The control Guardiola craves is missing now at Manchester City

City were not remorseless against Liverpool, far from it.

HATS OFF: Pep Guardiola, Manager of Manchester City, interacts with Trent Alexander-Arnold of Liverpool after the draw in the Premier League match between Manchester City and Liverpool FC at Etihad Stadium on November 25, 2023 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

There was a pathway between Julián Álvarez, Manual Akanji and Rúben Dias and it led just inside the left-hand post, but it was almost impossibly narrow. Trent-Alexander Arnold guided his shot along it. By design? By instinct? By luck? It was very hard to say, and because of that Manchester City did not win a 24th successive home game and Liverpool successfully protected the record their former manager Tom Watson had set during his stint at Sunderland.

More consequentially – assuming Joël Matip and Dominik Szoboszlai are not especially motivated by the honour of plump, bowler-hat wearing 19th-century tobacconists with sardonic moustaches – City drew their second successive game and so the dream of a proper title race was extended into the second third of the season. Which of course speaks primarily to the remorselessness of City’s excellence under Pep Guardiola and the anticipation that at some point they will put together a run that will carry them clear of the pack. If they’re leading by Christmas, the second half of the season could be a procession.