The Times - UK (2022-04-09)

three unanswered goals in 19 minutes.

Everyone remembers Liverpool’s

goal blitz but the most important

performances came from the back four

and the pressing of the midfield.

“We defended outstandingly good,”

Klopp said. It is only the second time in

Guardiola’s reign that City failed to

register a shot on target.

“It was the biggest compliment you can

get in world football”

Liverpool 0 City 0, Oct 7, 2018

Not for the first time Guardiola was

a man with a plan. City arrived at

Anfield, having endured three

successive defeats against their rivals

(Paul Joyce writes).

City had struggled to contain

Liverpool and so, upon arriving on

Merseyside for the first meeting of the

2018-19 season, Guardiola instructed

his side to be take fewer risks.

In the Premier League meetings

between the two managers, it remains

the game in which City have had their

lowest number of shots (six), the joint

fewest shots on target (two), the lowest

number of passes into the final third

(38), third lowest possession won in the

final third (two). Guardiola saw his team

grow into the game and, had Riyad

Mahrez not skyed a late penalty,

awarded after Virgil van Dijk had

tangled with Leroy Sané, it would

have been hailed as something of

a masterclass.

Yet the flipside of City’s strategy

served to boost Liverpool’s confidence.

“It was the biggest compliment you can

get in world football,” one Liverpool

staff member said.

“The reason why they are always up

there is because they play in this way”

Liverpool 1 City 4, Feb 7, 2021

Liverpool 2 City 2, Oct 3, 2021

After 18 years of fruitless visits to

Anfield, City ended their drought by

emphatically breaching Liverpool’s

fortress (Pol Ballús writes). They did

it with a 4-1 thrashing, in which City

could afford to miss a penalty. Klopp’s

side were haunted by two costly

mistakes from Alisson and the game is

remembered for providing a glimpse of

Phil Foden’s flowering genius. He

produced two goals and scored the

fourth for City in style.

Eight months later Liverpool

fought back in one of the most hotly

contested battles between the sides.

As he was walking along the dugout,

De Bruyne could barely catch his

breath. The Belgium player had just

scored a late equaliser in a 2-2 draw at

Anfield, widely considered one of the

best games of this season.

“The reason why City and Liverpool

are always up there is because we try

to play in this way,” Guardiola said.

“Unfortunately we couldn’t win, but we

didn’t lose. That’s why the Premier

League is the best.”

All competitions

8

6

8

Guardiola wins

draws

Klopp wins

22

games

Premier League only

Guardiola wins

draws

Klopp wins

11

games

4 4

3

Head-to-head

Pep Guardiola cut a relaxed figure after

his team’s win over Atletico Madrid on

Tuesday — and three days later his

demeanour had not changed one bit.

The Manchester City manager

exuded calmness at his pre-match

press conference yesterday despite the

fact that the season-defining clash with

Liverpool is just around the corner.

“I sleep like a baby this year,” Guardi-

ola said with a smile.

That was not the case a few weeks

ago, though. On one night last month

the Catalan was burning the midnight

oil. While his wife, Cristina, slept in

their flat in Manchester, Guardiola was

at his laptop, meticulously analysing

some clips of recent matches between

Liverpool and Southampton.

There were two reasons

for this. First, City were

soon to play Southamp-

ton in the FA Cup quar-

ter-finals, so Guardiola

wanted to take a look at

Ralph Hasenhüttl’s

team in action.

The other reason was

that he is a fan of South-

ampton’s energetic style of

play and he was hoping to

pick up some tips on how City

could press Liverpool.

He knew that City’s top-of-the-table

encounter with the Merseyside club

was on the horizon and he wanted to

make sure that he had done all his

homework before the biggest match of

the season.

At this stage of the campaign in

previous seasons, staff have spoken

about Guardiola going into overdrive

with his work ethic.

Three years ago, as the title race with

Liverpool entered the home straight,

Guardiola started developing back

pains because he spent so long either

sitting at his desk or standing on the

training pitch. In press conferences he

would often appear tense, but there was

no sign of that yesterday.

The stakes are high. This could be the

weekend when City take a huge step

towards clinching the title or they could

cede advantage to their rivals, who have

Pep’s night sessions

gleaning tips from

Southampton clips

won their past ten Premier League

matches.

But Guardiola did not appear to be

suffering from any stress. Why?

Perhaps experience has something to

do with it. Guardiola is now in his sixth

season at City.

Maybe history plays its part too.

Three years ago City held a point ad-

vantage over Liverpool and won all

their remaining games to lift the title in

Brighton on the final day of the season.

Maybe Guardiola is so Zen at the

moment because of his team’s own

form.

Liverpool have rightly been praised

for their recent good performances but

City’s own displays have been impress-

ive too. They have not blown away

teams in the league by four or five goals,

but more often than not they have

taken home all the points.

Guardiola’s side have tasted defeat

only once in their past 20 Premier

League matches, and thanks to last

Tuesday’s 1-0 victory over Atletico Ma-

drid, City are in pole position to

qualify for the Champions

League semi-finals.

“I can say incredible

things about my team,”

Guardiola said. “My

team, they are the best.

“My players and staff

are exceptional. For

many years we have

been doing good things.

“You see and analyse

them and say: ‘Oh my God.

Everything is top.’ ”

Guardiola’s mood is likely to have

been influenced by the fact that all of

his senior players, with the exception of

the injured Rúben Dias, are available

for selection.

These matches sometimes fail to live

up to the hype, but City certainly plan

to play their part in making tomorrow’s

encounter one to remember.

A draw would be enough to keep City

top of the table and their run-in is

favourable, but Guardiola will send

out his team looking to secure a victory

that will surely all but end Liverpool’s

title hopes.

“Yes, we trained today to sit back for

90 minutes and get a 0-0,” Guardiola

said, drawing laughter from the room.

“Never, never in my life have I

thought about doing this, except when

there’s five minutes left and we have to

defend to keep the result.”

Additional reporting by Pol Ballús

Paul

Hirst

Manchester

City v Liverpool

Tomorrow, kick-off

4.30pm

TV: Sky Sports

Main Event/

Premier League

the times | Saturday April 9 2022 1GS 7

Sport

Tony Cascarino’s

composite XI

TRENT

ALEXANDER-

ARNOLD

Both squads are packed with talented

players, so picking a composite XI is no

easy task — here is my selection.

GK: Ederson (Man City)

A very close call but I give him the edge

over his Brazil rival Alisson. The Liverpool

goalkeeper has made bigger saves this

season but Ederson is better with the ball

at his feet.

RB: Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool)

I have to choose Trent because of his

ridiculous “Harlem Globetrotters” passing

ability.

CB: Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)

He started the season slowly after his long-

term injury but he has returned to his best

in the past month. Football is almost too

easy for him.

CB: Aymeric Laporte (Man City)

He is composed on the ball, good in the air

and really underrated.

LB: Andrew Robertson (Liverpool)

He is the best left back in the country. The

consistency of his game is remarkable. He

never stops running.

CM: Kevin De Bruyne (Man City)

Do I have to explain why I’ve selected him?

He’s up there with

the world’s great midfielders of the past

decade.

CM: Rodri (Man City)

It was almost a coin flip to decide between

Rodri and Fabinho, who are both brilliant at

winning possession.

CM: Bernardo Silva (Man City)

Liverpool may find it hard to deal with him

— he probes, twists and turns, and chips in

with a few goals.

RW: Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)

Early this season many people were saying

he is the best in the world, which I don’t

quite agree with, although he played like

that for a while. However, despite going off

the boil in the past few weeks, he still gets

himself into scoring positions.

CF: Diogo Jota (Liverpool)

Normally I would have Phil Foden in this

team, but Jota has been playing

so well that he has to get the nod.

He’s not as good, technically, as Roberto

Firmino but he’s strong in the air

and has grabbed plenty of important

goals recently.

LW: Raheem Sterling (Man City)

I don’t think anyone has played better

than Sterling in the Premier League this

season. He’s had so many top players

challenging for his place at City but he’s

seen them all off.