On the night of December 1, Liverpool hosted Man City at home. Near the end of the match, the "Red Brigade" fans sang the phrase "you will be fired tomorrow morning" to mock Pep Guardiola.
The Man City coach just smiled and held up 6 fingers, referring to the number of Premier League titles won. However, the team's journey to a 7th championship is extremely difficult.
At Anfield, Man City had many difficulties against the tight play of the home team. During the first half, The Citizens only had 1 shot off target, while Liverpool took the lead thanks to Cody Gakpo's goal.
In the second half, Liverpool continued to maintain the initiative but missed many good opportunities. The Kop fans had to wait until Mohamed Salah's successful penalty kick to breathe a sigh of relief.
According to the Telegraph, Liverpool had an easy victory over the defending champions. Since September 2021, Man City has only finished one round outside the Top 4. Pep Guardiola's army has not been able to escape the crisis with 6 losses in all competitions.
Despite maintaining 57% possession, Man City could not penetrate Liverpool's solid defense. Striker Erling Haaland only made 7 passes throughout the 90 minutes. Even when captain Van Dijk directly made a mistake, conductor Kevin De Bruyne could not beat goalkeeper Kelleher in a one-on-one situation.
The 2-0 win extended Liverpool's lead over their rivals to 11 points. But coach Arne Slot denied the title race was over, referring to Pep Guardiola's side closing in on Arsenal's eight-point lead to win the 2022-23 title.
“That’s why the Premier League is not decided in November. No one can feel sorry for Guardiola. Maybe with another coach, but not with Guardiola. He has won a lot of titles and will bring Man City back,” said Arne Slot after the match.
Coach Pep Guardiola is also impressed with Liverpool's current style of play.
“Liverpool were too strong. The first 15 minutes were a nightmare for Man City. We tried to control the ball and pass the ball, but it was really difficult. After the defeat, some fans wanted to sack me, which is not surprising because of my recent bad results. Man City need to improve, some key players will return and we will play better,” he said.
In the 2019-2020 season, Liverpool created an 18-point gap with Man City to win the championship. Pep Guardiola and his students need to quickly overcome their weaknesses, if they do not want to be eliminated from the championship race this year.
