Manchester City missed out on the chance to go third in the Premier League as they were beaten 2-0 by Liverpool at the Etihad, with Arne Slot's team strengthening their grip on the title race.
City had started the game brightly, but they were their own worst enemy defensively and handed Liverpool two soft first-half goals. A well-worked corner allowed Mohamed Salah to score the opener before the Egyptian broke away down the right and squared for Dominik Szoboszlai to double the lead.
Pep Guardiola's men enjoyed plenty of territory, but they struggled to create any meaningful chances against a well-organised defence, with Erling Haaland's absence hitting them hard. Here are the moments you might have missed from the Eithad.
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Guardiola's team talk
When Alexis Mac Allister went down to get treatment after Omar Marmoush's disallowed goal, Guardiola had an opportunity to get his players together, and he called all 11 of them to the touchline for an impromptu team talk.
There were some detailed instructions for Marmoush and Phil Foden, in particular, while Nathan Ake was also dragged in closer for some instructions. It looked like an unusual conversation to group centre-back Ake with the most attacking outlets in the team, but Guardiola had clearly seen something in the way he wanted his side to get the ball forward.
He was using Marmoush and Foden as a pair of false nines but the chemistry wasn't quite there. Too often they were doing the same thing, with both either playing high or both dropping deep and leaving no focal point in attack. Individually they looked bright, but it didn't help City to play well.
Offside reactions
It's fair to say Liverpool overdid the celebrations in front of the away end when Curtis Jones thought he had scored the third goal, only to see it ruled out after a VAR check. It could have been embarrassing and it did seem to give City a lift.
The reaction of the Liverpool players felt telling. Even when it was ruled out, Jones turned to the away end and waved his arms frantically to demand more noise and keep the energy up. Mac Allister did the same a minute or two later.
The disallowed goal got a reaction from City supporters and gradually their team responded, starting to maintain more pressure on the Liverpool defence. But it shouldn't have taken such a scare to finally get City going in a second half that had been really flat until that point.
This Means Four
There was a show of unity between the sets of supporters around 15 minutes before kick-off when the #StopExolitingLoyalty banner was again displayed across the two groups of fans in the South Stand, just as it had been at Anfield earlier in the season. It's a worthy message and a reminder that supporters need to stick together on these issues.
But the beauty of football is that you can have a common cause while continuing to have some fun at your opponents' expense, and that is exactly what the City fans did. When that banner was removed, one came about just above us, and right next to the away end, with the slogan This Means Four.
That is a cheeky dig that City immortalised themselves and is a take on Liverpool's This Means More slogan. It's a lovely riposte from City and a reminder that football fans can unite and still enjoy a laugh at each other's expense.
