Jermaine Jenas suggested Liverpool were somewhat fortunate to get away with a draw against Manchester City at the weekend.
The Reds came close to securing all three points, courtesy of a remarkable Mo Salah goal to restore the side’s lead in the Premier League clash, only for talismanic Cityzens midfielder Kevin De Bruyne to secure a late equaliser.
“Tactically, Guardiola got it spot on with the players he had at his disposal – but they could not find the finish their play deserved, so they didn’t get the win I felt they deserved either,” the former Tottenham star wrote in a column for BBC Sport.
“Liverpool almost snatched all three points right at the end, but I felt they got away with it a little bit even by getting a draw. Everything that could have gone their way did.
“They relied on moments of genius from two world-class players – Salah combined with Mane to put them 1-0 up, before scoring that absolutely phenomenal solo goal himself. They were both goals out of nothing, goals out of dreams.”
The result leaves both the Merseyside-based outfit and their league rivals adrift of the top spot following Chelsea’s 3-1 victory over Southampton.
Credit where credit’s due – Manchester City did indeed utterly outplay us in the first-half and, as such, we were fortunate not to be a goal down at the break.
However, we at the very least deserve some acknowledgement for our second-half, in which we were a far more aggressive force to consider.
It’s a huge shame that Mo Salah’s world-class effort couldn’t be the decider in a great 45 of football, though we’ll take an important point for the long season ahead.