JAKARTA - Liverpool's first game since winning the Premier League did not go according to plan. The reason is, defending champion Manchester City, who this season have been blindly straddled by the Reds with a 4-0 victory at the Etihad Stadium, Thursday, July 2.
The Reds' major title in the last 30 years was confirmed when City lost to Chelsea last week. The long-awaited celebration of success is planned for Jurgen Klopp's team in the match against City last night. However, the visitors' defense was instead being viciously bombarded when the hosts went rampant.
Fantastic 𝔽𝕆𝕌ℝ for @ManCity #MCILIV pic.twitter.com/puzTLGdcfd
- Premier League (@premierleague) July 2, 2020
Kevin De Bruyne's penalty and clinical finishes from Raheem Sterling and Phil Foden made the game go better just before the break. Meanwhile, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain's own goal in the second half added to the Reds' carelessness.
The evening began with a guard of honor for City players to Liverpool players. The Reds started the match brightly, Mohamed Salah making a strong effort in the first 20 minutes even though his shot hit the post.
City responded immediately. De Bruyne takes a penalty in the 25th minute after Sterling is tackled by Joe Gomez in the forbidden box.
Sterling increased City's lead to 2-0 when he converted Foden's pass inside the box and cleverly cut Alisson from eight yards.
Not our best performance. We'll make sure we'll show up strong next time 👊🏾 #MCILIV pic.twitter.com/EFnnPECbSI
- Gini Wijnaldum (@GWijnaldum) July 2, 2020
Foden sent his team even further away just before the break. He beat Alisson, which began with a brilliant collaboration between De Bruyne and Ilkay Gundogan when dismantling the Liverpool defense.
PEP 💬 I'm so delighted. Congratulations to the team for beating the champions. To beat them four zero, the chances we create, the way we defend ... It's three more points to help us. 🔵 #ManCity pic.twitter.com/aqMPsVi6kI
- Manchester City (@ManCity) July 2, 2020
Substitute Oxlade-Chamberlain then scored an own goal in the 66th minute. His attempt to block Sterling's shot went into his own net.
City substitute Riyad Mahrez actually scored in the dying minutes. However, it was canceled after VAR stated that Foden first touched the ball with his hand.
1 - Phil Foden has scored and assisted in the same game for the first time in the Premier League, while he is the youngest player to do so in a game against Liverpool in the competition (20y 35d). Platform. #MCILIV pic.twitter.com/kOFobA7spq
- OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) July 2, 2020
The failure of Mahrez's goal did not mean anything, because City continued to score a fantastic four-goal win without reply. However, Liverpool are still 20 points ahead of City, who are 11 points ahead of third-placed Leicester City.
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