The Reds’ poor finishing let them down against the defending champs, even though there was only one team in it in the second half.

The Premier League championship battle will be greatly impacted by Liverpool’s 1-1 draw with Manchester City, as they will be left to ponder ‘what if?’ after missing numerous opportunities. The host team grabbed control of the match against the triple winners of the previous season thanks to a penalty converted by Alexis Mac Allister early in the second half, but poor finishing by players like Luis Diaz, Darwin Nunez, and Dominik Szoboszlai proved to be their undoing.

In Jurgen Klopp’s farewell Premier League matchup versus Pep Guardiola, his team got off to a frantic start. Early on, Liverpool struggled to create high-pressure combinations because the City defence double-stacked the forwards. After a quarter of an hour, though, the Reds found a way to take advantage of Nunez and Harvey Elliott’s movement to get Conor Bradley and Diaz into the game from the flanks and let Szoboszlai advance in the centre.

Despite their best efforts, the home team was unable to find the back of the net in the opening forty-five minutes. John Stones was let free at the front post by a clever corner from Kevin De Bruyne, which gave City the lead at the break.

In the second half, Nunez capitalised on a poor pass back from Nathan Ake and was clattered into by Ederson, giving Mac Allister the opportunity to equalise from the penalty that followed. This gave Klopp’s squad a break two minutes in. Due to Ederson’s injury during the process, City was unable to gain any momentum and Liverpool dominated the first half. However, their poor finishing cost them dearly as Nunez and Diaz both wasted excellent opportunities.

The hosts were forced to settle for a draw despite having 19 shots—12 in the second half—against City’s 10. This left them level on points with Arsenal at the top and Guardiola’s squad just one behind them, setting up an amazing finish for all three.

The Anfield players of Liverpool are rated by GOAL…

Goalkeeper & Defence

Caoimhin Kelleher (7/10):

Kept out City’s long-range shots but was beaten from close-range for the opener.

Conor Bradley (7/10):

Showed glimpses of his youth in a frantic start with heavy touches and dodgy movement, but settled in and became an asset defensively and in the build-up.

Jarell Quansah (7/10):

Didn’t give much away and read the game fairly well, but most passes went backwards.

Virgil van Dijk (8/10):

His leadership qualities were on show and he was a rock at the back with vital clearances and tackles.

Joe Gomez (6/10):

Had a difficult time on the left side as City always seemed to find a way past him.

Midfield

Dominik Szoboszlai (6/10):

A bit too casual defensively but made some invasive runs to find holes in the City defence before he went off at the hour mark.

Wataru Endo (7/10):

Fought hard to win the ball and his quick passes helped get things going from midfield.

Alexis Mac Allister (8/10):

Put in a great shift battling for the ball and pinging quick passes around to cut through City. Did a great job converting the penalty.

Harvey Elliott (4/10):

Chased the ball up and down the field like a dog but it seemed to just slide past him most of the time.

Darwin Nunez (6/10):

Gave the ball away, was offside far too often and did nothing to track Stones for the first goal. Won the penalty and was better in the second half.

Luis Diaz (5/10):

Went on some great runs but wanted too much time on the ball against a City defence that swarmed him to nullify the threat. His finishing was terrible.

Subs & Manager

Mohamed Salah (6/10):

Came on at the hour mark for Szoboszlai and quickly sent Diaz through with a great pass. Livened up the Reds’ attack and had a few shots at goal.

Andy Robertson (6/10):

Sent some dangerous balls in from the left wing but Nunez failed to finish.

Cody Gakpo (5/10):

On for the last 15 minutes but could hardly get involved.

Jurgen Klopp (7/10):

His team recovered from a shaky start to take control of the game, but simply couldn’t add the finishing touch to their many promising attacks throughout the final 45 minutes.