As it happened: No Haaland, no problem as Grealish leads Manchester City to emphatic Liverpool win

Manchester City stars Julian Alvarez and Jack Grealish | Imago

As it happened: No Haaland, no problem as Grealish leads Manchester City to emphatic Liverpool win

Ayoola Kelechi 12:23 - 01.04.2023

Manchester City blow Liverpool away with dominant second half performance

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Final thoughts on Manchester City 4-1 Liverpool

  • Manchester City's win sent a strong title warning to Arsenal who are now just five points ahead of the Cityzens
  • Liverpool fall further behind in the race for the top four and could find themselves 8th or lower depending on results from elsewhere
  • Jurgen Klopp and his men continued their away day woes against Manchester City. Of the nine games that Liverpool have lost this season, eight have been in away fixtures. They have gained 30 points at home and 12 points from away matches

See what people are saying about Manchester City vs Liverpool #MCILIV

  • Ecstacy for Manchester City, disappointment for Liverpool
  • Liverpool's Trent Alexander Arnold bore the brunt of fans' anger after the game 
  • It seems like an age since Salah gave Liverpool the lead in the 17th minute, and this current scoreline perfectly sums up the Manchester City procession in the second half
  • 90+3 FULL TIME AT THE ETIHAD. MANCHESTER CITY 4-1 LIVERPOOL 
  • Grealish comes off to a standing ovation and a pat on the back from his manager and is replaced by youngster Cole Palmer
  • 88' Manchester City's second-half dominance can be summed up by the fact that Liverpool have had only one shot on goal in this half, which was Gakpo's blocked effort. 
  • Manchester City also make their first change of the game, bringing on Bernardo silva for Rodri
  • 82' James Milner comes on for Liverpool to make his 609th Premier League appearance, joining Frank Lampard for the joint-third most appearances in the league's history
  • Liverpool, on the other hand, are on course for an 8th away defeat of the 2022/23 Premier League season, which is only one less than bottom-of-the-table Southampton has managed, and two less than Bournemouth who have lost the most games away from home this season
  • 79' Manchester City in cruise control as Guardiola looks certain to earn his 100th home win in the Premier League. 
  • Manchester City fans dance the Poznan with their backs to the pitch, as Liverpool also turn their backs on the race for the UEFA Champions League
  • Unarguably the man of the match today, Jack Grealish adds a fourth for Manchester City against Liverpool to add to his impressive performance so far
  • 74' GOAL MANCHESTER CITY 4-1 LIVERPOOL 
  • Jurgen Klopp's substitutions send a clear message of defeat in this game as the Liverpool boss looks to rest players for the midweek fixture against Chelsea
  • 70' Liverpool make four substitutions as Nunez comes on for Jota, while also Kostas Tsimikas, Roberto Firmino, and Alex Oxlade Chamberlain come on for Andy Robertson, Salah, and Harvey Elliot
  • 67' Manchester City have now tried to calm the game down after a blistering start to the game as they try to defend their lead in possession
  • With only one shot on target in the game so far, Liverpool need all the firepower they can muster if they are to turn this game around
  • 62' Jurgen Klopp already pondering changes to the side as Darwin Nunez warms up for Liverpool
  • Upon review, Mr. Hooper made the right call after a comical dive from Gakpo
  • 58' Liverpool with a huge shout for a penalty, but referee Hooper is uninterested in Gakpo's appeals 
  • Not surprisingly, Manchester City now appear to be in complete control of the game and the 3-1 lead over Liverpool is nothing short of what they deserve
  • Manchester City's early dominance pays off again as Ilkay Gundogan tucks in a rebound from an Alvarez effort to make it 3-1 to the hosts
  • 53' GOAL MANCHESTER CITY 3-1 LIVERPOOL 
  • 51' Manchester City have started the second half in similar fashion to the first and are dominating Liverpool in key areas.
  • The fans are still settling to their seats and Kevin De Bruyne has only gone and scored for Manchester City to put them 2-1 against Liverpool
  • 46' GOAL MANCHESTER CITY 2-1 LIVERPOOL 
  • 46’ SECOND HALF is on the way as Manchester City look to complete their comeback against Liverpool
  • Here is Julian Alvarez' equaliser again featuring a celebration from someone special in the stands
  • 45+2 HALF TIME Half-time at the Etihad as Manchester City and Liverpool head into the tunnel level at 1-1
  • 40' The game is starting to get spicier than chicken curry as both sets of players appear intent on kicking each other senseless. Still just two yellow cards in the tie, but there has now been a combined nine fouls from both teams. 
  • 34' After JUST being booked, Rodri escapes a red card as referee Simon Hooper chooses mercy instead of a second yellow card after the Manchester City midfielder fouled Gakpo 
  • 33' First yellow card for Manchester City as Rodri goes into the referee's book for a tactical foul on Diogo Jota
  • 31' Manchester City are turning up the heat on the visitors as they look to become the first team to overturn a Liverpool lead in the Premier League this season
  • Seconds after Jack Grealish's incredible last-ditch tackle to deny Salah a clear path to goal, he set up Julian Alvarez for a sumptuous finish to make it 1-1. 
  • 27' GOAL MANCHESTER CTY 
  • 25' Jack Grealish makes an incredible last-ditch tackle to deny Salah who was bearing down on goal after a swift counter-attack
  • 22' Mahrez again with another great chance for Manchester City but again, the Algerian fails to put the effort on target
  • 19' Salah goes form hero to villain as he picks up the first yellow card of the game for dissent 
  • It is the fourth different game in which Salah has scored against Manchester City this season. 
  • 17' Manchester City's worst nightmare Salah at it again, with his 11th goal against Manchester City 
  • GOAL FOR LIVERPOOL
  • 14' Riyadh Mahrez with Manchester City's first real chance as his freekick from the edge of the area skims the post
  • 11' Manchester City have had the better of the opening period and have practically kept the ball to themselves with 78% possession in the opening 10 minutes
  • 06' Early trouble for Liverpool as Fabinho is verbally cautioned after committing two fouls already
  • The big news for the home side is the absence of Erling Haaland who has scored 42 goals in all competitions this season but misses out today thanks to a groin injury that has kept him out of action for two weeks. 
  • Liverpool start with a front three that includes Diogo Jota, Cody Gakpo and Mohamed Salah who has scored more goals against Guardiola's Manchester City than any other player 
  • KICK OFF at the Etihad as Manchester City aim for a second victory over Liverpool this season
  • Manchester City lineup vs Liverpool
  • Liverpool lineup vs Manchester City