'Worth every single penny' - Winners and Losers as Liverpool beat Man City

Liverpool have resoundingly defeated Manchester City 2-0 in the Premier League to extend their lead atop the table.

The win lifts the Reds onto 34 points, nine clear of second-place Arsenal and a massive 11 points ahead of defending champions Man City, who are now out of the top four having lost their last four Premier League games in a row.

Man City's run is even worse across all competitions as they are winless in their last seven games, having lost six of them.

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The Reds took the lead early with a neat finish from Cody Gakpo and then added to it in the second-half when Mohamed Salah converted a penalty.

Who were the winners and losers of this improbably momentous day.

Winner: Virgil van Dijk

Virgil van Dijk made light of Ibrahima Konaté's injury and took it upon himself to mark Erling Haaland and the Man City attack out of the game.

Van Dik had a game-high 7 clearances and 3 interceptions and all through the first-half, Liverpool's approach was built off Van Dijk reading and cutting out countless attacks.

Then in the second period as the Reds bunkered down,it just felt like every time Man City got the ball into the box, or even into the Liverpool half, Van Dijk appeared to send it back from whence it came.

"There is, at the moment, nothing I can say" was Van Dijk's response when asked about his new contract before the game. Though reports abound that an official announcement about a renewal is close, and whatever they end up paying him, today's performance shows that he will be worth every penny.

Loser: Kyle Walker

Every Man City defender has looked various levels of cooked since Rodri's injury, but no one has managed to look as so thoroughly basted, sauteed and flambéed as Kyle Walker.

The once-dominant right-back is getting rinsed for speed, he's getting bullied in possession and he's falling asleep and missing attackers completely.

Liverpool's first goal came because Walker let Cody Gakpo run behind him into position to tap home Salah's cross.

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Liverpool's second goal came because, after Ruben Dias made a bad backheel decision, instead of controlling it and bailing his centre-back out, Walker instead took a sloppy touch that effectively set Luis Diaz clean through on goal, which led to the penalty.

Walker is cooked.

Winner: Mohamed Salah

"I'm enjoy every second here. We hope we win the league and see what happens," said Mohamed Salah after the game, where he played it cool regarding his future.

Whether or not Liverpool do end up renewing their Egyptian King, there's no doubt he was the decisive edge in the game today.

His pace and touch made him a constant thorn in City's side. He missed a sitter when put through in the second-half, but before that he produced a sublime assist for Cody Gakpo and then after it, when given the chance to settle things from the spot he made no mistake and slotted home low.

Loser: Every Man City midfielder

As with all Guardiola sides, everything starts in midfield.

That's why Rodri's injury precipitated City's decline and disaster, because he was their entire midfield.

"The midfield looked weak today," said Roy Keane, and goodness was that ever an understatment.

And in his absence, it's gone from bad to worse. Ilkay Gundogan looked absolutely finished. He takes too many touches on the ball and has lost the zip he used to use to escape opponent's press.

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Bernardo Silva is still a good glue guy, but there's nothing to glue together right now in midfield so he's basically trying to catch a cloud in a bottle.

Rico Lewis came into midfield in the second-half and looked bright in terms of pressing, but any time the ball went beyond him he was out of it with no recovery ability.

Kevin de Bruyne came off the bench and didn't really do much. He almost profited off a huge mistake from Van Dijk but shot straight at Kelleher when in seasons past he would have scored for sure.

City just don't have anything in midfield. "I think they do need a defensive midfielder, personally," added Daniel Sturridge.

Winner: Arne Slot

"It's game-by-game, and stay calm," said Virgil van Dijk after the game when asked about Liverpool potentially winning the Premier League title.

For your captain to be setting that kind of mentality is a credit not only to the Dutch defender, but his compatriot and manager Arne Slot.

Slot was supposed to have had a difficult job on his hands coming in to replace Jurgen Klopp, but he has instead taken to the job with absurd ease.

Liverpool are nine points clear atop the Premier League, having won 11 out of 13 games played. They are top of the Champions League with a perfect five wins from five games.

"I think Arne Slot has rejuvenated this team a bit," said Daniel Sturridge. And looking at how dominant the Reds are, it's hard to argue with that.

Loser: Pep Guardiola

Social media is awash with Liverpool fans insisting that their players are among the greatest in Premier League history, and lamenting that their lack of titles are only a byproduct of Liverpool having against Pep Guardiola's Man City juggernaut.

For that reason, there was an added edge when the Anfield crowd chanted "you're getting sacked in the morning" at Guardiola today.

🔴🎶 “You’re getting sacked in the morning”, Liverpool fans are chanting…

…and Pep Guardiola replies by showing them number 6, his Premier League titles as Manchester City coach 🔵6️⃣ pic.twitter.com/OcKgbuIvtl

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) December 1, 2024

After seven winless games (with six defeats in those seven) such barbs from your chief rivals could have wounded Guardiola, but the Catalan coach instead cracked a smile and flashed six fingers towards the Kop.

One finger for each of his Premier League titles won. A point well made, perhaps, but referencing past glories is not something Pep Guardiola would ever have done before, instead focusing on the here and now.

That he has to resort to such banter, as funny as it was, is a surefire sign that his Man City side are seriously in trouble. They barely touched Liverpool today, offering such a lack of ideas or intelligence beyond Jeremy Doku ISO plays.

Poor Pep.