- Dream start -
Manchester City came into the second leg of their Champions League quarter final with a three goal deficit, so it was key that they started the game quickly at the Ethiad. This is exactly what they did, when Gabriel Jesus stunned Liverpool with a goal in the second minute of the game.
The goal was created after Virgil Van Dijlk was shunted off the ball by Raheem Sterling, and made the fatal error of not playing to the whistle. Fernandinho picked the ball up and threaded Gabriel Jesus in with a ball that sliced through the Liverpool defence, and Jesus slotted it past Karius calmly, giving the home fans exactly what they were hoping for.
This goal rocked the visiting side, and they became a shadow of the team we saw at Anfield in the first leg. City dominated the first half, pinning Liverpool in their own half, and creating chance after chance. Liverpool didn't help themselves though, and a lack of composure saw them giving the ball away constantly, and struggling to string more than one or two real attacks together.
- Profligacy and bad luck -
City were unable to turn their dominance and chances into goals, however, despite putting the ball in the net in the 43rd minute. Leroy Sane believed he had made it two for his side when he finished a tap-in from a few yards out, after Loris Karius had failed to punch a cross away, leaving the goal open for Sane. However, the ball that fell to Sane was deemed to be offside, even though the previous touch had come off James Milner.
Pep Guardiola was very much aggrieved by this turn of events, and after unleashing a tirade of abuse at the officials when the half-time whistle blew, he was sent to the stands for the second half.
- Game of two halves -
The men in blue were left to rue their inability to add more goals to the tally, as Liverpool came out of the tunnel for the second half with much more confidence. The first ten minutes of the second period were a much more even affair, with Liverpool looking much more composed.
The home side were struck with a hammer blow in the 56th minute, when Mo Salah silenced the Ethiad with a goal to equalise on the night. The Egyptian picked out Sadio Mane with a pass in the final third, and after Mane was brought to the ground in the City box the ball spilled to Salah, who scored maybe his biggest goal yet for Liverpool, dinking it over Ederson.
From this point onwards it was a lot more difficult for the home side, as the away goal from Liverpool meant City needed to score four to go through. Despite this, City didn't do enough to challenge the visitors, and showed a lot less threat in the second half.
Guardiola watched distraught from the stands as his side shot themselves in the foot in the 77th minute of the game, gifting Roberto Firmino a golden chance to make it 1-2, which he seized, sliding it past Ederson to end City's hopes of making it through. The goal was Nicolas Otamendi's doing, as the defender idled in the final third, allowing Firmino to press him off the ball easily.
- Frustration for Pep, joy for Klopp -
Although Pep Guardiola will feel his side were on the receiving end of some bad refereeing calls, it cannot be denied that Liverpool deserve their spot in the semi-finals of the Champions League. City were brilliant in the first half, but they weren't clinical enough to overcome the challenge they set themselves by losing the first leg 3-0.
Jurgen Klopp's men are the first team to beat Manchester City three times in one season, and their front three showed once again that you can't give them any chances. Liverpool were hopeless in the first half, and didn't have anywhere near as chances as they have become accustomed to making, however Mo Salah and Roberto Firmino's deadly eye in front of goal has sealed them a place in the Champions League final four for the first time in a decade.
10 April 2018