Heading into Sunday, a defeat for either Liverpool or Manchester City would have delivered a brutal blow—threatening the Reds’ hopes of securing a Champions League place or destabilizing the Citizens’ pursuit of Arsenal in the title race.
When those competing interests collided at Anfield, it was City who emerged satisfied, rallying from a goal down to claim a 2–1 victory.
A sluggish first-half display and another late collapse have now left the Reds four points adrift of Champions League qualification, and given the recent form of both United and Chelsea, it may take a near-spotless run-in to reach the competition next season (barring continental glory this time around).
The defeat marks yet another disappointing domestic result for Liverpool, who have now won just one of their last seven league matches.
Compounding the frustration, they conceded in injury time for the sixth time this season—an exact reversal of the clutch factor Liverpool once inflicted on opponents earlier in the campaign and in years past.
Looking at the individual performances from the match, who stood out in the loss—and who let the team down?
Starting XI:
Alisson Becker: 6.5/10- He snuffed out a golden chance for Haaland inside the opening two minutes and went on to make five fine saves. Ultimately, though, a costly individual error gifted Manchester City the penalty that won the match for Guardiola’s men.
I’ve noted for weeks that Alisson’s tendency to rush off his line has bordered on costly; after narrowly avoiding being caught in no-man’s-land against Omar Marmoush earlier, his premature challenge on Matheus Nunes in the box proved fatal for the Reds.
Virgil van Dijk- 6/10- Dealt with aerial situations well per usual, but overall defended rather clumsily and may have been fortunate to escape with a yellow rather than a red for his second-half challenge on Erling Haaland. He was also caught flat-footed for Bernardo Silva’s goal—even if he wasn’t directly at fault for playing him onside—capping off a disappointing display for the captain.
Ibrahima Konate: 7.5/10- Outplayed Virgil for yet another game. Should be one of the only Liverpool players able hold his head high, as Ibou consistently cut out dangerous threats throughout the contest. Hopefully can keep this renewed form going through the end of the season.
Milos Kerkez: 7/10- Wasn’t his best game, but wasn’t his worst either. He impressively won three-quarters of his ground duels and delivered some solid passes into the final third—but overall, his impact was neither particularly positive nor negative. One of Liverpool’s most neutral performances of the day.
Dominik Szoboszlai: 8/10- One of the most eventful halves Szobo has played for Liverpool. After halftime, he struck one of the finest free kicks you’ll ever see to give the Reds a late lead, inadvertently played Bernardo Silva onside for City’s equalizer, and received one of the most baffling red cards imaginable for shirt-pulling on Haaland—when the Norwegian should have been allowed advantage and his own pull on Szobo was ignored.
He’ll feel gutted, but between delivering another world-class free kick and trying to make last-ditch defensive interventions on fumes, he should be proud of his effort.
Alexis Mac Allister: 7.5/10- It was a very positive attacking display from Macca, who nearly threaded a brilliant pass through to Mohamed Salah in the first half and came close to snatching a late equalizer, only to be denied by a world-class save from Donnarumma. He was Liverpool’s standout midfielder on the night—something that has been all too rare for the Argentine this season.
Ryan Gravenberch: 6/10- Too often opted to move the ball side to side (a symptom of Liverpool's attack at large this season) rather than play forward in the final third, and was wasteful with the chances he did choose to take. A discouraging display from a player who is usually so reliable in his decision-making.
Florian Wirtz: 6.5/10- Found himself in promising positions several times and had a decent chance on goal, only for it to be blocked by a Marc Guehi challenge. However, he never produced the electrifying link-up play with Ekitike or Salah that we’ve grown accustomed to recently. It’s hard to be too harsh given his recent hot streak, but it would have been great to see him leave a mark on a game of this magnitude.
Cody Gakpo: 6/10- It was another match without a goal contribution for Cody, who struggled to impose himself against City’s defense. He simply hasn’t been good enough this season, and if this form drags on to the campaign’s end, the sale of Luis Díaz—now thriving at Bayern Munich—will feel like a significant misstep.
Mohamed Salah: 6.5/10- Likely should have earned an assist if Ekitike hadn’t skewed his header wide, but it increasingly feels like the end of an era of Salah scoring at will. He never created a chance that truly troubled Donnarumma, and his ability to control the ball seems to be fading. The tactical shift toward him as a provider is understandable, but without assists, his output is likely to remain very muted for the rest of the season.
Ekitike: 6.5/10- It’s difficult to be overly critical given he’s been Liverpool’s main source of goals this season, but on the day, Eki lacked his usual clinical edge.
He headed a golden Salah cross wide and, in the second half, missed the opportunity to release Florian Wirtz out wide, instead opting for a pass to Gakpo that slightly stalled the counterattack. He likely should have had a goal involvement here—but even the best strikers have off days in front of goal.
Substitutes:
Curtis Jones: 6.5/10- Extremely average cameo, but wasn't given much time to grow into the game after entering in the 85th min with all fairness. It's been a bit strange to see Curtis not really make his presence felt on games and involved in transfer rumors after he built hype for himself by delivering one of the best passing performances in CL history against Inter earlier this season.
Federico Chiesa: N/A- Too little time to get a rating after entering in the 95th minute.