Manchester Metropolis v Liverpool: Premier League – stay | Premier League

A hammer blow to Liverpool on the stroke of half-time.

45+2 min Bernardo Silva finds Cherki, who clips a cross that's headed behind by Van Dijk. It's been an odd half, missing the depth we normally see on this fixture.

45 min The VAR checks and a few bits of remedy imply there might be seven minutes of added time.

45 min “In two minds about that disallowed aim,” writes Joshua Keeling. “Below the letter of the legislation it's technically appropriate – he was in an offside place and he ducked beneath the ball. However on the similar time, Donnarumma wasn't attending to that header. So I'm on the fence.”

Yeah, it's a troublesome one as a result of there was no materials affect on the aim.

42 min Wirtz has a shot blocked at supply after a sensible flip simply contained in the Metropolis space. That is Liverpool's greatest spell.

41 min Bernardo Silva is booked for tripping somebody.

39 min Van Dijk beat Donnarumma with an imposing header from a nook. Robertson – in an offside place three yards from aim – ducked to permit the ball to go over him and into the online. He wasn't in Donnarumma's eyeline, nor did he impede his dive – however Mike Dean, on Sky, says it was the right choice in accordance with the present interpretation of the legislation.

Arne Slot doesn't concur.

Virgil van Dijk thinks he's equalised for Liverpool – however there's a VAR examine…

36 min Mac Allister journeys Doku and is booked.

35 min Given Metropolis's occasional susceptibility to counter-attacks, the choice to select Wirtz forward of Cody Gakpo most likely wasn't the most effective. Then once more, I can't think about Arne Slot anticipated his workforce to have so little of the ball within the first 35 minutes.

32 min Liverpool, unusually passive in possession at 0-0, should come out and play now.

30 min That aim in the end stemmed from some glorious one-touch passing/escapology from Metropolis after they had been surrounded by Liverpool gamers in their very own half.

Erling Haaland heads Metropolis in entrance. It was a barely odd aim: the right-back Nunes curled an ordinary cross to the far publish, the place Konate and Haaland challenged for the header. The ball brushed Konate's head, hit Haaland a millisecond later and looped slowly into the online. No thought how a lot Haaland knew about it. He gained't care, nor ought to he.

If at first you don't succeed…

27 min Nico Gonzalez is booked for a cynical foul on Wirtz, who slipped a few Metropolis gamers neatly and would have led a Liverpool break.

26 min Doku barrrels previous Bradley within the space, then twists again exterior Gravenberch and whacks a shot from a decent angle that's touched around the close to publish by Mamardashvili. It was most likely going vast however Mamardashvili couldn't take an opportunity and his reactions had been excelllent.

25 min I assumed, after Brian Brobbery's equaliser for Sunderland towards Arsenal, that each groups would come flying out of the traps. It's been the other; Doku apart, the attacking gamers have completed the sq. root of bugger all.

23 min O'Reilly goes to proceed for now. Gary Neville, king of the calf pressure in his enjoying days, thinks O'Reilly's recreation might be over.

22 min Perhaps not: O'Reilly is down and desires remedy. Appears to be like like a calf drawback; he jarred it barely when shaping to dam a doable Salah shot.

21 min A greater spell for Liverpool, with Salah getting on the ball within the ultimate third. O'Reilly v Salah ought to be an enchanting contest in the present day.

20 min “Haaland penalty?” sniffs Peter Oh. “Mama(rdashvili) stated knock you out!”

19 min “You're appropriate that this an enormous recreation,” says Paul Griffin. “Yuge. However does that imply that penalty incident is the largest factor that's ever occurred? Or is it greater than that?”

Larger. This liveblog ought to be written by Walter Cronkite.

18 min Doku surges down the left and slides a sq. go supposed for Foden on the sting of the realm. As an alternative it nicks off a defender and reaches Cherki, whose shot deflects off Konate and over the bar.

Doku has been electrical.

16 min The penalty drama apart, it's been a surprisingly cold begin to the sport. Metropolis are maintaining the ball rather a lot higher.

15 min On reflection, that wasn't a specific unhealthy penalty from Haaland – it was a incredible save from Mamardashvili as a result of the ball would have ended up within the backside nook.

14 min There was one other VAR examine to see whether or not Mamaradashvili was off his line earlier than the kick was taken. However he timed it completely and made an outstanding save.

13 min Not the best penalty – swept low to the proper however not hit with ferocious energy. Even so, what a second for Mamaradashvili, who bought down excellently to push it away.

12 min There was a mistake from Konate earlier within the transfer – he bought in Bradley's means and kicked the ball towards Doku, who was first onto the ricochet after which went previous Mamardashvili.

Liverpool aren't glad. Their argument, I think, is that Doku initiated the contact. I'm unsure he did.

11 min Mamardashvili's knee caught Doku's left foot and tripped him. It wasn't deliberate nevertheless it was a foul.

9 min: Massive penalty attraction for Metropolis! Doku will get away from Bradley and Konate, goes previous the outrushing Mamaradashvili after which falls over. Was he tripped? There was an almighty scramble after that, with a few photographs blocked.

I feel this might be a penalty to Metropolis.

8 min On the different finish Salah, filled with intent, knocks a bouncing ball into the Metropolis space, forcing the final man Dias to step throughout and clear.

7 min Doku leads a Metropolis break and performs an excellent angled go to Foden… who miscontrols it. Crikey. With an excellent first contact he would have had a transparent taking pictures probability on his proper foot.

6 min “I'm unsure how different Liverpool followers may really feel about Wirtz being within the workforce,” wonders Peadar de Burca. “He's clearly nice, and he wants video games to get his Premier League groove on, however why do I hold pondering of Juan ‘too good for the Premiership' Veron…? Nonetheless, it might be nice enjoyable to listen to Slot say, “He's a f***ing nice participant and also you're all f***ing idiots.”

It'd be even higher if he went full Fergie and stated ‘Youse'.

5 min Doku, who has made a energetic begin, nicks a unfastened ball on the sting of the realm and forces his means between two Liverpool defenders. A 3rd crimson shirt, Konate, steps throughout to clear.

5 min Gravenberch is penalised twice within the area of a minute for tackles on O'Reilly and Doku. Nothing naughty or yellow card-worthy, however I would like to jot down one thing right here.

4 min “Afternoon Rob,” begins Simon McMahon. “While you stated ‘technical issues galore', I assumed you had been providing a concise three-word historical past of Scottish soccer.”

That'd must be a four-word historical past absolutely?

3 min A sluggish begin, with Metropolis passing the ball round meticulously within the center third and Liverpool attempting to set traps.

1 min Peep peep. Liverpool kick off from proper to left as we watch; this, as you most likely know by now, is Pep Guardiola's 1,000th recreation as supervisor.

The groups, then. Manchester Metropolis, who made a couple of adjustments v Dortmund in midweek, return to the XI that beat Bournemouth per week in the past. Liverpool are unsurprisingly unchanged from the win over Actual Madrid.

Right here's what occurred within the 2pm video games.

Apologies of us, we've had technical issues galore. Once I say ‘we'…

All sorted now, and this very huge recreation is about to kick off.

Manchester Metropolis (4-3-3ish) Donnarumma; Nunes, Dias, Gvardiol, O'Reilly; Bernardo, Nico, Foden; Cherki, Haaland, Doku.

Subs: Trafford, Reijnders, Stones, Ake, Marmoush, Ait-Nouri, Savinho, Bobb, Lewis.

Liverpool (4-3-3ish) Mamardashvili; Bradley, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Szoboszlai, Gravenberch, Mac Allister; Salah, Ekitike, Wirtz.

Subs: Woodman, Gomez, Endo, Kerkez, Isak, Chiesa, Jones, Gakpo, Ngumoha.

Referee Chris Kavanagh.

Hope is available in many kinds. Religion. An unlikely human connection. A crescendo of such defiant beauty that you simply briefly overlook the utter state of the whole lot. And a 2-2 draw on the Stadium of Gentle. Brian Brobbey's late equaliser for Sunderland towards Arsenal final evening was exceedingly excellent news for Manchester Metropolis and Liverpool, who ought to be filled with the fun going into this afternoon's recreation on the Etihad Stadium.

They've the prospect to shut the hole on Arsenal to 4 and 5 factors respectively. That's the excellent news; the unhealthy information is that solely one in all them – tops – can do it. Metropolis and Liverpool appear to be hitting their stride after dodgy spells earlier within the season. Metropolis have gained 10 of the final 13 in all competitions; Liverpool ended their hunch with defiant victories over Aston Villa and Actual Madrid.

They saved clear sheets in each video games, too. That gained't be really easy towards Erling Haaland, the crimson wine of any modern clear sheet metaphor. Haaland is in rampant type, with 10 targets in his final six video games on the Etihad, and has gone to a different stage this season. He was vaguely competent beforehand.

Kick off 4.30pm.