Manchester City vs Liverpool has been a prominent rival of English football in the past decade and in the past 5 years, this has also been the top big match in Europe, even surpassing El Clasico in terms of football quality, star reputation, tension and drama.
After more than 7 months since the most recent clash, tomorrow evening (November 25), they will face each other again at the Etihad Stadium as championship candidates, with only 1 point difference in the top 2 positions in the Premier League rankings.
If Manchester United had met Arsenal in the English derby before, since Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger left the " battlefield" one by one, Man City vs Liverpool have carried this honor.
As a perfect continuation, it was also a great battle between two of the most outstanding coaches in the world today, with the same attacking football philosophy but two completely different styles.
But besides that, there are still many other factors and moments that make this match so much-anticipated.
Looking back at the 2013-14 season, while Man City and Liverpool have never been close, the rivalry factor began to become more obvious when coach Brendan Rodgers' team suddenly stepped into the championship race and competed with their opponents to the end.
The top clash at Anfield in April 2014 laid the foundation for all the tension and heat that will last for the next decade. Liverpool won 3-2 and had everything to win the English championship after 24 years, until Steven Gerrard slipped in the match against Chelsea...
The first stone that started the rivalry was thrown away...
More than a year later, in July 2015, the fuel of hatred grew even greater with Raheem Sterling's escape from Liverpool to Man City for £49 million, ending many months of speculation.
Sterling was Liverpool's best young player at the time, but the England striker added fuel to the fire in an interview with BBC, in which he explained why he did not sign a new contract, emphasizing that he was not driven by money but by titles.
And he achieved the goal when Man City won a series of trophies, including 2 Premier Leagues in which they competed with Liverpool.
Also in 2015, coach Jurgen Klopp marked his presence in the Premier League with a 4-1 victory at the Etihad just 1 month after officially leading Liverpool.
At that time, Pep Guardiola had not been to Man City. The Spaniard arrived at Man City in 2016 and the Citizens have become a force since his second season. Man City have won 20 of their 22 games and there seems to be nothing to stop them.
But the ambition to go through an unbeaten season like Arsenal in 2003-2004 failed when facing Liverpool. "The Kop" avenged the 0-5 defeat at the beginning of the season with a 4-3 victory with indescribable emotional developments.
Although Man City are still the champions, the match at Anfield made Guardiola and Man City recognize their arch-rivals.
Just 3 months after that match, Man City and Liverpool had to eliminate each other in the quarter-finals of the Champions League, with a "top" for Guardiola's team. But once again, amidst the suffocating atmosphere at Anfield - which has left many unforgettable nights in the European arena, Man City melted.
After losing 0-3 there and losing 1-2 at home, Man City took on another challenge.
On the journey of the following seasons, people cannot help but mention John Stones' save and the ball still has a goal line... 11mm, the fight between Sterling and Joe Gomez in November 2019, or the parallel match in the championship race until the end of the 2021-2022 season...
And in the end, with any intention of a bottleneck deal for real, it was all crushed by a poor run at Anfield in October 2022.
Before the match, Klopp made Man City upset when he stated at a press conference that The Blues were among three clubs that "could do whatever they want" financially thanks to the support from Abu Dhabi.
Man City responded with a brief announcement that his comments were almost exotic, something Klopp flatly denied.
The match in which Liverpool won 1-0 thanks to Salah's late goal took place in an unstable atmosphere: Guardiola was thrown a coins at him, while Man City's bus was attacked when leaving Anfield.
In contrast, some Man City fans also have a regrettable behavior, writing graffiti and singing songs mocking the tragedies of Hillsborough and Heysel - Liverpool's pain.
