Copyright Nbc Sports
There will be hand-wringing in Liverpool quarters given the questionable calls in the first half of the Reds’ loss to Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday, and rightly so, but that grumbling only serve as a distraction the main takeaway from the game. Manchester City are back. That statement is a bit ironic for two reasons. One is that they aren’t back to their very best because that very best was perhaps the second-best club season this century (the first also authored by Pep Guardiola at Barcelona). The second bit of irony is that Man City are back as Premier League title contenders and back on top of Liverpool via the help of one of Jurgen Klopp’s main lieutenants. Yes, it helps that Erling Haaland is finishing chances for fun but the Citizens look invigorated in the final third and that’s happening despite the exit of Kevin De Bruyne (and the slow full return of Rodri). It’s one of the things we learned Sunday. Read on.... City’s ‘Other Pep’ deserves his shine Search “Pep Ljinders” and you’ll find praise for his personal motivation and final third tactical prowess. That’s not to say Pep Guardiola doesn’t know how to work his team through to goal as his work developing Leroy Sane, Phil Foden, and now Jeremy Doku attests in full. Yet City look different in the final third this year and it’s easy to connect the dots to the brainstorming that must happen often between Guardiola and his former rival. Jurgen Klopp’s gegenpress was made all the more fruitful by Ljinders and all signs point to the same thing happening at City. Of course it’s great to have Erling Haaland being Erling Haaland, but Rayan Cherki is adapting pretty seamlessly to a Guardiola system. That’s something that in the past has taken months and months (See Nico Gonzalez, Matheus Nunes, and Josko Gvardiol). Not this time, and this City staff deserves a lot of love. Liverpool continue to pay for Isak, Guehi sagas Maybe it was all one saga, but goodness, gracious does Arne Slot need help at the back. Virgil van Dijk remains an elite center back but he’s no longer the Ballon d’Or caliber back whose mere presence improves the standing and status of his partner — especially when both he and his partner are asked to play 270 minutes in just over a week. It’s probably why Conor Bradley’s best two games of the season slipped a bit when asked to give it a third haul. It can be fine when the partner is having a good day, as Ibrahima Konate usually manages with some regularity. But Konate was so poor on Sunday and you have to wonder if he would’ve been a bit brighter had Marc Guehi been purchased before Palace had to unsuccessfully scramble for a replacement on Deadline Day. Maybe Giovanni Leoni would’ve already acclimated, but the youngster’s injury shouldn’t be a half-season-defining problem at a club like Liverpool. And Alexander Isak is working his way back to health. It’s a shame he wasn’t keeping fit while forcing his way out of Newcastle and then suffered an injury soon after being deployed by the Reds, but there’s no question that the Reds will be able to out-score some teams on talent alone once Isak joins the rotation. All that said, Liverpool’s back line looks tired. Man City depth shining in place of key pieces We respect Pep Guardiola’s work in turning Nico O’Reilly into a left back, don’t get us wrong, but we’ve yet to see City’s left side for more than a few games at a time with an ideal Pep left back at the wheel. And maybe O’Reilly becomes that in time, but Rayan Ait-Nouri is already there and was supposed to be entering this period well-adjusted to Guardiola’s system. Instead, he’s missed a half-dozen games with an ankle injury and may well be behind O’Reilly at the moment. Pep’s also been able to navigate Rodri’s return from an ACL injury and some knocks along the way to full fitness and form because Nico Gonzalez has found his way into Guardiola’s system in Year 2. The 23-year-old Spaniard was excellent in the heart of the midfield, allowing Bernardo Silva to adventure a bit more — we like that Bernardo Silva quite a bit. And City’s bench now looks like a City bench. Omar Marmoush, Tijjani Reijnders, Ait-Nouri, Nathan Ake, and John Stones are waiting for their chances while there’s no longer a need to force Rico Lewis and Oscar Bobb to learn on the job. All this while Rodri and Kovacic were unavailable.
