ETIHAD STADIUM, MANCHESTER — Trent Alexander-Arnold fired home a brilliant equaliser as Liverpool snatched a 1-1 draw away to Premier League champions Manchester City.
Darwin Nunez forced a fine save from Ederson with a glancing header but it was Pep Guardiola's side who struck first through Erling Haaland’s 50th Premier League goal.
The Norway superstar has reached his latest landmark in a record-breaking 48 appearances, but his strike owned much to Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson losing his footing when making a clearance.
Panic spread through a disorganised Liverpool backline as Nathan Ake picked his way through the traffic and fed Haaland for a shot that squirmed through Alisson's gloves and into the bottom-right corner.
Man City vs. Liverpool final score
| 2nd Half | Goalscorers | |
| Man City | 1 | Haaland '27 |
| Liverpool | 1 | Alexander-Arnold '80 |
Kickoff: 12:30 p.m. local (7:30 a.m. ET / 4:30 a.m. PT)
Location: Etihad Stadium (Manchester, UK)
Referee: Chris Kavanagh
Lineups:
Man City (4-2-3-1, right to left): 31. Ederson (GK) — 2. Kyle Walker, 25. Manuel Akanji, 3. Ruben Dias, 6. Nathan Ake — 16. Rodri, 21. Bernardo Silva — 47. Phil Foden, 19. Julian Alvarez, 11. Jeremy Doku — 9. Erling Haaland.
Liverpool (4-3-3, right to left): 1. Alisson (GK) — 66. Trent Alexander-Arnold, 32. Joel Matip, 4. Virgil van Dijk, 21. Kostas Tsimikas — 8. Dominik Szoboszlai (18 Cody Gakpo), 10. Alexis Mac Allister (3. Wataru Endo), 17. Curtis Jones (38. Ryan Gravenberch) — 11. Mohamed Salah, 9. Darwin Nunez (19. Harvey Elliott), 20. Diogo Jota (7. Luis Diaz).
MORE: Liverpool early kickoff record: How many 12:30 p.m. Premier League games have they played and won?
Phil Foden had a shot tipped around the post before halftime and Julian Alvarez blasted wastefully over from Jeremy Doku's 53rd-minute cutback.
Alisson had a reprieve when Ruben Dias netted from a 68th-minute corner, with Manuel Akanji adjudged to have fouled him in the goalmouth.
The Liverpool goalkeeper produced the best moment of an uneven display 11 minutes from time when he denied Haaland from close range and it proved crucial.
Jurgen Klopp's side broke up the other end, Mohamed Salah passed to Alexander-Arnold and a clever run from substitute Cody Gakpo opened up space for the England international to fizz a wonderful shot low to Ederson's right from just inside the box.
Available in the US
Trent Alexander-Arnold brings Liverpool level at the Etihad! #MCILIV
— NBC Sports Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) November 25, 2023
📺 @peacock pic.twitter.com/hlsOmTSlF2
Available in the UK
"ALEXANDER-ARNOLD HAS PINNED ONE IN FOR LIVERPOOL!" 🎯🔴 pic.twitter.com/5lD0lhhYpt
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) November 25, 2023
MORE: Liverpool early kickoff record: How many 12:30 p.m. Premier League games have they played and won?
Record man Haalands shatters latest landmark
When the post-Christmas blues hit next year and you're idly trying to entertain yourself, be wary of silly ideas. During the early months of January 2023, there was a growing strand of opinion that Manchester City were in fact worse off with Haaland in the team. The goals returned by the bucketful but purists of the Guardiola-ista school would point out that City's 4-1 win in this fixture last season came with the big Norwegian sidelined.
Haaland certainly played like a man with a point to prove, visibly fired up from kickoff. His penalty-box work and movement around the danger area is indisputably brilliant, but the 23-year-old made his mark in different ways amid an often fractured game that lacked the usual flow of encounters between these two clubs.
He stormed into midfield to win a second ball when the game was goalless and a sometimes subdued home crowd responding by howling his name. Shortly afterwards, he did what he does best, obliterating Andy Cole's previous best mark of reaching 50 Premier League goals in 65 appearances.
20/21 - Erling Haaland has now scored against 20 of the 21 opposing sides he's faced in the Premier League with the only exception being Brentford. Collection. pic.twitter.com/wDeVqBvuEg
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) November 25, 2023
Is Trent Alexander-Arnold good at defending?
Much like Haaland, there is no disputing what Alexander-Arnold does better than most of his peers. The Liverpool hero is blessed with a wand of a right foot and there are few players as eloquent with the ball at their feet. His equalising goal was a prime example.
However, when the teamsheets dropped, a fair few observers giddily anticipated a bloodbath. Alexander-Arnold's frequently wayward defending would be subjected to the electrifying talents of Jeremy Doku. The full-time statistics showed the City winger completed a remarkable 11 take-ons over the course of the contest, although Liverpool would retort that this did not yield an assist.
Sometimes this was more by accident than design, but Doku also seemed to find most joy when running at right-sided central defender Joel Matip or various midfielders roped in to stem the tide. The task at hand appeared to sharpen Alexander-Arnold's defensive senses, as his jousts with Leroy Sane in this fixture did half a decade ago.
"He played a really good game, he was super influential. In his moments with Doku, he was really strong," Klopp said. "You can see how difficult it is against him. He's a really good dribbler. Trent was pretty influential in a good way."
🔴 TAA 💪 pic.twitter.com/6CcMgs8oYv
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) November 25, 2023
Can Liverpool win the Premier League?
When Liverpool limped to fifth place last season and Klopp proceeded to rip out and refit his entire midfield, it didn't really seem credible to imagine they'd be a point off top spot with a solitary, chaotic defeat to their name. And yet, here we are.
"We've been through a lot of tough moments his season already and coming here today was a tough one," Klopp said. "Preparing the toughest game of the season in just one session is really difficult. Maybe we needed the first half to understand a bit more in the details. We scored a goal."
Like his manager, Alexander-Arnold was under no illusions over the quality of Liverpool's performance. But Pep Guardiola's Labrador-like enthusiasm over his own side repeating their unhelpful recent habit of giving away leads was instructive. The City boss is no stranger to hilariously over-egging things during excitable post-match news conferences, but he returned time and again to a recurrent thought.
"We know the team we play, for the last seven years," he said. As far as Guardiola is concerned, this is not a new Liverpool; it's a continuation, and the latest reinvention of the formidable Klopp era. Expect them to be in the fight when the run-in comes around.
What's being said here? 👀 pic.twitter.com/trleOWnjgP
— Premier League (@premierleague) November 25, 2023
Man City vs. Liverpool lineups, team news
Midfielders Mateo Kovacic and Matheus Nunes are out for City after being forced to withdraw from international duty with Croatia and Portugal. Nathan Ake replaces Kovacic's compatriot Josko Gvardiol at left-back following the 4-4 draw at Chelsea last time out.
Jack Grealish was a late withdrawal due to illness but Erling Haaland is fit to start. John Stones returns on the bench following a hamstring injury.
Man City lineup (4-2-3-1, right to left): Ederson (GK) — Walker, Akanji, Dias, Ake — Rodri, Silva — Foden, Alvarez, Doku — Haaland.
Klopp has not flagged up any new injuries following the international break and Ryan Gravenberch and Ibrahima Konate both return on the bench after missing out in their 3-0 win over Brentford last time out. Joel Matip got the nod over the latter to start at centre-back.
Alexis Mac Allister is also back from suspension and joins Curtis Jones in midfield. This is the England Under-21 international's first
Liverpool lineup (4-3-3, right to left): Alisson (GK) — Alexander-Arnold, Matip, van Dijk, Tsimikas — Szoboszlai, Mac Allister, Jones — Salah, Nunez, Diogo Jota.
How to watch Man City vs. Liverpool
Here's how to watch this Premier League match across selected areas of the world's major regions:
| Region | TV | Streaming |
| USA | — | Peacock |
| Canada | — | |
| UK | Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Premier League | Sky GO, Now TV |
| Australia | — | Optus Sport |
| India | Star Sports Select 1 | Hotstar VIP, JioTV |
| Hong Kong | Now Premier League (Ch. 620-621) | Now TV |
| Malaysia | Astro SuperSport 3 | Astro Go, sooka |
| Singapore | — | StarHub TV+ |
| New Zealand | Sky Sport Premier League | Sky Sport NOW |
USA: This game is being broadcast on the Peacock Network.
Canada: Every Premier League game this season is live streaming exclusively via Fubo in Canada.
Australia: Fans in Australia can stream every match live and on demand on Optus Sport.
UK: This match is available for live broadcast via Sky Sports with streaming on Sky GO and Now TV.
MORE: Watch Premier League matches live with Fubo in USA
