Liverpool 2 Man City 0: Liverpool take giant step against Manchester City, Premier League - as it happened
OPENER: Liverpool's Cody Gakpo celebrates scoring a back-post opener at Anfield. Creator Mo Salah and Dominik Szoboszlai share in the moment. Pic: Carl Recine/Getty Images
Pep Guardiola talks about Liverpool fans chanting about him getting the sack:
"You want to sack me!" 😅
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) December 1, 2024
Pep Guardiola didn't expect fans at Liverpool to sing about his future at the club 👀 pic.twitter.com/WKGrIuhiWH
Keane on Slot's impact:
"Nobody would have thought they would have been so far ahead" 😯
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) December 1, 2024
Roy Keane on Arne Slot's impact at Liverpool 😤 pic.twitter.com/unRonM63lM
Arne Slot reacts to Liverpool's massive win:
"We have some quality on the pitch as well" 💪
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) December 1, 2024
Liverpool boss Arne Slot reacts to his sides crucial win over Man City ✅ pic.twitter.com/Vl3bADFImA
Keane says Salah does his talking on the pitch:
"Salah's done his talking on the pitch today" 🗣
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) December 1, 2024
Do you agree with Keane? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/reRvwE6O24
Keane on Mo Salah showing another side of himself with contract negotiations:
"Ultimately he's a world class player."
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) December 1, 2024
Roy Keane says that Mohamed Salah is showing another side of his personality as he awaits a new contract offer from Liverpool ✍ pic.twitter.com/fDA1BUIJTR
Roy Keane on Liverpool's 'outstanding performance':
"Outstanding performance" 🗣
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) December 1, 2024
Roy Keane and Daniel Sturridge react to Liverpool's win over Manchester City 🔥 pic.twitter.com/l5TULM6whb
Man of the match Mo Salah and Virgil van Dijk on the significance of their win at Anfield:
"I don't take it for granted. I enjoy every minute here, it feels like home."
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) December 1, 2024
Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk reflect on a 'special day' at Anfield and how they're not thinking about their position in the Premier League table 👀 pic.twitter.com/Opjj9x0uZl
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Jamie Carragher on Sky Sports:
"This season, Man City will not be winning the Premier League" ❌
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) December 1, 2024
Jamie Carragher is not holding back 🗣 pic.twitter.com/1SmIWpfctk
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Dave Jones and Carragher on Sky talking changing of the guard. Pep is giving the six fingers to the City fans now. Is he drawing a line under former glories and promising to start again? Darragh Leen on board now to take you through some of the reaction to a victory of "huge significance."
All over. Emphatic for Liverpool. Nine points clear at the time. Looking very much like champions. "A canyon between two of the grandest in the land," pulls Drury from his stock prepared earlier.
Darwin through one on one a mile off, but decides to miss anyway to stay in character.
Four minutes added time til City's misery complete. Kop chancing a verse of 'sacked in the morning'.
Harvey Elliott on as sub after injury layoff. Diaz departs.
Liverpool fans ole oleing. Curtis Jones has shot touched away for corner. Kyle Walker looks dizzy.
Pep is holding up the six fingers to Liverpool fans. It has come to that. He might even watch that Together film later on Sky, to cheer himself up.
Salah off, Curtis Jones on. Neville threatens to take MOTM off Van Dijk and give it Salah.
Gary Neville ready to go home already. Calls Van Dijk man of the match with probably quarter of an hour left. Van Dijk responds by nearly gifting De Bruyne a goal. But Caoimhin Kelleher rescues Pool. Van Dijk thanks the Corkman.
Salah is telling Bernardo to shush. Bernardo had a little nibble.
De Bruyne and Grealish on belatedly, as if City refuse to be denied on the coiffeur front at least.
Salah sticks this one in. Game over you would think. "Liverpool have this title race by the throat," observes Drury. Fully deserved. City have been disastrous really.
Liverpool seem to have a penalty. Nunez was worrying Ruben Diaz, said Drury, as if he was worrying sheep. Keeper brings down Diaz in the end. Pen stands after VAR check.
Haaland hasn't had a sniff of a chance yet.
Quansah is on for 'Trent', Nunez for Gakpo. Slot getting nervy about Doku's dancing perhaps.
Would you put this or Sars beating Balllygunner on the Monday Sport cover? Cos the gaffer is asking.
Liverpool leading 2.46 to 0.23 in expected goals. Or 1-0 in the old money of actual goals.
Savinho is also starting to 'skip past' his full back but none of their crosses are causing Van Dyke and Gomez much alarm.
Doku has thrown off the wellies and is starting to dance a bit on the left. Cross is cleared though. Gakpo up the other end fires straight at keeper.
Darwin Nunez is being prepared, with instructions to convert one of the three chances that will be provided for him before this is over.
City spent a minute or so horseshoeing left to right around Liverpool's deep block before losing the ball. Liverpool break fast and Alexander Arnold denied. Diaz follow up blocked too. Liverpool in control still, says Gary Neville.
Another of City's triangles breaks down and Salah races through to fire wide.
Gundogan and Nunes off for City. Doku and Savinho on.
Salah in one on one but spoons over as if channeling Darwin Nunez. You'd almost be in "Liverpool may rue..." territory, if City looked like they had anything about them.
City gaining what you might call a foothold, which probably means Liverpool are about to score. Bernardo slices over.
Foden looking perplexed, nonplussed, distressed, whatever you're having.
49 mins: Alexis MacAllister effects practised air of anguished outrage when penalised for obvious foul. Corner for City. Nothing comes of it.
Kyle Walker sprints ostentaciously up the line as if to prove he is still able. Miles offside by the time pass arrives tho.
Peter Drury does remind so City have scored in every away game this season, "despite everything". They are back at it. No changes.
Liverpool "utterly dominant" Dave Jones reminds us. The first half was basically Peter Drury shouting the names of Liverpool players as the had potshots. "City's lack of quality whoooo..." puffs Roy Keane.
Sky have been touting Together - the film of Man City's four in a row - all day, screening later. So far this game is working like a before and after study. Except this is the after, if you know what I mean. "We have to play," Pep is saying in the latest promo. Could do with starting to play here.
Liverpool go in just one goal up after a hectic start and plenty of chances. City survived the early chaos and have settled down but don't look like scoring. An intriguing second half awaits - Larry Ryan will bring you the details.
We'll have three minutes of added time and Liverpool are turning the screw again. Salah forces a corner off Ake.
Meanwhile, Akanji is booked for a lazy kick on Gapko.
Salah -- and the Anfield crowd -- are not happy as Gundogan stands on his foot clumsily and his boot comes off.
Bit of a penalty shout from the stands but Diaz went down a little easily and is waved away.
At the other end, Rico Lewis tries to curl one with the outside of his boot but doesn't catch it properly and the chance goes.
Alexander-Arnold whistles a shot wide of Ortega's post after the ball breaks from a corner.
Gravenberch gets a yellow that was probably in the post for him. He clatters into Gundogan cynically.
This is a right battle in midfield. Phil Foden pulls the shirt of Ryan Gravenberch and goes into the referee's book for it. The England man isn't impressed.
Guardiola will be much happier with the last few minutes as City look like themselves a bit more.
Haaland is pointing and shouting at his teammates, while the Anfield crowd have turned the volume down a notch or two.
City at last start to play a bit of ball and get up the pitch at least. Haaland gets sight of Caoimhin Kelleher's goal but Gomez nips in.
Another corner from TAA that causes yet more chaos but no second goal yet.
Alexander-Arnold fades a beautiful ball to Salah but a bewildered Ake manages to toe it out of his path.
Van Dijk then heads over from a corner before Gapko shoots over the bar.
To compound City's misery, Phil Foden takes a knock after Gravenberch runs into the back of him.
He'll be okay to continue but he and his teammates need to get a handle on this game.
It's been coming.
Salah bends a lovely ball to the back post that Gapko knocks home. This is impressive stuff from Liverpool.
Szoboszlai arrows another shot which Ortega gets behind before Van Dijk heads off the bar.
It's a nil-nil battering, Neville adds.
Relentless pressure from Liverpool and City are looking shaky in the early exchanges.
Szoboszlai rattles a shot off Ake -- with some handball shouts -- before winning the rebound to extend the siege. City survive however.
An early wake-up call for City, as Gary Neville describes it, if the visitors needed it.
Diaz feeds Gapko who had Walker backpedalling. The Dutch forward turned inside and shot - Ortega got down to it but the flag went up anyway.
The hosts got through handily though.
City come out of the traps quickly but Liverpool, who'll attack the Kop in the first half, settle into it.
We've had our first camera cut to Ederson on the bench.
Here we go!
Teams line out as listed and the place is rocking.
The teams are in the tunnel and we're almost ready to go.
Mo Salah is crouched in a corner, looking in the zone. Daniel Sturridge tells us he meditates before games while Roy Keane adds that he's 'probably thinking of his contract'.
Arne Slot's side can go 11 points clear of Manchester City with victory today, remember.
The Dutchman has been speaking to the BBC: “I think what we expect is what you always expect from City. They like to control the ball and possession. Maybe the difference between this [and normal] is [lack of] wingers. We have to wait and see in the first few minutes if they have changed anything in terms of formation.
“A bit of everything today. We’d both like to have the ball. If you’re sloppy you have no chance. You have to be top on every aspect of your game. We have to be on top of our game in everything.”
Speaking ahead of a trip to George Harrison's hometown, Pep repeats the mantra 'this too shall pass', a couple of times in this pre-game interview with Sky. He looks stressed.
Some pre-game reading?
Jonathan Wilson says City look broken and Liverpool can deliver a knockout blow today.
Dion Fanning, meanwhile, that City's recent frailty makes them a compelling story for once.
The team news is in and Pep Guardiola has dropped his goalkeeper. Ederson misses out to Stefan Ortega.
: Kelleher, Alexander-Arnold, Gomez, Van Dijk, Robertson, Gravenberch, Szoboszlai, Mac Allister, Salah, Nunez, Gakpo, Diaz. Subs: Jaros, Davies, Endo, Nunez, Jones, Elliott, Quansah, Morton, Nyoni.
: Ortega, Walker, Akanji, Dias, Ake, Lewis, Gundogan, Nunes, Silva, Foden, Haaland. Subs: Ederson, Carson, Grealish, Doku, De Bruyne, Gvardiol, Savinho, O’Reilly, McAtee
If you ask us, it's still a bit early for two things; Christmas songs and title deciders.
But this one is massive.
A vulnerable, off-form Man City come to Anfield to take on the Slot Machine and a Liverpool side who've already sent Real Madrid packing this week.
We'll go minute-by-minute throughout the afternoon for what promises to be a memorable Premier League showdown.
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