Liverpool, Man City serve up a classic for the ages: Neil Humphreys
Giants confirm that they are the teams to beat in the EPL title race
Liverpool and Manchester City should not have put on a second half like that. The first half was a damp squib, a tepid anti-climax.
No other teams could have put on a dramatic finale like that, with four goals in 20 minutes to confirm a breathtaking 2-2 draw at Anfield and reiterate that these two remain the teams to beat.
Kevin de Bruyne should not have scored an equaliser like that. With the clock showing 81 minutes, he collected the ball just outside the box. He had no gap, no time and no real target to aim at.
But he curled a left-footed effort into the far corner, via a deflection, for a tremendous finish that wasn't even the best goal in the last five minutes.
Mohamed Salah walked off with that accolade. He should not have scored a goal like that in the 76th minute. No one should have scored a goal like that.
| LIVERPOOL | MAN CITY |
| 2 | 2 |
| (Sadio Mane 59, Mohamed Salah 76) | (Phil Foden 69, Kevin de Bruyne 81) |
Salah's goal was ridiculous, preposterous and otherworldly. His goal came with too many obstacles, defenders, body twists, touches and feints. His goal required a sublime finish with too many tackles flying in.
His goal could not have been scored by anyone, except Salah.
He received the ball on the right wing, skipped around Joao Cancelo, pulled the ball away from Bernardo Silva, left Aymeric Laporte behind and then thought about having a shot.
The angle was too tight. The studs were flying around him. There was not enough time, surely, for anyone else, except Salah. He flipped a shot into the far corner.
His goal deserved victory, but de Bruyne intervened. This game deserved a winner, but a deadlock intervened. Still, make no mistake, Anfield witnessed a glorious statement of intent from both sides.
Try and separate Liverpool and City for the title this season. These two powerhouses can't even separate each other.
Between them, they put on the most memorable second half of the campaign, if not recent memory, which was all the more remarkable considering the first half was one of the dullest.
DEFENSIVE WOES
For a team that managed to overcome key defensive losses last season, Liverpool struggled to handle the absence of one fullback.
The impact of Trent Alexander-Arnold's injury was alarming to say the least.
With James Milner deputising at right-back against City, Liverpool were a desperate rabble in the first half, praying that the ball stayed away from their exposed 35-year-old veteran.
But of course it didn't. City's attacking play drifted towards Milner's flank so many times, the Anfield pitch looked tilted in the visitors' favour.
Initially, Pep Guardiola's starting line-up promised to be another of his cerebral puzzles.
Gabriel Jesus was pushed to the right, Jack Grealish took on the false No. 9 role and Phil Foden took the left flank. In the early exchanges, City appeared disjointed and uncertain, until their manager urged his midfielders forward.
Then Foden turned into a beast released. His bullying of Milner was merciless, making the most of their 14-year age gap.
Milner was spun around in defence, picked up a yellow card for battering Foden, narrowly avoided conceding a penalty for clipping Foden and needed Alisson to get him out of jail after losing Foden.
But the Milner-Foden mismatch had drawn attention away from another developing trend. Despite City's dominance, they rarely threatened Alisson's goal. Such a paradox will only intensify the debate about a missing No. 9.
They were practically asking to be punished for their profligacy. In the 59th minute, Sadio Mane duly obliged.
In a blistering counter-attack, Salah scampered away and slipped in a perfectly weighted pass into Mane's path. The forward found the far corner.
Luckily, City still had Foden.
He was presented with one more chance to humiliate Milner in the 69th minute. This time, he didn't miss. Foden skipped behind the grand old deputy, collected Jesus' pass and rifled a strike into the far corner.
Juergen Klopp had seen enough, replacing the weary stand-in with Joe Gomez.
But there was nothing weary about that second half.
Anfield didn't see a winner, but the venue almost certainly witnessed the eventual winner of the English Premier League title.
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