Liverpool took another step towards the Premier League title with a 2-0 win over Manchester City on Sunday, with talisman Mohamed Salah scoring the first and setting up Dominik Szoboszlai for the 2nd as they went 11 points clear at the top.
Arne Slot’s side leads second-place Arsenal by 64 points after 27 games, with a game in hand.
As their early-season pursuit of a fifth consecutive title has unravelled into a race for a Champions League spot, City are 20 points behind Liverpool in fourth place on 44 points.
Key Moments: Salah & Szoboszlai Seal Victory
Salah scored his league-leading 25th goal of the season in the 14th minute, with a blistering shot from near the top of the box that deflected off City defender Nathan Ake’s outstretched foot and past goalkeeper Ederson.
Szoboszlai doubled the lead in the 37th minute, capitalising on City’s poor defence. Salah found the unmarked Hungarian in the box for an easy pass into the net, much to the dismay of Man City fans, whose downbeat mood was matched by the pouring rain.
Possession vs Precision: Liverpool Record-Low 34%
Thousands had left before the final whistle, as Liverpool fans gleefully sang, “We’re going to win the league.”
Three days ago we had a draw at (Aston) Villa and people told me we weren’t in a good place and then three days later we won and it changed again, Slot said.
We work every day to achieve this, and it takes three months of extremely hard work to maintain it. There’s no secret.
Salah has scored and assisted in 11 league games this season, the most in a single season in Europe’s top five leagues since Lionel Messi’s 11 for Barcelona in 2014-15.
Haaland Absence & Man City Defensive Woes
City, missing top scorer Erling Haaland due to a knee injury, held their own for much of the game, with 66% possession to Liverpool’s 34%.
It was Liverpool’s lowest percentage of wins this season and the lowest since possession statistics were first compiled 20 years ago.
The hosts had five on-target shots to Liverpool’s four.
Omar Marmoush, who scored his first hat-trick for City in a 4-0 win over Newcastle United just over a week ago, thought he had scored with a sumptuous finish into the far corner in the first half, but the offside flag was raised.
In the second half, the Egyptian striker fired another shot that went just wide, leaving City manager Pep Guardiola with his head in his hands.
Curtis Jones sparked a frenzy among the travellisng Liverpool fans with what he thought was a goal in the second period, but VAR ruled it offside.
Post-Match Reactions: Slot & Szoboszlai on Title Charge
The visitors had done enough, however, and celebrated beating City both at home and away for the first time since 2015-16.
Asked about fans singing of winning the league, Szoboszlai said: I didn’t hear it, I was so tired. We have to keep going, and the game against Newcastle on Wednesday will be tough.
City suffered their eighth defeat this season. Their worst season under Guardiola was nine in 2019-20.
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