Liverpool v Manchester City - A Quick Liverpool Perspective

Liverpool v Manchester City A Liverpool Perspective

Despite Liverpool missing a few key players, it was a very good performance by them for the first 60 minutes, in fact I would say they were the better side right up until Kavanagh stepped up to ruin a good, close contest. What was most annoying was the relish he showed both times he booked Gravenberch, when he whipped that card out so fast it was in Gravenberch's face almost before the challenges even took place. Not that either were really particularly bad challenges, particularly the first, which was not even a foul. It is a shame because the talk, regardless of the result, should be about how well LFC played and how they made Cheaty struggle so badly. But, once again, a referee has stepped up to ruin the game and make it all about him. His performances when officiating at Liverpool matches is reminiscent of that other cheat, David Cun eer Coote. It is an ongoing pattern.

The performance was very good, lots of pressure, pressing, hard graft and some good pieces of play on the ball, and then the sending off happened. Before things could be reorganised, City had scored and it was game over. A team with City's workrate and ability is tough enough to face with a full team, but down to ten and having to chase the game meant there was only ever going to be one result.

Manchester City

We all know what City are, and I am not referring to them being cheating bar stewards there, though that is what has allowed them to build such a top class side. Despite that, they were struggling badly to get going and make chances, right up until their star signing Kavanagh took the game by the scruff of the neck. Of all their myriad of superstars they have signed, he has probably taken the mantle from Oliver as the best value per money deal on their books. I expected them to be focused and firing after the last few days, but they worked hard yet were unable to get their game going. You would have to say they were second best until the sending off. That is not to say they would not have won anyway, they have the quality, due to their financial doping, to beat anyone and it can make a difference in a split second, but it would have been a much tighter game over the final 30 minutes than we ended up with.

Cherki offered very little until then, but after that, with time and space there for him to operate in, he came alive. Haaland had found it hard going to get any service, I can only remember one chance for him pre-Kavanagh's assistance, though that was a good chance that he surprisingly missed. Other than that, you are looking at odd moments, such as Semenyo breaking down the wing and putting an excellent ball across to no one. When they got the chance to take advantage, well there is no one better at making use of unfair advantages, as the last few years have shown.

Liverpool

Alisson - he let in three, so he will be disappointed but his game was not that bad overall.

Araujo - struggled up against Semenyo one-on-one at times, but he was good in the main, especially considering he was booked extremely early on.

Jacquet - good game for the first 60 minutes, but then he was caught out and overrun at times.

van Dijk - like Jacquet he was shell shocked after the sending off, but also showed signs of losing his head towards the end. Understandably he was clearly angered by the decision, having been on the end of Kavanagh's efforts for City before. I know some might call it petulance, but I think he just showed that he actually cares despite his laidback nature. His run matching Semenyo and then tackling him at pace showed his desire was still there, even at 3-0 down.

Kerkez - shut Ndiaye down well and generally had a decent game, though there were a couple of times he was caught on his heels when Wirtz played the ball for him to run onto.

Gravenberch - was having a good game, right up until he was ridiculously sent off. He did wait too long to release the ball most of the time, but his runs with the ball were causing Citeh so many problems. They simply could not handle him, until Kavanagh found a way to shut him down. The first yellow card was given for a ridiculous dive, long after the challenge, by Anderson, added to his playacting to pretend to have been hurt.

Wirtz - not as bad a game as being made out, but it was not a good game. He is getting a lot of heat for not going in for a challenge with Anderson, which I can understand, but it does seem a bit harsh to expect him to win a 50-50 like that. You can understand why he instead tried to be clever and nick it away over Anderson, knowing that he was bursting into space if it worked. My issue with him is his touch is so heavy right now, which we know was excellent prior to his move, so something is wrong there. Is he just too tense, so the ball is bouncing off him? Or perhaps it is just the failing confidence affecting his timing?

Mac Allister - very quiet game overall, not a bad performance by any means, just not as involved as he would like to be.

Munoz - was given the ball a lot as they obviously saw O'Reilly as a weak link defensively, which he is at full-back. While he is very direct and gave O'Reilly so many problems, his end product was badly lacking.

Koumas - not the best of games, lots of hard work but he was trying too hard to impress, understandably. He did have one well hit shot but straight at Donnarumma.

Barcola - bottled out of challenges, failed to attack when he got the ball in space and was generally poor. There were flashes, moments of battling that showed that he can do it, but there are far too many times he does not even make an attempt to get to the ball.

Nyoni - came on in the 66th in the place of Wirtz. Settled things down a bit in the middle but the game was over by the time he came on really.

Frimpong - took the place of Araujo in the 75th minute. It was a game that was over which he joined and there was little effect he could have.

Ngumoha - subbed on for Koumas in the 75th minute. Needed to provide a bit of something, but instead there was nothing really. He is just a kid and it is early in his career, but he really has to stop waving his foot around and look to get the ball on the burst, which would make it harder for the opposition to stop him.

Gomez - replaced Jacquet in the 88th minute. City were just playing out time really by this point.

Chiesa - brought on in the stead of Barcola in the 88th minute. There was little he could do to effect the game, but at least his effort cannot be faulted.

Written by Tris Burke October 16 2026 15:13:18