A perfectly-executed corner routine from the training ground helped Mohamed Salah put Liverpool ahead against Manchester City.
Team-mates and the Liverpool bench took obvious satisfaction at the precision move, which delivered Salah’s 30th goal in all competitions.
Telegraph Sport breaks down how Liverpool fooled City and pulled their defence apart.
The deception
Corner-taker Alexis Mac Allister initially caught the City defence flat-footed as Virgil van Dijk made a dummy run towards the penalty box.
The delivery
The Argentinian instead drilled his ball low into the near post where it was met by Dominik Szoboszlai. Before City could react, the Hungarian met the ball in space before guiding it deftly behind him in one touch and into the path of Salah.
The finish
Salah was left with the relatively straightforward task of sweeping a left-footed effort at goal, though doing so first time and on the move still took some finishing. However, his effort was helped via the ball deflecting in off a heavy touch from Nathan Ake.
Salah, who moved joint-third alongside Gordon Hodgson on Liverpool’s all-time scorers’ list with 241 goals, celebrated with a wry smile. The Egyptian has equalled the club’s away goals record in the league of 16 set by Jimmy Smith in 1929-30. The carefully-worked corner on 14 minutes set Liverpool up for a dream first half against the Premier League champions, with Szoboszlai doubling the runaway leaders’ advantage a little over 20 minutes later.
For Liverpool, it will have been one of the most satisfying corners since Trent Alexander-Arnold’s quick-thinking effort set up a strike for Divock Origi in the team’s remarkable Champions League comeback against Barcelona in 2019.
But the more eagle-eyed viewers may have spotted the similarities to a goal scored earlier this season, when Bournemouth beat Liverpool’s main title rivals Arsenal 2-0 in October, courtesy of a remarkably similar set-piece goal from Ryan Christie.
On Sky Sports coverage, Jamie Carragher described Szoboszlai’s near-post first-touch flick as “out of this world”. Micah Richards, meanwhile, singled out Salah’s movement to meet the ball, saying the routine “was really well worked”.
City fans, fresh from their Champions League exit, had seen a pre-match attempt to mock Liverpool backfire. The fans had unfurled a banner boasting “This Means Four” next to the away end at the Etihad – sending up Liverpool’s “this means more” motto.
A despairing week for Pep Guardiola also saw Erling Haaland miss Sunday’s clash through injury. Haaland suffered knee pain in the latter stages of last weekend’s game against Newcastle and, although initial scans showed no notable damage, the problem has not cleared.
