Manchester City have sensationally crashed out of the Champions League with Kylian Mbappe and Real Madrid blowing away the four-time reigning English Premier League champions at the Bernabeu.
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He backtracked on that statement later in the week, but his decision to leave star goal scorer Erling Haaland on the bench, after he hobbled off the pitch during their 4-0 league win against Newcastle, showed that Guardiola probably did believe it.
Then as Mbappe ran riot with a hat-trick and Real took the tie 6-3, Guardiola’s initial assessment looked like it may have been too generous.
Real were clinical in booking a date with either fierce rivals Atletico Madrid or German outfit Bayer Leverkusen in the next phase, while for City with their Premier League campaign long gone, only the FA Cup remains in their quest for silverware this season.
It took just four minutes for Real to essentially kill off any potential contest.
It was the home side’s first attacking play of the match as Raul Asencio lobbed a long ball forward, City defender John Stones, who went off injured three minutes later, missed his header and Kylian Mbappe pounced out the back.
The French superstar scored an ugly, scrappy goal off his shin to open Real’s account at the Etihad a week ago, but this was a much classier finish with City goalkeeper Ederson half coming out towards him, and Mbappe coolly lobbed the ball into the net.
MADRID, SPAIN – FEBRUARY 19: Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappe celebrates after scoring a goal during the UEFA Champions League playoff second-leg match between Real Madrid and Manchester City at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in Madrid, Spain on February 19, 2025. (Photo by Burak Akbulut/Anadolu via Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
He added a second, and truly buried any hope of a City comeback, in the 33rd minute as Real’s electric front three proved too hot to handle.
Vinicius Junior played a key hand in all three Real goals last week, and the Brazilian was instrumental again in this one, breaking through City’s defensive line and charging down the right wing before crossing into Mbappe.
City defender Gvardiol was left humbled as he ended up on his backside after Mbappe stunningly cut inside of him, and finished at the near-post.
Mbappe’s third came on the hour as he collected the ball on the edge of the box, cut past Phil Foden and buried into the far corner with his weaker left foot.
It was the 26-year-old’s second hat-trick since joining Real from PSG last year.
City at least got onto the scoresheet when Nico Gonzalez tapped into an empty net in the second minute of added time after Omar Marmoush’s superb free kick ricocheted off the crossbar.
– Extra time thriller –
PSV and Juventus are off to extra time with the Dutch side leading their home leg 2-1 to level things up at 3-3.
Ismael Saibari’s second half goal levelled the aggregate scores for PSV.
– PSG hammerBrest –
Paris Saint-Germain can look forward to a showdown with either Liverpool or Barcelona in the last 16 of the Champions League after mercilessly crushing French rivals Brest 7-0 on Wednesday to win their play-off round tie 10-0 on aggregate.
PSG were always overwhelming favourites to beat Brest and effectively killed off the tie with a 3-0 win in Brittany in the first leg last week.
There were seven different goal-scorers in the return at the Parc des Princes, with Bradley Barcola, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Vitinha, Desire Doue, Nuno Mendes, Goncalo Ramos and Senny Mayulu netting for the home side.
It is PSG’s record winning margin in a European game and the first time they have scored seven in the Champions League since they trounced Celtic 7-1 in November 2017.
PSG scored just three goals in their first five Champions League matches this season, but have found the net 21 times in five outings since then.
Their dominant display here came despite Ousmane Dembele failing to add to the 18 goals he had netted in his previous 12 appearances for Luis Enrique’s side.
It was an agonising way for Brest to end their first-ever European campaign, after they made it to the knockout stages following a historic third-place finish in Ligue 1 last season.
Being drawn against PSG was an anti-climax for Brest. They have not beaten the Parisians in 40 years and have now lost 19 of the last 20 meetings of the clubs.
Brest did almost take the lead early on as a Mathias Pereira Lage shot was blocked in front of the line by Marquinhos, before PSG struck in the 20th minute.
Barcola, on the left, controlled a Fabian Ruiz ball over the top before beating goalkeeper Gregoire Coudert at the near post for his 16th goal of the season.
Kvaratskhelia made it 2-0 six minutes before the break, turning in his second goal for his new club after Barcola had flicked on a low Joao Neves cross.
Neves smashed a shot against the crossbar in first-half stoppage time and Pierre Lees-Melou then hit the post for Brest early in the second half.
However, a lovely strike from the edge of the area by Vitinha made it 3-0 just before the hour mark, and Ramos then produced a delightful piece of skill to tee up fellow substitute Doue for the fourth.
Achraf Hakimi set up Mendes to tap in the fifth midway through the second half and Ramos made it six from close range on 76 minutes with his ninth goal of the campaign.
Abdallah Sima had a goal for Brest disallowed for offside before Kvaratskhelia teed up 18-year-old Mayulu to round out the scoring on 86 minutes.
PSG will find out the identity of their next opponents when the draw for the remainder of the competition is made on Friday.
– Dortmund ease into last 16 after Sporting stalemate –
Borussia Dortmund cruised into the last 16 of the Champions League after a goalless draw with Sporting Lisbon on Wednesday sealed a 3-0 aggregate victory.
Serhou Guirassy missed a second-half penalty but it mattered for nothing in the end as last season’s finalists were rarely troubled by Sporting and coasted through.
Dortmund’s reward is a last 16 game against Aston Villa or Lille. It was always a tough ask for this young Sporting side ravaged by injury to overturn the damage done in last week’s first leg, when Guirassy, Pascal Gross and Karim Adeyemi all scored.
Dortmund dominated much of the return leg on a freezing night in Germany, with Marcel Sabitzer coming closest to breaking the deadlock with a rasping drive from distance that Sporting goalkeeper Rui Silva did well to palm around his post.
After the break, Dortmund got the chance to put the tie to bed from the spot when Silva was adjudged to have brought down Adeyemi in the box after Nico Schlotterbeck’s long pass split the visitors’ defence.
But Guirassy’s well-hit penalty was saved superbly by the Portuguese goalkeeper low to his right, denying the Guinean striker an 11th Champions League goal in 10 games this season.
Gio Reyna came off the bench and almost made an immediate impact against the Portuguese league leaders, hitting the post, but this was a night when Dortmund created little and Sporting even less, with the visitors failing to register a single shot on target.
Ultimately, Sporting lacked the ambition to turn around the tie, allowing Niko Kovac’s side to progress on the back of a relatively easy night’s work.
Premier League clashes – or any sporting match for that matter – don’t get much bigger than this.
There are 11 rounds remaining in the league, but you get the feeling that this weekend’s match could prove crucial to deciding who lists the trophy. The fixture has certainly done so in the past.
As Manchester City star Phil Foden put it simply this week: “It’s massive … It’s games we want to play in, the biggest games and the biggest occasions, so hopefully, we will be ready for it.”
City defender Manuel Akanji said: “It definitely will be massive. The winner will go to the top of the league. I don’t want to talk about the title race but it would be a big win for us.”
City are the reigning Premier League, Champions League, and FA Cup winners. This year, they’ve already won the UEFA Super Cup and the Club World Cup – meaning they hold five titles simultaneously.
It is hard to argue that there is a better team in world football.
Former 296-game Man City player Richard Dunne said after their 3-1 win over FC Copenhagen today booked their place in the Champions League quarterfinals: “Match them up against any team in Europe and I just think they’re better than them!”
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City have won three Premier League titles on the trot – and they’re hunting four.Source: AFP
Close behind them, though, are the Reds. Last season saw them slump to a fifth-place finish in the league, some 22 points behind City, meaning for the first time in six years they aren’t in the Champions League this campaign.
Yet Liverpool have already won the League Cup after beating Chelsea just a couple of weeks ago, and are alive in the Europa League, FA Cup, and of course the Premier League.
Both teams are not just chasing one trophy this season, but multiple. That has so often been the case for these two heavyweights in recent years.
But this meeting is special.
It is the last dance between Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola, two iconic managers who have arguably today’s greatest rivalry in football.
Sure, Guardiola’s protege Mikel Arteta and his Gunners are in the title race. They came close last year, and next week will face City in another huge ‘six pointer’ in the fight to be Premier League champions.
But the Gunners have not won the title since the Invincibles of 2003-04. They haven’t reached a Champions League semi-final since 2007-08. They remain a team on the rise rather than a consistent, dominant force – though a Premier League win would confirm their ascent into the elite.
Since Guardiola took over in 2016, City have won 14 trophies. Klopp took over the Anfield side a year earlier, and has won seven in that time. City have won five of the last six league titles – with Liverpool the only team to stop the juggernauts in that time.
It is the greatest rivalry of the modern English game.
As Liverpool great Jamie Carragher said in 2022, the feud is: “the best we’ve ever had in English football … We’ve never had the two best teams & managers in the world together fighting it out.”
Euro heavyweights cruise into quarters | 00:47
THE COACHES
Jurgen and Pep: two masters of attacking football in the modern game.
The pair have faced each other a whopping 29 times – for both men, it’s the most matches they’ve ever taken charge of against a specific manager.
The record is razor-thin: Klopp has won 12, Guardiola 11, with six draws.
No manager has more wins against Klopp than Guardiola – and the reverse is true.
Besides Klopp, Guardiola has won more matches than he’s lost against every other manager he’s faced more than three times, except Antonio Conte (at Chelsea and Spurs, Conte won four times and lost three against Pep’s City). Klopp, of course, has faced his rival in 22 more games than Conte did.
When it comes to trophies, Guardiola outmuscles his rival by some distance: 35 to 13.
Their rivalry began in Germany, where Klopp was in charge of Borussia Dortmund and Guardiola Bayern Munich. Klopp won the first meeting in the DFB Super Cup in 2013, 4-2. They would face off eight times in total across two years in Germany, with the pair having four wins apiece and Klopp winning two of the three meetings in cup finals.
In England, they have faced off 21 times. Klopp has won eight games, Guardiola seven, with six draws.
And while the rivalry has often been heated on the field – more on that below – off the field has been a different story.
The pair have an immense respect for each other.
Two titanic minds of the modern game.Source: Getty Images
Ahead of a meeting in April 2022, Klopp called Guardiola the “best coach in the world”.
Guardiola said in his own press conference ahead of that game: “Jurgen, as a manager, has been the biggest rival I’ve ever had in my career.”
He added: “I will remember my period here, when I’m retired watching and playing golf, I’ll remember my biggest rival was Liverpool, for sure.”
And when Klopp announced that this season would be his last at Liverpool, Guardiola paid a touching tribute.
“He’s an absolutely incredible manager and I know I don’t know him closely but he’s an incredible person. I had a feeling that at the end of the season when he is leaving, part of us, Man City, is leaving too. They have been our biggest rival, Liverpool in these years,” he said.
“Personally, in Dortmund and here, he’s been my biggest rival, so he will be missed. Personally, I will miss him,” before adding that he’ll “sleep better” the night before a Liverpool game with Klopp out of the picture.
Klopp said today: “I’m not sure how often in this club we have to say that ‘you know how much we respect the opponent’.
“Pep is the best manager in the world. I have a really good life being not even close to that – it’s absolutely fine.”
He added: “I see excellence when I face it. Pep is definitely that. In my lifetime, he’s the outstanding manager.”
The duo at their German clubs in 2015.Source: Twitter
THE MEETINGS
When City and Liverpool met earlier this season at the Etihad, they produced an instant classic – true to form for what has been a battle of iconic proportions for the last half-decade.
After Guardiola took over City in 2016 – the season after Klopp arrived at Anfield – the pair faced off in the Premier League for the first time in December. City dominated possession, but Liverpool won 1-0.
Not a single Liverpool player remains from their starting XI in that match – though Trent Alexander-Arnold was on the bench – while Kevin de Bruyne and John Stones have gone on to become crucial figures in City’s enduring success under Guardiola.
Since that first clash, the teams have delivered epic encounters time and again.
In 2017-18, they did battle for the only time in the Champions League, a two-leg clash in the quarterfinals.
Liverpool won the first leg 3-0 in one of Klopp’s most celebrated nights at Anfield. Mohamed Salah led the way – as he often does – with the Reds scoring three times in the first 31 minutes to blow City away. They also claimed victory in the second leg, dumping City out – and getting revenge for City’s bruising 5-0 win in the league that season.
City would hit 100 points in the Premier League to win by a massive 18-point margin. Liverpool, meanwhile, would finish as runners-up in the Champions League.
Liverpool celebrating their 2016 win over Manchester City. None of the starting XI remain at the club.Source: AFP
The next season delivered one of the greatest Premier League games of all time.
In January 2019, Liverpool travelled to City seven points clear in the title race.
Sadio Mane shot early in the game struck the post, before City defender John Stones’ clearance slammed into goalkeeper Ederson. As the ball bounced towards the goal, Stones – a former Everton player – raced back and pulled off the most miraculous of goal line clearances. Indeed,
Goal line technology showed that the ball was just 11 millimetres from fully crossing the line.
City went on to win the game 2-1 – and then went on to win the title by a lone point.
11 millimetres: On such slender margins are titles won and lost.
Liverpool finished with 97 points – the most ever from a second-placed team in the Premier League or any of Europe’s top leagues.
This time around, Liverpool enter the clash with a slender one-point advantage. A win would take them four clear, a potentially powerful moment in the title race. A City win would shuffle up the order at the top of the table – while a draw would open the door to third-place Arsenal. It’s all to play for.
THE ANFIELD CURSE
For all the incredible matches between the two, one statistic stands out: City have won just once at Liverpool’s fabled stadium since 2003. The sole victory was a 4-1 in February 2021, when Jack Grealish delivered arguably his finest performance in a City shirt after having been sick all day in the lead-up to the match.
That match was also a turning point in the title race. When Liverpool led 1-0 early through Salah, City’s title bid looked done and dusted with Arsenal well clear on points.
But Liverpool gloveman Alisson made two errors and City brilliantly bulldozed their way to victory over the out-of-form Reds. The win sent a statement of intent to the Gunners – and pretty quickly they stumbled, with a rampant City surging home to win another crown.
But that match does come with a caveat – it was played without fans in the stands.
The last time Liverpool were beaten by City at Anfield came during the Coronavirus pandemic when fans were locked out.Source: Getty Images
With fans present, City have won just once at Anfield in the Premier League – indeed, that 2003 victory was their only win at Anfield since 1981.
“It’s a stadium we never seem to win a lot at, so it’s going to be a challenge,” Phil Foden said.
Klopp said today: “Anfield has, from time to time, a real impact on our game…
“The atmosphere our people can create… am I allowed to say it’s second to none or will anybody get offended by that?
“It’s really good and energising. These are the games you want to play and watch. Anfield is, for us, a massive factor.”
Ending the curse would be a huge psychological boost for City – and a major blow to Liverpool’s belief they can end City’s hunt for a fourth-straight crown.
Former City goalkeeper Shay Given told BBC Radio 5 Live: “Anfield will be bouncing on Sunday, it’s a really tough place to play.”
“I think if City go there and get three points, which they can do, then they will go on to become the first team to win four Premier Leagues on the bounce.”
THE ADDED SPICE
The rivalry hit new heights this week when Liverpool’s hometown star Trent Alexander-Arnold claimed his team’s trophies ‘mean more’ than City’s given their rival’s significantly stronger financial backing.
“It’s tough,” Alexander-Arnold told FourFourTwo magazine. “We’re up against a machine that’s built to win – that’s the simplest way to describe City and their organisation.
‘Looking back on this era, although they’ve won more titles than us and have probably been more successful, our trophies will mean more to us and our fanbase because of the situations at both clubs, financially.
“How both clubs have built their teams and the manner in which we’ve done it, probably means more to our fans.”
It’s long been a criticism of Manchester City.
“I’m a good manager but I don’t win titles if I don’t have good players and good players are expensive. All the clubs spend a lot of money: Barcelona spend a lot of money, Madrid spend a lot of money, English teams spend a lot of money,” Guardiola said in 2020.
But there’s no doubt there’s a clear difference in the expenditure of the two teams.
As of last season, FIFA reports that Manchester City’s squad cost £1.1bn in combined transfer fees, while Liverpool’s cost £774.1m.
Since Jurgen Klopp arrived on Merseyside in 2015, he has spent just over 800 million pounds on players at Liverpool, but has an overall net spend of £254 million.
In that same time frame – which includes the year before Guardiola arrived at City – the Cityzens have spent £1.28bn with a net spend of £692.3m.
Manchester City’s record signing Jack Grealish headlines the list of stars landed by Guardiola.Source: Getty Images
The Abu Dhabi-owned club has also been charged with 115 breaches of Premier League financial rules dating from 2009 to 2018, with the Premier League revealing announcing it has set a date for a private hearing – without revealing when that is.
City understandably rankled at Alexander-Arnold’s claims.
Erling Haaland told Sky Sports: “If he wants to say that, OK. I’ve been here one year and I won the treble and it was quite a nice feeling, I don’t think he knows exactly this feeling.
“So yeah, that is what I felt last season and it was quite nice.
“They can talk as much as they want, or he can talk as much as he wants. I don’t know why he does that, but I do not mind.”
It is just the latest twist in an increasingly heated rivalry.
Ahead of the April 2018 Champions League clash between the teams, Liverpool supporters hit City’s team bus with flares and bottles. So badly damaged was the bus that a replacement was required to ferry City back to Manchester.
The same occurred in late 2022, a match in which Liverpool fans were also accused of throwing coins at Guardiola.
In April 2023, City fans similarly targeted Liverpool’s bus after their resounding 4-1 league win.
That match – and the one in October 2022 – were also marred by shocking chants from some City fans referencing the Hillsborough disaster which cost the lives of 97 Liverpool fans.
While the rivalry does not have the same history as Liverpool’s bitter hatred of Manchester United, there has been increasing tension between the two camps despite the immense respect each manager shows for their opposite.
Police are on red alert over more potential clashes, formally requesting the Premier League play the match at the unusual start time of 3.45pm (local) in order to aid crowd control.
Bottles and cans are thrown at the bus as Manchester City players arrive in 2018.Source: AFP
THE BIG CONCERN FOR REDS
City enter the match on a 20-game unbeaten streak and are near full strength, with winger Jack Grealish and potentially £55m winger Jeremy Doku the only two stars who could be absent. Matheus Nunes is expected to play despite suffering a horribly gruesome broken finger in midweek Champions League action.
But Liverpool have been battling a major injury crisis in recent weeks – and it only got worse on Friday when Ibrahima Konate and Joe Gomez both were substituted with injuries against Sparta Praha in the Europa League.
Alisson, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Diogo Jota and Curtis Jones are all ruled out. Ryan Gravenberch, Thiago Alcantara, Joel Matip, Stefan Bajcetic and Ben Doak will also miss the game.
But there’s a crucial boost for the Reds, with Mohamed Salah coming off the bench in the Europa League after overcoming an injury.
All told, it is perfectly poised to be a pivotal moment in this title race. The last meeting of two legendary managers with a league battle at a crucial juncture, and with the added weight of the Anfield curse – and fresh fuel added to the fire of the rivalry by Trent Alexander-Arnold.
After serving up classic matches year after year, all indications point to another famous battle between the two juggernauts of the last five years.
Manchester City beat FC Copenhagen 3-1 in their first leg of the Champions League Round of 16 to close in on a place in the quarter finals, while a sizzling Brahim Diaz strike handed Real Madrid a 1-0 win over RB Leipzig.
Kevin de Bruyne scored and then set up a second City goal in the first half, either side of a howler from goalkeeper Ederson which led to a screamer from a Copenhagen debutant.
City were dominant for large parts of the match, and sealed the win when Phil Foden turned in a De Bruyne cut-back in stoppage time.
The English champions have now won 11 consecutive games in all competitions as they remain on course to repeat last season’s treble of Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup.
De Bruyne . (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
Man City took just ten minutes to get off the mark when De Bruyne was teed up by Foden on the right and slotted a fine low shot into the opposite corner from a tight angle.
City racked up chances against the minnows, who fought gamely and struck against the run of play when City goalkeeper Ederson made a shocking decision in the 34th minute.
Ederson, under pressure, passed straight to Mohamed Elyounoussi. His shot was blocked, but it fell to Magnus Mattsson who curled home a brilliant shot from the edge of the box.
“It’s really a horrible, horrible ball,” Craig Foster said on Stan Sport of Ederson’s mistake.
Remarkably, Mattsson was making his debut for Copenhagen 13 days after signing for the club.
And in a staggering statistic, it was the 13th time this season across all competitions that City had conceded with their first shot on target of the match.
Ederson made a howler and was punished by a superb strike.Source: AFP
Copenhagen desperately tried to hold out City’s attack until halftime, only for the visitors to score in the 45th minute through a sensational Bernardo Silva shot.
De Bruyne battled hard for the ball in the box, and it was deflected heavily for Silva to react quickest and poke it past the keeper.
Copenhagen hadn’t played a competitive game in 63 days, since beating Galatasaray to reach the knockout stages in December, with their domestic league on a winter break.
Keeping them fit is Australia’s Andrew Clark, a renowned sports scientist who left the Socceroos and Australia’s other national teams in mid-2022 to take over first team duties at Copenhagen.
City had a fitness issue of their own, with Jack Grealish – making just his second start of the year – was forced off the field early in the match and replaced by Jeremy Doku.
Copenhagen changed to a five-defender formation in the second half and attempted to hit on the counter-attack, but couldn’t find a way back into the game.
And Phil Foden finally ended the reistance when he scored his 15th of the season, once again set up by De Bruyne.
STUNNING STRIKE AS MADRID SCRATCH WIN
Brahim Diaz scored an incredible solo goal as Real Madrid won 1-0 away at RB Leipzig in Tuesday’s Champions League last 16 first leg.
Leipzig were energetic but wasteful early, frequently undoing their good work with poor decision-making in the final third.
The hosts were made to pay early in the second half when Diaz opened the scoring.
Drafted into the side in place of the injured Jude Bellingham, Diaz danced past five Leipzig defenders before curling an inch-perfect shot inside the far post.
The win was Real Madrid’s seventh in seven games this Champions League campaign and puts them in prime position to make it past the last 16 for the fourth straight season.
Real travelled to Saxony without England midfielder Bellingham, who injured his ankle in Saturday’s 4-0 win over Girona.
With first-choice centre-backs Antonio Ruediger, David Alaba and Eder Militao ruled out, coach Carlo Ancelotti opted to continue midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni’s stint in central defence.
Despite their injury woes, Real sit five clear in the league and have only lost twice this season in all competitions, both times to derby rivals Atletico Madrid.
Brahim Diaz of Real Madrid celebrates his incredible goal.Source: Getty Images
Hosts Leipzig thundered out of the blocks and had the ball in the net three minutes in, but the goal was controversially ruled out for offside, with Benjamin Henrichs deemed to be obstructing the goalkeeper.
Collecting the ball near the sideline just three minutes into the second half, Diaz was fouled but refused to go to ground, dribbling through the Leipzig defence before unleashing a curling shot past Gulacsi to score.
The goal cranked the home side into gear, with Barcelona youth product Dani Olmo going close to equalising, twice stinging the palms of Madrid ‘keeper Andriy Lunin.
Madrid should have had another with 20 minutes remaining after going on the counter, but Vinicius hit the post.
Manchester City underlined the vast gulf in quality between themselves and Manchester United on Sunday as Liverpool showed their support for absent teammate Luis Diaz, whose parents were kidnapped in Colombia.
Old Trafford paid tribute to late United great Bobby Charlton ahead of kick-off, with supporters unfurling a banner that read: “The finest English footballer the world has ever seen”.
But memories of past glories failed to translate onto the pitch, with the home team thoroughly outplayed by the champions, who did not have to get out of second gear in their 3-0 win.
Champions City made most of the early running and were awarded a penalty after VAR spotted a foul on Rodri by Rasmus Hojlund as the ball was crossed into the area from a free-kick.
Can City go all the way again?Source: Getty Images
It was the first spot-kick Manchester City have ever been awarded at Old Trafford in the Premier League in the 27th meeting between the teams.
Erling Haaland stepped up to tuck home from the spot, his 12th goal of the season in all competitions.
City goalkeeper Ederson saved a Scott McTominay pile-driver before Andre Onana produced heroics at the other end when Haaland appeared certain to head home.
But the Norwegian forward made no mistake just after the break, thumping home a header from Bernardo Silva’s cross.
Phil Foden made it 3-0 with 10 minutes remaining after he was set up by Haaland.
“It was a footballing lesson. Manchester United didn’t know what to do,” Micah Richards said on Sky Sports.
“The first half was a contest,” Manchester United legend Gary Neville said. “The second half wasn’t a contest. It became a shambles. United went missing in the second half.”
The result continues to put the pressure on United manager Erik Ten Hag after just five wins and five losses this year.
Manchester United weren’t even close.Source: Getty Images
– EMOTIONAL LIVERPOOL TRIBUTE –
Earlier, Liverpool swept Nottingham Forest aside by the same scoreline. Goals from Diogo Jota and Darwin Nunez before the break and Mohamed Salah’s second-half effort ensured Jurgen Klopp’s side maintain their 100 per cent home record in the Premier League this season.
Jota held aloft Diaz’s number seven shirt after scoring — the Colombian did not feature in Liverpool’s squad following the kidnapping incident in his home country.
Colombia President Gustavo Petro said on Saturday that the winger’s mother had been rescued but the search remained ongoing for his father.
“Luis was with us in the hotel then he went home,” Jota told the BBC. “It’s a very hard situation and I don’t know how anyone would react if it happened to you.
“He was going to play. I played instead of him, and I showed him his shirt to show we’re with him and we hope everything works out.”
Liverpool finished the day fourth in the table, behind leaders Tottenham, Arsenal and City.
Liverpool kept their perfect home record intact.Source: AFP
VILLA CONTINUE SURGE AS BRIGHTON SLIP UP
High-flying Aston Villa, in fifth spot, won their 12th consecutive home game in the Premier League, beating struggling Luton 3-1.
Unai Emery’s side made light work of their opponents, with goals from John McGinn and Moussa Diaby giving them the upper hand before Luton captain Tom Lockyer put through his own net.
“For me it is still a long process here and I will want to work to improve as always,” Emery told Sky Sports.
“Of course I am happy but still being serious, serious in the way I want to build here and improve more.”
Villa are flying high.Source: Getty Images
Brighton lost further ground after their sparkling start to the season. The south coast club took a 1-0 lead through Evan Ferguson, but Fulham levelled through midfielder Joao Palhinha.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin scored the only goal of the game as Everton beat West Ham 1-0 to give themselves breathing space above the relegation zone.
The ‘Moises Caicedo Derby’ proved exactly why Chelsea and Liverpool were so willing to shell out a nine-figure transfer fee for the Ecuadorean.
Meanwhile, an intriguing tactical ploy from Manchester City saved them from a shock result while a European contender sent a major warning to their rivals.
Foxsports.com.au reviews the weekend’s action in Premier League Talking Points!
LIVERPOOL, CHELSEA REVEAL WHY BIG-MONEY SEARCH WAS NECESSARY
Chelsea and Liverpool took their battle in the transfer market for the signature of Brighton midfielder Moises Caicedo onto the pitch at Stamford Bridge.
Liverpool started without a recognised defensive midfielder and an attack-minded front six looked slick early on as Luis Diaz gave the visitors the lead.
Chelsea, though, were soon able to pick the Reds’ defence apart with ease and could easily have given Mauricio Pochettino a dream start as Blues boss.
Pochettino’s midfield options have been decimated by a clear out to trim down a bloated squad, but it is still an area of the field in which the Blues possess significant quality.
The end result was 1-1 in a game some had dubbed as the ‘Caicedo Derby’ as the contest provided glaring evidence why both were so desperate to break their transfer records to snap up the Ecuadorean.
“Both Chelsea and Liverpool desperately need Caicedo and as much as they showed their strengths they have also revealed their weaknesses.”
Chelsea’s midfield on the day consisted of Enzo Fernandez, Conor Gallagher and Carney Chukwuemeka who operated further forward, yet none of them are in the mould of a tough-tackling defensive midfielder.
Nor was anyone in Liverpool’s midfield trio of Dominik Szoboszlai, Alexis Mac Allister or Cody Gakpo.
It is Chelsea who have won the transfer battle by snapping up Caicedo for a staggering £115 million and could beat Liverpool to the signing of Romeo Lavia.
The proof will be in the pudding as to whether Caicedo justifies his lofty price tag, but it’s clear Chelsea view him as the clear answer to the void left at the defensive midfielder position.
Caicedo is headed for Chelsea in a big money move. (Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images for Premier League)Source: Getty Images
CITY’S IN-GAME SWITCH YET ANOTHER SIGN OF ABSURD DOMINANCE
City ended last season over a month after Burnley had concluded their Championship campaign, but a lack of preparation time for the new season did not show on opening night.
Pep Guardiola insisted the champions are far from their physical best. “We are still away from our best form but we have to try to not drop points in this period with this amount of games,” said Guardiola.
“How you solve this lack of preparation is a question of mentality.”
But Erling Haaland’s finishing was as sharp as ever to ensure there was no slip-up from City.
The Norwegian took just over three minutes of the new season to find the net before smashing home a sumptuous second off the underside of the bar.
Haaland also took full advantage of a new tactic from City, although it was one borne out of necessity given how Burnley had set up.
Vincent Kompany’s side were impressive at not letting City easily slice through them on the wings or through the middle, so Guardiola instructed his side to play longer balls in a more direct style.
City goalkeeper Ederson ended up attempting to play 29 long balls over the 90 minutes, more than he attempted in any game last season.
The direct style also meant Haaland was one-on-one with either one of Burnley’s centre-backs in Dara O’Shea or Ameen Al-Dakhil.
“If opponents want to do one against one against Erling or Julian (Alvarez), with all the space and the length of the pitch in behind, we accept it,” Guardiola said.
The fact City could so easily switch up their game plan to devastating effect no doubt bodes well for the rest of the campaign and is a big warning for their rivals.
Haaland was a major beneficiary of a tactical change from Pep Guardiola. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
RED DEVILS SLIP TO HORROR 18-YEAR FIRST
Manchester United may have eked out a 1-0 win over Wolves in their Premier League opener, but it was far from pretty.
In fact, the Red Devils slipped to an embarrassing 18-year first as Wolves fired off 23 shots, the most an away team has had at Old Trafford since 2005.
At least it is already a better start than United had last season in which they lost their first two games of the season to Brentford and Brighton.
“Raphael Varane came to their rescue with a 76th-minute header and saved Erik ten hag from some painful questions,” Winter wrote.
“Beyond Varane’s moment of composure, United lacked a finishing touch, and even their wealth of wingers could not conjure up chances.”
There would have been high hopes placed on the shoulders of £55 million summer signing Mason Mount to perform.
But he too couldn’t find his rhythm in a midfield trio alongside Casemiro and skipper Bruno Fernandes and was hauled off in the 68th minute for Christian Eriksen.
Perhaps Mount’s saving grace was that the remainder of his teammates also struggled to shine in the season opener, although he’ll be expected to lift for the trip to Tottenham next Sunday.
Mount struggled to make an impact against Wolves. (Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
TOON SEND SCARY WARNING IN FIVE-STAR SHOWING
As many of the game’s biggest names chased the riches on offer in the Gulf in recent months, Saudi-backed Newcastle have again resisted the temptation to splash out on stars.
However, Sandro Tonali and Harvey Barnes enjoyed dream debuts in a 5-1 demolition of Aston Villa that exemplified the new-found strength in depth on offer to Eddie Howe.
It was a game that arrived with plenty of excitement and expectation given how well these two teams performed last season.
Fans from both clubs also had plenty of optimism going into the new campaign given some of the new additions they had made respectively.
But after full time, it was those in black and white who were left bouncing inside St. James’ Park as Newcastle made a significant statement of intent over Villa.
Tonali smashed home just six minutes into his St James’ Park bow after a cross from Anthony Gordon, who had started ahead of Barnes.
Howe’s decision to select Alexander Isak over Callum Wilson was also rewarded with two goals by the Swede.
But Barnes made a stunning impact off the bench as he teed up Wilson for Newcastle’s fourth before rounding off the scoring in stoppage time.
The Magpies will need a stronger squad as the demands of a first Champions League campaign for 20 years kick in.
On this evidence, though, their rise since the Saudi Public Investment Fund took charge under two years ago shows no sign of stopping.
A hat-trick from Socceroos striker Jason Cummings has propelled the Central Coast Mariners to a fairytale 6-1 grand final demolition of a star-studded Melbourne City.
Undoubtedly the underdogs going into Saturday night’s A-League decider at CommBank Stadium, the Mariners stunned City, who have now lost three of the past four grand finals.
City’s regular season dominance counted for nothing when it mattered most, with the Melbourne heavyweights never recovering after going 2-0 down after 34 minutes following goals from Cummings and the dynamic Sam Silvera.
Although cutting the Mariners’ lead in half with a goal from substitute Richard van der Venne, City failed to match the passion of the Central Coast, who scored four times in the second half - two Cummings penalties, a header from Frenchman Beni N’Kololo and a stoppage-time strike from substitute Moresche – to seal the Mariners’ first championship since 2013.
It also completed a remarkable turnaround for the Mariners, who were wooden spooners three seasons in a row from 2018 to 2020
But under former Mariners player Nick Montgomery, Central Coast have become the new entertainers of the competition, proving it with a stunning grand final win in front of more than 26,000 fans.
City didn’t deserve for their season to finish in such an embarrassing way, but questions will again be asked of their failure to rise to the grandest occasion of them all.
There was to be no fairytale finish for retiring City captain Scott Jamieson, who watched the entire match from the bench.
Cummings confirmed post-match that he had played his last game for the Marines, and he couldn’t n not have finished his Central Coast career in a better way.
The Mariners scored six past Melbourne City. (Photo by Scott Gardiner/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
After an uneventful start, the grand final came to life in the 20th minute when Cummings gave the Mariners the lead,
The move started deep in Central Coast’s half and gathered momentum when Frenchman N’Kololo charged down the right sideline before delivering a cross into the path of Cummings.
The Scotland-born marksman, who represented Australia at last year’s World Cup, met the cross with a first-time volley but it was blocked by City defender Curtis Good
However, the Mariners’ ace was first to react to the loose ball and stabbed it home past City goalkeeper Tom Glover.
The goal sent the Central Coast fans into a frenzy and they seemed set to further erupt three minutes later when Brazilian attacker Marco Tulio had a double chance to increase the Mariners’ lead.
Glover stood tall to deny him the first time, before Good was on hand to clear a goal-bound shot off the line after Tulio was presented with a second opportunity from the loose ball off the City keeper’s initial save.
But the Mariners didn’t have to wait much longer to score a deserved second goal, with the in-form Silvera finding the back of the net in the 34th minute.
Fed by Cummings, the electrifying Silvera stood up City’s Portuguese defender Nuno Reis before cutting into City’s penalty area and slotting the ball into the bottom corner of the net.
A shell-shocked City then did what good teams do – respond with a goal of their own.
It came in the 40th minute from Dutchman van der Venne, who had come on for the injured Valon Berisha (back).
The move involved Marco Tilio, Good and Jamie Maclaren, who rather than shooting, laid the ball into the path of van der Venne, who did well to steer his first-time finish into the roof of the net.
However, the Mariners a golden chance to again open up a two-goal lead in first-half stoppage-time, but Glover came to City’s rescue with a fine save to deny N’Kololo.
But the Mariners upped the ante in the second half and City had no answers.
