The shock between the two contenders for the title of champions of England has kept all its promises this Sunday at the Etihad. Manchester City led twice, giving themselves a virtual four-point lead. But Liverpool held on and always equalized (2-2). Result: the red remain in an ambush, a short length behind the leader.
Manchester City 2-2 Liverpool 
Goals: De Bruyne (5and) and Jesus (37and) for Manchester City // Jota (13and) and Mane (22and) for Liverpool
For now, the champion remains in charge. Liverpool arrived with tailwinds, thanks to their ten consecutive Premier League wins. A series that ended in the Etihad, a stadium from which they have not left as winners since April 2018. Jürgen Klopp’s men will nevertheless certainly be pleased with the draw coming back from this short trip. Firstly because he maintains the gap and pressure on Manchester City, still leading with a very short header. And especially because Pep Guardiola’s troops mistreated them from the start.
Under pressure
With his foot on the accelerator, the leader immediately put a lot of pressure on his runner-up. Alisson saved the red house by winning his duel with Raheem Sterling, but Kevin De Bruyne triggered from twenty meters after a quickly played free kick. He picked it up well, as his shot, slightly deflected by Joël Matip, landed in the small net of the Brazilian goalkeeper, who was defeated in the 496th minute without conceding a goal (4and† Strangled and with great difficulty to put their foot on the ball, red played with fire when Virgil van Dijk and his keeper misunderstood each other under pressure from Gabriel Jesus (9and† Ten minutes of suffering, then a first series of preservation in the form of redemption.
The chance to breathe, but also to stab: cross by Andy Robertson to the far post, delivery from his friend Trent Alexander-Arnold in one fell swoop for Diogo Jota and finish by the Portuguese (13and† A lesson in efficiency. With that, City picked up where they left off. Rodri’s transfer narrowly escaped John Stones (25and), for De Bruyne (29and) and Joao Cancelo (35and) take turns hitting the small net. The Portuguese fullback was more successful in a passer role, leading the ball at a distance behind the defense to Jesus, who escaped Alexander-Arnold’s “marker” to conclude from right under the crossbar (37and† Logic, in a one-sided first act.
Happy birthday, Sadio
A little more offensively on the return from the dressing room, Liverpool brought the counters back to the same level after 47 seconds of play through the birthday boy Sadio Mané, now found brilliant by Salah (46and† The Egyptian’s eleventh assist in the league, beaten only by his teammate Alexander-Arnold. Pharaoh could have matched it, but Ederson resisted Jota’s attempt (52and† Much more present than in the first period, the vice-champion of Africa also saw his shot from Aymeric Laporte in the area (71and† City did not give up and Jesus looked for the double, but the Brazilian came against Van Dijk (61and) then pulled to the side at a closed angle (72and† The 3-2 goal was logically denied to Raheem Sterling for offside (63and† No more success for the supersub Riyad Mahrez, whose free kick hit the post (90and† Already back to back on the first leg, Manchester City and Liverpool are having a hard time deciding. They have no choice at Wembley, where a place in the cup final is at stake. Perhaps the chance to take a psychological advantage in view of the past seven days, at the end of which they will have to pass to the inseparable.Man City (4-3-3): Ederson – Walker, Stones, Laporte, Cancelo – Rodrigo, De Bruyne, Bernardo – Jesus (Grealish, 83and), Foden, Sterling (Mahrez, 75and† coach : Pep Guardiola.
Liverpool (4-3-3): Alisson – Alexander-Arnold, Matip, Van Dijk, Robertson – Fabinho, Henderson (Keita, 78and), Thiago-Mane (Firmino, 84and), Salah, Jota (Diaz, 70and† coach : Jurgen Klopp.
By Quentin Ballue
