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Defending champions Liverpool crashed out of the fourth round of the 2022-23 Carabao Cup after succumbing to a narrow 3-2 defeat to a spirited Manchester City on Thursday (22 December).
Erling Haaland, Riyad Mahrez, and Nathaniel Ake found the back of the net for the Cityzens at the Etihad Stadium, while Fabio Carvalho and Mohamed Salah scored for Liverpool. Having eliminated the reigning champions, Manchester City will go to Southampton for their quarter-finals clash.
Manchester City’s resident goal machine Haaland got an opportunity to open the scoring in the first minute itself when Ilkay Gundogan sent him through on goal down the middle. With Caoimhin Kelleher well off the line, the Norwegian attempted a chip. Much to the home fans’ dismay, he got the elevation wrong and sent it well over the bar.
Nine minutes later, Haaland inevitably found the back of the net, applying the finishing touch to Kevin de Bruyne’s low cross into the Liverpool box. The former Borussia Dortmund man did ever so well to beat Joe Gomez for pace and direct the ball past Kelleher and into the bottom-left corner.
Having been thoroughly outplayed by the hosts, Jurgen Klopp’s side got themselves back in the game out of the blue in the 20th minute. James Milner delivered a teasing cross into the area for Carvalho, and the youngster coolly slotted it into the bottom-left corner. City nearly restored their advantage in the 37th minute when Ake attacked De Bruyne’s sensational cross with a thumping, diving header. Kelleher reacted superbly to parry the shot.
Two minutes into the second half, City got themselves back in front, with Mahrez cutting in from the right-inside channel and finding the net with a left-footed curler. Their joy was short-lived, however, as Salah immediately popped up with the equalizer.
Darwin Nunez superbly outpaced Aymeric Laporte down the left and drew City keeper Stefan Ortega toward him. Instead of going for goal himself, he laid the ball off to Salah, who made no mistake bundling the ball into an unguarded Manchester City net.
Ten minutes after Liverpool drew level for the second time on the night, Ake gave City the lead. The defender got on the end of another searing De Bruyne cross and steered his header away from Kelleher and into the back of the net.
In the 72nd minute, Nunez missed a glorious chance to find the back of the net. With only the keeper to beat, the Uruguay international dragged his shot wide of the left post. Liverpool failed to create much in the final minutes of the game, unwillingly settling for a 3-2 defeat.
Here are the three Liverpool players who failed to live up to their billing and two who put in impressive shifts:
Underperformed: Joe Gomez
Once hailed as one of the sharpest players in the team’s ranks, Joe Gomez has become a shadow of his former self. His lack of awareness once again came to the fore on Thursday night. Gomez was at fault for Haaland’s opener, allowing him to run past him and get his shot away.
At the Etihad Stadium, Gomez lost possession 15 times, committed a foul, misplaced all three of his attempted crosses, and lost four of five duels.
Performed: Joel Matip
Except for a couple of nervy moments, Joel Matip had a practically flawless game against Manchester City. He held his ground well, made vital defensive interventions, and played Milner into space with a perfectly-weighted pass, which eventually led to Carvalho’s goal.
Against the reigning Premier League champions, Matip performed four clearances, blocked a shot, made an interception, and won two ground duels.
Underperformed: Mohamed Salah
Liverpool superstar Mohamed Salah endured a quiet night at the Etihad Stadium. He did get on the scoresheet, but the tap-in was down to Nunez’s driving run and unselfish layoff. The goal aside, Salah offered precious little. He was isolated by the City defense and struggled to link up with his teammates. The Egypt international also did not create any goalscoring opportunities and squandered possession cheaply quite a few times.
Over the course of the game, Salah only had one shot, did not play any key passes, and lost two of three attempted duels. He also lost possession eight times, committed a foul, and played only 10 accurate passes (66.7%).
Performed: Coaimhin Kelleher
The Reds’ second-choice goalkeeper Coaimhin Kelleher was in impressive form against City and kept the scoreline from getting embarrassing. In the 36th and 37th minutes, he pulled off two excellent saves. First, he stopped Gundogan’s low shot with his legs. The following minute, he made himself big to smother Ake’s excellent diving header.
Over the course of the match, Kelleher made five saves, with all five of the shots coming from inside the box. He also made a high claim, completed 34 passes (70.8% accuracy), and delivered three accurate long balls.
Underperformed: Darwin Nunez
Uruguay ace Darwin Nunez cut a frustrating figure in front of the City goal on Thursday night. Except for unselfishly setting up Salah in the second half, he did not do anything of note. He missed a few good chances to at least test the keeper, the worst of which came in the 72nd minute. He failed to keep his cool in front of Ortega and embarrassingly dragged his effort wide.
Nunez attempted four shots on Thursday, with none of them landing on target (three off-target, one blocked). He completed only seven passes, lost five of nine duels, lost possession six times, and was caught offside twice.
