Having the upper hand in the first half, Man City was unable to keep up the pressure or lead in the second. Trent Alexander-Arnold’s equalizer gave Liverpool the boost at the end of the game after they had been behind for the majority of the game. Man City lost all three points against their direct opponent on the day Erling Haaland scored his 50th Premier League goal. If Arsenal defeats Brentford in Saturday’s late game, Man City and Liverpool, who are now tied for first place in the rankings, might drop to the bottom of the standings.

Alexander-Arnold celebrates equalizing against Man City at Etihad Stadium on November 25. Photo: PA

Few, who saw the first 45 minutes of the encounter at the Etihad, predicted that Liverpool would win. From the start of the game, Man City applied pressure, pressing high and tight to make it nearly hard for the opposition to move the ball. Alisson, the goalie, kept missing passes while under intense pressure. Although Phil Foden’s soft finish was fortunate to escape punishment, the Liverpool goalie paid the price in the 27th minute.

Nathan Ake won the kick from Alisson after he dribbled past two Liverpool players and passed to Haaland to score in the face-off. In just 48 games, Haaland became the Premier League’s fastest team to reach 50 goals. The superstar from Norway also scored his first goal against Liverpool with that one.

Haaland (No. 9) celebrates opening the score against Liverpool. Photo: Reuters

Jeremy Doku, not Haaland, is the main player in the hosts’ offensive. Man City mostly targeted the left wing of the Belgian, who was constantly bothering Trent Alexander-Arnold and the opposition’s center defenders with deft, quick dribbles. Nunez is the most aggressive player on the Liverpool team because of his quickness and strategic placement. The Uruguayan striker also had the most dangerous chance of the first half for the visiting side, heading home a cross from Mohamed Salah and making Ederson use his skill.

With a number of daring moves, Liverpool came back in the second half and shown that they could match the defending champs. In the event that their opponents rally to get an equalizer, Man City also has plenty of chances to extend the lead. However, neither Ruben Dias nor Doku were able to score, while Manuel Akanji’s mistake on Alisson kept Ruben Alvarez from scoring.

In high-profile games like Man City vs. Liverpool, a one-goal advantage is never guaranteed. In the 80th minute, Jurgen Klopp’s students demonstrated this. Though Alexander-Arnold did a poor job blocking Doku, he was excellent offensively. The England international beat Alisson with a low shot from the edge of the penalty area after receiving a ball from Salah. A key contributor to achieving this objective was Cody Gakpo, who made deft moves to provide room for Alexander-Arnold.

Man City gave it their best offensively in the closing minutes in an attempt to score the game-winning goal. When Liverpool players fouled Doku, they were consistently given yellow cards, even though injured goalkeeper Alisson attempted to play through the injury minutes. A point away from Etihad was the prize for the away team’s bravery. The outcome of the match was relatively fortunate because Haaland’s narrow miss of the post in the final corner would have meant a loss for Liverpool.

The contest was heated both during and after it was called off by the referee with a whistle. After a verbal altercation and near brawl between Liverpool’s Darwin Nunez and coach Pep Guardiola, teammates had to step in.

Man City ended a 23-match winning streak at home in all competitions with the draw against Liverpool. They need just one more home victory to tie Sunderland’s 1892 record. After 13 rounds, Guardiola and his squad had 29 points—one point ahead of Liverpool and two points ahead of Arsenal—despite still having one game remaining in the Premier League after the team’s second straight draw.