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Manchester City lost 3-0 to Liverpool in the first leg of their quarter-final clash at Anfield. It was a horrible start for City as they conceded after just 12 minutes when Mohamed Salah pounced to put the Reds in front.
Things got worse when Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain doubled Liverpool's lead following a strike from outside the box. A header by Sadio Mane in the 31st minute meant that City went into the break having fallen behind 3-0.
An injury to Salah forced Jurgen Klopp to take him off in the 53rd minute, finishing off the game with one goal and one assist.
City had the majority of the ball possession but could not make it count as they failed to score an away goal and have a tall task ahead of them heading into the second leg at the Etihad Stadium.
Here's a look at what went wrong for Pep Guardiola's side:
#3 Torrid First Half
It was a miserable first half for Manchester City at Anfield. They fell behind in the 12th minute only when Mohamed Salah capitalised on a loose ball following Ederson's save off his legs to put Liverpool ahead 1-0 as the ball was failed to be cleared away by Kyle Walker.
Eight minutes later, Oxlade-Chamberlain was given a good amount of space for which he made City pay, as he slotted it home from 25 yards out to make it 2-0.
Things kept getting worse for City as they were not able to have keep hold of the ball for a long time which meant that their creative players were having no influence in the game.
Soon after, Guardiola's men conceded once again. This time it was to Mane, who headed the ball in from close range of a Salah cross to culminate one of the worst performances by a City team this season in the first 45 minutes of the game.
#2 Aguero's Absence hurts City
Gabriel Jesus started in the center forward role as Sergio Aguero was absent due to injury. However, he was unable to fill in for the Argentinian as he had one of his worst games of the season.
Jesus had the second lowest touches in the game (24) of all the Manchester City players and was able to register only one shot in the entire game. His passing and link-up play was also non-existent as he completed only 18 passes with a pass completion rate of just 70%.
Earlier in the season, there was competition with respect to the starting role between the Brazilian and Aguero but with a performance like tonight, the ambiguity seems to have cleared as to who would perform better in a big game.
Man City certainly missed the presence of the Argentinian in the box as he has a good track record against Liverpool and is always a threat to the opposition defenders with the runs he makes into the box along with an excellent goal conversion rate.
Pep Guardiola will need his talisman back for the second leg if City happens to have any hopes of launching a comeback at home and turning around the deficit. Aguero is a difference maker and if possible, having him back in time will mean that the Liverpool defenders will have to be on their toes with him in the side.
#1 Guardiola Outwitted by Klopp
For the second consecutive time this season, Guardiola has lost to Klopp. Out of Manchester City's four losses in all competitions this season, two of them have been to Liverpool.
Liverpool started off at a great intensity, playing high paced football and ultimately getting the reward for their attacking prowess in the form of three goals.
Despite taking the lead, the way Klopp had set up his team, it was high pressing but he did allow City to have the majority of the possession (66%).
But Guardiola's men could not make their dominance count as they failed to find the target and Liverpool were defensively very solid.
The creative players such as De Bruyne, Silva, and Sane were finding it really hard to break up the well-organized Reds back four.
Man City had a total of 11 attempts but none of them were on goal. The soon to be Premier League Champions were dispossessed a total of 18 times, meaning that all the build-up from the back was going to waste.
Sane had a glorious opportunity to get one back for his side in the first half when he went through facing competition from the center back duo and instead of passing to the open De Bruyne, he put it wide off target.
Klopp's tactics certainly worked as Liverpool countered the ball playing and dominant style of the Cityzens. This was through scoring early and then getting back to defensive shape and formation as well as creating chances at the other end when they retrieved the ball back.
The Merseysiders made a total of 24 tackles and a whopping 38 clearances with Trent-Alexander Arnold completing 10 of those clearances as he did a good job in keeping Sane quiet down the left wing.
