Liverpool got off to a bright start with plenty of possession in the attacking third. Ibrahima Konate put a shot on goal inside of five minutes, but the save was made. Manardashvilli also made a save and connected with Salah on an outlet pass, but the Egyptian King could not get his feet sorted and put the chance wide.
Man City settled in the game from that point, and the action was end-to-end. Liverpool kept trying to connect on a pass in the final third, and a ball fell to Ekitike in the 28th minute, but his shot was just high.
As the match progressed, it became apparent that Liverpool were overcomplicating things in the box. Those missed opportunities came back to bite the Reds when Virgil van Dijk conceded a clear penalty, which Erling Haaland converted to give City a 1-0 lead. Haaland scored again in the final seconds of stoppage time to make the deficit 2-0 at halftime.
- Score: 2-0
- Possession: 56/44
- Shots: 4-1
- Key Battle: Antoine Semenyo vs. Gomez