The manner of Manchester City’s victory at Liverpool was an article of both vindication and vilification. Those gleefully wielding inflatable bananas in the Anfield away end could thumb their noses. Why not enjoy the dances of defiance until the music stops?
The same went for City players, asked to perform under the darkest of clouds, able to focus, at last, on football, rather than legal argument and uncertain futures. Beyond City, the sight of a club found guilty of 100-plus charges laying waste to such rivals as Liverpool was deeply uncomfortable. The Premier League season and product are badly damaged until the matter is somehow resolved.
What happened at Anfield should double the haste for a resolution. Chants of “cheat” whenever City players, the game already won, slipped the ball around, are bound to be repeated at other stadiums. Enzo Maresca has described his club’s plight as “noise” but his team’s victory did absolutely nothing to turn the volume down.
John Brewin Andoni Iraola’s Liverpool reboot will require patience. They showed plenty of drive and determination against Manchester City but also uneven edges, polish lacking. Iraola’s aim was to get his players in their opponents’ faces, deepening any doubts circulating in City’s players.
Mission mostly accomplished during the first half. A flurry of chances at the beginning of the second half had City rocking only for Ryan Gravenberch’s dismissal to pull the rug. With Alexander Isak and Cody Gakpo missing, Liverpool lacked the quality to cause the necessary damage.
Lewis Koumas played well in the role of agitator as emergency centre-forward. Víctor Muñoz continues to be full of buzz but Bradley Barcola and Florian Wirtz, both players signed for £100m plus, are supposed to supply the cutting edge. Barcola has the mitigation of being a new arrival, while discussions about Wirtz border on football cliche.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
