Manchester City 1-2 Liverpool
Sadio Mane’s 94th-minute penalty stunned a young Manchester City side as Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool ran out winners in this entertaining ICC 2018 clash.
Mane and Mo Salah climbed off the bench to complete Liverpool’s comeback after Leroy Sane gave City an early second-half lead.
A total of 52,365 fans packed the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey to see Manchester City and Liverpool, and the two Premier League giants didn’t disappoint as they put on a fantastic second half in which Liverpool came from behind to grab their late, late winner.
Pep Guardiola started with a young team again and won’t be too worried in the advent of a new Premier League season, but a second defeat—after losing to Dortmund—tells us he needs his established stars back soon after their World Cup exploits.
Highlights of the game
Fixtures between these two clubs are going to be a feature of the EPL season to come. While the Manchester and Merseyside derbies are the ones the locals look forward to, it’s City against Liverpool which catches the imagination of the wider football community.
Both teams play with a style and attacking verve which neutrals want to see, and it makes for happier viewing for the fans too, particularly when they win!
And this was Liverpool’s day in another pulsating game. The SBOBET ICC 2018 offers on a win for Klopp’s men were at 1X2 @ 1.94, but we were so, so close to a draw that had a payout at 3.70.
It was a hard-fought but goalless first half, and Pep decided to bring some experience in for the second period in the form of Leroy Sane and Bernardo Silva.
Sane, who has featured in both of City’s defeats in this tournament, has said he believes Chelsea will be the Sky Blue’s biggest rivals in the coming season. That probably won’t worry Liverpool unduly, though he made his point more forcibly on 57 minutes when he left big defender Virgil van Dijk in his wake before finishing low into the net.
Then came the moment Liverpool fans had been waiting for, the arrival of their hero and top scorer Mo Salah. His injury in the Champions League final probably cost the Reds that trophy after Salah had swept the board of awards in his record-breaking EPL season.
And it only took the Egyptian hitman 52 seconds before he planted a header into Joe Hart’s net to level, just six minutes after going behind.
Summer signing Riyad Mahrez was the best player in City’s opener against BVB, but he had a quieter game against their Premier League rivals and was taken off midway through the second half. Liverpool had the win in their sails but when Salah was denied a second by a goal-line clearance and then the woodwork, it looked like the game was heading for a draw.
However, just as we thought we were in for a penalty shoot-out, young Dominic Solanke made a run into the City box and fell under a shoulder barge from Tosin Adarabioyo. The referee then had no hesitation in pointing to the spot.
City keeper Hart tried to stare down Mane, but the Senegalese star sent him the wrong way and rolled the ball home to give Man City more disappointing ICC 2018 results.
Key statistics
Manchester City-Liverpool games have been a source of real pleasure for Kop fans as the Mersey giants have now beaten Pep Guardiola’s team four times this year. They won the league fixture 4-3 before winning both legs of their epic Champions League clash.
This victory means the Reds have won over half of their battles with City—25 from 48—and that’s something Pep will want to put right this season. Whatever Sane says, I think the City coach knows where the biggest threat will come from.
The Reds’ more experienced side dominated this game in New Jersey with 53 percent possession and 17 shots to eight.
City’s defence worked hard, making twice as many clearances as Liverpool (22 to 11), but they couldn’t quite hold out as the ICC 2018 odds on a potential stunner collapsed.
What’s next?
The Premier League is less than three weeks away and City fans will have their eyes on a cracking opening day fixture at the Emirates against Unai Emery’s Arsenal, while Liverpool entertains big-spending West Ham.
Before all that, City face Bayern Munich in the ICC on Saturday, and that will be another tough assignment for Pep’s young players. And it’s another big local rivalry facing Liverpool as they come up against City’s neighbours, Manchester United, at the Michigan Stadium.
That’s one to watch as United versus Liverpool always has plenty of bite!
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