Liverpool v Manchester City LIVE: Result and reaction after leaders pile more misery on Pep Guardiola’s side
Liverpool 2-0 Manchester City: The hosts dominated at Anfield to open up a nine-point lead at the top of the table
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Your support makes all the difference.Liverpool confirmed their place as top contenders for the Premier League title as they piled yet more misery on Manchester City with a 2-0 victory at Anfield.
Arne Slot’s extended their advantage at the top of the table to nine points and now lead their long-time title rivals by 11 points. Cody Gakpo turned home the opener early on after a rampant start from the hosts as Mohamed Salah laid a goal on a plate for his front-three colleague, with Liverpool unfortunate not to add to their tally in a dominant first-half performance.
Things continued in much the same vein after the interval, with Salah adding a second from the spot with a cool and crisp penalty. It extended Manchester City’s run of games without a win to seven in all competitions, leaving any prospect of a title challenge surely slim.
Re-live all of the action from Anfield in our live blog below:
Van Dijk: “No point getting ahead of ourselves"
Virgil van Dijk tells Sky that there’s “no point getting ahead of ourselves” after another win.
“I think City is a fantastic team. Four-time champions in a row. They have the quality to punish any team. But I think we were solid defensively and had great chances. We could have scored more.
“Good game. We won. And we move on.
“We focus on the next game. That’s the only thing we can do. There’s no point at this stage of the season to get ahead of ourselves.
“Of course everybody wants to be in a position where they are 11 points ahead of their opponents. But there’s so many twists and turns. We have injuries to our team unfortunately and we have to deal with that.”
Salah: “Until now this is the last City game I will play for Liverpool"
Salah and van Dijk are the first to react to the result, and they’re speaking to Sky, with the Egyptian saying that “the fans were behind us from the first minute”.
“I’m glad we managed to win the game, we know that City are going to come [at us].”
On his goal, he adds: “We train well that if I have the ball on one side he is there at the other post. Every time I have the ball, if there is a chance and I can give it to you, I will.”
“It’s very special. I don’t take it for granted. I’m enjoying every minute here. It feels like home. It’s always special feeling always scoring at Anfield and winning games.”
“Honestly it’s in my head. Until now this is the last City game I will play for Liverpool so I was just going to enjoy it. The atmosphere was incredible so I will enjoy every second here.
“Hopefully we just win the league and will see what will happen.”
How the table looks
So Liverpool once again extend their lead at the top of the Premier League as they move nine points clear of second-placed Arsenal (and Chelsea in third). They’re now 11 points clear of City too.
That result means Pep Guardiola’s side fall to fifth, level on points with Brighton but below the Seagulls on goal difference.
FULL-TIME! Liverpool 2-0 Manchester City
FULL-TIME! Liverpool 2-0 Manchester City
FULL-TIME! The referee brings it to an end and Liverpool go nine points clear of Arsenal, and 11 clear of City, at the top of the table.
Liverpool 2-0 Manchester City
93 mins
No letting up from Liverpool, with van Dijk coming across to block Silva’s effort after Doku had slid through a nice pass. Nunez heads away the corner, and that’ll be that.
Liverpool 2-0 Manchester City
92 mins
There’ll be four minutes of added time here, and we’re into the second. It’s all Liverpool too, as Robertson is the latest to see a promising effort from deep blocked.
Moments later, Nunez is through and he fires his effort at Ortega, but he was offside anyway.
Liverpool 2-0 Manchester City
90 mins
The hosts win it from Walker on the edge of the City box, and Jones hits a low effort to the front post that is saved for a corner.
Harvey Elliott replaces Luis Diaz, before the corner is cleared.
Liverpool 2-0 Manchester City
88 mins
Guardiola looks bemused on the touchline, with his side just seeming completely devoid of attacking ideas. Liverpool break but Szoboszlai can’t get the shot away before he’s forced wide.
Liverpool 2-0 Manchester City
86 mins
It’s all gone a bit pedestrian at Anfield, which will obviously suit the hosts. Savinho gives the ball away in midfield and Jones pounces, playing it forward to Diaz, but the home side decide to recycle possession.
Chants of “sacked in the morning” ring around the stadium towards Guardiola.
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