On October 12, Beijing Time (CET), Manchester City defeated Liverpool 3-0 away in the 6th matchday of the Premier League. Following the match, Lewis Steele, the Daily Mail's Liverpool correspondent, published a commentary analyzing the reasons for Liverpool's defeat and highlighting how the absence of key players and the team's lack of squad depth exposed the performance gap between them and Manchester City.

Daily Mail Commentary

As Manchester City players celebrated in front of visiting supporters' banners filled with inflatable bananas, dancing freely in front of Noel Gallagher, Alfie Haaland and others, the Anfield DJ played Fleetwood Mac's "Little Lies" with a touch of dark humour.

In truth, this match, heavily promoted as a blockbuster showdown, ultimately delivered a somewhat disappointing spectacle. Many moments on the pitch were not as thrilling as anticipated, but for Liverpool and manager Arne Slot, several harsh realities were undeniable.

For the second consecutive occasion, Liverpool were powerless against Jeremy Doku, Rayan Cherki and Erling Haaland. Even though Liverpool played with ten men for a period, the obvious performance gap in that short timeframe was sufficient to suggest that Slot's team still has considerable ground to make up to reach its ideal state.

This was the first official defeat for the Basque manager since leaving Bournemouth, but the match highlighted further underlying concerns he may have faced in his opening months, including the sluggish form of expensive summer signings.

Among the 22 starters, Mohamed Salah's performance was the most disappointing. Dominic Szoboszlai has also consistently underperformed since his arrival from PSV. Apart from occasional flashes of brilliance, none of these high-profile recruits have delivered sufficiently convincing displays.

Of course, some new arrivals need time to adapt to their new surroundings, but others are no longer newcomers to the team; they must start to demonstrate a level of performance commensurate with their transfer fees.

The combined transfer fees for the signings amounted to considerable sums, yet they were overshadowed by two players who completed Liverpool's attacking line: Jarell Quansah, who made his Premier League debut in the starting eleven, and Luis Díaz, a signing from Porto. On today's transfer market, such investment would be considered substantial.

Quansah pressed tirelessly up front, like an inescapable force; Díaz constantly troubled Manchester City's defence. In contrast, Salah's play lacked variety and was predictable for opponents. Szoboszlai, meanwhile, made consistently poor decisions in the final third after receiving the ball.

In fact, Liverpool had opportunities to win this match. There were spaces to exploit both towards the end of the first half and at the start of the second. However, the home side appeared to lack sufficient confidence, hesitating and seeming timid even when presented with opportunities to attack the space behind Manchester City's defence.

When criticising Slot's team, however, two important objective factors must not be overlooked: First, the red card itself was an incorrect decision; second, three key players – Alexander Isak, Cody Gakpo and Dominic Szoboszlai – were all unavailable.

So far this season, Liverpool have scored 7 goals in the Premier League, with 6 of them contributed by these three players. Without them, the team's attacking threat clearly diminished and proved almost insufficient.

Therefore, this match has also exposed the lack of squad depth in Slot's team, a concern repeatedly raised during the summer transfer window.

With Isak unavailable, Liverpool had to rely on Quansah. While he is a commendable and promising player, he was playing for Hull City in the Championship last season.

The match was not without its bright spots. Before the red card, Liverpool's defence was reasonably solid. Although Manchester City created chances and launched impressive attacks through the runs of O'Reilly, Elliott Anderson and others, Alisson was rarely called upon to make a save.

The absence of Szoboszlai was evident, but Liverpool's midfield as a whole still functioned cohesively. Before his dismissal, Ryan Gravenberch also put in his best performance in some time. The Dutch midfielder and his partner Alexis Mac Allister both attempted long-range shots that gave Manchester City goalkeeper Donnarumma cause for concern.

Gravenberch, Slot and his coaching staff were understandably furious about the red card. The first foul should not have resulted in a yellow card; it should not have been whistled at all. Referee Chris Kavanagh's decision to show a yellow card in that moment appeared hasty.

In the 46th minute, Gravenberch fouled Anderson, and the referee showed a yellow card.

In the 62nd minute, Gravenberch stopped Doku's counter-attack, received a second yellow card and was sent off, forcing Liverpool to continue with ten men.

This red card completely killed the tension of the match and raises the question: Why is the VAR so eager to intervene in so many decisions, yet stands idle when it comes to yellow cards? The new IFAB rules permit VAR to review a second yellow card but not a first. Why is that?

But even before the red card, Liverpool failed to seize control of the match and never firmly took the initiative. Manchester City, by contrast, weathered the intense and hostile early atmosphere at Anfield. After Gravenberch was sent off, Slot's team was overrun, and their defence crumbled far too easily. They were like a boxer who takes a heavy blow, loses balance and cannot get back on his feet. Manchester City then scored three goals, and the only surprise was that the final scoreline was not even more emphatic.

Had it remained eleven against eleven and had their most dangerous attackers returned from injury, the outcome of this match could have been very different. Yet Slot's dilemma is that the squad depth—or rather the lack thereof—was brutally exposed by this match. The performance gap between Liverpool and Premier League leaders Manchester City, how much of it is real and how much merely superficial, is now plainly visible to all.

Übersetzt von KI.

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