Liverpool v Manchester City (2024-25)

General

Players

Liverpool v Manchester City (2024–25)

Liverpool Manchester City 2 0
HT:1–0 Report
Event	Premier League 2024-25
Date	Sunday 1 December 2024
Venue	Anfield, Liverpool
Player of the Match	Mohamed Salah
Referee	Chris Kavanagh
Attendance	60,248
Weather	12 °C (53 °F)
← Liverpool - Real Madrid Man City - Feyenoord Liverpool - Newcastle Utd Man City - Nottm F →

Liverpool v Manchester City was a match which took place at Anfield on Sunday 1 December 2024.

Team News

Liverpool

Liverpool duo Ibrahima Konate and Conor Bradley will be assessed after sustaining knocks during the Champions League win against Real Madrid.

Manager Arne Slot has said that Trent Alexander-Arnold is fit to start after he was included in the matchday squad on Wednesday.

Manchester City

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola did not give any fitness updates during his press conference on Friday.

Oscar Bobb, Mateo Kovacic, John Stones and Jeremy Doku were all unavailable to face Feyenoord on Tuesday.

Ilkay Gundogan is set to make his 200th Premier League appearance.

Match facts

Head-to-head

• Liverpool have won only one of the past nine Premier League meetings, 1-0 at home in October 2022.
• However, Manchester City have triumphed on just two of their 27 Premier League visits to Anfield.
• Both Premier League meetings last season ended in a 1-1 draw.
• City have failed to keep a clean sheet in their last 11 games against Liverpool in all competitions since a 4-0 Premier League win at the Etihad Stadium in July 2020 when the Reds had already secured the title.
• The away side has won just six of the 54 Premier League encounters between the two clubs, the lowest percentage (11%) of any fixture to be played more than 30 times.

Liverpool

• Liverpool begin this matchround with an eight-point lead at the top. Only Manchester United, with nine points in 1993-94, have had a bigger advantage after 12 games and they went on to win the title by eight points.
• Liverpool’s only Premier League defeat so far this season was 1-0 to Nottingham Forest at Anfield. They’ve since won seven of their eight league games, scoring at least twice in seven of them.
• The Reds have won 10 of their 12 Premier League matches. On the 11 previous occasions a team has earned 10 victories at this stage of the season, only two did not go on to win the title: Newcastle United in 1995-96 and Arsenal in 2022-23 - both won their 13th league fixture and finished as runners-up.
• Liverpool can win more than 10 of their first 13 top-flight games in a season for the third time after 1990-91, when they won the title, and 2019-20, when they finished as runners-up to Arsenal.
• Arne Slot's tally of 31 points after 12 matches equals the Premier League record set by Guus Hiddink, who won his 13th game in charge.
• Liverpool are unbeaten in 15 Premier League home fixtures against the reigning champions since a 1-0 defeat versus Manchester United in 2007-08.
• Caoimhin Kelleher has lost just one of his 21 Premier League appearances, a 1-0 defeat by Brighton at Anfield in February 2021 in his second game.
• Mohamed Salah is two short of becoming the eighth player to score 100 Premier League home goals.
• Salah has scored 11 goals in all competitions versus Pep Guardiola's Manchester City - the most of any player.

Manchester City

• Manchester City have equalled their longest winless streak of six matches in all competitions under Pep Guardiola.
• The draw with Feyenoord in the Champions League on Tuesday was the first time in Guardiola’s 942 games as a manager that his side has surrendered a three-goal lead.
• City have conceded two or more goals in six successive fixtures in all competitions for the first time since 1963.
• They have lost their last three Premier League games, as many as they had in the previous 47 combined. City last lost four successive matches in the same season in 2007.
• Guardiola has lost eight times against Liverpool, his second-highest tally against any opponent after nine versus Tottenham.
• Erling Haaland has scored only two goals in his last seven Premier League appearances, after he netted 10 goals in his first five games this season.
• Haaland has had a league-high 33 shots on target this campaign. The next Manchester City player on this list is Josko Gvardiol, with seven.
• Since Rodri joined Manchester City in 2019-20, the Citizens have lost 10 of 28 Premier League games without him.

Match Report

Liverpool extended their lead at the top of the Premier League to nine points and heaped more misery on fading champions Manchester City with a fully deserved victory at Anfield.

Arne Slot's pace-setters, fresh from beating Champions League holders Real Madrid, were in rampant mood and subjected City to a relentless barrage from the kick-off.

Liverpool were not flattered by the margin of victory, which leaves them 11 points clear of City, who not won for seven matches - losing their past four league games.

Virgil van Dijk had headed against the post - while City keeper Stefan Ortega, in for the dropped Ederson, had already been in constant action - before Liverpool went ahead after 12 minutes.

Mohamed Salah showed perfect vision to pick out Cody Gakpo for a simple finish in front of the Kop as City were unable to cope with Liverpool's relentless attacking intensity.

Van Dijk headed wide when it seemed easier to score and Liverpool created more chances when, as City hinted at a belated recovery, the league leaders deservedly increased their lead with 12 minutes left.

Liverpool substitute Darwin Nunez hustled Ruben Dias into an error. Luis Diaz cashed in and was brought down by Ortega, with Salah making no mistake from the spot after missing against Real Madrid in midweek.

Liverpool's performances have been on a rapid upward curve after a start under Arne Slot that was more solid than spectacular, but in the past week they have moved on to new, higher levels of performance.

If the emphatic manner in which Real Madrid were dismissed at Anfield on Wednesday was the biggest statement to that point, there is a strong argument that this was their best display yet under the studious Dutchman Slot.

Liverpool's victories at the start of the season came accompanied by the constant caveat that true judgement could only be made when they met a higher standard of opposition. They have now - and their performances, along with the accompanying victories, have confirmed they are a force to be reckoned with domestically and in Europe.

The way in which Liverpool tore into City from the first whistle was reminiscent, and this is no slight on Slot, of the manner in which his predecessor Jurgen Klopp's teams used to scent blood.

City, weakened and lacking confidence in this unprecedented poor run under Guardiola, were unable to cope, the only surprise being that they somehow survived 12 minutes until Gakpo was the grateful beneficiary of Salah's genius.

Liverpool's only concern was that they may pay the price for not taking the many opportunities that came their way, with keeper Ortega City's hero, and even Salah missing a simple chance before making amends from the spot.

They were also solid defensively, with City only having two shots on target - Liverpool keeper Caoimhin Kelleher made his first save, from substitute Kevin de Bruyne, after 82 minutes.

Slot has now won 18 of 20 games in charge, his sole defeat coming at home to Nottingham Forest in the Premier League.

The noise rolling down from the Anfield stands throughout the game, especially at the final whistle, merely adds to the feeling that this season could become something very special for Liverpool.

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola raised six fingers to Liverpool's fans - indicating the number of Premier League titles he has won - as they serenaded him with deafening chants of "sacked in the morning" towards the end of the game.

The notion of those taunts becoming reality are, of course, ludicrous and Guardiola actually applauded those same fans at the final whistle, Liverpool's supporters responding in kind.

This was, however, another chastening encounter for Guardiola, whose hopes of City mounting an unlikely revival in an environment that has never been kind to him blown away by Liverpool's whirlwind start.

Liverpool's win means Guardiola has only won once in 10 visits to Anfield, losing six, drawing three and winning just one - a 4-1 victory behind closed doors during lockdown in February 2021.

This record never looked like being altered here, with City barely able to get any service to Erling Haaland - and veteran Ilkay Gundogan, who graced so many triumphs under Guardiola, looking increasingly like a spent force following his return from Barcelona for a second spell.

In past years, nothing has looked beyond City, but in their current form and condition, closing an 11-point gap to the team who beat them so soundly here looks well beyond this great manager and team.

Match

Details

1 December 2024 16:00 GMT	Liverpool	2–0	Manchester City	Anfield, Liverpool Attendance: 60,248 Referee: Chris Kavanagh
	Gakpo  12' Salah  78' (pen)	HT:– Report

Liverpool

Manchester City

62 Caoimhín Kelleher 66 Trent Alexander-Arnold 73' 02 Joe Gomez 04 Virgil van Dijk 26 Andrew Robertson 38 Ryan Gravenberch 36' 10 Alexis Mac Allister 11 Mohamed Salah 84' 08 Dominik Szoboszlai 18 Cody Gakpo 73' 07 Luis Díaz 91' Substitutes: 03 Wataru Endō 09 Darwin Núñez 73' 17 Curtis Jones 84' 19 Harvey Elliott 91' 56 Vítězslav Jaroš 78 Jarell Quansah 73' 80 Tyler Morton 95 Harvey Davies 98 Trey Nyoni Manager: Arne Slot

18 Stefan Ortega 02 Kyle Walker 03 Rúben Dias 25 Manuel Akanji 45+1' 06 Nathan Aké 20 Bernardo Silva 19 İlkay Gündoğan 58' 82 Rico Lewis 79' 47 Phil Foden 79' 32' 27 Matheus Nunes 57' 24' 09 Erling Haaland Substitutes: 10 Jack Grealish 79' 11 Jérémy Doku 57' 17 Kevin De Bruyne 79' 24 Joško Gvardiol 26 Savinho 58' 31 Ederson 33 Scott Carson 75 Nico O'Reilly 87 James McAtee Manager: Pep Guardiola

Man of the Match: Mohamed Salah Assistant referees: Lee Betts Darren Cann Fourth official: Anthony Taylor VAR: Paul Tierney Assistant VAR: Tim Wood

Match rules 90 minutes, no extra time or penalties. Three points awarded to winner, none to loser. One point awarded to each in the event of a draw. Nine named substitutes Maximum of five substitutions

Match Stats

Liverpool	Manchester City

Possession ball
44%	56%

Shots
18	8

Shots on target
7	2

Corners
7	4

Fouls
9	8

See also

• 2024–25 Premier League: Match day 13

External links

• Match report at BBC.co.uk
• Match report at Premier League.com

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