Manchester City booked their place in the Quarter-finals of the carabao cup as they Defeat Liverpool 3-2 in a thrilling contest at Etihad Stadium.
After the 2022 World Cup break, the city made a breathless comeback, taking the lead twice through Erling Haaland and Riyad Mahrez, only to lose it to goals from Fabio Carvalho and Mohamed Salah.
However, it proved third time lucky for Pep Guardiola’s men when Nathan Ake nodded in at the back p[ost to carve out an advantage that the hosts ultimately held onto.
That meant City marched into the last 8 while Liverpool was left to take the positives from a performance they will hope to use as the basis for improvement in the second part of their campaign.
City’s Turn for Quadruple Hunt
Manchester City had a somewhat poor 2021/22 season after the tremendous accomplishments of recent years, just winning the Premier League.
And after their pain was only made worse – perhaps until the final two weeks of the campaign, at least- by the fact that Liverpool put together a genuine run at all 4 trophies, ultimately ending up with two.
Luckily, Victory ensured that the Reds will not have any chance of repeating that feat, even should they mount a remarkable Premier League recovery.
Rather, it is the city’s time to strive to qualify for the Quadruple, beginning with securing the Carabao Cup.
Liverpool’s Big Test Comes at Aston Villa
It was expected that the game would be end-to-end with opportunities given the number of changes to both teams and the unique mid-season break that made it tough to develop a rhythm.
But Liverpool will have to figure out whether those mitigating factors are to blame or if this is just a continuation of their inconsistent early-season play.
If Jurgen Klopp’s team is to continue to progress, they must gain more control over the course of games. On Boxing Day against Aston Villa, they will be able to demonstrate whether they have figured out how to achieve this over the past few weeks.
Unpredictable Nunez Endured a Rough Night
Darwin Nunez’s tweet during Liverpool’s final pre-season friendly against AC Milan seemed to put to rest any concerns about a possible world cup hangover.
But in this match, the Uruguayan was back to his worst, wasting enough opportunities to give the visitors a victory in regular time.
Klopp must pray that it’s just a case of the finishing wobble that caused Haaland to miss out on a similar number of chances in the community shield earlier this season.
With Luis Diaz and Diogo Jota out for some time yet, Liverpool’s big-money summer signing needs to find his shooting boots as soon as possible.
Why Should Back Manchester City?
Due to several important players taking their time getting back from the world cup, the Citizens will be without some firepower. Along with Phil Foden and Jack Grealish from England, Julian Alvarez of Argentina won a championship and made it all the way to the semifinals. Erling Haaland, whose country Norway did not participate in the world cup, will be eager to put on a display and the city should have two of their top players. After leaving Belgium early, star midfielder Kevin De Bruyere ought to be ready to go as well. Haaland has scored 18 goals in EPL games. Six more than any other player this season.
Why Should Back Liverpool?
The Reds have won the last three of their last five encounters with City without losing a game. Liverpool also claimed victories in the 3-2 FA Cup in April and the 3-1 Community Shield soon before the EPL season in addition to the 1-0 EPL success in October. The Reds have gone four games without a loss, with their lone loss coming in a 0-0 draw to Derby City. They outscored the other 3 opponents 7-2 Mohamed Salah and five assists in 21 matches in all 21 matches in all competitions, while Firmino has scored nine goals and set up four.