We were hoping for a spectacle, we expected the spectacle, we demanded the spectacle, and – that’s exactly what we got straight from the kickoff in the jaw-dropping Manchester City-Liverpool derby, which eventually ended in a stalemate, 2-2!The Citizens were in front two times, but the visitors managed to bounce back and grab a deserved point.This outcome will pretty much serve as the prolongation of the two-horse race for the Premier League title, with City still being only a point clear of Liverpool with seven games still left to go.FT: Manchester City 2-2 Liverpool.An amazing game of football come to an end while the title race lives on! pic.twitter.com/V1yW5fHEcF— 𝐀𝐅𝐂 𝐀𝐉𝐀𝐗 💎 (@TheEuropeanLad) April 10, 2022 The hosts were furious from the starting block as De Bruyne found unmarked Gabriel Jesus on the right wing. The Brazilian forward promptly crossed it to Sterling in the heart of the box, but the English international embarrassed himself with a poor shot that Alysson denied easily to save his net.Still, it was just a prelude to Liverpool’s ‘sudden death’ less than a minute later – De Bruyne found enough space on the left to dash onto the ball. His strike, though, wasn’t so accurate, but the ball hit Matip on its way and deflected with an awkward curve before hitting the left post and ending in the back of the net for 1-0.
Pep was delighted, just as thousand of City’s fans in the stands, while Klopp didn’t seem too detested but showed his boys to move on as if nothing happened.And so they did it! Robertson launched a perfect cross to the right, where TAA reacted in a simple yet fabulous way – his backpass found Diogo Jota alone on the edge of the six-yard box, and the Portuguese forward levelled the game within 13 minutes.Fireworks, ladies and gents!And amid all that tension, the Citizens’ custodian Ederson made a horrible error inches away from the goal line in an attempt to clear it so Jota wouldn’t get a hold of the ball. In a cold-blooded manner, he somehow managed to kick it as the Scousers were looking in the ref’s direction, but a goal-line technology proved it was a no goal.Pep was totally in… (©Gallo images)On the other end, the immaculate De Bruyne was again in action, finding ways to threaten Alisson even with a pair of defenders on his back. However, his strike went inches wide of the right post.The contrasting emotions of Jurgen Klopp & Pep Guardiola after that goal🎉😣 pic.twitter.com/NeOA1oUR76— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) April 10, 2022 The same place where ended Cancelo’s shot a few minutes later, as he made his way on the left flank, rushing past TAA.The same formula – to exploit Alexander-Arnold’s flaws in marking – was applied by City in the 36th minute. Foden crossed it perfectly from the left, and while as many as four blue players were offside, Gabriel Jesus – rushing from behind – made a regular run behind TAA. Becker tried to stop him, but it was a smooth tap-in, with the ball bouncing off the woodwork for 2-1.As you probably noticed by now, the game’s tempo in the first half was second to none – intense, exciting, on-the-edge.So, what happened when the sides returned from the break? Did the match pace slow down? Oh, no, au contraire!Never to surrender… (©Gallo images)Literally 30 or 40 seconds into the second half, the Reds’ tied the game again. TAA found Salah deep in the opponent’s half, and the African magician demonstrated his unique set of skills – that pass was impeccable, and another African gem, Sadio Mane, placed it behind Ederson in the one-on-one situation for 2-2.
After conceding the second, Guardiola’s slot didn’t succumb to despair but engaged in the offence again. Who other than De Bruyne did his best to connect his forwards with the ball in the last third of the pitch. On one of those occasions, he sent it deep for both Jesus and Sterling. The latter got a hold of it and scored, even celebrated City’s third goal, but it was disallowed shortly due to an offside.##EDITORS_CHOICE##Then, finally, the rhythm slowed down a bit, leading us towards the climactic finish of the game. And there, after coming in from the bench, Riyad Mahrez could have become a true hero, a legend, a man that will go down in history as the scorer of the title-decider – but he failed, big time. De Bruyne (who other…) found him in the rivals’ area, but the Algerian forward tried to impress all of us instead of simply banging it for the win. The ball went above the crossbar, and the titans’ battle ended in a draw.𝙃𝙊𝙉𝙊𝙐𝙍𝙎 𝙀𝙑𝙀𝙉It finishes Manchester City 2-2 Liverpool at the Etihad. 🤝 pic.twitter.com/mO82sh94YU— Football Daily (@footballdaily) April 10, 2022 PREMIER LEAGUE – ROUND 32FridayNewcastle United – Wolverhampton 1-0 (0-0)/Wood 72 pen/SaturdayEverton – Manchester United 1-0 (1-0)/Gordon 27/Arsenal – Brighton 1-2 (0-1)/Odegaard 89 -Trossard 29, Mwepu 67/Southampton – Chelsea 0-6 (0-4)/Alonso 8, Mount 16, 54, Werner 22, 49, Havertz 32/Watford – Leeds 0-3 (0-1)/Raphinha 21, Rodrigo 73, Harrison 83/Aston Villa – Tottenham 0-4 (0-1)/ Son 3, 66, 77, Kulusevski 50/SundayBrentford – West Ham 2-0 (0-0)/Mbeumo 48, Toney 64/Leicester – Crystal Palace 2-1 (2-0)/Lookman 39, Dewsbury-Hall 45/Norwich – Burnley 2-0 (1-0)/Melou 9, Pukki 86/18:30: (2.15) Man.City (3.50) Liverpool (3.60)Manchester City – Liverpool 2-2 (2-1)/De Bruyne 5, Jesus 37 – Jota 13, Mane 46/