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Newly-crowned Premier League champions Liverpool fell to an embarrassing 4-0 defeat at the hands of Manchester City in a riveting game at the Etihad on Thursday evening.
Before the match, the Manchester City staff and players presented Liverpool with a guard of honour as a sign of respect to the current holders of the crown. That moment was, however, overshadowed by a show of dominance by Pep Guardiola's men on the pitch.
Both teams named strong line-ups with a clear intent of winning the match, irrespective of how the season had turned up before the fixture. It was an end-to-end affair to begin with, and both teams looked fairly sharp in attack.
However, it was Manchester City who opened the scoring with a penalty before netting two more to go into the break with a three-goal lead. They maintained the high tempo in the second half and caused much trouble to an otherwise strong Liverpool defence. Although the hosts added another goal to their tally, they would have certainly scored more. Liverpool themselves had a few chances to score but were not as clinical as they have been all season.
Here are the player ratings from this memorable Premier League match.
Manchester City
Ederson Moraes - 7/10
Ederson has been the subject of heavy criticism this season because of his inconsistent displays. However, his performance against Liverpool on Thursday was laudable. His distribution was on-point and his decision-making was better than it has been of late. He claimed crosses confidently and made some decent saves.
Kyle Walker - 7/10
Kyle Walker competently dealt with the challenges thrown at him by Liverpool. The Reds often played the cross-field ball to Sadio Mane on the left wing and the Manchester City defender was always quick to close down on the Senegalese forward.
Eric Garcia - 8/10
It is not easy for a 19-year-old to go up against one of the fiercest attacks in Europe and come away with a clean sheet. Eric Garcia showed incredible maturity in dealing with the Liverpool attack and was arguably Manchester City's best defender on the night. The young Spaniard was aerially dominant and was there to clean up the mess when his teammates gave the ball away.
Aymeric Laporte - 7/10
It was another decent day at the office for Aymeric Laporte, who seems to have recovered well from his injury issues this season. His passing was usually reliable and he blocked a number of shots that could have turned into goals otherwise.
Benjamin Mendy - 8/10
After a horrid display during Manchester City's previous Premier League game against Chelsea, Benjamin Mendy appeared rejuvenated against Liverpool on Thursday evening.
The Frenchman hardly put a foot wrong during the game. He was composed in possession, effective in attack and resolute in defence. There's hardly anything more you can expect from a left-back.
Rodri - 8/10
Rodri is not a flashy player by any means but he was a metronome in the middle of the park against Liverpool. He kept the ball moving and generated attacks for Manchester City without being at the forefront. He ended the match with a ridiculous 97% passing accuracy.
Ilkay Gundogan - 6/10
Ilkay Gundogan's role as a number 8 has proven to disastrous for Manchester City this season but he was much more secure this time around. The German did not influence the game as much as he did when played as a number 6 but he can be proud of his performance nonetheless.
Kevin de Bruyne - 9/10
Kevin de Bruyne continued to prove his importance to this Manchester City side with yet another scintillating display at the Etihad. He scored, assisted and won crucial aerial duels against Liverpool. The Belgian maestro finished the game with 5 key passes, as many as the entire Liverpool attack and midfield combined.
Phil Foden - 9/10
It is tough to believe that a player like Phil Foden was reduced to a substitute option for the majority of the season. As things stand now, benching him would simply be criminal.
The 20-year-old put in yet another mesmerising display of attacking football for Manchester City and capped it off by scoring the best goal of the night. He also helped his team defensively, winning more aerial duels than the entire Liverpool defence combined. The sky is certainly the limit for the youngster.
Raheem Sterling - 8/10
Raheem Sterling finally put one past his former club Liverpool with a beautifully-taken goal on Thursday evening. The Englishman gave compatriot Joe Gomez a torrid time throughout the game. He spun the defender to draw a foul and win the penalty that led to Manchester City's opener, before doubling the lead himself with a 35th-minute goal. His shot forced the fourth goal of the evening and he could've added more to his tally had he been a little more clinical. Regardless, it was an outing to remember for Sterling.
Gabriel Jesus - 5/10
Perhaps the only Manchester City player who didn't enjoy a great performance, Gabriel Jesus was central to the good moves his side created but was wasteful in front of goal and often strayed into offside positions. His presence was still important as he gave his teammates more space than they would've gotten in his absence.
Substitutes
Riyad Mahrez - 6/10
Riyad Mahrez replaced the rusty Gabriel Jesus with over half an hour still to play. He almost scored Manchester City's fifth goal but it was ruled out for a minor handball infringement in the build-up.
Joao Cancelo - 5/10
Liverpool attempted to create attacks through Cancelo's flank once Kyle Walker was substituted off, but the Portuguese made sure his side's clean sheet was intact.
Nicolas Otamendi, Bernardo Silva- N/A
Both players did not have enough time on the pitch to influence the game.
Liverpool
Alisson - 5/10
Alisson remains the best goalkeeper in the Premier League despite a shaky performance against Manchester City. The hosts scored four goals with five shots on target and the numbers alone are enough to determine that the Brazilian had an off-day. Although he cannot be directly blamed for any of the four goals, he didn't do much to try and prevent them either.
He was also embarrassed at his near post by Riyad Mahrez later in the game, only to be saved by a handball decision that went against Manchester City.
Trent Alexander-Arnold - 6/10
Trent Alexander-Arnold is at his breath-taking best when he is given the freedom to use that wonderful right foot to deliver a sumptuous cross into the penalty box. However, he was given no space to work with when in possession against Manchester City, rendering him impotent in the final third. His long-range cross-field switches to Sadio Mane were a thing of beauty but there isn't much else to talk about.
Joe Gomez - 3/10
Joe Gomez is usually a very dependable defender and he has shown enough to win a starting berth at the national team. Unfortunately, he was far from dependable against Manchester City. He failed to deal with Raheem Sterling on multiple occasions and gave away a cheap penalty which led to Liverpool's eventual downfall. He was substituted at half time but the damage had already been done.
Virgil van Dijk - 6/10
Virgil van Dijk is one of the best centre-backs in the world but he failed to live up to his standards on Thursday evening. To be fair, the Dutchman had to help out his centre-back partner fairly often and that gave him an awful lot to deal with all at once. Manchester City ultimately proved to be too much for him.
Andrew Robertson - 4/10
A very disappointing performance from the otherwise fantastic Scotsman. Andrew Robertson took the bait that led to Manchester City's third goal and virtually ended the match. Apart from that, his positioning was haywire and he was uncharacteristically a weakness in defence.
Fabinho - 6/10
Fabinho didn't have an extraordinary game by any means, but he managed to hold his own against Manchester City. His passing was generally good except for a few hiccups now and then. Defensively, he was somewhat off the pace. It was not a great day for the Brazilian but not a terrible one either.
Georginio Wijnaldum - 5/10
Georginio Wijnaldum worked hard without the ball- like he always does- and tried to contribute in a number of ways. However, he wasn't influential with the ball and Jurgen Klopp had enough at the hour-mark, evident by his substitution for Naby Keita.
Jordan Henderson - 6/10
Jordan Henderson, who is one of the favourites to win the PFA Player of the Year award, wasn't at his absolute best against Manchester City. The Liverpool skipper is known for his character and commitment, and although that wasn't lacking, his technical quality was hardly seen on the pitch. His passing accuracy was still impressive but he looked a little tired and didn't marshal the midfield or help out in defence like he normally does.
Mohamed Salah - 6/10
Mo Salah was inches away from opening the scoring against Manchester City when he only managed to hit the post after cutting inside from the right. Had the ball somehow crept in instead, we might have been looking at a different game. However, as things stand, the Egyptian is left ruing the chance missed.
Sadio Mane - 4/10
On another day, Sadio Mane could have scored a brace. Instead, he ended up putting in one of his worst performances in a Liverpool shirt. His general play wasn't terrible but he missed some really good chances, including an absolute sitter.
With just Ederson to beat with a foot or two from goal, the Senegal international completely fluffed his lines and ended up making almost no contact with the ball. To make things worse, he was nutmegged by Benjamin Mendy in the middle of the pitch. It was definitely a night to forget for Mane.
Roberto Firmino - 5/10
Roberto Firmino only got one crack at the Manchester City goal the entire match and even that ended up being a tame one that was easily saved by Ederson. Apart from that, he was barely involved in the match, playing just over ten passes in over an hour of action before being substituted by Divock Origi.
Substitutes
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain - 5/10
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain came on at half-time to spark an attacking fire. However, it wasn't meant to be as the Englishman failed to make any significant impact in the final third.
Divock Origi - 6/10
Divock Origi looked positive when he came on and did a better job than Firmino. However, he did not really have a chance to score.
Naby Keita - 6/10
Naby Keita replaced Wijnaldum in midfield and looked fairly sharp. He had some good touches and made some interesting runs on the left side.
Neco Williams - 6/10
Neco Williams enjoyed some valuable playing time against some of the best players in the world. He put one good cross which Salah ultimately failed to convert.
Takumi Minamino - N/A
Takumi Minamino did not spend enough time on the pitch to be marked.
