How Liverpool mixed best of Klopp & Slot to beat Man City

Liverpool brought the chaos past the control. The cleanable premix and lucifer of Jurgen Klopp’s dense metallic shot past the calmer symphonies of his successor Arne Slot.

It was Manchester City, the large home powerfulness of the modern era, who recovered themselves trapped successful this cleanable storm, surely tossed and blown retired of contention for a 5th successive Premier League title.

The trademark of Slot’s Liverpool has been a much measured, composed strategy erstwhile acceptable against the wilder elements of Klopp’s emotion-charged approach. This was an unstoppable operation of the 2 that Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City simply could not handle.

Liverpool’s 2-0 triumph borderline did City a kindness, the effect leaving them 11 points adrift of their conquerors, who person a nine-point vantage implicit Arsenal successful 2nd place.

December whitethorn person lone conscionable been ushered in. The Premier League play whitethorn lone beryllium 13 games old. Even so, it seems intolerable to ideate anyone overhauling Liverpool successful this mood.

Guardiola and City person suffered successful their tally of 7 games without a triumph and 4 consecutive league defeats, but they person seldom been arsenic buffeted arsenic they were successful an opening salvo from Liverpool that had an astir savage beauty.

Liverpool tore into City, sensing humor successful their reduced rivals. Goalkeeper Stefan Ortega, successful for the dropped Ederson, had already been successful enactment respective times and Virgil van Dijk had headed against the station earlier Cody Gakpo bundled location Mohamed Salah’s cleanable walk astatine the acold post.

This was aft lone 12 minutes.

It is nary flimsy connected Slot to emblem up the archetypal 25 minutes arsenic reviving memories of Klopp’s epoch astatine its champion - successful information it is simply a compliment – portion the adjacent 65 minutes showed however the Dutchman has brought much tactical power and composure to the multi-talented squad inherited from his predecessor.

Speaking afterwards, adjacent Slot conceded his broadside were "close" to perfection.

"At the extremity the effect is the astir important, but the show was great," helium told BBC Match of the Day. "If you privation to triumph against a squad similar City you person to beryllium bully astatine each portion of football. So precocious defending, debased defending, build-up, high, low, everything. They bring truthful galore challenges to you.

"In each crippled you privation to commencement successful the champion imaginable way, but we did commencement the mode we wanted it. That ever helps due to the fact that if you commencement poorly the fans are against you.

"If you commencement similar this it gives vigor to the players. And besides with the assemblage down you that besides gives you other energy."

There was nary doubting the excitement wrong Anfield, which was brought to a frenzy by Liverpool’s aboriginal siege that near City visibly bewildered by what had deed them.

In that opening 4th Liverpool enjoyed 61% possession and had 7 shots to nary from City. In fact, it took Guardiola's broadside 39 minutes to muster an effort connected extremity of immoderate statement - their longest hold for a changeable successful a Premier League crippled since 2010.

Up until that constituent it had been one-way traffic, question aft question of attack.

Such was the standard of Liverpool’s first-half domination that goalscorer Gakpo had arsenic galore touches successful the absorption box, eight, arsenic the full Manchester City squad combined successful the archetypal half.

Across the full crippled Liverpool made City bash much running, Guardiola’s broadside getting done 111.1km compared to the hosts' 107.2km. And it surely felt similar City were moving to basal inactive successful what was, for the ample part, a harrowing Anfield experience.

When Liverpool streaked distant to their lone Premier League rubric successful 2019-20, they had 37 points from 12 wins and a gully astatine this aforesaid stage, starring Leicester City by 8 points and Manchester City by nine.

The play turned into a procession, ending down closed doors, and it already looks similar it volition instrumentality thing precise peculiar from the chasing battalion to alteration that communicative successful this campaign.

Liverpool’s nine-point pb is their biggest borderline astatine the apical since the last time of that triumphant campaign, erstwhile they won the rubric by 18 points.

This Liverpool show carried a much nonstop and frantic air, a inclination to easiness themselves into games replaced by a full-on barrage past near City reeling, antiaircraft brace Kyle Walker and Ruben Dias engaged successful animated treatment aboriginal connected arsenic to however they could stem the charge.

They ne'er truly recovered the answer, Dias robbed by Liverpool substitute Darwin Nunez, leaving Luis Diaz to contention wide earlier helium was brought down by Ortega. Salah completed the formalities 12 minutes from time.

The numbers surely suggested Liverpool went for the much direct, pressurised approach, with 14.8% of their passes going long, compared to their play mean of 9.1% earlier this game.

This was surely a flimsy departure, a cocktail of aged Klopp and caller Slot.

Liverpool’s palmy modulation from Klopp to Slot carried a qualification aboriginal on. Namely, that it was each good and good, but who of effect had they played?

The reply has been delivered astir emphatically astatine Anfield successful the abstraction of 5 days arsenic archetypal Champions League holders Real Madrid past reigning Premier League champions Manchester City were over-powered, identical 2-0 scorelines nary reflection of Liverpool’s immense superiority.

In the last moments, Guardiola responded to taunts from Liverpool fans that helium would beryllium "sacked successful the morning" by raising six fingers to bespeak the fig of Premier League titles helium has won.

He could besides person been signalling the magnitude of Anfield defeats helium has had arsenic Manchester City manager successful his 10 visits, with 3 draws and lone 1 win, a 4-1 triumph down closed doors during lockdown successful February 2021.

Anfield has ever been the astir unforgiving spot for Guardiola and truthful it proved erstwhile more, with City present remarkably not adjacent successful the Premier League’s apical four.

In contrast, beingness could not beryllium amended for Slot, with a singular grounds of 18 wins from his archetypal 20 games.

Defender Joe Gomez, successful for injured Ibrahim Konate, was afloat of praise for Slot – and Klopp – arsenic helium told BBC’s Match of the Day: “I deliberation the biggest happening is that helium is not trying to capable Jurgen’s shoes oregon beryllium Jurgen.

"Jurgen’s bequest is stamped successful the past of this nine and cannot beryllium changed. He [Slot] has been himself. It has been refreshing and each the coaching unit person been positive.

"The enactment is not done. We person not won anything. It’s a large commencement and he’s perpetually reminding america astir going again. He knows we person acquisition successful the squad and helium is conscionable connected us."

Slot’s imprint is present each implicit the squad Klopp bequeathed him – and connected this raucous, triumphant time Liverpool and their supporters enjoyed the champion of some of those worlds.