Jamie Carragher provides brilliant insight into how Liverpool turned it on against City, as Roy Keane hails ‘turning point’
Jamie Carragher explained why Liverpool were able to beat Manchester City at Anfield on Sunday, while Roy Keane called it a ‘turning point’ for their season.
Liverpool were underdogs heading into the match due to their injury crisis and poor start to the campaign. City, in contrast, were favourites after winning seven of their nine Premier League games.
However, Liverpool put in a top performance to keep the likes of Erling Haaland and Kevin de Bruyne at bay. And they took the lead in the 76th minute when Alisson sent a long ball up to Mo Salah and he turned Joao Cancelo before beating Ederson with a composed finish.
Liverpool should have gone 2-0 or 3-0 up, but substitute Darwin Nunez was selfish and failed to play his team-mates in for great chances.
The home side saw out the win to move up to eighth in the table. And Keane, who was analysing the match for Sky Sports, believes it could be a ‘turning point’ for Klopp and co.
“It was a big lift for the club,” he said on Sky Sports (16/10, at 18:45). “The players and the manager have been criticised and rightly so because they’ve not been performing to the high standards they’ve set.
“Today could be a turning point. It was the way they won the game. They turned up today and kept a clean sheet against Manchester City.
“They were tenacious, there was a great atmosphere, there was a real edge to the game. It shows you how much they care.”
Jamie Carragher lauds two Liverpool stars
Fellow pundit Carragher then explained why Liverpool have had a poor start and what changed on Sunday which allowed them to beat the reigning Prem champions.
“I think it could [transform Liverpool’s season]. Virgil van Dijk and Mo Salah were outstanding,” Carragher said.
“We’re all searching [to find why] Liverpool have dropped off. Any great team when they’re at their best, it revolves around five or six players and the rest fit in around them.
“Alisson, Van Dijk, Trent, Fabinho, Salah and Sadio Mane are the six players who stand out for me. Mane has left, Trent’s not been nowhere near his level, Van Dijk, Fabinho and Salah haven’t [either].
“Today, Van Dijk played with more intensity than I’ve ever seen him play. He was up against Haaland and he was trying to leave one on Haaland every time the ball came into him.
“Salah at the other end was electric. When you get your best players playing, everybody else plays well around them. The others aren’t capable of carrying the team. You rely on your five or six leaders and [Liverpool’s] were outstanding today.”
Meanwhile, Liverpool are being tipped to hijack a big-money Manchester United move next year.
