The prospect of a real race for the Premier League title is growing after Trent Alexander-Arnold scored a second-half equalizer to keep Liverpool in close contact with Manchester City at the top.
City took the lead after 27 minutes when Erling Haaland scored his 50th Premier League goal in just 48 games, finishing 17 games faster than any other player.
Liverpool, watched from the stands by Luis Diaz’s rescued father, equalized with an equally fine finish from Trent Alexander-Arnold and temporarily maintained their lead at the top.
The game ended with an argument between Darwin Nunez and Pep Guardiola, but it was a rare flashpoint in an otherwise quiet game.
Here Michael Cox, Oliver Kay, Gregg Evans and Jay Harris analyze the game.
Manchester City face a real challenge for the title
It was a fascinating game rather than a classic of the kind we’ve seen between these teams in the past – and, thanks to Alexander-Arnold’s late equaliser, a fascinating result that boosts expectations of a real Premier League title race.
Liverpool look much stronger than last season, fueled by a much-needed overhaul of their midfield department. This was a serious test of their abilities and despite some worrying moments throughout the afternoon, including a Haaland header that shot over Alisson’s goal in the eighth minute of stoppage time, they will be encouraged to return to Merseyside with a 1-1 draw.
Manchester City are still top of the table, a point ahead of Liverpool, but Arsenal can reclaim top spot if they win at Brentford tonight. It feels like one of those seasons where the leadership can change regularly and both Arsenal and now Liverpool have shown in their games against the champions that they have the guts for a title race.
This series of games was always looking difficult for Manchester City and after draws against Chelsea (4-4) and Liverpool (1-1), they face Tottenham Hotspur at home and Aston Villa away. They are still the favorites to defend their title, but this was the second game in a row in which they have dropped points from a winning position. And if it’s going to be a real title race, Liverpool clearly want to be there.
Oliver Kay
Alexander-Arnold shows why Liverpool are taking him forward
You might think that Trent Alexander-Arnold’s main job was to stop tricky winger Jeremy Doku, but Klopp wants a lot more from his key utility player these days.
In the hybrid role, in which he combines work as a right-back with tasks in central midfield, Alexander-Arnold has to be a world-class player in two positions.
It was fitting, then, that his cool finish earned Liverpool a well-deserved point as he demonstrated his qualities at both ends of the pitch.
After heroically defending City, Liverpool stormed to the other side and benefited from having Alexander-Arnold in the forward positions.
He pushed into the penalty area to increase the attacking strength, picked up Mohamed Salah’s pass, took a touch forward and then cleverly converted past Ederson.
It is these timely contributions that will determine how successful he is in his new position, playing for both Liverpool and England. As well as making an impact in attack, he also needs to perform well in defense and in the biggest test of the season he stepped up, winning the most possession games (nine) of any Liverpool player.
Greg Evans
Alisson’s poor kick behind Haaland’s goal – and it could have been worse
Alisson was responsible for his concession in Haaland’s opening goal in two ways. Not only did he let the ball slide inward under his hand, he gave the ball away cheaply when he tried to hit a long ball upfield but sent it flying. City took full advantage of Liverpool’s willingness to jump forward on the counterattack and easily prevailed.
Alisson had already appeared nervous on the ball twice before. After 10 minutes he passed straight to Phil Foden as Liverpool tried to play out from the back (shortest black arrow below). Foden seemed so surprised by the situation that he took a tame shot at the Brazilian.
Eight minutes later there was a nervous moment when Haaland almost attacked Alisson as Liverpool’s goalkeeper took too long on the ball (long yellow arrow across his own goal).
Alisson’s passes in the first half – black arrows are unsuccessful
The three errors were all different. One was about not being quick enough, another was about a bad pass on a short pass, and the fatal error was arguably the most minor of all three, as it allowed City to at least get the ball close to the halfway line and not in a more dangerous position played. But it was an unusually erratic performance from Liverpool’s No.1, who also had some luck in the referee allowing a free-kick and disallowing Ruben Dias’ goal after Alisson failed to score a corner under relatively light pressure from Manuel Akanji.
At the end of the game he was apparently struggling with a leg injury.
Becker is found to have been fouled (Michael Regan/Getty Images)
Michael Cox
Haaland’s record streak of 50 goals
With 50 goals in just 48 games, Haaland broke the existing record for fastest goalscorer over half a century by a whopping 17 games. Had he not scored against Liverpool, he would have had until around mid-March to score the one goal needed to break the record.
The record has been held since March 1995 by Manchester United’s Andy Cole, who scored his 50th goal in 65 games – the Englishman reached the milestone with five goals against Ipswich Town.
Kevin Phillips was the second fastest of these players (behind Haaland) to score 25 goals, but ended up 10th on the list.
Below are the trajectories of the 10 fastest players to score 50 goals in the Premier League. Haaland was at the top almost from the start and his sensational debut season left little doubt that he would break Cole’s record.
Unpredictable Nunez (again)
There have been moments this season where Nunez has looked like he’s just coming into his own, but he’s still unpredictable. While Haaland is like a machine in his efficiency in front of goal, Nunez oscillates between the sublime and the ridiculous – not just in the same game, but sometimes in the same move.
There are hardly any chances against Manchester City, so ruthlessness and composure are essential. We have seen these qualities from Nunez at times this season, most notably at Newcastle United, but not reliably enough.
He was saved by Dominik Szoboszlai in the 17th minute, but a poor touch on the ball led to him being brought down by Dias. Shortly afterwards he missed his run and was offside when Liverpool had another chance to clear him. He threatened in the second half following a pass from Salah, but although Ederson parried, the shot appeared to go towards the side netting.
He kept Manchester City’s defenders busy throughout, but at times he still seems to fit uncomfortably into a forward line previously built on the finesse of Roberto Firmino.
There is a widespread belief that things will eventually work out and Nunez will become the best in the world, but it’s not always easy to believe that. This unpredictability seems to be innate.
Oliver Kay
Silva takes over the role from De Bruyne
Bernardo Silva may not be the best footballer in the Premier League, but he could be the most complete footballer.
Silva has been used almost everywhere by Pep Guardiola in recent seasons, from left-back to center forward. Here he played in central midfield and did what he does best: controlling the game. He easily accepted passes in tight spaces and played some penetrating passes into the attack.
What Silva did more than anything, however, was drift left and exploit the large space between Salah, who rarely retreats, and Trent Alexander-Arnold, who looked after Jeremy Doku and was also tasked with drifting into midfield . Silva generally remained unmolested on this flank, whether overlapping or running into the channel.
In this regard, Silva essentially plays the role of Kevin De Bruyne, finding success on the opposing side when he does something similar. Julian Alvarez is De Bruyne’s direct successor in terms of the position, but Silva is stepping up in terms of the role.
Michael Cox
Cagey’s early kick-off was in line with Klopp’s expectations, but there were other reasons
Before the international break, Jürgen Klopp expressed his dislike of the 12:30 kick-off, fearing it would affect the quality of this game. In contrast to previous encounters between these teams, it was definitely subdued throughout.
However, that was probably intentional. Man City’s 4-4 draw with Chelsea a few weeks ago was hectic and chaotic. Guardiola’s side showed far more control against Liverpool and limited the number of chances their opponents created. On the few occasions that Liverpool gave Man City the lead on the counterattack, Nunez was often guilty of making the wrong decision. Liverpool’s xG was just 0.55, which is the lowest they have recorded in the top flight this season.
There are similarities between this game and Arsenal’s 1-0 win over Man City last month, as both relied on individual errors. Gabriel Martinelli scored for Arsenal with a weak goal that took a heavy deflection off Nathan Ake, while Alisson’s misstep led to Haaland’s goal. So far, the encounters between the teams fighting for the title this season have resembled more complicated games of chess than exciting heavyweight boxing matches.
Alexander-Arnold’s equalizer in the 80th minute didn’t change anything. Instead of trying to win at the Etihad for the first time since November 2015, Klopp replaced Nunez and MacAllister with Harvey Elliott and Wataru Endo. The focus was on keeping a point and not getting caught trying to score all three points. Maybe Klopp was right about those kick-off times after all…
Jay Harris
Jota’s few touches
Diogo Jota had scored in four of his last six Liverpool games and had scored two in two before this weekend.
However, it was a different story at the Etihad as he cut a forlorn figure up top. For long stretches it seemed out of sight and out of mind as the Portuguese attacker was left stranded, unable to get to the ball and unleash his usual destructive force.
His moments of action were few and far between, which made life easier for Kyle Walker, the City right-back whose job it was to ensure he stayed calm.
There were no obvious signs of growing chemistry with Nunez either, and when Jota was substituted in the 53rd minute, he left the pitch as the most ineffective player on the pitch with the fewest touches of the ball (12).
Perhaps the 90 minutes against Liechtenstein on Thursday evening played a role in his performance.
What’s next for Manchester City?
Tuesday, November 28th: RB Leipzig (H), Champions League 8:00 p.m. GMT, 5:00 p.m. ET
City have already qualified for the knockout stages after four games, but a win or a draw will secure their place at the top of Group G.
Sunday December 3rd: Tottenham (H), Premier League, 4:30pm GMT, 11:30am ET
What’s next for Liverpool?
Thursday, November 30th: LASK (H), Europa League, 8:00 p.m. GMT, 3:00 p.m. ET
Liverpool are two points clear at the top of Group E and could cement their place in the knockout rounds with a win.
Sunday December 3rd: Fulham (H), Premier League, 2:00 p.m. GMT, 9:00 a.m. ET
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(Top photo: Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)