Liverpool hand Man City first EPL defeat

Liverpool ended Manchester City's unbeaten run with a thrilling 4-3 victory in an English Premier League (EPL) encounter here.

Across all competitions this season, Manchester City had only suffered one defeat prior to Sunday night, a 1-2 loss to Ukrainian club Shakhtar Donetsk in a UEFA Champions League match on December 6, reports Efe news agency.

But City were not the best team on the field at the Anfield Stadium, especially in the second half when Liverpool played with greater hunger and motivation.

Liverpool's Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain gave the hosts the lead in the ninth minute, when he took possession of the ball in midfield, beat a series of defenders and then blasted a shot from outside the penalty area past City goalkeeper Ederson in the ninth minute.

 

But after conceding that early goal, City dominated the rest of the first half and scored the equaliser shortly before the break when Leroy Sane shook off a defender and fired the ball home past Liverpool goalkeeper Loris Karius.

Liverpool, however, took charge after intermission, with Brazilian attacking midfielder Roberto Firmino scoring their second goal in the 59th minute.

Sadio Mane then made his presence felt, sending one shot off the woodwork and then shortly afterward getting the ball in the back of the net off a pass from Egypt's Mohamed Salah to make the score 3-1.

Egyptian star Mohamed Salah then appeared to have given Liverpool a comfortable lead in the 68th minute when he sent a shot from far outside the penalty box over the head of Ederson, who was way out of position.

City, however, showed why they had won 20 out of 22 games, getting one goal from Bernardo Silva six minutes before second-half stoppage time and another from Ilkay Gundogan one minute into injury time to cut Liverpool's lead to 4-3.

But time was not on the side of the visitors, who finally tasted defeat in a domestic league contest.

Despite the loss, City (62 points) still have a whopping 15-point advantage over second-placed Manchester United.

Liverpool (47 points) jumped into the third spot with the win, ahead of Chelsea based on goal difference.

--IANS

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