Liverpool beat the doubt and emerged 5-1 aggregate winners over Manchester City in the Champions League.
Liverpool is known for their fast-paced, high-pressing attacking play, but Klopp’s men showed that they’re capable of doing whatever is required of them in order to get a result. In this case, it was soaking up pressure and seeing out a victory against one of the best teams in Europe.
Manchester City has been dominant this season. I don’t have to tell you this – everyone knows how great they’ve been. Even someone who doesn’t closely follow the game can take one glance at the Premier League table and know that Man City has been making the rest of England look like a bunch of middle schoolers this season.
That was, however, until they met Liverpool in the first leg of the quarterfinals. For the first time this season, City were outclassed. Klopp’s men had City figured out, and seeing them struggle (even against quality competition like Liverpool) was a strange sight.
City came into this leg facing a 3-0 deficit, so Pep Guardiola made a statement by coming out with an all-out-attacking 3-3-4 formation. It paid off at first, with Gabriel Jesus putting City ahead after just 2 minutes.
More from Playing for 90
- Alexia Putellas reaches 400 games with Barcelona
- Everything you need to know ahead of the 250th ‘Super Clásico’
- Barcelona put five past Real Betis
- Manchester City suffer but come away with win over West Ham
- Baffling Liga MX ruling strips Puebla of a hard-earned victory
This was a huge blow to Liverpool. After Jesus’ goal, they were more withdrawn and seemed reluctant to commit men forward (even against City’s three-man defense), knowing that City needed just two more goals to force extra time.
Though definitely not known for their defensive prowess, the Reds locked City down for most of the first half. It seemed like Liverpool had 10 men behind the ball for much of the first half, and it showed, as City had 70% possession over the first 45 minutes.
However, Liverpool’s defensive organization stymied the Citizens, and they weren’t able to create any meaningful chances. Leroy Sane came close to doubling City’s lead in the 42nd minute, but he was ruled offside.
Halftime may have been a turning point in the match, as Man City’s comeback hopes took a blow when a furious Pep Guardiola was ejected for arguing the offside call.
In the second half, Liverpool really came out of their defensive shell and began to attack. About 10 minutes in, Sadio Mane found his way into the box and got dispossessed by Ederson, but Mohamed Salah was there to pounce on the loose ball and get Liverpool’s all-important away goal.
After this, the game opened up for Liverpool, and Firmino put the icing on the cake after taking the ball from Otamendi and slotting it into the bottom corner. The finishing blow put Liverpool up 5-1 on aggregate, further confirming Liverpool’s place in the semi-finals.
If you take out the first two minutes, Jurgen Klopp’s men defended well on the night. While they let City have a majority of the possession, they were also forced to take low-percentage shots, and just 3 of their 20 shots ended up on target.
Next: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is having a positive impact at Arsenal
The Reds are starting to prove that they’re a more well-balanced team than people think, and they’ll be a tough draw for any of the other remaining 3 teams in the semi-finals.