Pep Guardiola cherished a first victory at Liverpool since Covid, earned by defining contributions from players who know what it takes
Before joining his triumphant players to celebrate in front of Manchester City’s delirious away support, Pep Guardiola looked to the heavens above Anfield and blew a kiss. This stadium has tormented the City manager more often than most over the past decade but, should the title race twist as dramatically as this victory, his 11th and possibly final visit to Liverpool will be cherished as the turning point.
Was Guardiola’s kiss one of thanks for Gianluigi Donnarumma, the goalkeeper who deflated Liverpool in the Champions League last season with Paris Saint‑Germain and denied them a 99th-minute equaliser with a stunning save from Alexis Mac Allister? Or for the nerveless precision of Erling Haaland, who had completed the visitors’ comeback from the penalty spot six minutes earlier? The resilience of Marc Guéhi and co in the face of Liverpool’s second-half recovery merited a smacker, too. The former Liverpool transfer target would eventually get a kiss from his manager, deservedly so.
However, Guardiola’s reaction, his sheer relief, told a bigger story: that City’s race is not yet run. Arsenal’s evening mirrored Dominik Szoboszlai’s – from ecstasy to despair in the blink of a remarkable finale. In the 74th minute, when Szoboszlai repeated his impact against Arsenal and swept a 30-yard free-kick into the Kop goal, the league leaders were nine points clear and the obituaries were bring written for City. By the 93rd it was down to six points and by the 100th, with Liverpool down to 10 men, City had saved the title race at a ground where they last won in front of a crowd in 2003.
