Manchester City’s struggles continued as they suffered a 2-0 defeat to Liverpool on Sunday at Anfield in the 13th round of the English Premier League.
Liverpool took control early, pressing for an early lead. The first real chance came from Dominik Szoboszlai, whose shot aimed for the far left corner was brilliantly saved by Manchester City goalkeeper Stefan Ortega.
Liverpool eventually found the breakthrough in the 12th minute when Cody Gakpo scored, and Mohamed Salah sealed the win with a penalty in the 78th minute. With this victory, Liverpool moved to the top of the table with 34 points, while City remained in fifth place with 23 points.
Virgil van Dijk came close to opening the scoring when he rose to head a cross, but his effort missed the target. However, it was Cody Gakpo who gave Liverpool the lead in the 12th minute, meeting a perfect cross from Mohamed Salah and deftly directing the ball into the net.
Virgil van Dijk had another opportunity when he met a cross from a corner, but his header went wide of the right post. Gakpo also threatened City’s goal again, firing a shot from a direct touch that sailed over the bar.
The visitors’ first real chance came in the 39th minute when Rico Lewis received the ball on the edge of the penalty area and took a shot that went wide of the left post.
Liverpool maintained their 1-0 lead heading into halftime, with a clear advantage in possession and control over the game.
Early in the second half, Andrew Robertson played a delicate through pass to Gakpo, who tried to finish but was denied by a timely intervention from Matheus Nunez, who turned the ball out for a corner.
Liverpool continued to press for a second goal with several chances from corners, but Van Dijk’s header sailed over the bar.
Bernardo Silva then had an opportunity for City, receiving a pass from Walker inside the penalty area, but he squandered it by shooting wide of the goal.
Mohamed Salah missed a golden chance to double Liverpool’s lead when he won the ball in the middle of the field and raced towards goal, but inexplicably shot over the bar with only Ortega to beat.
Salah was at it again moments later, this time showcasing a brilliant individual effort, but his shot from the edge of the area went just wide of the left post.
Ortega played a key role in keeping City in the game, first denying Trent Alexander-Arnold with a stunning save from a shot inside the penalty area. He then followed it up with another great stop, this time saving a powerful shot from Gakpo from outside the box.
The referee awarded a penalty to Liverpool in the 78th minute, ruling that Ortega had obstructed Diaz when he was through on goal. Mohamed Salah stepped up to take the spot kick and confidently slotted it past Ortega, doubling Liverpool’s lead to 2-0.
Virgil van Dijk then made a costly error, losing possession in front of his penalty area under pressure from Kevin De Bruyne. However, De Bruyne’s attempt to capitalize on the mistake was thwarted as Liverpool’s goalkeeper Kelleher made a brilliant save to deny him.
Ortega kept Manchester City in the game with a superb save in the 84th minute, blocking a powerful shot from Curtis Jones from the edge of the penalty area, and diverting it out for a corner.
With this victory, Liverpool became the closest to winning the English Premier League title after moving away from Manchester City, at the top by 11 points.
