Liverpool held on for a nervy 4-3 win over Manchester City courtesy of goals from Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane and Mo Salah.
Oxlade-Chamberlain put the hosts in front before Leroy Sane levelled before half time – but it was after the break when the damage was done.
Firmino struck swiftly with a deft chip over Ederson before Mane unleashed a thunderbolt of a left foot to give the hosts a two-goal cushion. City’s keeper then gifted Salah an open goal 35 yards out and the Egyptian obliged, curling home a stunning effort into a vacant goal.
Bernardo Silva offered some hope with a goal seven minutes from time and Ilkay Gundogan then sent shudders down the spine with another in stoppage time. But despite a late surge, Pep Guardiola’s men could not find the equaliser.
Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool held on for a nervy 4-3 win over Manchester City despite a late surge from the visitors at Anfield
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain put Liverpool up when he unleashed a low shot from outside the box and Ederson couldn’t reach
Leroy Sane then put the visitors level when he skipped into the box and, from a narrow angle, fired it in at the near post
The shot came from a tight angle, but Liverpool’s German shot-stopper Loris Karius was unable to keep it out
Roberto Firmino restored the lead following the break when he deftly chipped over Ederson after outmuscling John Stones
A thunderbolt then from Sadio Mane, just three minutes after Firmino’s strike, then gave the Reds a two-goal cushion
But it was Mo Salah, who found the net from 35 yards after an awful clearance from Ederson, who put the tie beyond all doubt
It wasn’t really the best day for Arsenal before this, but it seemed to get a lot worse nine minutes in. That was when the excellent Roberto Firmino won a tussle with Fabian Delph through sheer persistence, and fed Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain some 40 yards from goal.
Oxlade-Chamberlain was a controversial choice by Jurgen Klopp, not because he hasn’t been in good nick lately, but because his selection relegated Adam Lallana to the substitutes bench, so soon after a handy display against Everton in the FA Cup. Klopp’s call was vindicated, however, by what happened next.
Oxlade-Chamberlain drove forward, past Fernandinho and unleashed a low shot from 25 yards out that flew across goalkeeper Ederson and in at the far post. Why was this bad news for Arsenal? The numbers.
Oxlade-Chamberlain has scored as many goals in his last 20 Premier League matches for Liverpool, as he did in his last 71 for Arsenal. Without doubt, he has improved under Klopp. Without doubt, he has found a position. Think back to his final months at Arsenal when there was so much delight about his reinvention as a right wing-back. It is fair to say this is preferable.
The lead didn’t make it to half-time of course, but Liverpool certainly made a statement with their first-half display. Their pressing game, particularly the forwards, was magnificent, and they carved out several decent chances. In the 15th minute, Firmino fed Mohamed Salah whose intricate footwork found a way through to Ederson, but his shot was off balance and tame.
Oxlade-Chamberlain and Firmino combined again after 31 minutes when the former Arsenal man his a near post cross that Firmino failed to turn in with his head. Yet just as admirably as the chances they were creating, so Liverpool were restricting Manchester City’s attacking threat.
Rival managers Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola, who once managed the biggest derby in Germany, meet ahead of the game
Oxlade-Chamberlain took nine minutes to put the hosts into the lead at Anfield after his low drive was sent into the far corner
City’s defenders watch on as their Brazilian goalkeeper dives low to his right but the ball remains out of reach
The 24-year-old runs away to the Anfield faithful after seeing the ball hit the back as Mo Salah beams at the goal
Klopp turns to the crowd and pumps his fists as the supporters lift out of their seats to celebrate the opening goal
City look to hit back straight away as striker Sergio Aguero is just inches away from latching onto Raheem Sterling’s cross
The visitor’s left back Fabian Delph receives medical treatment after sustaining an injury to his right knee after 25 minutes
After briefly carrying on, the Englishman decided the injury was too much and signalled to the bench for a substitution
Loris Karius, who kept his place following the win over Everton in the FA Cup, thwarts City’s attack as he collects a cross
Indeed, it took them 20 minutes to create a chance, a lovely cross from Kevin De Bruyne that Sergio Aguero just couldn’t get a touch on in the six yard box. Leroy Sane and Fernandinho both had shots go wide but when City equalised after 41 minutes, it was about as near to ‘against the run of play’ as any City goal has been this season.
Raheem Sterling, booed constantly as usual, fed the ball back to Kyle Walker who hit a lovely crossfield pass from the right back position. It found Sane perfectly and he did the rest, cutting inside a bamboozled Joe Gomez before finishing smartly past Loris Karius. Should he have done better? It was one hell of a shot.
City lost Delph after 31 minutes, a leg trapped underneath him, stretching for a tackle, but Danilo was the replacement and that famous Pep Guardiola shape remained intact.
But it was Sane who eventually made a City attack count, dribbling well into the box before smashing an unstoppable shot
The Germany international peels away with his arms spread in celebration as City get back on terms before the break
Sergio Aguero looks to create an opening after the break as City try to get themselves into the lead at Anfield
Firmino challenges Danilo in the air but City’s Brazilian defender does enough to win the header on the half-way line
And it was Liverpool’s Brazilian who made the difference after the break, chipping over the goalkeeper to restore the lead
The Reds No 9 points both finger up to the sky as he celebrates putting his side back into the lead on Sunday afternoon
City hardly had time to breathe before Mane was the man to do the damage, smashing his left-footed effort towards goal
Ederson was once again left helpless in the City goal, diving to his left only to watch the ball sail into the back of the net
The Senaglese runs off to the Kop, joined by left back Andy Robertson, to celebrate his side’s third of the afternoon
Guardiola looks on, dejected, as he watches his side go 3-1 behind at Anfield with the hosts gathering momentum
Then the City stopper made an error of his own, coming out of his box to clear to Salah before the forward tried his luck