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Liverpool and Manchester City played out a thrilling 2-2 draw at Anfield in the 2021-22 Premier League on Sunday. Four second-half goals from Sadio Mane, Phil Foden, Mohamed Salah and Kevin De Bruyne served up a classic as both sides settled for a share of the spoils.
Following an intense-but-goalless first-half that was dominated by City, the match sprung to life after the break. Salah broke into a lung-bursting run down the right before feeding an onrushing Mane, who slammed the ball home beyond Ederson with an imperious first touch.
Foden levelled proceedings soon after with a fine strike of his own from inside the area. But seven minutes later, Salah produced a moment of pure quality, dancing around a group of City players before firing home from a tight angle.
The Reds were in control again and looked set to avenge their 4-1 humiliation at the hands of the Sky Blues in February. But the visitors remained dangerous on the break, and found their equaliser through De Bruyne after an excellent team move. The ball took a slight deflection off Joel Matip, bamboozling Alisson, and the match was on level terms again.
City continued to push forward in search of a late winner, but Liverpool held firm to ensure a stalemate. On that note, here are the player ratings for both Liverpool and Manchester City:
Liverpool player ratings against Manchester City
Alisson - 7/10
He couldn't do much about either of City's goals but made some key saves. Alisson denied Phil Foden after nearly gifting him a chance, and then hooked the ball off his feet in the second half.
James Milner - 5/10
Milner, filling in for Trent Alexander-Arnold, was always a step away from disaster. He challenged Foden with a cynical tackle, nearly gave away a penalty, and should've been sent off for his challenge on Silva in the second half.
Joel Matip - 6/10
There were a few sloppy moments from the Cameroonian in defence. But otherwise he came up well, making four interceptions and two blocks. He was unfortunate with City's second goal, as it came off him before bulging the Liverpool net.
Virgil van Dijk - 7.5/10
Liverpool's big man looked unsettled early on, but he soon regained his composure and kept getting better as the match wore on. Van Dijk won only one of his two duels all match, though, but dominated against Sterling and Walker.
Andrew Robertson - 7/10
His attacking output wasn't as good as it usually is. But Robertson made up for that with a fine performance in defence.
Jordan Henderson - 7/10
The Liverpool captain played a key role in defending against City, helping his team win back possession. His passes, though, were poor on the night.
Fabinho - 7/10
He struggled in the first half, but found his feet after the break. Fabinho should've scored the winner late on for Liverpool, but took a second too long to release his shot.
Curtis Jones - 6.5/10
He was tidy in possession, passing the ball around well. Jones also got an assist for Salah's goal, but it was all about the Egyptian's fine control and execution.
Mohamed Salah - 9/10
A fabulous individual goal, a fine assist, lots of chances created, brilliant link-up play and boisterous runs down the right flank - just the usual stuff from Salah.
Sadio Mane - 8/10
He linked up with Salah to devastating effect, and nonchalantly converted Salah's pass to give Liverpool the lead.
Diogo Jota - 6/10
It was a quiet game for the striker, who rarely threatened City, and was subbed off in the second half for Roberto Firmino.
Ratings of Liverpool substitutes against Manchester City
Roberto Firmino - 5/10
He replaced the ineffective Jota, but didn't fare any better.
Joe Gomez - 5/10
His marking in the build-up to City's second goal was poor.
Ratings of Manchester City against Liverpool
Ederson - 6.5/10
The Manchester City custodian could've done better for both of Liverpool's goals, and was nearly punished for a mistake in the closing stages of the game.
Kyle Walker - 7.5/10
It was another solid performance in defence from Walker, who also burst forward on a few occasions, and executed a fine free-kick in the second half.
Ruben Dias - 6.5/10
He made one glaring mistake in the first half, going into the referee's books for hacking down Diogo Jota.
Aymeric Laporte - 6.5/10
The Spaniard comfortably saw off the opening stanza, but struggled to cope with the irrepressible Mohamed Salah after the break.
Joao Cancelo - 6/10
He laid some good passes going forward, but was caught out by Salah at the back, especially for Liverpool's first goal.
Bernardo Silva - 7.5/10
Silva produced a fine dribble in the first half that Lionel Messi would've been proud of. But Foden couldn't finish the lay-off, denying Silva a fine assist. The Portuguese faded as the match wore on, though.
Rodri - 7/10
The midfielder was key in helping Manchester City keep a lion's share of possession in the opening stanza. Rodri made a match-saving block on Fabinho in the closing moments of the game.
Phil Foden - 7.5/10
Foden was excellent throughout, showing incredible pace and trickery on the ball, before helping bring Manchester City level with a fine effort.
Kevin De Bruyne - 7.5/10
The Belgian magician was at the heart of everything good from City on the day. De Bruyne brought his side level with a fine strike, which took a deflection off Matip on its way in.
Gabriel Jesus - 7/10
Jesus worked hard to regain possession and laid some excellent crosses. He also linked up well with Sterling to work a few openings.
Jack Grealish - 6.5/10
He started in a striker's role today, but clearly struggled. Grealish's best moments came only when he drifted out wide.
Ratings of Manchester substitutes against Liverpool
Raheem Sterling - 6.5/10
It was not the happiest of returns to Anfield for the former Liverpool star, who kept the Reds defenders busy with his movements inside the area. Sterling was on the receiving end of a few half-chances, which he didn't convert, though. He also hesitated to cap off a counter in stoppage-time.
