A manic and pulsating game that somehow ended all level, without a peak, but one that does actually change things at the top.
Liverpool 2-2 draw at Manchester City means they no longer have the title in their hands, and now need a favour elsewhere.
Pep Guardiola’s side take better control of the title race, as they remain a point ahead, but might wonder whether they could have won it there and then. They certainly could have won it a few times over in the first half, only for Liverpool to force their way back – and keep themselves in the race – with an impressive display of resilience.
In that sense, a game that had been fairly built up as the pinnacle of football right now didn’t itself have a final lift. Riyad Mahrez put his tantalising late chip too far over the bar.
We’re still waiting for the real crescendo. Perhaps that’s for the best, and will force this race to even better levels. We may again go to the last day.
It’s not like there wasn’t enough to marvel over here, either.
There were times when it was almost impossible to keep up with the amount going on, especially in the first half, as the Liverpool defenders found.
It was the quintessential game of two halves in that regard, but not just for how differently the teams performed. It was almost two different games in one.
The first was a frenzied affair that had everything bar accuracy.
The second was everything you usually imagine from a potential title pay-off, with the sheer tension of it all both weighing over and yet enriching every moment.
Some of that was a mirror of the October 2-2, too, with the same end result.
That Liverpool eventually managed to that is to their credit, but partly because of how bad they were in the first half.
City did look on another plane of performance for a time.
For all the frenzied energy the sheer intensity produced, there was real calculation. Some of it was forensic. Guardiola had clearly been working on a plan to exploit the space behind Liverpool’s wing-backs. It is rare to see it exposed so regularly, but then it’s rare you get great sides as lucratively put together as this City.
They almost displayed all that quality in the opening seconds, with only the finish missing. De Bruyne surged forward to slip in Gabriel Jesus, who squared it for Raheem Sterling. He already found the imposing shape of Alisson in front of him, though, the goalkeeper ensuring an easy chance became impossible. It was another fine save.
Jesus was a surprise inclusion but scored City’s second
It only stemmed the tide.
City were in gear. The confusion that caused in the Liverpool defence initially seemed to say them of the required intensity, as if they just couldn’t fully focus.
That was almost symbolised by two meek Virgil van Dijk headers, that eventually saw De Bruyne open the scoring with that deflected long-range strike. It could have been the start of a deluge. It maybe should have been. City were creating that many openings, getting in behind with almost every ball forward.
The tightrope of Klopp’s offside line wasn’t tied with the same tautness, as Guardiola’s side only got caught once.
Man City made another fast start thanks to De Bruyne’s opener
Sadio Mane equalised just 47 seconds after half-time
