“That was the option and we created a lot of chances on the counter-attack; that’s what you have to do when you play away from home against a good Manchester City side”.
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An early own goal from Eliaquim Mangala set the tone as a sluggishManchester City slumped to a resounding 4-1 defeat at the hands of Liverpool, missing the opportunity to return to the top of the table and giving the Reds a first league victory at the Etihad since 2008.
With City in defensive disarray, the Reds moved further ahead midway through the opening half, with Coutinho staying narrowly onside to divert Firmino’s pass across goal through the legs of Hart.
Liverpool out-ran and out-fought City on their own patch and Manuel Pellegrini’s team simply had no answer to the high intensity of Liverpool’s football.
Liverpool were beaten at Anfield by Crystal Palace on their last outing but on this occasion they ravaged the title favourites with a high-energy display from the outset. “He’s in really good shape in this moment and I hope we could react early enough”.
“But I don’t think they came into the game”. Pellegrini took reparative action at half-time, sending on Fabian Delph and Fernandinho for Yaya Toure and Jesus Navas in a bid to go toe-to-toe with Liverpool’s three-man midfield.
An incisive back-heel from Emre Can got Coutinho in behind the static City back-line just after the half-hour, and the playmaker rolled the ball square for Firmino, who finished into a vacant net from six yards. Or seeing even Dejan Lovren playing well? More poor defending allowed Liverpool’s Brazilian duo to quickly increase the lead and Firmino was close to adding two more. Can looked satisfied to be a simple central midfielder rather than as the sweeper/overlapping full-back his previous boss regularly switched him around to.
“Give me the tools and I’ll do the work”, Rodgers said back in September, a public comment that hastened his departure.
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Owners Fenway Sports Group took exception to the suggestion that they had failed to support their manager in the transfer market.
