update - City Are Staggering
City have been dominant in all competitions so far this season, and though confidence had been running very high, there had been the slight problem of Liverpool being the only team to beat them in the league and manager Jurgen Klopp's record against Pep Guardiola being slightly better in their historical matchups.
Liverpool had their twelfth player as the crowd as ever, and the roar was loud enough to put the earlier thunderstorms to shame as a mere accompaniment. The Liverpool manager had called on his players to not only stand firm in the face of the beast that is City but to behead the monster and finish it. While Guardiola had said this game would be a terrific contest.
There can truly be no greater fortress than fortress Anfield, and this Champions League encounter showed the first inklings of a tactical and counter to the mastery that Pep has shown this year, and in so many Champions League campaigns throughout his glittering career. Liverpool did not so much enter the field as take possession of it, while City players eked-out their usual passing game and kept a great deal of the ball possession.
This mattered not to the gladiators in red, as they confidently rampaged all of the channels, caring not for City's advantage in midfield but of mind instead to attack and attack, strike and slash until the beast was busted and dead.
With an opener by guess who, Mo Salah, and a wonder strike from 20 yards by the Ox within the first 20 minutes, it was clear that Liverpool again had no fear of the creature, had in fact not only learned so much from their 5-0 drubbing earlier in the season, but that had gained true confidence from the 4-3 victory at Anfield a couple of months back. No indeed, there was no fear here as Liverpool disembowelled the beast, leaving it bloodied and almost expired upon the hallowed ground of Anfield.
Mane made it 3-0 before the half hour and from then on Liverpool were content to keep City closed down and to show the world that possession is not everything in football and that in fact by pressing so high and never showing one hint of fear of the hydra beast they faced, they seemed to make a comfortable job of holding back the EPL winners for the remainder of the game.
After the first half salvo had mortally wounded the monster, Guardiola's pacing on the touchline became ever more irate as he saw his squad start to slip, broken and wounded out of the Champions League.
So it ended 3-0 to Liverpool, and this is the greatest hint so far that not only is Klopp the superior manager, but that this wrong team from Manchester may have not only met their match but been set alight by it and kicked sprawling out of the ancient gate.
On this form, it is hard to see how even Barcelona, who limped through due to two own goals, or Real Madrid can stop this attacking juggernaut of flair and beauty.
-Bob Duckerberg at Anfield.
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