Twitter goes haywire as Riyad Mahrez misses penalty at Anfield

Liverpool FC v Manchester City - Premier League
Despair. Disgust. Disappointment.

Sunday saw Liverpool and Manchester City go toe-to-toe at Anfield in a much-awaited rivalry between the champions and the challengers. Against many expectations, the proceedings turned out to be an absolute bore fest for the neutrals.

Neither side manager to muster a shot on target in the first 45 minutes. Mohamed Salah's wide effort proved to be the closest chance. There was a lack of urgency as both sides went about their game and the absence of a telling final ball led to a struggling first half. While the Reds started the match on the front foot, Manchester City clawed their way back into the game and saw off early pressure from the home side.

The same continued in the second half as Liverpool dominated in possession. Post the hour mark, the game opened up a bit more, with more tackles won in the middle of the park, more set-piece threats and in turn, more shots on goal. Mahrez came close to scoring twice for City but was equalled to it by Alisson, who is yet to concede at Anfield. For the hosts, Salah saw himself clear on goal but failed to hit the target.

The moment of the match though, came as late as in the 85th minute, when the robust Virgil Van Dijk uncharacteristically mistimed a challenge on substitute Leroy Sane. Referee Martin Atkinson pointed to the spot without a second thought. Sergio Aguero was subbed off for Gabriel Jesus and thus, Riyad Mahrez stepped up to take the penalty.

What followed, was an absolute mess. With an easy looking run-up, he ran towards the ball and met it, but skied it way above the frame of the goal. It could easily have been three points in the bag through a hard-fought win at a buzzing Anfield. However, Manchester City and Liverpool are now on 20 points from 8 games, along with Chelsea.

The title race might have heated up after the draw and a point at Anfield isn't a bad result, but Mahrez would still be kicking himself. Without further wait, let's take a look at some of the best tweets on Mahrez's penalty miss.


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