De Bruyne masterclass dumps Reds out of the Carabao Cup
Manchester City 3 Liverpool 2, 22nd December 2022.
Manchester City 3 Liverpool 2, 22nd December 2022.
MANCHESTER CITY 3 (Haaland 10, Mahrez 47, Ake 58)
LIVERPOOL 2 (Carvalho 20, Salah 48)
’Twas three nights before Christmas when English football officially returned from its forty day hiatus at the World Cup in Qatar and, rather fittingly, football returned on a typically English and Mancunian evening of misty drizzle sweeping around Manchester City’s Etihad Stadium.
It’s a shame therefore that Liverpool simply didn’t turn up, and they must now turn in the Carabao Cup trophy for this season’s winners early next year. Sure the score looks close and as exciting, fast paced and loose defensively as five goals would suggest, but the hosts in light blue were always in front (1–0 and 2–1) before the eventual 3–2 winning score line, as well as being well in front on any footballing scorecard. Kevin De Bruyne was sensational and dare I say unplayable at times, and I can only recall one occasion late in the game in which he gave the ball away. Two assists, always eager and looking for the ball and then an incisive or progressive ball forward, De Bruyne was clearly back to his English football playing best after the drab heartbreak of Qatar, and Liverpool couldn’t cope with, or defend him.
Being as this is the competition in which a defeat to Manchester City is the most palatable out of the four competitions available, and the first game back since the enforced break of 40 days, no-one should be hyper critical of a 3–2 defeat at the hands of an incredible Manchester City team. Both teams were as strong as possible in the circumstances with each having a positive blend of World Cup returnees, regulars desperate for a competitive game again as well as youngsters on the fringe of the starting XI. The stark truth is that Liverpool went to sleep and switched off for all three of City’s goals and their only two passages of really quick and incisive football lead to both of their goals. But these were the only shots on target in a game largely dominated by their Mancunian rivals who thoroughly deserved their win, much as it pains me to write such a sentence!
De Bruyne’s cross for Haaland’s toe-poked opening goal on 10 minutes was fantastic, naturally, but Joe Gomez switched off, allowing Haaland that crucial yard that saw the Norwegian goal machine nip in front of the England defender and put City 1–0 in front. Rodri’s pass for Mahrez’s goal just inside the second half was just drifted over a vacant central Liverpool defence and 11 minutes later the Reds entire team was caught off-guard by a quickly taken corner and then grouped en-masse in the centre of the penalty area as Nathan Ake “ghosted” in unmarked and unchallenged to score City’s third. Not being hyper critical, but on first viewing (and I haven’t seen a replay yet), the entire team was beaten by a single curling cross into the penalty area that no-one challenged for. The curling cross was delivered by Kevin De Bruyne.
Naturally.
The positives for the Reds ahead of their vital Premier League game on Boxing Day at Aston Villa would be in the guise of Harvey Elliott’s calmness and assured movement of the ball (ask Pep Guardiola how much he values a simple pleasure such as that!), Darwin Nunez hit the post (when offside) and was a constant nagging nuisance in attack and I thought Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s 45 minute substitute appearance was incredibly promising. The Englishman’s twist and turn before unleashing a fizzing pass with the outside of his right boot that set the Reds second equaliser into motion on 48 minutes was a thing of footballing beauty. Nat Phillips 45 minutes as a substitute was a gloriously reassuring sight too.
Negatives? I worry about a certain player who looks decidedly unhappy whenever he wears the Liverpool Red these days and I hope I’m wrong and worrying about nothing.
Major positive is I foresee a different looking Liverpool come Boxing Day and English football has now officially returned.
Rejoice!
Thanks for reading. Back to Liverpool duty now following the enforced absence during the World Cup, and here are links to the three previous Reds games before the recent shindig in Qatar:
Nunez at the double but Becker the unsung hero as the Reds sign off for the World Cup with a win
Liverpool 3 Southampton 1, 12th November 2022.medium.com
Kid Kelleher the Kop hero in the Carabao Cup once again!
Liverpool 0 Derby County 0, 9th November 2022.medium.com
Salah at the double to defeat a woeful Spurs. Reds climb to 8th.
Tottenham Hotspur 1 Liverpool 2, 6th November 2022.medium.com