Manchester City 4-1 Liverpool: 5 Talking Points as four different scorers put the Reds to the sword | Premier League 2022-23

Manchester City secured a resounding 4-1 win over Liverpool in the Premier League on Saturday, April 1. The result sees them temporarily close the gap on league leaders Arsenal to five points.

The Cityzens entered this game on the back of two huge wins in their last two outings. They smashed RB Leipzig 7-0 in the UEFA Champions League before completing a 6-0 demolition of Burnley in the FA Cup. As we approach the business end of the season, Pep Guardiola's men seem to be finding their shooting boots.

The Reds, on the other hand, lost both their last two outings by a narrow 1-0 scoreline, falling to Bournemouth and Real Madrid. Just before these results, Liverpool secured a mammoth 7-0 win over arch-rivals Manchester United. Jurgen Klopp fielded a strong lineup as they looked to perform well against the blue side of Manchester.

Liverpool made a lovely start to the game and even raced into an early lead, courtesy of Mohamed Salah. The Egyptian was played through by Diogo Jota and made no mistake as he made it 1-0 after 17 minutes. There was a slight delay for a VAR check but the goal was given. However, that was the Reds' only shot on target in the first half in which they had 39% possession.

Manchester City found a reply just 10 minutes later as Jack Grealish set up Julian Alvarez to make it 1-1. The game became feisty as tackles flew in from both sets of players. Rodri was lucky to remain on the pitch after committing two cynical fouls in quick succession as Liverpool players hounded the referee in protest. The teams went into the break tied at 1-1.

Kevin De Bruyne handed Manchester City the perfect start after play resumed for the second half as he put them ahead just 45 seconds after the restart. Riyad Mahrez provided an assist for the goal. Ilkay Gundogan then ghosted into the box to make it 3-1 just seven minutes later as the hosts looked to take the game away from Liverpool's grasp.

Klopp turned to his bench in a bid to make amends for what had happened since the interval as he made four changes. However, Liverpool conceded a fourth goal in the 74th minute as Manchester City capped off what was a ruthless display of attacking football. Guardiola made two late changes when the game was already won as City smashed the Reds 4-1.

On that note, let's take a look at the five talking points from the game.

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#5. Liverpool made the better start to the game

Liverpool made a stronger start to the game and looked the likelier side to win the game during the initial 20 minutes. Salah put them ahead with a good finish after a sharp move and they looked to be giving Manchester City's defenders a long night at the office. However, some key blocks and breakage of play by the hosts prevented that from happening.

Rodri played a key role in that as he committed a couple of tactical fouls in quick succession, preventing Liverpool from breaking away on the counter attack. However, he only received a booking and it did not go down well with the Reds.

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#4. Could Rodri have been sent off in the first half?

Rodri has been one of the key components of Pep Guardiola's Manchester City side over the last couple of seasons. While he chips in with the odd goal or two, the Spaniard does the bulk of the dirty work for the team that usually goes unnoticed. He wins duels, distributes the ball accurately and puts in tremendous effort. Rodri does, however, have a slightly dark side to his game.

Midfield battles involve several physical duels where players give it their all to win the ball. At times, however, Rodri goes overboard and leaves a little extra behind in the challenge, often drawing angry reactions from opponents. He drew the wrath of nearly the entire Liverpool squad with his pull-back on Cody Gakpo while the Reds were on the counter-attack and was lucky not to be shown a second yellow card.

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#3. Manchester City were ruthless in the second half

Despite dominating possession in the first half, City were unable to head into the break with a lead having trailed for the better part of the first half. Grealish and Alvarez combined for their equalizer in the 27th minute and the hosts looked confident going forward after that. However, their best moves came in the second half as Guardiola's men adopted a direct approach.

De Bruyne handed Manchester City the lead just 45 seconds after the restart and Gundogan made it 3-1 just a few minutes later. Grealish rounded off the scoring in the 74th minute to make it 4-1. The hosts kept the ball for 75% of the second half, attempting nine shots and hitting the target six times. They also prevented Liverpool from attempting any shots on target in the second half.

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#2. Gundogan becomes the highest-scoring German in the Premier League

With his goal in the second half, Ilkay Gundogan has made 40 strikes in the Premier League since joining Manchester City from Borussia Dortmund in 2016. No other German player has scored more than the midfielder in the competition.

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#1. The title race is well and truly poised to go down to the wire

Manchester City have picked up the pace in recent weeks and have now scored 17 goals in their last three games. This is reminiscent of their ruthless form during run-ins in the last few seasons as they have gone on to secure silverware almost every year. This year, however, they face a stern test in the Premier League from Arsenal, who have led the league for most of the season.

With Arsenal set to host Leeds United later today, each result will play a part in determining who will lift the coveted trophy in May.