• Jurgen Klopp makes a bold selection decision, leaving Salah and Robertson on the bench
• City start brightly, forcing Kelleher into early saves
• Diaz has a goal ruled out on 19 minutes after Nunez was offside in the buildup
• Kyle Walker was lucky to escape a yellow card after two late challenges on Dominik Szoboszlai
• John Stones scores from a clever corner, despite Ake blocking Mac Allister from reaching the ball
• Szoboszlai misses a good chance after a cross from Elliott, heading well over
• HALF-TIME - Liverpool 0 - 1 Manchester City
• Darwin Nunez wins a penalty after a loose backpass from Ake, with Ederson taking out the attacker and earning a yellow card.
• Mac Allister converts the penalty on 49 minutes
• Game played at a frenetic pace, with Bernardo Silva earning a yellow card for persistent fouling
• City keeper Ederson was forced off with an injury sustained in the penalty incident
• Luis Diaz misses two 1-on-1 chances in the space of 3 minutes
• Doku hits the post with 2 minutes of normal time left
• Then, in the 97th minute, Doku takes out Mac Allister with a high boot but VAR inexplicably fails to award a penalty
• FULL-TIME - Liverpool 1 - 1 Manchester City

Liverpool and City played out a pulsating match at Anfield, with the Reds rescuing a point to maintain their lead over City in the league, although Arsenal are now top on goal difference.

Despite the noise and energy of the Anfield crowd before kick-off, it was City who started the better of the two teams, with Phil Foden wasting a good opportunity after just 90 seconds.  Liverpool would have wanted to start quickly, but it took the opening 10 minutes for the Reds to grow into the game, as City enjoyed plenty of possession and probed for an early opener, forcing Kelleher into several regulation saves.

Then, on 19 minutes, Anfield erupted as Luis Diaz put the ball in the net, only for the goal to be ruled out for offside in the buildup to the goal.  Seeing the replays, Nunez went too early, and the goal was rightly chalked off.

Both teams had now settled into the game, with Liverpool perhaps having the better of the chances, but City struck first after 23 minutes, when a clever corner from Kevin De Bruyne found John Stones unmarked at the front post, to cleverly slot home.  Anfield was stunned and Liverpool were angry, as replays showed that Mac Allister had been blocked off by Nathan Ake.  In the recent Carabao Cup Final, a similar block by Wataru Endo resulted in Van Dijk's header being ruled off, yet here the referees took an entirely different view.

The rest of the half saw the two teams trade blows, with both teams having chances to score, but the half ended with City holding a 1 - 0 lead.

As the second half started, Anfield was once again in full voice, and the volume was increased further after just 3 minutes when a loose pass from Ake allowed Nunez to nip in ahead of Ederson, who cynically brought the Urugyuan down.  The referee had no hesitation in awarding the penalty, and despite plenty of gamesmanship from the City players, Mac Allister coolly stepped up to score.

City were rattled, and Anfield was bouncing, as Liverpool created a series of chances, but Luis Diaz missed two glorious opportunities when put through one-on-one with the keeper.

Guardiola was worried and sacrificed De Bruyne for Jorginho to try to regain some control.  As the game ticked away, Liverpool saw several claims for a penalty waved away, with Doku's high boot on Mac Allister in the final minute of the game as clear a penalty as you will see all day - yet both the referee and VAR bottled the decision and waved play-on, with the game ending one apiece.

Liverpool vs Man City match stats

Possession
Liverpool - 53% - 47% Man City

Total Shots
Liverpool 19 - 10 Man City

Shots on Target
Liverpool 6 - 6 Man City

Corners
Liverpool 7 - 4 Man City

Fouls
Liverpool 6 - 10 Man City

Man of the Match

Alexis Mac Allister - 9/10 - Another excellent performance from the best signing in the Premier League this season.

What's Next

Liverpool have the second leg of the Europa League Last 16 against Sparta Prague on Thursday.  The Reds lead 5 - 1 after the first leg.  The match will kick off at 20.00 on the 14th March 2024.

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