Merciless City concede early before bulldozing Liverpool to keep pressure on Arsenal

It must have been awful for Arsenal fans. Imagine the thoughts and images going through their mind when Mohamed Salah put Liverpool in front against Manchester City today at the Etihad. That Salah's opener could have gone in history as the title decider if it wasn't for Pep Guardiola and his boys, who were having none of that...

Despite conceding an early one, City managed to fight back and ruthlessly bulldoze Liverpool 4-1 (1-1), keeping their title quest kicking and alive.

Led by the impeccable duo De Bruyne-Grealish, Haaland-less Cityzens seemed undisturbed and flawless, firstly levelling the score before a perfect second-half storm. All four goals they scored serve as a monument of Pep's smooth football philosophy, possession-based and domination both in terms of result and the state on the pitch.

Straight from the start, rivals engaged in ferocious attacking, leaving plenty of space for counters on both ends. And albeit City dominated the possession, the Scousers found the back of the net first. The long, through ball provided Jota with a chance to run straight into the box. Liverpool's defence managed to clear it for a moment, but then came Mo Salah, striking it firmly on target for a 1-0 lead.

Shaken, not disturbed, the Cityzens didn't succumb to despair but fought back instantly. Mahrez's volley went inches over the crossbar, and couple more shots almost resulted in an equalizer, but the change in the scoreline was inevitable. It came as a result of a terrific team effort, as the ball cruised from the righthand side to left and back, with just a few touches on the ball. Grealish served it on a plate for Julian Alvarez, and the young Argentine's tap-in restored the stalemate, putting a perfect cherry on the top of a sensational half an hour.

The rhythm slowed down a bit in the rest of the period, but as soon as the teams returned for a resume, we saw a replica of that City's masterpiece. This time Mahrez sliced it from the flank, and De Bruyne's nod in the middle of the box announced the total comeback.

The Reds were on the ropes and with no signs of resurrection, as the hosts kept exploiting their flaws. And there were more than a few. It became blatantly evident after Gundogan's first and City's third. The German midfielder was left totally unmarked on the edge of the six-yard box despite half a dozen Liverpool players in there and had no problem killing the game.

Unfortunately for the visitors, the reigning champions didn't feel like stopping there, with Grealish putting his name on the scoresheet after a wonderful exchange with De Bruyne.

After that, the match evolved into a genuine cat-and-mouse game, with the Reds feeling all the nuances of humiliation on the open scene as the long and fruitful Jurgen Klopp's era seems to be heading to its not-so-nice dead end.

PREMIER LEAGUE - ROUND 29

Saturday

Man City - Liverpool 4-1 (1-1)

/Alvarez 27, De Bruyne 46, Gundogan 53, Grealish 74 - Salah 17/

17:00: (1.30) Arsenal (5.20) Leeds (11.0)

17:00: (2.60) Bournemouth (3.30) Fulham (2.95)

17:00: (1.70) Brighton (3.80) Brentford (5.70)

17:00: (2.65) Crystal Palace (3.20) Leicester (3.00)

17:00: (3.05) Nott.Forest (3.10) Wolverhampton (2.65)

19:30: (1.70) Chelsea (3.80) Aston Villa (5.70)

Sunday

16:00: (1.80) West Ham (3.60) Southampton (5.20)

18:30: (2.55) Newcastle (3.40) Man.Utd. (2.95)

Monday

22:00: (3.50) Everton (3.35) Tottenham (2.25)

***odds are subject to change***