Liverpool 1-4 Manchester City: 5 hits and flops as Skyblues make big title statement

Manchester City thumped reigning champions Liverpool 4-1 in the Premier League to make a resounding title statement.

A brace from Ilkay Gundogan coupled with goals from Raheem Sterling and Phil Foden ended City's 17-year wait for a win at Anfield, whilst also consolidating their position atop the standings.

Gundogan made up for his penalty miss from the first half with a goal in the second, before Mohamed Salah equalized from the spot himself.

Then Alisson, often so reliable, made two embarrassing mistakes which are sure to haunt him for the next few days. Gundogan, again, and Sterling, pounced before Foden rounded off the rout with an emphatic strike.

A day to forget for Jurgen Klopp and co. as their title defense is all but over, while City are now the firm favorites in the race.

Here are the hits and flops from the match:

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Flop: Alisson (Liverpool)

Alisson's worst night in a Liverpool shirt

Boy oh boy, what on earth was wrong with Alisson against City?

The Brazilian, so impenetrable otherwise, made two appalling mistakes that cost Liverpool dearly.

On both occasions, he passed straight to a City player, first at Foden, and then at Silva, who then scampered a few times forward before laying it off for Gundogan and Sterling to score, respectively.

He literally put the meal on the platter for the Citizens to feast on, and feast they did.

This brought back the horrific memories of the 2018 Champions League final, with several Reds fans on social media drawing parallels between the howlers by Loris Karius to the ones tonight.

Ever since he swapped Rome for Anfield, Alisson has shored up the backline, laying the foundations for Liverpool's recent success. But tonight was the worst we've seen of him.

Get some rest, O Goleiro Gato.

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Hit: Phil Foden (Manchester City)

England's next big thing?

Manchester City have several talented youngsters in their ranks, but Phil Foden is the very cream of the crop.

And if there were any lingering doubts, he made sure they're smashed right out of the park against Liverpool.

A constant threat with his energetic runs and lung-bursting dribbles, the 20-year old ran the rings around the home side and even made Alisson pay for his mistake.

Kindly receiving a gift of a pass from the Brazilian, Foden burst inside the area before laying it off for Gundogan to do the rest.

Notwithstanding, however, he applied the finishing touches to his stellar performance with an unstoppable bullet into the top right corner, bringing up his fifth league goal of the season.

Not many under-23 players have impressed this season, but after tonight, Foden might have just etched his name on the 'best young player' trophy of the Premier League for this campaign.

Hit: llkay Gundogan (Manchester City)

Gundogan was on fire tonight!

This season, Gundogan has been playing like a man possessed. His goalscoring output has increased manifold whilst his overall contributions in City's game have been outstanding too.

However, tonight was turning out to be those days at Anfield where nothing quite works for the Skyblues, as the German blazed his penalty hopelessly over the bar, missing the chance to give his side the lead.

After the break, though, the former Borussia Dortmund man returned a different beast.

He made up for that gaffe by prodding home from close range, before netting another one to restore City's lead.

From the pantomime to the protagonist in no time. Gundogan has now scored nine league goals from the last 11 games!

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Flop: Manchester City's penalty record

City's record from the spot has been appalling

This was the only sore note from an otherwise pristine evening for the Skyblues.

One of the best attacking sides in the world right now, it's quite ironical how they struggle to dispatch penalties sometimes, just as we saw tonight.

Like Riyad Mahrez and Kevin De Bruyne before him, Gundogan fluffed his lines from the spot against Liverpool too, smashing his effort into row Z.

Even though he redeemed himself later on and City romped to a huge win, this is something which Guardiola should really be concerned about.

City, for all their attacking might and world-class players, have missed nine of the last 17 penalty attempts - quite unbecoming of a side as menacing as them.

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Hit: Curtis Jones (Liverpool)

Jones ws very influential for Reds in the first half

The sole bright spot for the Reds, especially in the first half, as Jones frustrated the Citizens with some crucial blocks and clearances.

Full of skill, vision, and technique, the 20-year old star made four interceptions in the match and also completed two tackles.

One of them includes his brilliant intervention to impede Foden from racing clear of the defense on the halfway line.

What made Klopp substitute his best player relatively early, is a mystery, but the boss paid a huge price for it.

The Reds completely collapsed in his absence, losing control of the midfield and direction of the match.