To be how honest I don’t feel think we have been great in half the games we have played this season. Think we have become a bit carried away with the Haaland effect.
I’m not convinced that it would have made a huge amount of difference to be honest. Pep knows what he is doing. The problems on Sunday for me were that our defence is weak when under pressure and with Walker out we don’t have enough quality cover against the very best teams.
The other one is that we let the emotion of the game get to us. We should have kept our cool, carried on playing keep ball, not committing too many players forward and let them burn out and get more desperate as they absolutely needed to win. The disallowed goal was the turning point as we lost our composure a bit and so did Pep. They almost scored straight after it.
We didn’t play badly, they played well and we lost by one goal. It’s not like we got absolutely hammered. It’s not unusual either given we have won there once in 41 years.
I can see that some may think that one change wouldn't have made a difference (Grealish for Gundo), but it really is more than just a change in the lineup.
One change in the lineup would've made 3 changes in attacking positions. KDB would've played in his usual position as an 8, Foden would've played on the right, and Grealish on the left.
I don't think its the emotions, and the disallowed goal wasn't really the turning point. Liverpool had a clear chance and Salah should've scored (embarrassing moment for Dias and Ake btw) before we get to Foden's disallowed goal.
I agree we didn't play badly, but we should've played better and Pep should've been braver while selecting his lineup. Liverpool will always look for quick counterattacks and direct attacks, and the only way to stop them is to park the bus.
Of course City would never do that, so the best option was to be brave and try to score more goals than them because their defense is not the best in the league. Liverpool scored 5 goals in the last two games before playing city, but they couldn't win against Arsenal or Brighton.
It was Pep's decision to make the game tight and depend on the small margins and Haaland's form to win. Well it wasn't Haaland's day and we lost 3 points.
This one is on Pep more than anything else, but he is still the best manager for City and I hope he stays here forever