Football is back in England. The match between Manchester City and Liverpool confirms the perfection of this sentence. City won 3:2 and will play in the quarter-finals of the League Cup.
Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne
It was a natural spectacle at the Etihad before the match. With elements of the laser show, the return of football to the island in the blue part of Manchester was celebrated originally.
The real show was presented on the pitch. The host Manchester City started ‘speaking’ first and loudly.
Erling Haaland opened the score. The Norwegian turned Kevin De Bruyne’s pass into a goal. This is the 24th goal goal by the Scandinavian for Manchester City.
Haaland played more freely in the absence of Virgil van Dijk. However, the Merseysiders defended themselves in the center with the pair of Joel Matip-Joe Gomez.
As for De Bruyne, Jamie Carragher did not spare his words of praise. However, the ex-player of Liverpool noted that Kevin’s game in the national team and the club is radically different.
“De Bruyne created two goals. He is first in all statistics, and it shows in every match.
He is a different player than we saw 2-3 weeks ago.
He is among the best in Premier League history, especially in his position.”
Jamie Carragher – ex-Liverpool defender, Sky Sports pundit
High tempo, Mahrez and Sallah
The match had precious pace and dynamics. Liverpool equalized soon after. Fabio Carvalho scored the equalizer. The Portuguese used a assist from James Milner, who was playing against his former club.
At the start of the second half, it was time for the North Africans.
Riyad Mahrez put City ahead, but Mohamed Salah took just 1 minute to equalize. The Egyptian answered for the Algerian goal, and parity was restored at Etihad. Rodri and Darwin Nunes assisted both goals accordingly.
The tempo was still high, and chances were created at both goals. But Nathan Ake scored the decisive goal on 58th minute. The marvelous performance was again from Kevin De Bruyne, who was named as MVP of the game.
Darwin Nunes had several chances to score, but the Uruguayan still could not shine in Liverpool’s shirt.
Pep Guardiola’s team ended Jurgen Klopp Liverpool’s five-match unbeaten streak with this victory.
In case of winning the tournament, the Manchester team will equal the 9-title-winner Liverpool.
The team has already gained the champion attitude on this stage – according to Riyad Mahrez’s rhetorical question, after defeating Chelsea and Liverpool, his team has no competitors left anymore.
However, in the 1/4 finals of the EFL Cup, Manchester United, Newcastle, Leicester, and other tough teams remained.
EFL Cup Draw
The EFL Cup quarter-final draw took place immediately after the City-Liverpool match. At Etihad, the pairs were distributed as follows:
- Southampton – Manchester City
- Manchester United – Charlton Athletic
- Newcastle United – Leicester City
- Nottingham Forest – Wolverhampton Wanderers
The EFL Cup quarter-final matches will be played on January 10 and 11.
Until then, the Premier League will return. On Boxing Day, January 26, viewers of Setanta Sports and setantasports.com can watch the live coverage of all 7 matches.
