Arne Slot’s side went 11 points clear at the top of the Premier League as first-half goals from Mohamed Salah and Dominik Szoboszlai helped them to a statement victory at the home of champions Manchester City.
It was an afternoon that completed a positive weekend for Liverpool, who capitalised on second-placed Arsenal’s 1-0 home defeat to West Ham United on Saturday to extend their lead at the summit.
The Gunners, who have 12 games remaining to the leaders’ 11 and are beset by injuries, travel to third-placed Nottingham Forest on Wednesday night, with the Reds hosting Newcastle United on the same evening.
City and Liverpool have, of course, so often been title rivals in recent seasons. This meeting at the Etihad Stadium had a different feel, though, with Pep Guardiola’s side sat fourth and 17 points behind their visitors at kick-off.
Salah’s 14th-minute opener following a clever corner routine and Szoboszlai’s nicely constructed 37th-minute second means that that gap now stands at 20, as the Merseysiders’ first win at the Etihad since April 2018 and first Premier League success at the ground since November 2015 further highlighted the gulf that has developed between the teams this term.
It has, thus far, been a season of strife and transition for the Citizens, who secured an unprecedented fourth consecutive English top division title a little over nine months ago.
In Rodri’s absence, since the talismanic Spanish midfielder suffered an anterior cruciate knee ligament injury in September, they have been plagued by a succession of systemic and injury issues.
A sizeable January outlay on new recruits has cued improvements, but the midweek Champions League exit at the hands of holders Real Madrid represented the latest knock and Guardiola has been swift to emphasise that things very much remain a work in progress.
There was evident promise in the display of Sunday’s largely youthful team. Cutting edge was lacking, though, which likely wasn’t helped by Erling Haaland’s absence through injury.
Liverpool, meanwhile, in what was largely anticipated to be a transitional campaign following Jürgen Klopp’s departure at the end of last season, have faced challenges in recent weeks yet continue to go about the bulk of their business under Slot with a serene efficiency.
That was on show again, in several ways, on a significant Sunday in Manchester.
Split the difference: Slot’s set-up pays off
This was always likely to be an intriguing tactical match-up. That became all the clearer upon the release of team news 75 minutes before kick-off, and then again in the contest’s opening moments.
Both sides, as it turned out, operated without a conventional centre-forward.
For Liverpool, the tireless Szoboszlai and Curtis Jones were the most advanced central attackers, echoing roles they fulfilled in a 3-2 Carabao Cup victory at Brighton and Hove Albion in late October.
They essentially operated as dual Number 10s and offered additional midfield presence where necessary, with Salah and Luis Díaz acting as split strikers from the right and left flanks respectively.
The latter pair also offered crucial support to full-backs Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson against home wingers Savinho and Jérémy Doku.
The one change from Wednesday’s 2-2 draw at Aston Villa saw Díaz come in for Diogo Jota, with it initially seeming likely that Jones would retain the left-sided role he’d started in at Villa Park while Díaz would lead the line as he had done on several occasions this season, including December’s reverse fixture.
City, simultaneously, looked set to start with Marmoush up top, like at the Santiago Bernabéu in midweek. Foden appeared to be the most central, though, with the Egyptian – signed from Eintracht Frankfurt in January – instead stationed in more of an inside-left role, perhaps in an attempt to overload Trent Alexander-Arnold’s zone alongside Doku, who was the primary source of width on that side.
As Guardiola has done before against a 4-2-4 press, he shuffled Kevin De Bruyne into a wide in-possession role. With Rico Lewis inverting from right-back into deep midfield alongside Nico González when the hosts had the ball, the 33-year-old Belgian often drifted to the right flank.
That was likely with the intention of creating either a spare player beyond the clutches of Liverpool’s block or significant space in midfield by pulling Alexis Mac Allister out of position and the visitors out of shape.
That, coupled with Foden coming off the front as opposed to pinning Reds centre-backs Ibrahima Konaté and Virgil van Dijk, presented pertinent early questions for the league leaders.
A slight reshuffle saw Mac Allister and Ryan Gravenberch begin to track Foden, while Díaz and then Jones moved slightly deeper to more naturally apply pressure to De Bruyne. Another in-game adaptation by the Dutch head coach that appeared to strengthen his team’s hand.
By the time that switch came into play, Liverpool were actually already a goal ahead, courtesy of a successful press from Díaz and Jones on Lewis which preceded a shrewdly constructed corner.
Mac Allister’s low delivery found Szoboszlai’s near-post dart – which went untracked thanks to Robertson pinning Foden – and the Hungarian’s ideally weighted and directed first-time pass teed-up Salah 15 yards out. The Egyptian’s left-footed shot then found the net via a deflection off Nathan Aké.
Set pieces have brought limited joy for the Reds this term but, again, this was wonderful timing; their three set-play goals in the league have come at the homes of Arsenal, Forest and City – the teams in second, third and fourth position.
First team individual development coach Aaron Briggs has, reportedly, taken on much of the responsibility for constructing set pieces in 2024/25, and Slot was asked in his post-match press conference how much credit Briggs deserves.
“He’s done his work very, very, very well and you don’t always see the result of that during games because many times we were close to scoring,” said the 46-year-old.
“And I always say, people might not know it over here yet, but if you go to Holland people will say ‘Oh, there he is again [talking] about his set pieces’, but I always say if you want to win a big game, you need to have a neutral balance in set pieces or a positive one.
“So, we go Villa away and they score [from a set piece] and we don’t, it’s so hard to win against a Villa or a Chelsea or an Arsenal. And today, it was the opposite; we scored from a set piece, and that gives you such a boost for this game because, at that moment of time, it wasn’t that we were dominating the game and it wasn’t expected that we could score at any second.”
Adaptability and depth continually crucial
Indeed, Liverpool’s ability to soak up City pressure – limiting them to 0.64 Expected Goals (xG) and stopping them creating a single statistical ‘big chance’ – was a theme of the afternoon.
Both of their most promising moments arguably came from Marmoush. His fine 30th-minute finish did find the net, but he was rightly flagged offside, and, following a nice Doku pass, the Egyptian then had a left-footed attempt from an unfavourable angle helped wide by Alisson Becker early in the second half, moments after Jones had one ruled out via a VAR check.
There was a palpable uptick in volume and intensity after Szoboszlai, who squared for the No.17 to find an open net, was deemed to have been marginally ahead of the City defensive line when Gravenberch slid him in behind.
45% of the match was played in the Merseysiders’ defensive third, while their 34% share of possession represented the lowest in a Liverpool Premier League win on record; a signal of both their adaptability and ruthlessness on a day when they scored two goals from a total of only 0.71 xG.
This was low-quantity, high-quality use of the ball – there was a crispness and incision to much of the Reds’ play when they were able to plot their way forwards.
It was evident post-match that Slot would have liked more control through possession but, led by the serenely commanding Van Dijk and Konaté, his charges still did a good job of providing it without the ball. Particularly in the second half, they were often stationed in a low block that was compact, disciplined and consistently made central progression a near impossibility.
Doku, the hosts’ regular out-ball on the left, had 20 attempted dribbles, completing 15 of them – the most in a single Premier League match in the last four seasons – while Trent Alexander-Arnold was dribbled past 12 times, the most in a single PL match in the last 10 seasons.
Such scenarios rarely led to tangible openings for the champions, though. Alexander-Arnold was too easily beaten in some moments, but he stuck to the difficult task of being isolated with the dynamic Belgian and managed to both delay him on several occasions and avoid conceding a single cheap foul.
A reminder that, while potentially insightful in so many ways, statistics rarely paint the whole picture.
Liverpool’s ability and willingness to win in different ways – often via prolonged pressure, at times through pressing, on occasion courtesy of bolts of quality – continues to represent one of the bedrocks of their title charge.
As does their range and depth of quality. The side possesses an elite spine in the form of regulars like Alisson Becker, Alexander-Arnold, Konaté, Van Dijk, Gravenberch, Szoboszlai and Salah, but there is high-level, diverse talent throughout the squad.
Cody Gakpo – whose 2024/25 LFC goal tally of 16 in all competitions is second only to Salah’s – coming off the bench after a brief injury absence, and Jota and Darwin Núñez being unused substitutes, offered a reminder of the array of options at Slot’s disposal and how well injuries have generally been managed by the Merseysiders.
Conor Bradley and Joe Gomez are the only regular matchday squad members who are currently sidelined.
Wataru Endō’s introduction five minutes prior to Gakpo’s acted as another demonstration of the Reds’ flexibility. A less technical midfield presence than most of his colleagues, the Japan captain has still been a key contributor at various stages of the campaign.
The 32-year-old, signed from VfB Stuttgart in the summer of 2023 – the same transfer window in which Mac Allister, Szoboszlai and Gravenberch arrived – has made each of his 12 Premier League appearances this season as a substitute.
A diligent, combative presence who has regularly helped see out games, he did so again here – filling gaps and stepping in to make strong challenges and help halt opposition momentum.
It’s not difficult to see why Slot has made a consistent point of praising his attitude. His role is distinct, and may be frustrating at times, but he goes about it admirably.
Majestic Mohamed Salah decisive again
Yet another sublime showing from the Egyptian – and yet more landmarks.
His goal took him to 25 in the league this season and 30 in all competitions. It also put him joint-third with Gordon Hodgson in Liverpool’s all-time goalscoring standings on 241, while he’s only two behind fifth-placed Sergio Agüero and five off fourth-placed Andy Cole in the Premier League’s, with 182.
Another game where he both scored and provided an assist took him to 51 goal involvements in ‘24/25 across all competitions and meant he became the first player to do so in 11 matches within a single season in one of Europe’s big-five leagues since Lionel Messi with Barcelona in 2014/15.
His Premier League goal involvements total of 41 this term is also just one off his best single-season total to date, which came in his staggering debut campaign at LFC in 2017/18, and six behind the competition record of 47.
That is held jointly by Alan Shearer with Blackburn Rovers in 1994/95 and Cole with Newcastle in 1993/94, which were both 42-game, rather than 38-game, seasons. The 32-year-old’s levels continue to be genuinely exceptional, and it’s still only February.
With 11 league games remaining and potentially as many as 19 to go in all competitions, he’s on course for the best individual PL campaign ever and one of the strongest individual seasons seen across European and world football.
It may be early, but Ballon D’Or conversations feel more than justified. It’s a discussion he’s deserved to be a more pertinent part of over many recent years, in truth.
The numbers are one thing, but the eye test only seems to enhance his efforts. This was a day where he had less of the ball than usual, due to the pattern of the match, but, when he did get it, he invariably used it masterfully.
There’s that familiar sharpness and directness, but also an ever growing overview which feels the product of experience well-used; an awareness and understanding of his surroundings that sees him decelerate and accelerate the game as he sees fit, timing moves and passes with a clinical precision.
His assist for Szoboszlai, who was a relentless presence in and out of possession, was as clear a demonstration of the above as any moment.
After getting ahead of Joško Gvardiol to latch on to Alexander-Arnold’s flighted pass, he twisted and turned to work what looked to be a shooting chance before rolling the ball to the 24-year-old, whose low left-footed finish from 15 yards wrong-footed Ederson and found the net.
It’s apt that Salah is an avid chess player; he is increasingly looking like a genuine grandmaster of top-level football.
Reds primed for run-in
“We’re gonna win the league” was the chant from a jubilant away end as the clock ticked down.
It’s difficult to disagree with that observation, particularly after Liverpool widened their advantage at the top on a weekend in which many felt it was likelier to narrow, but there will be an ongoing awareness that the job is far from done.
Slot was familiarly level-headed in his post-match media duties, which unsurprisingly brought plenty of questions about his side’s strong position in the title race.
While Arsenal do have that game in hand, the Reds’ 11-point lead with 11 of their own league games remaining – seven of which are at home, including the next three – puts them in a brilliant place that exceedingly few would have anticipated ahead of 2024/25.
As Slot referenced in his press conference, though, he was being asked about a perceived dip in form less than four days earlier when the Villa result made it eight points dropped in their last eight league outings.
That level-headedness, coupled with an awareness of how quickly football and perceptions can change, will be key while navigating the coming weeks and months.
The visit of Newcastle on Wednesday – who beat Forest 4-3 earlier on Sunday and will be Liverpool’s opponents in the Carabao Cup final at Wembley on 16th March – will come around quickly and looks set to be another tough test.
There is also, of course, the desire to go the distance in the Champions League. The two legs of a mouthwatering round-of-16 tie with Paris Saint-Germain bookend Southampton’s trip to Anfield early next month.
Progression from that would bring a quarter-final with either Villa or Club Brugge on the other side of the late-March international break, followed by a possible semi-final against one of Real Madrid, Atlético Madrid, PSV Eindhoven or Arsenal.
There will be plenty of managing of resources and emotions to do as the season ticks towards the business end.
With several world-class operators on their books, a mix of youth and experience and a largely healthy squad, Liverpool look well-placed to spin those plates.
Sunday’s result, and the authoritative manner of it, at the home of one of their great rivals of recent times ought to only enhance belief.
