Mohamed Salah and Phil Foden treated the Anfield crowd to a display worthy of any game on Sunday.
Liverpool and Manchester City played out a 2-2 draw in the Premier League. Mohamed Salah had an assist and scored a wondergoal while Phil Foden scored one and created the second for the away side.
Gary Neville split the man of the match award between the two attackers because he couldn't separate them.
While Salah starred, it was his right back who was the story of the game. Pep Guardiola wanted James Milner sent off just before Liverpool scored their second goal for a foul on Bernardo Silva. Milner tripped up the midfielder after being booked for pulling down Foden earlier in the game.
Guardiola was furious with the decision that would have turned the game.
Milner had an awful game. Salah and Foden couldn't be separated as the best on the field, but nobody was close to Milner as the worst.
Legend:
1 - 2 awful
3 - 4 bad
5 - 6 average
7 - good
8 - very good
9 - exceptional
10 - Christian Eriksen in the Aviva
Liverpool
Alisson - 6
Alisson had mistakes to make up for after last season's showing against Manchester City. He almost repeated that mistake with a badly misplaced pass in the first half but redeemed himself by stopping Phil Foden's close-range effort when he was one-on-one. Foden eventually got another opportunity and scored but it was a great finish that Alisson couldn't do much about.
He had De Bruyne's shot covered for the second goal before it was deflected off of Matip.
James Milner - 1 (subbed off 76')
Neco Williams must not have developed at all because James Milner continues to look lost at right back. All of the Manchester City attacks came down his channel during the first half. He was very fortunate not to give away a penalty when he clipped Phil Foden's heels on the edge of the box. The booking he received for pulling Foden down before halftime was inevitable.
Foden's goal was also inevitable as Milner as caught ball watching when the assist from Gabriel Jesus went across his face midway through the second half.
He should have been sent off soon after when he took Bernardo Silva out near midfield.
Joe Gomez needs to start if Trent Alexander-Arnold misses another game.
Andrew Robertson - 7.5
When Manchester City were taking full control of the game midway through the first half, it was inevitably Robertson who wrestled it back. He won two challenges high upfield to set up Liverpool attacks and ignite the crowd. His energy was a constant problem for City and his work in defence shut Gabriel Jesus out for the whole game.
Virgil Van Dijk - 6
Bernardo Silva got a collector's item when he turned Van Dijk inside-out on his meandering run. Van Dijk didn't have his best game but showed his pace to cover ground on occasion and his passing was impressive throughout.
Joel Matip - 7
As his teammates mostly floundered during the first half siege that City put on Liverpool, Matip was again the star. He was strong in challenges, adventurous and accurate with the ball and covered for Milner in space more than once. He is eclipsing Virgil Van Dijk this season.
The deflected goal was unfortunate more than a result of poor positioning or performance.
Manchester City's Jack Grealish (left) and Liverpool's Fabinho in action during the Premier League match at Anfield, Liverpool. Picture date: Sunday October 3, 2021.Fabinho - 5
Fabinho had a very quiet game as City ran the midfield throughout. But he did play a very clever ball to Mohamed Salah that set Salah away for Liverpool's opening goal. He should have scored a goal of his own at the very end but was too slow to get his shot away, allowing Rodri to reach back and block his shot on an open goal.
Jordan Henderson - 5
Since Manchester City didn't play a striker, they were able to outnumber the Liverpool midfielders. This muted Henderson's ability to win the ball and press his opponents high upfield. He managed to do so on a couple of occasions in the second half but he spent most of his day chasing shadows.
Curtis Jones - 5
Finding space in the midfield against Porto was a lot easier than against Manchester City. Jones made some valiant efforts to create space during the first half but when he beat the first defender, a second instantly closed to take away his space. Jones was barely noticeable on the field.
Mohamed Salah - 8.5
Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah did nothing for an hour. They barely touched the ball and when they did they were wasteful. But then Salah beat Joao Cancelo at midfield before playing in Sadio Mane to open the scoring against Ederson. He then created his own goal by beating multiple defenders in the box and striking the ball into the far corner across Ederson.
Salah reiterated that he is a world class player once again.
Sadio Mane - 6.5
Mane avoided the left wing for most of this game and it didn't work. He barely touched the ball and had no opportunities until the hour mark. That was when he opened the scoring from a Mohamed Salah through ball. Unlike Salah, he reverted back to being quiet after that moment.
Diogo Jota - 6 (subbed off 67')
At the 49-minute mark, Sky put up a graphic that said Diogo Jota had 17 touches, the fewest in the game. Immediately after that, he turned on the edge of the box and hit a powerful shot at Ederson. It was his second chance in a matter of minutes after doing next-to-nothing until that point. Jota would only stay on the field for 20 minutes more but during that 20 minutes, he ignited the attack.
Salah and Mane combined for the goal but it was Jota who elevated the energy of the team.
Manchester City
Ederson - 6
Ederson deserved an assist for his ball over the top to Phil Foden late in the first half. It was a sublime pass that put Liverpool under pressure. He might feel like he could have done more to stop Sadio Mane's goal but realistically it was a position that always favoured the attacker. He had no chance of stopping Salah's goal.
Kyle Walker - 6
This was a game where City fans could be thankful that they had Kyle Walker at right back. That feeling was less about what Walker did and more about what they saw the other right back doing. Walker was solid in everything he did and contributed well both in attack and defence.
Joao Cancelo - 4.5
With James Milner struggling so much on his side of the field, Cancelo got the opportunity to show off his range of passing. First he should have had an assist when he split the defence open for Kevin De Bruyne in the box before he then played Phil Foden in down the line from deep in his own half.
Defensively, Cancelo was strong until the hour mark when he was too easily beaten at midfield by Salah. He made no effort to recover while Salah broke towards the City box and set up the opening goal. Cancelo was then caught upfield ahead of Bernardo Silva and Phil Foden when Salah beat them to score his goal after 75 minutes.
Rueben Dias - 5.5
Dias had a couple of moments in this game that are atypical of his performances. He was booked early in the second half when he let the ball bounce then slipped off of Dioga Jota before pulling him down. Dias also allowed Sadio Mane to run across him for the opening goal of the game, but that was mostly a great run by Mane rather than a defensive error.
Aymeric Laporte - 5.5
Laporte didn't put a foot wrong until Mohamed Salah's goal late in the second half. He didn't even really put a foot wrong then either. He played Salah's left foot as he attacked the box but Salah cut back onto his right to score. That's typically what you have to do to Salah, you hope he misses on his weaker side. This time, he didn't miss.
Rodri - 7
The Liverpool midfield struggled to find space with the ball and couldn't overwhelm City when they didn't have the ball. Rodri was pivotal in that control as he marshalled the midfield throughout the game. Rodri's performance was highlighted by a phenomenal tackle on his own goal line against Fabinho.
Kevin De Bruyne - 6.5
After missing chance after chance in the first half, De Bruyne scored late in the second half when his shot was deflected in off of Joel Matip. It felt like that was what he would need to score by that point. De Bruyne had two clear-cut chances in the first half, first flashing a shot across goal and then missing a header from six yards out.
He was the liveliest attacker that City had outside of Phil Foden but it was a relatively quiet game for him.
Bernardo Silva - 5.5
Silva created the first real chance of the game when he played in Phil Foden after 20 minutes. He turned Virgil Van Dijk and three other Liverpool players inside out with a run through the middle before weighting a perfect through ball to Foden. Alisson spread himself to make a good close-range save.
After making Van Dijk fall over in the first half, Silva then fell over himself to allow Mohamed Salah in to score his goal that made it 2-1.
Phil Foden - 8.5
Foden was the only player creating any penetration for either side during the first 20 minutes. He played on the last leg of the defence so he was caught offside more than once, but also found himself with a one-on-one chance against Alisson that he should have scored. James Milner's yellow card for dragging him down just before halftime was a sign of how the game had gone up until that point.
In the second half, Foden went stride for stride with Salah, scoring a smart goal from a tight angle before setting up Kevin De Bruyne's goal to tie the game.
It was a mismatch for one of the best young players in the league.
Jack Grealish - 5 (subbed off 65')
With City not playing a striker, space and forward passes were hard to come by for Grealish. He had one chance from a tight angle during the first half but mostly wasn't involved in the right areas. He couldn't complain with being taken off, but he might complain about the set-up of the team.
Gabriel Jesus - 6
Jesus was enduring another anonymous day on the wing until he set up Phil Foden's equalizer after 70 minutes. He beat multiple defenders then perfectly placed the ball to Foden across the box after cutting in off the right-wing.
Jurgen Klopp is on par with Bill Shankly as the voice of Liverpool.
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