It was a game of poetry, of unstoppable verses, of uncontrolled rhythm, of marvelous goals, of enormous passes, a game of two teams, Manchester City and Liverpool, who always play to celebrate the game, and if this time they drew 2-2, it is because the battle was too even, the one and the two of the Premier League. City is still up by one point. And Liverpool will continue to lie in wait.
If there is a team that can attack and make City suffer, it is Liverpool. If there is one that can attack and make Liverpool suffer, it is City. And so was the game. Attack against attack, and that Luis Díaz started on the bench. It was a game to not let breathe, not to blink. Whoever looked at the floor in the stands missed a goal. The one who looked at the floor on the court, suffered one against.
fancy party
City wanted to command, impose the conditions of the match. Starting off, Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson had already made a save from scoring. He was going to have a job, he was going to suffer, but from the outset he said no, to Gabriel Jesús’s conclusion.
But less than a minute later, as Liverpool were trying to shake off that local onslaught, Kevin De Bruyne, took advantage of a payment at the risk of Bernardo Silva, and De Bruyne took the shoe to a stick, there he hit the ball and inside, a billiard goal, and 1-0 in just 5 minutes.
Liverpool had to show their weapons. He was already hurt, but he had plenty of life. A lot of game ahead. And he tied very quickly, at minute 13, a cross from Robertson, a pass behind Alexánder-Arnold, and Diogo Jota, well placed, did not fail, finishing down and 1-1.
The game, from start to finish, was like that, pure speed. 22 warriors who seemed to run on horseback, with spears, with shields. The pace didn’t slow down, it wasn’t going to slow down. Game of long, very long passes, of searching for spaces, of emotion to the limit in each area.
There was a scare in the stadium when City goalkeeper Ederson almost invented an own goal, a heart-stopping play, but the goalkeeper calmly resolved after the blunder, on the edge of the goal line. Just a scare.
But the styles were imposed. City became master of the ball. He launched tremendous thrusts. The second goal throbbed in a Liverpool field that could not find how to resist, how to clear. De Bruyne wasted the second goal in 29 minutes. The player who cannot be left alone is always left alone. His shot went just outside. And then Cancelo, wreaking havoc down the left, had a right hand that sent Alisson flying, the ball to the corner kick. City was a machine.
And the suffocation was so great that the second goal came, a center by Cancelo and Gabriel Jesús appeared like a ghost, where nobody anticipated it, to break the defensive line and score the lead, in 37 minutes, and 2-1.
The pace never dropped between City and Liverpool
They spent 15 minutes of rest, time to breathe, catch their breath, and grab their heart again. Back, the game was not inferior, a minute was enough for Liverpool to find the tie. Salah put a big pass into the void, to Mané, who had appeared little, appeared as it should, he does not know how to fail, he had a great definition and 2-2.
The rest of the match was the same symphony. Light blue clarinets, red chords. Round trip. And the demand, always, to the limit.
At minute 70 Luis Díaz entered, to do his thing, exploit the left wing. With him on the field, Salah had the winning goal but his shot, on the way to goal, was miraculously deflected by a saving leg. Gabriel Jesús answered that he had a panorama, companions, options, but decided to kick out.
Then the VAR made a presence; so that no one forgets him, to be the protagonist like the protagonists, and to dictate sentence in a play to the limit, in a misplaced eyelash by Sterling, who had scored the local victory.
And at the end, when the teams did not stop running and hearts jumping, Mahrez missed the winning goal for City, he wanted luxury, and the ball won him, it went high. And that was it. A great match, a poetic 2-2. But the advantage is maintained by City.
PAUL ROMERO
Editor of THE TIME
@PabloRomeroET
more sports news
#Luis #Díaz #present #vibrant #tie #Manchester #City #Liverpool