Manchester City 1-1 Liverpool: Player Ratings as title rivals share spoils at Etihad Stadium | Premier League 2020-21

Manchester City and Liverpool shared the points after a 1-1 draw at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday evening.

Mohamed Salah put Liverpool in the lead early in the game with a well-struck penalty after Sadio Mane was fouled by Kyle Walker.

Manchester City equalised midway through the first half though, when Kevin De Bruyne set up Gabriel Jesus, who turned past a couple of Liverpool defenders to slot past Alisson Becker.

Manchester City should have taken the lead towards the of the first half, when referee Craig Pawson gave them a penalty for a Joe Gomez handball. But with Alisson having dived the wrong way, De Bruyne dragged his penalty wide of the target.

In the second half, the game was a lot less open and chances were at a premium. Gabriel Jesus had the biggest of them, with a free header that he put wide.

Here's how each player fared for both teams.

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Manchester City Player Ratings

Ederson - 7/10

Ederson made a terrific save to deny Trent Alexander-Arnold late in the first half. Early on in the game, he was also decisive in coming out to deny Roberto Firmino a clear chance to shoot.

Kyle Walker - 5/10

It was a daft tackle from Walker on Mane to give away a penalty that Salah tucked away. City did get plenty of joy from switching the play to him, as he provided them the width on the right flank.

Ruben Dias - 6/10

Dias gave away a couple of daft fouls in dangerous areas, but those were his only iffy moments in a game in which he was generally solid.

Aymeric Laporte - 7/10

Laporte did superbly in dealing with the threat of Salah. He was strong and ensured that the Egyptian couldn't hold the ball up. He also ensured that the City line was deep enough to deny Salah the space to run in behind them.

Joao Cancelo - 8/10

Cancelo was City's best player on the day. He was excellent in defending one-on-one against any of the Liverpool attackers that were on his flank. He got forward well enough, and also set up Jesus's big chance in the second half.

Rodri - 6/10

Rodri was sometimes a bit slow in possession, and got picked off by the Liverpool press. In general though, he was a steady presence in front of the City back four.

Ilkay Gundogan - 6/10

Gundogan played a few smashing diagonal balls throughout the game, but he couldn't impact City's attacking play consistently enough.

Kevin de Bruyne - 7/10

After the game, Jurgen Klopp called De Bruyne the difference-maker, and he sure was. He got the assist for Jesus's goal with a clever pass to the Brazilian. His rating is only soured by the missed penalty, when he completely missed the target.

Ferran Torres - 6/10

Ferran had a quiet game. He couldn't really trouble Robertson too much, and was substituted midway through the second half with Bernardo Silva replacing him.

Raheem Sterling - 5/10

Sterling had a terrible game. He had a golden chance to score in the first half, but was denied by Alisson. His dribbling throughout the game left plenty of questions to be asked, as both Alexander-Arnold and Milner dealt with him easily.

Gabriel Jesus - 7/10

Jesus scored in his first league start for seven weeks, with a lovely finish after reacting quickest in the box. He should have scored another with a second-half header, but he put it wide when he was unmarked.

Substitutes

Bernardo Silva - 6/10

Bernardo Silva troubled Robertson more in the time he was on the pitch, than Ferran managed to before that. But he couldn't find the key to unlock Liverpool.

Liverpool Player Ratings

Mohamed Salah scored Liverpool's only goal of the game

Alisson Becker - 7/10

Alisson made a big save to deny Sterling in the first half. In the second half, his command of the box, and his sweeping up were important for Liverpool, as they didn't really manage to control the game.

Trent Alexander-Arnold - 6/10

Alexander-Arnold nearly played Firmino through in the opening exchanges when the Brazilian should have scored. He didn't finish the game, though, with what looked like a calf injury.

Joel Matip - 6/10

In his first start for three weeks, Matip defended really well for the most part. His passing, though, was awful and hindered Liverpool's attempts to build any momentum.

Joe Gomez - 7/10

Gomez was unlucky to concede a penalty in the first half, which he could realistically have done nothing to avert. But otherwise, he didn't put a foot wrong with his defending throughout the game.

Andy Robertson - 7/10

Robertson was once again a machine down the Liverpool left. He put in a mammoth shift, and made some critical interceptions and tackles throughout the game.

Jordan Henderson - 6/10

Starting in a two-man midfield, Henderson did well enough to not allow Liverpool to get dominated in the middle of the park.

Georginio Wijnaldum - 7/10

Wijnaldum had a couple of moments where he gave the ball away needlessly. But tactically, he was spot on with his work in midfield. He was mostly strong in possession, and recovered well when Liverpool lost the ball.

Roberto Firmino - 3/10

Firmino is in a spell of rotten form where nothing is going right for him. His touches were questionable, his decision-making poor, and just generally, he had no positive influence on the game.

Diogo Jota - 5/10

After scoring in four consecutive games for Liverpool, Jota had a much quieter game. He had two presentable shooting opportunities, but he scuffed his shot both times.

Mohamed Salah - 7/10

Salah once again put away his penalty with aplomb. He would have loved to have get more involved in the game though, but was well-marshalled by Laporte.

Sadio Mane - 6/10

Mane's decision-making in the final third let him down. He had a few opportunities to shoot, but he decided to pass instead. He won the penalty off Walker, with a clever piece of play.

Substitutes

Xherdan Shaqiri - 5/10

Shaqiri came on to replace Firmino, but couldn't really set up his fellow attackers for any presentable chances.

James Milner - 6/10

Milner replaced Alexander-Arnold midway through the second half, and stuck to his task defensively against Sterling and Cancelo.