Premier League leaders Manchester City saw their unbeaten run come to an end in a 4-3 defeat against Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain opened the scoring in the ninth minute before Leroy Sane equalised towards the end of the first-half.

Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah then put the hosts 4-1 ahead in the second period before a late onslaught from City saw Bernardo Silva and Ilkay Gundogan pull two goals back before the final whistle.

It was an enthralling battle between Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp and here’s an analysis of the performance of the two managers.

Basic Stats

LIVERPOOL

Shots – 8

Shots on target – 5

Pass success – 69%

Aerial duel Success – 42%

Dribbles won – 15

Tackles – 22

Possession – 35%

MANCHESTER CITY

Shots – 14

Shots on target – 7

Pass success – 82%

Aerial Duel Success – 58%

Dribbles won – 19

Tackles – 18

Possession – 65%

STARTING FORMATIONS

KLOPP [4-3-3]

The big news in attack for Liverpool was the return of Mohamed Salah as he joined Firmino and Mane in the front three. While Adam Lallana was played as a number 10 in the Merseyside derby, Klopp opted for a more flat midfield three with Emre Can flanked by Oxlade-Chamberlain and Georginio Wijnaldum.

The defence remained the same apart from Virgil van Dijk missing out through injury while Loris Karius retained his spot between the sticks.

GUARDIOLA [4-3-3]

With Gabriel Jesus sidelined, Sergio Aguero again started up front with Raheem Sterling and Leroy Sane providing width on either side. Fernandinho anchored the midfield also occupied by Kevin de Bruyne and Ilkay Gundogan.

Fabian Delph started at left-back with John Stones and Nicolas Otamendi in central defence and Kyle Walker on the right.

TACTICAL TURNING POINTS

KLOPP

Pressure from kick-off

There’s only one way to get at City and that’s to go for the jugular. If there’s one chink in their armour, it’s their defending. Their good defensive record is more a product of their possession and opponents’ reluctance to attack than their own defending.

Liverpool however were fearless on the day, putting that suspect defence to the test and the cracks began to show early on. The Reds didn’t allow City time on the ball and were swift in the transition, looking the more dangerous side in the opening exchanges.

They got their reward in the ninth minute when turning over possession. Oxlade-Chamberlain was positive enough to then drive forward and fire in from range.

Finding the space

With Walker pushing up the pitch to support Sterling who was having a difficult time, the inside left channel offered an opening where John Stones was left exposed. Fernandinho initially did well to shuttle across and provide cover but was unable to do so on every occasion.

In the transition again, Walker was caught up the pitch while Firmino barged Jones off the ball and lobbed Ederson to give the hosts the lead. Mane then found time on the edge of the box in the same area to thump his effort into the top corner to make it 3-1.

Nervous closing stages

After going 4-1 up, the loose ball rather fortuitously fell for Bernardo Silva inside the box. After that though, Klopp had the right idea by replacing Salah with Lallana as he tried to pack the midfield.

However, his team were still playing frantically and in taking off the Egyptian, he removed a valuable outlet. City then made it 4-3 to really put them under pressure. Klopp responded by throwing on Klavan, but again, removed the last remaining outlet in Mane. They survived in the end, but only just.

GUARDIOLA

Attacks concentrated down the right

After Liverpool went ahead, they were still on top for a while until City made the notable decision to concentrate their attacks down the right flank.

Raheem Sterling and Kevin de Bruyne linked up well while Walker bombed forward on the outside. Between Sterling and De Bruyne, they began to create chances with Aguero’s movement in the box causing Liverpool problems.

It was the switch that brought the equaliser. A long diagonal to Sane on the now less-manned left flank saw the German bring the ball down brilliantly before skipping past a defender and rifling a ferocious effort past Karius at the near post.

Left-back

Delph started at left-back and did well in the early stages to keep tabs on Salah. However, he was replaced in the 31st minute after failing to shake off a knock.

Danilo came on to replace him and the Brazilian’s attacking tendencies translated into Salah being afforded more freedom.

City were made to pay as a result with the Egyptian growing in influence as the game went on and ending up with a goal and assist to his name.

Stepping Up

To Guardiola’s credit, he made sure his team kept going, even when things looked bleak at 4-1 down. They stepped up and took the game to the hosts. Bringing off Sterling for Silva helped as he drifted inside and largely escaped the attention of Robertson.

Gundogan was pushed further up front with only Fernandinho hanging back in midfield and that brought about the third goal as well.

Our verdict

KLOPP

Unlike Jose Mourinho, Klopp didn’t show City too much respect. His fearless brand of attacking football was just what was needed to finally defeat the league leaders.

There’s a fine line between fearlessness and naivety though and perhaps if there was more time on the clock, the German would’ve crossed it. He still needs to make his side more compact when the situation demands more resistance.

Nevertheless, he pulled off what no other manager has accomplished in the Premier League this season.

7/10

GUARDIOLA

True to his philosophy to the end, the Spaniard never strayed from his plan. He made little tweaks along the way to try and break Liverpool and deserves credit for persisting even when they weren’t creating much.

His changes towards the end were spot on and that’s where he shone more than his counterpart. However, he was not prepared for the kind of pace and energy Liverpool would attack them with and was caught off-guard.

It was a timely wake-up call for Guardiola though, lest he get too complacent.

6/10 

Your verdict

KLOPP

GUARDIOLA

Stats from whoscored.com