main I think we dealt with a very potent LFC attack very well whilst at the same time posing a bigger threat ourselves which saw us lead 1-0.

People saying Pep has got to learn are wide of the mark. Pep knows, it's about getting the right balance and in my opinion he did that on Saturday which resulted in us winning 5-0.

 

[KnaresboroughBlue]

Much easier to get Salah on the ball by playing the ball down the line against a back 3. A back 3 can't cover the entire back line so if you play a ball down the line then Salah could get on it time and time again and then be one on one with Otamendi. If Salah was central he would not have had as much opportunity to use his pace to get on the ball.

I'm not criticising Otamendi more that what happened was very predictable and presented liverpool with a very easy way of attacking our goal. Guardiola was fortunate to escape because if they'd have scored first then it would have been a very different game. We need to learn from this experience

You don't think that with a back 4 our full backs would have still been high up the pitch, leaving us with just 2 back?

Personally thought Guardiola got it spot on. Liverpool's attack is always going to create chances regardless of who we have in defence. I only really remember one clear chance and that fell to Salah who rarely has any end product (probably why Guardiola wasn't too bothered about him getting the ball in wide areas). By having our FBs higher up the pitch it allowed us to overload their defence and that created better chances for us, even at 11 v 11.

 

[KnaresboroughBlue]

All the talk before the game was of how dangerous Liverpool's front three were. Even with Kompany in for Stones or Otamendi they would have created chances. We actually kept them to a couple of free kicks around the edge of the box (we will concede a few goals from such free kicks this season, but not on Saturday), a couple of through balls which Ederson dealt with (one resulting in THAT challenge from Mane) and a couple of chances for Saleh coming in from the right, one of which was a poor effort, one of which was a good save from Ederson - but that Saleh chance at 1-0 was actually the only time that they really carved us open and got through clear on goal in 37 minutes of play when it was 11 v 11. By the same stage of the game, we had created 3 or 4 really good openings - the goal, for instance, Gabriel's run (at the end of which he was could, not that much has been made of that) and Stones' shot following a corner.

Frankly, Liverpool are going to create those sorts of chances against every team in the league in every game they play, home or away. We had some dodgy moments but generally I thought we defended well - and as we all know, the key in pep's eyes to defending well starts with not letting the opposition have the ball in the first place.

Of course, Klopp threw in the towel at 2-0, so we weren't tested in the second half. But whilst we didn't exactly pass the test they did set us in the first half with flying colours, it was one of the toughest examinations we will have at the Etihad this season, and we came through it unscathed. Credit, maybe, where credit is due.

Good post.

 

[Jimmy Ives]

All the talk before the game was of how dangerous Liverpool's front three were. Even with Kompany in for Stones or Otamendi they would have created chances. We actually kept them to a couple of free kicks around the edge of the box (we will concede a few goals from such free kicks this season, but not on Saturday), a couple of through balls which Ederson dealt with (one resulting in THAT challenge from Mane) and a couple of chances for Saleh coming in from the right, one of which was a poor effort, one of which was a good save from Ederson - but that Saleh chance at 1-0 was actually the only time that they really carved us open and got through clear on goal in 37 minutes of play when it was 11 v 11. By the same stage of the game, we had created 3 or 4 really good openings - the goal, for instance, Gabriel's run (at the end of which he was could, not that much has been made of that) and Stones' shot following a corner.

Frankly, Liverpool are going to create those sorts of chances against every team in the league in every game they play, home or away. We had some dodgy moments but generally I thought we defended well - and as we all know, the key in pep's eyes to defending well starts with not letting the opposition have the ball in the first place.

Of course, Klopp threw in the towel at 2-0, so we weren't tested in the second half. But whilst we didn't exactly pass the test they did set us in the first half with flying colours, it was one of the toughest examinations we will have at the Etihad this season, and we came through it unscathed. Credit, maybe, where credit is due.

Like this. The expected goals prior to the red card were 1.1 to 0.4 in our favor. We seemed to overload Mane's side as he posed the real threat, leaving Salah a bit more isolated against Otta and Mendy. Those opportunities will arise when we play quality sides like Liverpool, but at least we seemed to get a lot of numbers back to limit his options when he attacked the box

 

[Chris in London]

Good post.

Cheers. If we had been playing Burnley or Palace and they were carving us open in the same way, it's a different conversation. But IMO we need to remember that Liverpool, for all that we gave them a fucking good hiding on Saturday, are still a bloody good team. I'm not sure there is a better attack in the league, apart from our own, and even without Kompany, whilst it wasn't comfortable, we nonetheless kept them out.