Salah masterclass helps Liverpool see off City and stretch lead at top
ON TRACK: Liverpool's Mohamed Salah scores their side's first goal of the game. Pic: Martin Rickett/PA Wire
Mo Salah dominated events at the Etihad, as he has much of the Premier League season, with a goal and assist that lifted Liverpool 11 points clear at the top of the table.
Arne Slot’s leaders, still only beaten once in the league this season, were full value for a win that capitalised on Arsenal’s slip against West Ham on Saturday.
It also left Pep Guardiola’s struggling side, which has not finished lower than second in the past seven seasons and was without injured Erling Haaland, battling to be sure of qualifying for next season’s Champions League.
Salah was the pivotal figure of a first half in which Liverpool showed that the gulf between the new and old Premier League champions is even greater than the 20 points that now divide them in the table.
After 14 minutes, he was on the end of a superb goal worked from an Alexis Mac Allister corner, needlessly given away by Rico Lewis after he was caught in possession.
A short ball to Dominik Szoboszlai caught the City defence asleep and he was able to pick out Salah, incredibly left unmarked about 15 yards out, and his strike was deflected in off Nathan Ake.
And, after 37 minutes, Salah added his 16th assist of the season, to go with his 25 goals, as Liverpool doubled their lead.
The visitors broke speedily upfield, via a long ball from Trent Alexander-Arnold, which allowed Salah to beat Josko Gvardiol and head into the area where he found Szoboszlai, again inexplicably left unmarked, to sweep the ball home from just inside the area.
The sight of City keeper Ederson wrong-footed and not even attempting to make a dive summed up City’s defensive display, in this game, and of late generally.
There had been glimmers of hope for City in attack, particularly on the left where Jeremy Doku repeatedly beat Alexander-Arnold with almost embarrassing ease.
But there was barely a true test for Alisson in the first half, even if City thought they had equalised through Omar Marmoush on the half-hour. City’s new Egyptian striker finished superbly, at the end of a flowing move and passes from Lewis and Phil Foden, only for his effort to be correctly ruled out for offside.
It was an impressive performance from Liverpool, who were seeking their first double over City since the arrival of Pep Guardiola nearly nine years ago.
Salah, of course, remained a threat, even as Liverpool tried to take the sting out of the game as the second half progressed.
After 52 minutes, he beat Gvardiol to Alexander-Arnold’s through ball and his cross-shot swerved off target, Andy Robertson keeping it in play but wasting his cross with a wayward centre.
And four minutes later, the game looked well and truly over after Curtis Jones converted Szoboszlai’s cross into an empty net, only for VAR to rule the Hungarian offside.
The fortunate break seemed to finally inspire City, and their crowd, with Doku playing Marmoush into the area, and Alisson diving to turn his shot around the post.
But Liverpool soon had the home side back on the defensive, with Robertson setting up Luis Diaz for a fierce shot which drew a brilliant fingertip save out of Ederson.
Salah, too, had his sights on another goal, nicking the ball off Ake on 75 minutes and finding space on the edge of the area before firing a powerful shot straight at the City keeper.
And an embarrassing evening for City almost became more so when an attempted clearance by Ruben Dias struck fellow sub Mateo Kovacic on the backside after 83 minutes. Salah pounced, playing through Szoboszlai, but Abdukodir Khusanov made a fine recovering block to avoid a third goal.
Ederson 5; Lewis 4, Khusanov 5, Ake 6 (Dias 77, 5), Gvardiol 6; Gonzalez 6 (Kovacic 77, 5); Savinho 5, De Bruyne 6 (McAtee 66, 5), Marmoush 7 (Gundogan 77, 5), Doku 7; Foden 6. Substitutes (not used): Ortega, Grealish, Silva, Reis, Nunes.
: Alisson 6; Alexander-Arnold 4 (Quansah 90), Konate 7, Van Dijk 6, Robertson 5 (Tsimikas 764, 5); Gravenberch 6, Mac Allister 7; Salah 9 (Elliott 90), Szoboszlai 8, Jones 7 (Endo 74, 5); Diaz 7 (Gakpo 78, 5). Substitutes (not used): Kelleher, Nunez, Chiesa, Jota.
: A Taylor 7 Ends
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