Liverpool and Manchester City play out thrilling draw in final Premier League showdown between Jürgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola
By Thomas Schlachter, CNN
(CNN) — The points were shared in the biggest game of the Premier League season so far with Liverpool and Manchester City playing out a thrilling 1-1 draw at Anfield on Sunday.
Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp and Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola have seen their respective sides dominate English soccer in recent years, but this game signaled the last Premier League encounter between the two greats.
With Klopp leaving Liverpool at the end of the season, the pair embraced at fulltime after a game that was a microcosm of their almost decade-long battle at the top of the Premier League.
It’s a fixture that rarely disappoints and the latest instalment of this hotly-contested game was no different.
Both teams landed blows trying to get the upper hand but, as so often has been the case, the two sides could not be separated.
“City has been very successful, obviously with the titles they’ve won, and I think every game we’ve played against each other has been very intense,” Virgil van Dijk told Sky Sports after the game.
Honors even
Manchester City went 1-0 up in the first half when defender John Stones swept home a well-worked corner kick from Kevin de Bruyne.
The Premier League’s premier provider was able to pick out his teammate with a low cross from the corner and Stones evaded his defender to squeeze the ball into the Liverpool net.
“We spotted this, yesterday worked on it and it came off which was pleasing for me to get on the scoresheet,” Stones said to Sky Sports of his team’s clever routine.
At 1-0 down, Liverpool came out of the halftime break firing on all cylinders and when Darwin Núñez won a penalty, it was an opportunity for the home team to level.
Alexis Mac Allister stepped up and tucked home the penalty kick to give his side a deserved equalizer.
There were chances for both teams after the equalizer but neither side was able to add the finishing touch to the good opportunities that were fashioned.
Liverpool’s Luis Díaz missed chances galore with the home side chasing a winner, before Jérémy Doku hit the post in the dying minutes for Manchester City.
“What a game, what an atmosphere, what an afternoon,” Klopp told Sky Sports after the draw.
‘Bittersweet’
It’s a result that neither side would have wanted heading into the game, but it keeps the Premier League title race wide open with Arsenal remaining top after Saturday’s win over Brentford.
“Overall, obviously bittersweet. Based on the second half you feel like we should have won it but obviously they had a shot on the post as well, we can’t deny it with their quality they could also finish off,” Van Dijk added.
City’s Stones shared a similar sentiment and said the team was feeling disappointed to have only picked up a point.
“We know what we’re coming into coming here and the opposition we’re playing, and I think we feel a bit deflated in the dressing room maybe,” Stones said. “We came here to win but we got a point out of the game, and this is such a difficult place to come, we knew that and we gave everything out there.”
Klopp also acknowledged that there are still several matches left which could change the title race as it nears its conclusion.
“After this game, probably nobody should be opening the champagne bottles because it’s a long way to go for all of us.”
The-CNN-Wire
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