Liverpool Deepens Manchester City’s Woes
Liverpool added to the misery of Manchester City, the reigning Premier League champions for the past four seasons, edging closer to snatching the title with a 2-0 victory on Sunday in the 13th round of the English Premier League.
At Anfield, the Reds continued their sensational season under their new Dutch manager, Arne Slot, securing their seventh consecutive win across all competitions and their 11th in the league. They now lead the table with 34 points, nine points ahead of both Arsenal and Chelsea, while City slipped from second to fifth place, trailing Brighton on goal difference after suffering their fourth defeat.
This is the first time Liverpool has held such a commanding lead at the top since the final round of the 2019-2020 season when they claimed their 18th league title and first since 1990.
Salah Steals the Spotlight
In the midst of this resounding victory, where he played a pivotal role by assisting the first goal and scoring the second, Liverpool’s Egyptian star Mohamed Salah captured attention with his post-match comments to Sky Sports. “The crowd was behind us from the first minute. I’m happy we won the game,” Salah remarked.
Having recently revealed that he has yet to receive a contract renewal offer, Salah spoke about the emotions of playing at Anfield: “It’s very special. I don’t take it lightly. I enjoy every moment here. I feel at home. It’s always special to score at Anfield and win games.”
Regarding his contract situation, Salah added: “Honestly, it’s on my mind. As things stand (with no updates), this could be my last game at Anfield against City in a Liverpool shirt, and I’ll savor it… We hope to win the league, and then we’ll see what happens.”
City’s Endless Crisis
Unlike Liverpool, who also lead their unified Champions’ League group after a midweek 2-0 win over reigning champions Real Madrid, City’s struggles continue. Pep Guardiola’s side is enduring its worst spell under the Spanish manager, who for the first time in his career has suffered five consecutive defeats before drawing 3-3 with Feyenoord in midweek, having squandered a 3-0 lead in the Champions League.
This marks the first time City has lost four straight league matches since Guardiola’s arrival in 2016 and the first since August 2008 under then-manager Mark Hughes.
Liverpool fully deserved the victory, dominating especially in the first half, which began with a header from Dutch captain Virgil van Dijk striking the post in the 11th minute. Moments later, Cody Gakpo opened the scoring after a long pass from Trent Alexander-Arnold found Salah, who provided the assist for the Dutchman (12′).
Van Dijk was again denied by the woodwork with another header (19’), as was Alexander-Arnold (34′), keeping the score 1-0 at halftime. Liverpool started the second half strongly with two golden chances, one for Gakpo, who hesitated, allowing Matheus Nunes to intervene (51′), and another for Salah, who blasted over the bar (56′).
City improved but lacked a real threat on goalkeeper Caoimhín Kelleher’s goal, and they paid the price when Liverpool scored their second goal from a counterattack. Colombian winger Luis Díaz was fouled by German goalkeeper Stefan Ortega, earning a penalty that Salah converted (78′), bringing his tally to 11 league goals this season. This marked the 36th time Salah has both scored and assisted in the same match, equaling Wayne Rooney’s record, according to Opta.
