Everyone has felt it, the idea that Jurgen Klopp’s departure at the end of the season will propel Liverpool to the Premier League title, with the team and supporters riding a wave of emotions to glory.
Since the manager dropped the bombshell at the end of January, Liverpool have hardly put a foot wrong, apart from the defeat to Arsenal. Here against Manchester City they continued as if their lives depended on it.
It was Alexis Mac Allister who lit the touchpaper early in the second half and scored from the penalty spot, canceling out John Stones’ opener for City midway through the first half, which had put the defending champions in the shade.
Related: Liverpool 1-1 Manchester City: Premier League – live reaction
It was a distillation of what Klopp created at Liverpool: energetic football, exciting to watch and it was possible to sense that a winner would be wanted somehow. Liverpool have made decisive late goals a happy habit this season.
It didn’t happen, City rallied to hit the post twice, first through Phil Foden – although he didn’t know much about a ball that deflected off him – and then the substitute, Jérémy Doku.
Liverpool would argue for an injury time penalty, first when Nathan Aké charged at Mohamed Salah and later when Doku lifted a boot to Mac Allister. And when it was all over, the first reaction was to marvel at the entertainment value, at how these heavyweights had brought themselves to a standstill. Arsenal would have enjoyed the result and City probably did too in the end. Liverpool continues to believe in it.
It would certainly have been worth taking a moment to reflect on Liverpool’s casualty list at kick-off; there were 10 after Ibrahima Konaté was ruled out, with Klopp also considering Andy Robertson and Salah fit enough to start among the substitutes. City were missing one player and one player alone: Jack Grealish.
Klopp was without some big names – most notably Alisson and Trent Alexander-Arnold – and one of the manager’s biggest decisions had been to start Joe Gomez at left-back. Gomez against the in-form Foden was a match that stood out. There would be so many more, with Virgil van Dijk winning his with Erling Haaland.
On Liverpool’s right it was Conor Bradley against Julián Álvarez and the latter showed up during an early City burst that involved plenty of marking. The champions were here to cherish the ball, to work it through the lines to Kevin De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva or wide for Foden and Álvarez.
City might have scored before them, their approach heavy on style and personality, and some of their pass-and-move stuff was easy on the eye, but when the breakthrough came it required a double attack. How was it possible that Stones was so open just a few meters from goal to tap in from De Bruyne’s drive? Part of it had to do with Aké Mac Allister getting in the way, and also with Darwin Núñez’s failure to track down Stones. What a time it was for him to score his first of the season.
Liverpool had their moments during a pulsating first half, none bigger than Dominik Szoboszlai’s free header in the 32nd minute when he turned in Harvey Elliott’s cross. The Hungarian international had to generate power on the ball and his sights were wrong.
Bradley found himself in dangerous attacking areas and Luís Diaz, who had the ball in the net in the 19th minute before Núñez was flagged offside in the build-up, swept wide from the edge of the area after a break on Kyle Walker.
City’s fast start saw Van Dijk make an important challenge on Foden, Álvarez and De Bruyne worked on Caoimhin Kelleher and in between De Bruyne missed the final action when he was on the top left. It was neither a shot nor a cross from him. Walker would miss a cross for De Bruyne in first-half stoppage time and the feeling was that City were in greater control heading into the break. Stones exuded composure on the ball, stepping from central defense into midfield and setting the tone.
Liverpool needed a break and they got one at the start of the second half, mainly through a misplaced City pass. Aké was the culprit, who mismanaged his attempt to get back to Ederson and saw Núñez sneak in. He pushed the ball away from the goalkeeper and was promptly cleared by him. It was the most obvious penalty of the season, with the only miracle being that Ederson kept facing it as he looked as if he slipped and hyper-extended his lower leg as he rammed the Uruguayan forward.
Ederson was booked and given lengthy treatment, which meant Mac Allister had to wait and wait. However, his punishment radiated certainty. Liverpool started. The home crowd felt that this was their moment.
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Guardiola was forced to withdraw Ederson and Foden worked in close quarters with Kelleher, but Liverpool felt the adrenaline rushing through them, especially when Klopp introduced Robertson and Salah. Diaz had suffered a heavy blow when he was well placed just before the substitutions. Now he shot clear on a pass from Salah, but managed to spoil the one-on-one finish against Ederson’s replacement, Stefan Ortega; a miss with gilded edges.
It was breathless, Liverpool creating chances, including another for Diaz when Núñez crossed. Once again his touch was poor, allowing Walker to complete the save challenge. Diaz’s energy was unstoppable. Salah and Mac Allister had a view of goal while Ortega blocked for Núñez.
It was the kind of storm that Liverpool have caused so often under Klopp and yet would blow out, with City consolidating and almost taking it. Guardiola sent Mateo Kovacic and Doku to De Bruyne and Álvarez and his team almost bizarrely regained the lead. Aké crossed, Kelleher punched the ball into Foden and it flew against the crossbar. Doku thought he had won when he cut inside and shot to the inside of the far post only to deny it.