Liverpool’s defense was everywhere in the first half and led their fortunes at times — as well as relying on the brilliance of Allison Becker — thanks to a mix of nerves and the clean order of their opponents. Kevin de Bruyne and Bernardo Silva took control of the midfield and Gabriel Jesus and Raheem Sterling looked dangerous in attack, while the high press of Manchester City sent the Reds again. READ MORE:Liverpool survive Fambino fears as Virgil van Dyke sends early warning to Rahim Sterling READ MORE: Jürgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola summarize what Liverpool have always known about Manchester City Somehow, Liverpool were just one goal behind at halftime and while the goal scored by Diego Giotta was great, Manchester City could have been ahead due to the events on the other side of the field. With Luis Díaz, Roberto Firmino and Naby Keïta among the players they had to turn to – such as Harvey Elliott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain who did not even make it off the bench – the obvious appeal was to change things. This, after all, was the important difference between the two sides on paper: Liverpool had much more reserves. Could the 4-4-2 move work the way it did against Wolves and Norwich this season? Or could a change at the front fire these players and bring something more than them to lure their teammates into the field? The answer, as Klopp and his staff decided, was to do nothing – not to use their team advantage until later in the game. Within 45 seconds, they proved to be right, as Mohamed Salah slipped into Sadio Mané to equalize. This goal was vital to set the tone for the second half of the clash: a completely different period of the game from the first 45 minutes. What Klopp said to his players during the 15th minute in the middle of the game worked. But he also stressed another point: Klopp has coached his players so well and worked with most of them for so long that he trusted them to find the solution on their own. To be fair, the solution was just to start playing football, turn up the volume and avoid the nervous show that existed in the first half. But while the easy thing would be to make a change, letting the XI themselves solve their own issues – and they almost did – was a bet that paid off perfectly. Another manager would have been tempted to change things, either this formation or the staff or both. The easy option would be to make a hasty decision in the most intense environments. With so many options to choose from, the choice to do nothing seemed less likely. However, that was what dragged Liverpool back into the game. Klopp will undoubtedly look back at the first half and wonder what could have happened if Liverpool had appeared. But the performance in the second period should be encouraging as such a contrast. Read more related articles Read more related articles
