A Fernandinho potshot from 35 yards cannons off Jordan Henderson. Leroy Sané balloons a cross across the box and ten yards beyond the nearest player. Laporte lumps a ball in the general direction of the box, failing to clear the first defender.
Oh, Pep Guardiola's Manchester City, who obliterated teams with frightening pace and intelligent running lines. The side who scored 19 goals in eight Champions League games before this point. What has become of you?
Tonight, Liverpool implemented a highly structured gameplan that saw Jurgen Klopp's side withdraw deep without the ball and explode forward with it. Roared on by a typically boisterous Anfield faithful, Manchester City failed to score while Liverpool landed three.
Three defeats for Pep Guardiola against Liverpool at Anfield since he took over at City.
— Phil Egan (@philegansport) April 4, 2018
Manchester City did not have a single shot on target.
— Sam Cunningham (@samcunningham) April 4, 2018
Had hoped for a shootout but Man City incredibly disappointing. Imprecise. Keen to hear Pep explain some of his decisions
— Ed Malyon (@eaamalyon) April 4, 2018
It is as of yet impossible to determine to what extent their rough welcome affected Manchester City, but tactically Klopp undoubtedly has Guardiola's number. Repeated attempts to isolate Liverpool's full-backs proved unsuccessful, with Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold impressing.
The result means the second leg carries more weight than first anticipated as it is not merely European progress for Manchester City on the line, it is a large portion of Pep Guardiola's reputation in England. A deep-lying Iker Gundogan proved ineffective. Neither full-back defended well and the side's attacking strategy was blunt and lifeless.
It is known that Guardiola takes tactical mistakes badly. After the notorious Real Madrid 4-0 defeat of his Bayern team, he told his biographer: "I got it wrong, man. I got it totally wrong. It's a monumental fuck-up. A total mess. The biggest fuck-up of my life as a coach."
Last year Monaco blew Manchester City apart with three away goals. The Premier League title is already secured in an unprecedented way but should Pep Guardiola's team limp out of the Champions League in a similar fashion to tonight, it would represent a significant blot on his record.
This fact, combined with the frailties Liverpool have demonstrated defensively this season, sets up an intriguing and unpredictable second leg.
