Robocop
[Manchester City 1 – 1 Liverpool].
This is the biggest game of the season for a reason. These two play different styles: City with an intricate, highly scripted play that, when executed flawlessly, is almost impossible to disrupt; Liverpool with an in-your-face, intense, and direct approach that relies on bursts of creativity that, when done well, combine for exciting action. Many teams try to play like Liverpool or City, but watching the original articles go at each other is plenty of reason to wake up at 4 AM.
There is never a boring Liverpool-City game.
Sometimes they get explosive, sometimes they just keep you on the edge of your seat. Today was the latter, at least until Darwin and Pep got into a fight after the final whistle. Curious as I am to hear what that was about, let me turn to the game itself. And I’ll start right at the end, with Trent Alexander-Arnold and that brilliant finish off Mo’s (who else?) assist. Incredible first touch to set up that rocket, followed by a strike was so pure it left Ederson no chance.
It was a phenomenal hit.
Is Trent the missing number 6 we’ve been searching for? He sure looks like it at times. His defensive performance today stood out. City – the killer robot – went after him because they figured it was their best shot, and they did so repeatedly and remorselessly. Doku, in particular, did exactly what should have led to many excellent opportunities for Halland to rack up the score, by faking and taking Trent to the goal line to go around him. Foden did his part from the other side to test Trent’s aerial awareness. Yet our lad absorbed this indignity of being singled out for failure calmly, rarely putting a foot wrong. He also launched a couple of counters and, of course, had that sublime finish. He would be my man-of-the-match were it not for his carelessness leading to the inevitable Haaland goal. Looks like he knew it, as did Big Virg.
As a side note, I think Pep made a mistake there, as Kostas on the other side looked a bit more shaky. In a way, it highlighted the primary weakness in Robocop – City doesn’t adjust. You program the instructions, and they get executed.
Mac Allister still often looks lost as a Six. Szobo had a mediocre game with flashes of brilliance. Jones looked like a player fresh off an injury, and should never have started. All of this really killed the game for the Reds in the first half, with City having nearly 70% possession. Thankfully Salah put in another good shift, tireless working to cover for his teammates, and was instrumental in holding our right flank. Ali tried too many times to be clever with the ball, and it may have cost him dearly, as it looked like a hamstring injury in the end after another unusual clearance. On this evidence, Ederson certainly makes more sense in the Brazil goal at the moment. Let’s hope Ali isn’t sidelined for too long going into the crucial December.
So who is my man-of-the-match, you ask? Well, occasionally one must tip one’s hat to an opponent, and this is one of those times. Let no one dare suggest that any player had a better game than Bernardo Silva. He was the Red’s chief antagonist all over the pitch, the power core at the heart of the beast. One has to appreciate a player putting in a performance like that, even if it comes at one’s own expense.
In the end, City is still a point ahead, but they still have to come to Anfield. Seems to me that, at least for now, it’s advantage: Liverpool. There is a long season ahead, but maybe, just for once, they are the ones who end up one point behind.
