Ahen the prestige win against Manchester City was perfect and the emotions at Anfield Road had largely subsided, Jürgen Klopp made peace with his dismissal. “I’ve known for 55 years that the way I look at these moments is worth a red card. In that respect, it was ultimately deserved,” said the Liverpool FC team manager after the 1-0 (1-0) win over Pep Guardiola’s star ensemble.
As he once did as a right-back at Mainz 05, the successful coach stormed down the sidelines and loudly insulted the assistant referee for a foul that went unreported. The referee Anthony Taylor knew no mercy and sent Klopp to the stands in the 85th minute.
Salah ends his goalless period
In the matter, however, the punished saw himself in the right after a certain time lag. “I exaggerated, but I wasn’t disrespectful. And I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a clearer situation in a football game that wasn’t called,” analyzed the former Borussia Dortmund coach.
Klopp brushed aside that he was now threatened with a one-game suspension. It was much more important to him that the Reds had held their ground impressively against Man City: “It was a really, really good performance in an incredibly intense game at an incredibly high level against the best team in the world.”
And yet a single scene decided the close duel. City defender Joao Cancelo miscalculated in the duel, Mohamed Salah completed his subsequent solo effort in the 76th minute with the goal of the day with nerves of steel. The Egyptian ended 513 minutes without a goal as Manchester suffered their first away defeat since August 2021.
On the Mersey, the fans were able to celebrate an important success that at least kept Liverpool’s chances of participating in the 2023/2024 Champions League season. As they are eighth in the table, they are only six points behind fourth-placed Chelsea.
Bad scenes and songs
Arsenal at the top of the table, on the other hand, have already collected 14 points more than the Klopp team, so hopes of a 20th championship title currently seem unrealistic. “We don’t have to think about the title at the moment, but I hope that our self-confidence is boosted now,” said goal scorer Salah.
Unable to contain their emotions, some die-hard Liverpool supporters threw coins at Manchester manager Guardiola inside the stadium, but neither did Erling Haaland and his team-mates score. “Maybe the audience will aim better next time,” the Catalan told the BBC.
Worse still, Manchester fans who had traveled with them sang nasty chants during the game, alluding to the stadium tragedies in Brussels 1985 and Sheffield 1989 with numerous Liverpool victims. “This behavior is very devastating for families, survivors and everyone involved in such disasters,” the club said in a statement.
