“It didn’t work” - Gary Neville pinpoints 2 mistakes made by Pep Guardiola during 2-0 loss against Liverpool

Manchester United legend Gary Neville believes Pep Guardiola made two selection errors against Liverpool on Sunday, December 1. Manchester City were undone by the Merseyside club at Anfield, succumbing to a 0-2 defeat in the Premier League.

Cody Gakpo and Mohamed Salah scored the goals to down the reigning champions. It was Pep Guardiola's fourth consecutive defeat in the Premier League this season. The Cityzens are now winless in their last seven games across competitions, which include six defeats and a draw.

Speaking to Sky Sports after the game, Neville insisted that Guardiola made a mistake by including Rico Lewis and Matheus Nunes in the starting XI against the Reds.

"I thought Liverpool would win today. City have been awful. They looked beaten. The team selection of Pep Guardiola…we can say he’s a genius, he’s amazing, he’s one of the greatest minds of all time and say, I don’t think he got it right, without being disrespectful. Just an observation," said Neville via Metro.

He continued:

"We saw Rico Lewis play in front of Kyle Walker last weekend at Tottenham. It didn’t work. How was Nunes going to work on this left-hand side in a flat midfield four? Again, it didn’t work."

Neville concluded:

"He substituted them both after an hour so it’s obvious it didn’t work. There were things that were wrong for City from the very, very start of the game. I was amazed how they set up. But today Liverpool become huge title favorites."

Lewis managed only 36 touches during his 78 minutes stay on the pitch, while Nunes could only make 32 touches before he was subbed off in the 57th minute.

Manchester City will next face Nottingham Forest at the Etihad on Wednesday, December 4, in the Premier League. Interestingly, Forest are the only team to have beaten Liverpool this season.

---

When did Liverpool last win the Premier League?

Jurgen Klopp

Liverpool won the league for the first time in the Premier League era under Jurgen Klopp in the 2019-20 season. The Reds won 32 of their 38 games in the league, losing just three.

They scored 85 goals and conceded 33, and finished 18 points ahead of second-placed Manchester City. Since then, however, the Merseyside club are yet to get their hands on the coveted prized. They finished second in the 2021-22 campaign, a point behind champions City.

However, fans have every reason to be optimistic this season. Arne Slot's men are now nine points clear at the top of the Premier League table after 13 games. They have won 11 games, losing just one, and have scored 26 goals.