MANCHESTER, England — It was epic, frenetic and unpredictable to the end as Riyad Mahrez not only had a chance to win the game but almost certainly win the Premier League title. Instead, the Manchester City substitute sent the ball high over Liverpool’s crossbar and the 2-2 result means we’re at a loss as to which of England’s top two teams will become champions.
What was certain, however, was that this was a game with everything, including VAR’s intervention to correctly rule out Raheem Sterling’s offside goal in the 63rd minute. By this time, Liverpool had twice equalized a City lead to level the score: Kevin De Bruyne and Gabriel Jesus scored for the hosts, while Diogo Jota and Sadio Mane brought the away side back on terms.
The result of 90 minutes end-to-end is that both teams have seven league games left – there’s also the no-nonsense affair of next Saturday’s FA Cup semi-final at Wembley (Live stream: 10:30 a.m. ET, ESPN+) – Just a point separates the clubs that have dominated the Premier League for the last five years.
“It was like a boxing match,” said Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp. “You put your arms down for a second and you get a massive punch and you’re shaking a bit. It was a great game and a result that we have to and can live with.”
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City retain the advantage and their remaining games suggest Liverpool need a surprise result to move in their favor to claim first place. Aside from visits to Wolves and West Ham, Pep Guardiola’s players have little to worry about ahead of their season finale at home against Aston Villa, managed by Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard.
Liverpool have a tougher run-in. They should make it easy for struggling rivals Manchester United and Everton at Anfield, but those games are always full of emotion and unpredictability; a home game against Tottenham on May 7 could also be risky, while Klopp’s men also have to face Gerrard’s Villa.
As every team has shown in this game, their top level sits in a different stratosphere than any other team in the division, so City’s success in avoiding defeat and retaining the top spot could make this the defining day for the title will race.
But while both sides showed their incredible quality, there were also rare glimpses of nervousness and mistakes from the likes of Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk, City keeper Ederson, Liverpool striker Mohamed Salah and City’s Raheem Sterling. On an occasion where they had to look their best, it might come as no surprise that top performers suffered the odd wobble.
Jota’s persistence almost forced Ederson to concede an embarrassing first-half own goal and Van Dijk uncharacteristically beat De Bruyne down in the second half with a cynical foul worth the subsequent caution as it opened up the City midfielder’s attack the gate stopped.
Salah was in and out of procedure, his best moment coming 40 seconds after half-time when he scored Mane’s goal while Sterling made too many poor decisions in key positions before being replaced by Mahrez with fifteen minutes to go.
Elsewhere there were many outstanding performances which made the occasion so captivating. For City, Joao Cancelo was unbeatable and unstoppable at left-back as he dominated his side of the field, while Aymeric Laporte also produced a number of crucial blocks at the back.
Liverpool’s Joel Matip was flawless in central defence, as was his goalkeeper Alisson Becker, who made great saves against Sterling and Jesus as City rushed forward in the early stages.
But the big winner on a day where teams shared points was Guardiola. The City manager got everything right, from his starting line-up to energetic high-press tactics and substitutions; Replacing Sterling with Mahrez was a key decision that increased the threat in the closing stages.
It has become a bone of contention that Guardiola thinks about tactics and selections in the biggest games. Despite being a serial winner, recent examples in the Champions League – last season’s final against Chelsea, when he started without a defensive midfielder and striker in what was an obvious opportunity – have seen him allow the opposition in enters his head.
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Picking Jesus from the start was another surprise here, but Guardiola was rewarded with a rare goal and incredible work from the Brazil international, whose energy cheered on the crowd and his team-mates around him.
The pace in City’s front line from Jesus, Sterling and Phil Foden caused countless problems for Liverpool and it was only in the second half after Mane’s goal that Klopp’s side calmed down and pulled back into the game.
Even then, City always carried the greater threat and looked like the most likely winner, insofar as a draw was a good result for Liverpool, at least on the day. However, it was probably unrelated, as captain Jordan Henderson admitted.
“We have to wait and see,” said the Liverpool captain. “They don’t lose a lot of points, we know that. We have to focus on ourselves and win as many games as possible. If they make a mistake, we have to be there right behind them. We will go on until the end. It’s not that End of the world, we’re still in the running.”
Henderson was a young Liverpooler when a slip tipped the balance of a title race. Perhaps a subliminal reference to Gerrard’s mistake against Chelsea in 2014 serves as a reminder that anything can happen in the closing stages of the season.
But City are on course to win their fourth title in five seasons and midfielder De Bruyne knows his side simply must maintain their form to lift the trophy on May 15. “Today we played very well; I think we had the upper hand,” said de Bruyne. “That’s how we have to play the rest of the season. I know people said whoever wins wins the title but it’s too hard, the schedule is too tough for both teams to win every game but we will to attempt.”
There are 21 points to play. If one side doesn’t claim them all, they end up in second place.