Prior to kick-off Liverpool rather confusingly released a statement explaining that they weren't going to appeal Luis Suarez's eight-match ban for racially abusing Manchester United left back Patrice Evra, despite remaining adamant that the Uruguayan is innocent of all charges. As a result, Suarez's ban began last night and he was omitted from the squad, Dutchman Dirk Kuyt partnering Andy Carroll up front in his place.
Moreover, club captain Steven Gerrard and on-form Welsh winger Craig Bellamy were left on the bench. Dalglish was understandably being cautious with Gerrard following his horrendous fortune with injuries recently, however leaving out Bellamy, who netted twice against Newcastle and has been a menace to many opposition defences so far this season, was a harder decision to defend.
Liverpool began the match brightly but crucially missed a gilt-edged opportunity only seven minutes in. Downing was played clean through on the City goal but the number 19, anxious to net his first goal for his new club, squandered a great chance, seeing Hart stop his low shot. A terrible error from Pepe Reina soon after handed City the all-important first goal and the initiative. Aguero stole possession from Dirk Kuyt and his innocuous shot from distance inexplicably ended up in the back of the net after Reina dived over the ball.
It was a poor mistake from the Spanish keeper, who was visibly frustrated with himself immediately afterwards. Somewhat unusually, Reina has failed to hit the heights of form he has achieved in previous seasons and the Reds' impressive defensive record owes more to finally having a settled back four rather than their keeper's form.City continued to pile on the pressure, Dzeko's shot rolling just the right side of the post after taking a wicked deflection mid-way through the half. Liverpool mustered a response of sorts, Adam's well-drilled effort being turned away to safety by Hart and Henderson firing wide, however the Citizens remained in the ascendancy. On the half hour mark Reina made a great stop to turn over Kompany's header, however City struck three minutes later, when another corner came in and this time Yaya Toure escaped Johnson's attention and headed into the net via the underside of the bar.
Silly individual mistakes and a failure to place the home side under a sustained spell of pressure meant that Liverpool went in at the interval with a mountain to climb. Nevertheless, the Reds started the second half brightly and were further inspired by the introduction of Gerrard and Bellamy soon after the restart, with the pair providing an instant boost of energy and purpose.Unfortunately, though, goalscoring chances were few and far between. Bellamy cut inside onto his right foot and dragged a shot wide but otherwise Hart remained relatively untroubled. The catalyst for a late Liverpool push for a point could have came on 73 minutes when England international Gareth Barry was sent off for a second bookable offence following fouls on Spearing and Agger.
Frustratingly, and rather remarkably, the game didn't swing in Liverpool's favour. Instead, only moments later City put the outcome of the contest beyond doubt, James Milner driving a penalty past Reina and high into the net after Skrtel had felled Toure in the area, causing referee Mike Jones to point to the spot. Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini courted the headlines for flashing an imaginary red card in a vain attempt to get the Slovakian dismissed, however sending Skrtel off would have been incredibly harsh considering Toure was clearly looking for the decision. A penalty was fair; a red would have been punitive.Adam Johnson almost added a fourth as he curled an effort against the woodwork. Had he netted the scoreline would have been identical to that of the Tottenham match, when Liverpool last played this poorly. Amazingly, the Reds claimed 64% of possession yet were comfortably beaten by a City side who were fair more clinical in front of goal. Both sides had six shots on target yet Liverpool rarely seriously tested Hart while City scored with 50% of those efforts.
There's little Liverpool can take from this humbling experience except for the small consolation that Steven Gerrard got more minutes out on the pitch. The Merseysiders' must now pick themselves up and progress past Oldham in the FA Cup on Friday, before returning to Eastlands next Wednesday to face Manchester City once again in the first leg of the Carling Cup semi-final. Hopefully on that occasion Dalglish's side will improve on this display and secure a positive result to take back to Anfield for the second leg.
YNWA
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