On what proved a chastening night for Raheem Sterling against his old club, Liverpool enjoyed a whirlwind start, with an own goal from Eliaquim Mangala and strikes from Philippe Coutinho and Roberto Firmino inside 32 minutes.
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The opener came after seven minutes as Coutinho robbed Bacary Sagna and Mangala turned Firmino’s cross into his own net.
Jurgen Klopp’s rampant Reds knocked City off the top of the Barclays Premier League with a comprehensive 4-1 win at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday.
The Slovakian centre-back rounded off the scoring by netting his fourth goal against Manchester City in the Premier League, more than against any other team.
Fit-again striker Sergio Aguero pulled one back shortly before the interval, curling a splendid effort beyond Liverpool goalkeeper Simon Mignolet at the Etihad Stadium.
City, Chelsea and Manchester United also possess more financial firepower than Liverpool – as do Arsenal should manager Arsene Wenger ever choose to use it. “I think it’s very important to talk to the players as soon as you can, it’s not normal (the result), we must think about what we have in the future”.
“He trained 10-12 days with us without interruption, the same as Coutinho, and that is the reason we played like this with the formation like this – we tried to put on the pitch as many players who trained together”.
Midfielder Milner, who left City for Anfield in the summer, said: “I thought we were outstanding”. City has been brilliant in their attacks and if Liverpool can handle De Bruyne and Sterling it will feel it has a chance in the game.
Jurgen Klopp has hardly had time to even find the ignition yet let alone start the machine but one of the game’s finest pundit’s is already impressed.
“I am more than angry, it is hard to understand why we played so poorly”, the City manager said.
“We can do better than tonight but maybe not in counter-attacking”, said Klopp, flashing a smile of approval.
“When I was his age, I didn’t necessarily have a player who would try and help me every single day to push me and try to make me improve as a footballer”.
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Fortunately, Klopp has a rejuvenated squad to call from, with Daniel Sturridge, Jordon Ibe, James Milner and Kolo Toure all returning from injury and available for selection ahead of the short trip to Manchester. Coutinho certainly favors shooting from long distance but he will have to change his game when he faces Manchester City and not go for wild shooting and losing the possession.
