Manchester City 2 Liverpool 2
Welcome to the Pleasure Dome
Welcome to the Pleasure Dome
Following Diogo Jota’s 13th minute equalising goal that cancelled out Kevin De Bruyne’s opening strike for Manchester City 8 minutes earlier, ex Liverpool defender (and personal favourite of mine from the 1980’s) Jim Beglin, stated on TV colour co-commentary “Welcome to the Pleasure Dome” and barely a quarter of an hour into this clash of the two best football club teams in the world, they were juking it out, duelling for the ultimate prize of English football, tied at 1–1, and the pleasure level depended where you sat on the football supporting scale. From a neutral’s perspective, today’s clash of the two best, progressively thinking coached teams of global superstars in the world was a “barn burner” of end to end attacking football, press and counter press, rapier like changes in transitional play, 4 quality goals and perhaps the most overlooked of all, the two best club teams in world football without the ball. Both teams play with a high defensive line that negates a third of the playing area and with flying attacking wing backs this already condensed pitch is constantly stretched at lightening speed and an absolute thrill ride for a neutral.
Writing objectively despite my Red supporting roots, the Blues of Manchester City were magnificent in a first half they thoroughly dominated and should have both led by more than 2–1 at the break and perhaps should have been 3 or 4 goals clear in a game ostensibly already over. They were relentless from the opening kick off on both sides of the ball and when in possession they were pulling the Liverpool team apart at the seams. A quick free kick saw a Reds defence retreating and in a tangled, half awake state. Kevin De Bruyne’s fierce shot deflected yet again off “Mr Deflection” Joel Matip and the ball spun into the far corner of Alisson Becker’s goal and in off the post. It was no more than Manchester City deserved as just seconds earlier, and at the culmination of a period of intense pressure, a sweeping move involving De Bruyne, Gabriel Jesus and Raheem Sterling forced a brilliant advancing and smothering save from Liverpool’s Brazilian goalkeeper. In a blur of just a matter of seconds, Becker kicked loosely upfield, Sadio Mane was hesitant on the edge of his own penalty area, a free kick followed that was quickly taken and a dishevelled looking Liverpool were already a goal behind.
The Reds equaliser on 13 minutes and our collective welcoming to the pleasure dome was both a beautiful piece of sporting art and the only real attacking threat posed in the entire first half of play. Thiago’s majestic cross field ball was played into the path of Mo Salah by Trent Alexander-Arnold, but his cross was cleared from danger into the path of Andy Robertson. His curling cross was squared across goal by a continually running Alexander-Arnold and Diogo Jota slotted home from close range and under the body of Manchester City’s Brazilian goalkeeper, Ederson. Liverpool had equalised from nowhere in a game they simply hadn’t started, and that pattern would continue for the rest of the first half.
If I had to endorse a Blues “Man of the Match” I’d plump for Joao Cancelo. He should have scored just before the half hour mark but dragged his shot wide as his team tightened the screw. Liverpool were defensively shambolic in the first half with even the simplest and straightest of passes cutting through the defensive line and especially for the marauding runs of Cancelo. Being unable to escape their own half, the Reds gave away a sloppy corner and when the resultant corner was cleared it came back with interest. Cancelo’s curling cross was brilliantly volleyed high into the Liverpool net by a Gabriel Jesus left alone by a wretched and out of sorts Reds defence. City had dominated proceedings, even without the ball, and their 2–1 half-time lead could have been 2 or 3 more.
46 seconds into the second-half and the game was locked at 2–2 and at the end of a real gem of a piece of footballing art and the finest of examples of the “PlayStation Football” these two teams play. First Virgil van Dijk’s sweeping cross field pass found it’s way to a one touch from Jordan Henderson that Alexander-Arnold first stepped over before reverse passing into the stride of Mo Salah. His quick look up and first time release of a pass rolled fast yet perfectly into the stride of Sadio Mane who calmly lifted a brilliant first time shot high into the Manchester City net. The next quarter of an hour was all Liverpool as they’d finally hit their straps, but they couldn’t carve out any real goal chances. Salah, non-existent in the first half was now in the game and as threatening as his goal scoring strike partners and the arguable Reds “Man of the Match” Joel Matip was elegantly untroubled in a Liverpool defence now on much firmer ground.
City posed the more attacking threat as the game entered it’s final quarter with van Dijk blocking a goal bound effort from Gabriel Jesus before from an acute angle he then fired high and wide of Becker’s goal with 18 minutes left. Raheem Sterling scored a goal that the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) would chalk off for offside before the Blues would have two golden chances to win the game, and perhaps the Premier League title, in injury time. Riyad Mahrez was central to both, with first a brilliant curling free kick that glanced off the far post of Alisson Becker’s goal before with time running out he was released and through on goal via the perfect passes of Kevin De Bruyne and Phil Foden. Against a retreating Liverpool defence and an advancing goalkeeper, he cleverly tried to chip the ball into an inviting and open goal but thankfully, from a Reds perspective, he overhit his potentially game, and Title, winning goal.
From this writer’s perspective, it was a point gained in a titanic game that Liverpool warmed to but only really played for 20/25 minutes. The rest was all Manchester City and in a game that will surely have pleased the neutrals, even if those of us even loosely invested in the outcome were having kittens. It’s not bravado or myopic sensibilities for me to posit that these two teams are the best two club football teams in the world as they’ve shared this dubious accolade of mine for nearly 3 years now. Today’s game disappointed the Liverpool fan in me as the Reds chose a day to underperform, and do so badly. They weren’t at the racecourse let alone the races themselves until the second half but were then more than a match for their hosts in the second 45 minute period. Manchester City were relentless even without the ball and with it, they were wasteful in the final third of a pitch these two magnificent teams, under the tutelage of two footballing purists for Managers, have squashed a high intensity game of chess into 20+ less black and white squares.
Six days time and the chess match will resume for a place in the FA Cup Final and after midweek Quarter-Final ties in the European Cup. Manchester City are favourites to win a treble. Liverpool outsiders for an unprecedented quadruple.
Regardless, I sign off in pleasingly customary fashion these days. Liverpool are playing zeitgeist football, one of the two best club teams on the planet and are still in every competition they entered back in August.
Welcome to the Pleasure Dome everyone.
Thanks for reading. There are umpteen more articles on Liverpool FC within my archives and here are my 3 previously published articles handily linked below:
Benfica 1 Liverpool 3
Luis Diaz seals a first leg victory that sees the Reds with one foot in the Semi-Final of the European Cupmedium.com
Liverpool 2 Watford 0
A tenth consecutive win takes the Reds to the top of the most important perch of all.medium.com
7 European trips following the Mighty Reds of Liverpool
Volume 4: Barcelona, Semi-Final, 1st Leg of the 2000/01 UEFA Cup, 4th to 6th April 2001.medium.com