Pragmatism hands Liverpool route to challenge Man City – both for one game and for 38

Man City 1-1 Liverpool: Spoils shared after Alexander-Arnold cancels out Haaland’s opener

Trent Alexander-Arnold’s equaliser keeps Liverpool just a point behind Manchester City (AP)

The longer a run goes, Jurgen Klopp had said, the more likely it would end. And if it appeared like wishful thinking when he delivered the thought, a day earlier, events – and Trent Alexander-Arnold – made the Liverpool manager sound prophetic 24 hours later. Manchester City had won every game at the Etihad Stadium in 2023, every match since a rather less celebrated manager, Frank Lampard, earned a 1-1 draw with a rather less talented Everton team.

Almost 11 months later, Klopp and Liverpool secured the same result, halting City’s winning run on their own turf at 23 matches – one short of the English record set by Sunderland in the 1890s – and keeping the gap between these two teams at one point. There still seems to be a title race whereas, if City had pulled four points clear of their perennial challengers, there was the danger they would disappear into the distance.

And if Klopp had further proof of his side’s powers of recovery – the specialists in coming from behind this season got another point after trailing – he reaped a reward of sorts for his own pragmatism, an equaliser coming after Liverpool had looked uncharacteristically timid. This was not heavy-metal football, not the full-throttle gegenpressing that made this rivalry so compelling or which gave Liverpool a unique ability to eviscerate City.

Instead, it was a cautious Klopp, perhaps scarred by a 4-1 defeat at the Etihad Stadium in April and maybe fearful that, lacking a natural defensive midfielder, his team could be exposed if they afforded City space.

And so Liverpool came to contain, looking to keep the game tight. The high press was often eschewed in favour of a lower block, with the compactness coming from players grouped together in their own half.

It meant there was an anomaly in the equaliser. There were times when Liverpool attacked only with their forwards, reluctant to commit players. But with the clock ticking down, Mohamed Salah found support from Alexander-Arnold, teed him up and the vice-captain connected with unerring precision, driving a shot in from the edge of the box.

If a foray forward represented rare respite for him – the right-back had spent more time preoccupied by his duel with the irrepressible Jeremy Doku – he preserved Klopp’s winning record against Guardiola. After 29 meetings, the score remains 12-11 in the German’s favour.

Alexander-Arnold’s goal came after Liverpool had looked uncharacteristically timid at the Etihad Stadium (Action Images via Reuters)

That he has not tasted victory at the Etihad in the Premier League in the Catalan’s reign is a sign of how welcome this result nevertheless was.

And if it was a reminder that even great rivalries contain matches that fall some way short of greatness, the sense of anti-climax will be felt by City. They led for 53 minutes, could have doubled their advantage, had a goal disallowed and yet drew. And as in their defeat at Arsenal, it indicated the absences of Kevin De Bruyne and Ilkay Gundogan – one for half a season, the other permanently – may have deprived them of the extra quality that could make a difference in such defining clashes.

They did, however, still have Erling Haaland. Even as City did not set a record, Haaland did. He became the quickest player to 50 Premier League goals, getting there 17 matches earlier than Andy Cole, the previous best; he is the fastest to many a landmark.

But with the galaxy of attacking talent on display, there was something illogical that a Nathan Ake solo run would be pivotal to the breakthrough. So was an Alisson error, his second sliced kick of the afternoon; the first found Phil Foden, who shot tamely at the goalkeeper. The second went to Ake, who slalomed between three defenders and found Haaland. Alisson took the sting out of his shot, but it still rolled in.

Erling Haaland’s strike means the City forward now holds the record for being the quickest player to score 50 Premier League goals (PA)

Briefly, City thought they had another goal. Alisson’s awkward afternoon continued when Ruben Dias had a goal disallowed after the goalkeeper fumbled Julian Alvarez’s corner as Manuel Akanji bundled into him.

Yet there was redemption of sorts for Alisson. The Brazilian produced a fine save to tip Foden’s low drive wide. And he made a brilliant point-blank block from Haaland, a minute before Alexander-Arnold equalised. There could have been a winner for Haaland, flashing a header wide in the 97th minute.

But with Joel Matip and Virgil van Dijk excelling defensively, Liverpool frustrated City for swathes of the game. There was one irrepressible exception: Doku was the outlet, with a jink and a trick. He was the supplier when Haaland perhaps should have scored a second.

Perhaps predictably, it proved a turning point. Until then, only Darwin Nunez, who remains incapable of staying quiet, had posed a threat. Ederson had made a hat-trick of saves from the Uruguayan, clawing a header over, tipping two shots wide. But Alisson saved from Haaland, Alexander-Arnold went forward and, once again, Klopp had frustrated Guardiola.

That irritation may have been apparent in a final-whistle altercation with Nunez. But Guardiola has long described Klopp’s Liverpool as his toughest opponent. Even as they changed tack and adopted a more restrained approach, they justified that billing.