The prospect of a proper Premier League title race is growing after Trent Alexander-Arnold’s second-half equaliser kept Liverpool in close touch with Manchester City at the top.
City took the lead on 27 minutes when Erling Haaland scored his 50th Premier League goal in just 48 games, taking him to the mark 17 games faster than any other player.
Liverpool, watched from the stands by Luis Diaz’s rescued father, equalised with an equally fine finish from Trent Alexander-Arnold to keep the gap at the top at one point.
The match ended with a dispute between Darwin Nunez and Pep Guardiola, but it was a rare flashpoint in an otherwise calm game.
Here, Michael Cox, Oliver Kay, Gregg Evans and Jay Harris analyse the match.
Manchester City are facing a real challenge for the title
This was a fascinating game rather than a classic of the type we have seen between these teams in the past — and, courtesy of Alexander-Arnold’s late equaliser, a fascinating outcome which strengthens the expectation of a proper title race in the Premier League.
Liverpool look so much stronger than last season, energised by a much-needed rebuild of their midfield department. This was a serious test of their credentials and, despite some anxious moments over the course of the afternoon, including a Haaland header which flashed across the face of Alisson’s goal in the eighth minute of stoppage time, they will head back to Merseyside emboldened by a 1-1 draw.
Manchester City are still top of the table, a point clear of Liverpool, but Arsenal can reclaim first place if they win at Brentford this evening. It feels like one of those seasons where the lead could change hands on a regular basis and both Arsenal and now Liverpool have shown in their matches against the champions that they have the stomach for a title race.
This run of games always looked tough for Manchester City and, after drawing with Chelsea (4-4) and Liverpool (1-1), they face Tottenham Hotspur at home and Aston Villa away. They remain favourites to retain their title, but this was the second consecutive game in which they have dropped points from a winning position. And if this is to be a proper title race, Liverpool clearly want to be part of it.
Oliver Kay
Alexander-Arnold shows why Liverpool are getting him forward
It might have felt that Trent Alexander-Arnold’s main job was to stop the tricky winger Jeremy Doku, but Klopp wants way more out of his key utility player these days.
In the hybrid role, where he combines work as a right-back with duties in the centre of midfield, Alexander-Arnold has to be a world-beater in two positions.
It was fitting that his cool finish earned Liverpool a well-earned point, then, as he showed his qualities at both ends of the pitch.
After heroic defending to keep City out, Liverpool raced up the other end and found the benefit of having Alexander-Arnold in forward positions.
Drifting into the box to increase the attacking numbers, he collected Mohamed Salah’s pass, took one touch forward and then neatly converted past Ederson.
It’s those timely contributions that will define how successful he is in his new position, one he plays for both Liverpool and England. Not only does he have to make an impact in attack, but he also has to perform well in defence and in the biggest test of the season, he stepped up, winning possession the most times (nine) of any Liverpool player.
Gregg Evans
Alisson’s poor kicking behind Haaland’s goal – and it could have been worse
Alisson was culpable in two different ways for his concession of Haaland’s opener. Not only did he let the ball squirm under his hand and in, he’d given away the ball cheaply in the first place, attempting to thump a long ball downfield but slicing it into the air. City took full advantage of Liverpool being ready to spring forward on the counter, cutting through them easily.
Even before that, Alisson had twice looked nervous on the ball. After 10 minutes, he passed straight to Phil Foden when Liverpool were trying to play out from the back (shortest black arrow below). Foden looked so surprised about the situation that he shot tamely at the Brazilian.
Eight minutes later, there was a nervous moment when Haaland nearly tackled Alisson as Liverpool’s goalkeeper took too long on the ball (long yellow arrow across his own goal).
Alisson’s first-half passes – black arrows are unsuccessful ones
The three mistakes were all different. One was about not being quick enough, another was miscuing a short pass, and the fatal error was arguably the most minor of the three, in that he at least gave City the ball close to the halfway line rather than in a more dangerous position. But it was an unusually erratic performance from Liverpool’s No 1, who was also slightly fortunate that the referee awarded a free kick and disallowed Ruben Dias’ goal after Alisson failed to claim a corner under relatively little pressure from Manuel Akanji.
By the end of the game, he was clearly struggling with a leg injury.
Becker is judged to have been fouled (Michael Regan/Getty Images)
Michael Cox
Haaland’s record-breaking streak to 50 goals
Haaland reaching 50 goals in just 48 games means he has broken the existing record for the fastest to a half-century by a staggering 17 games. If he hadn’t scored against Liverpool, he would still have had until roughly mid-March to score the one goal needed to break the record.
The record had been held since March 1995 by Manchester United’s Andy Cole, whose 50th goal came in 65 matches — the Englishman reaching the milestone by scoring five times against Ipswich Town.
Kevin Phillips was the second-quickest (behind Haaland) of these players to score 25 goals, but ended up 10th on the list.
Below are the trajectories of the 10 fastest players to score 50 Premier League goals. Haaland has been out in front almost from the start and his sensational debut season left very little doubt that he would break Cole’s record.
Unpredictable Nunez (again)
There have been moments this season when Nunez has looked like he might be settling into a groove, but he’s still erratic. Whereas Haaland is machine-like in his efficiency in front of goal, Nunez fluctuates between the sublime and the ridiculous — not just within the same game but sometimes within the same move.
Openings against Manchester City are scarce, so ruthlessness and composure are essential. We have seen those qualities from Nunez at times this season, most notably away to Newcastle United, but not reliably enough.
He was sent clear by Dominik Szoboszlai on 17 minutes, but a poor touch saw him closed down by Dias. Shortly afterwards, he mistimed his run and ended up offside when, again, Liverpool had the chance to send him clear. He threatened in the second half from Salah’s pass, but even though Ederson made the save, the shot seemed to be heading towards the side-netting.
He kept Manchester City’s defenders occupied throughout, but at times he still seems an uncomfortable fit in a forward line that was previously built around the finesse of Roberto Firmino.
There’s a widespread assumption that at some point things are going to click into place and Nunez is going to become a world-beater, but it isn’t always easy to believe that. That unpredictability seems to be in-built.
Oliver Kay
Silva stepping into De Bruyne role
Bernardo Silva may not be the Premier League’s best footballer, but he might be its most complete footballer.
Used almost everywhere by Pep Guardiola in recent seasons, from left-back to centre-forward, Silva was playing in central midfield here and doing what he does best – controlling the game. He received passes in tight spaces comfortably and played some penetrative passes into attack.
What Silva did more than anything else, however, was drift to the left and take advantage of the huge space between Salah, who rarely tracks back, and Trent Alexander-Arnold, who was concerned with Jeremy Doku and also tasked with drifting into midfield. Silva generally went unmarked on that flank, whether overlapping or making runs into the channel.
In that respect, Silva is essentially playing the role of Kevin De Bruyne, who thrives when doing something similar from the opposite flank. Julian Alvarez is De Bruyne’s direct replacement in terms of position, but Silva is stepping up in terms of role.
Michael Cox
Cagey early kick-off matches Klopp’s expectations, but there were other reasons
Before the international break, Jurgen Klopp expressed his dislike for 12:30pm kick-offs and was concerned it would impact the quality of this game. It was certainly cagey throughout, unlike previous encounters between these teams.
However, that was probably by design. Man City’s 4-4 draw with Chelsea a couple of weeks ago was frenetic and chaotic. Guardiola’s side showed far greater control against Liverpool and limited the amount of opportunities their opponents created. On the few occasions Liverpool did open up Man City on the counter, Nunez was often guilty of making the wrong decision. Liverpool’s xG was only 0.55, which is the lowest they have recorded in the top flight this season.
There are similarities between this game and Arsenal’s 1-0 victory over Man City last month as they both hinged on individual mistakes. Gabriel Martinelli scored for Arsenal with a scrappy goal that took a huge deflection off Nathan Ake, while Alisson’s mishit kick led to Haaland’s goal. So far, the fixtures between sides fighting for the title this season have been more like intricate chess matches than thrilling heavyweight boxing fights.
Even Alexander-Arnold’s 80th-minute equaliser didn’t change anything. Instead of trying to win at the Etihad for the first time since November 2015, Klopp replaced Nunez and MacAllister with Harvey Elliott and Wataru Endo. The focus was on holding onto a point and not getting caught out going for all three. Maybe Klopp had a point about these kick-off times after all…
Jay Harris
Jota’s few touches
Diogo Jota had scored in four of his last six Liverpool games and had bagged two in two before this weekend.
At the Etihad, though, it was a different story as he cut a forlorn figure up top. Out of sight and out of mind it appeared for large spells as the Portuguese attacker was left stranded, unable to get on the ball and create his usual destruction.
His moments of action were few and far between, which made life easy for Kyle Walker, the City right-back tasked with keeping him quiet.
There were no obvious signs of the growing chemistry with Nunez, either, and by the time of his substitution on 53 minutes, Jota left the pitch as the most ineffective player on the pitch, with the fewest amount of touches (12).
Perhaps the 90 minutes against Liechtenstein on Thursday night played a part in his performance.
What next for Manchester City?
Tuesday, November 28: RB Leipzig (H), Champions League 8pm GMT, 5pm ET
City have already qualified for the knockout stages after four games, but a win or a draw will guarantee their place at the top of Group G.
Sunday, December 3: Tottenham (H), Premier League, 4.30pm GMT, 11.30am ET
What next for Liverpool?
Thursday, November 30: LASK (H), Europa League, 8pm GMT, 3pm ET
Liverpool are two points clear at the top of Group E and could cement their place in the knockout stages with victory.
Sunday, December 3: Fulham (H), Premier League, 2pm GMT, 9am ET
Recommended reading
(Top photo: Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)
