NEW DELHI: Liverpool‘s 2-0 victory over Manchester City on Sunday gave them an 11-point lead over Arsenal at the top of the league, marking a huge step towards the Premier League title.
After opening the scoring with his 30th goal of the season and assisting Dominik Szoboszlai in doubling the advantage prior to halftime, Mohamed Salah once again emerged as Liverpool’s standout performer.
“It is special. Especially when you are in the title race, it is incredible,” said Salah after Liverpool’s first league win at the Etihad for a decade.
“Me and the big guys in the team, we need another title.”
This was another heartbreaking loss for the deposed English champions, who are currently 20 points behind the top, only days after losing to Real Madrid in the Champions League.
Throughout Pep Guardiola‘s illustrious leadership, Liverpool has frequently failed in the great rivalry of English football in recent years.
However, in Arne Slot’s first season as manager, it currently looks as though they will be able to break Manchester United‘s record of 20 English top-flight titles in a matter of months.
“We work every single day to achieve this and it is three months of very hard work (ahead) to maintain this,” said Slot.
“It is important to understand why we are where we are.”
The pressure on Liverpool, which had increased after they lost two of their previous three games at Everton and Aston Villa, was reduced by Arsenal’s shocking 1-0 home loss to West Ham on Saturday.
The hardest test of all has traditionally been a trip to the Etihad, but City’s defensive weaknesses were readily shown, and they also missed the injured Erling Haaland‘s offensive presence.
In contrast, Liverpool’s star was healthy and playing well, as Salah increased his incredible season total to 25 goals and 16 assists in 27 Premier League games.
The Egyptian’s masterfully performed set-piece move put the visitors ahead in the 14th minute.
Szoboszlai flicked Alexis Mac Allister’s corner into Salah’s path, and his shot ducked off Nathan Ake and beyond Ederson’s dejected dive.
Omar Marmoush had gone offside before Phil Foden brought him in, but City’s own Egyptian international shown his ability to finish at the other end.
Trent Alexander-Arnold was being skipped past by City winger Jeremy Doku at will, but the Belgian kept missing with a telling cross or strike.
When he sprinted onto a long ball over the top and teed up Szoboszlai to wrong-foot Ederson, Salah was not so understanding.
If Liverpool had been equally accurate on the counterattack after the half, the ultimate result may have been far more humiliating for City.
A VAR review disallowed Curtis Jones’ third goal for offside after Szoboszlai’s run through the center of the City defense was just not timed.
Only an incredible last-ditch tackle by Abdukodir Khusanov stopped Szoboszlai a second goal, and Ederson was forced into a spectacular save by Luis Diaz.
In last weekend’s 4-0 victory over Newcastle, Marmoush scored a hat-trick and continued to be a dangerous threat by putting another effort in front of Alisson Becker’s goal.
However, City didn’t produce enough to reach the 70 percent possession mark.
Despite suffering their eighth league loss of the year, Guardiola’s team is still in fourth place and will be sure to qualify for the Champions League the next year, as a top-five finish is probably sufficient.
However, City now looks like yesterday’s club following an incredible run of four straight victories, with Liverpool emerging as the new champions.
