EPL

Manchester City 2-2 Liverpool: Mane keeps Reds hopes alive as title rivals fight out a thriller

By Sports Desk April 10, 2022

Sadio Mane kept Liverpool in the Premier League title hunt with a priceless second-half equaliser in a gripping 2-2 draw with leaders Manchester City.

Jurgen Klopp's side sat 14 points behind City in January, but a 10-game winning run cut the gap to just one point to set up what many billed as a title decider at the Etihad Stadium.

Diogo Jota cancelled out Kevin De Bruyne's opener in an enthralling start, and Mane followed suit swiftly after the interval following Gabriel Jesus' 36th-minute strike.

Neither side could find a winner, with Raheem Sterling seeing a goal disallowed, as Pep Guardiola's side kept their slender lead intact with seven games left to play.

Sterling squandered a glorious chance after five minutes as he was denied by the onrushing Alisson following a square Jesus pass, but City were ahead just seconds later.

De Bruyne profited from a quick Bernardo Silva free-kick before arrowing a left-footed effort home, the ball going in off the right post following a fortuitous deflection off Joel Matip.

Liverpool responded within eight minutes, with Andy Robertson finding Trent Alexander-Arnold, who played the ball back from the far post for Jota to squeeze a low strike under Ederson.

De Bruyne whipped narrowly wide in search of his second before Jesus latched onto a Joao Cancelo cross and coolly finished via the underside of the crossbar.

Mane levelled up within a minute of the second half getting under way, racing onto Mohamed Salah's throughball to slot powerfully past Ederson, who thwarted Jota's prodded effort shortly after.

Sterling thought he had nudged the hosts ahead again, but a VAR check showed the forward was offside when De Bruyne passed the ball, while Salah curled just off target at the other end.

Substitute Riyad Mahrez provided a late scare for the visitors as he clipped the post with a free-kick, and then chipped over after a sublime De Bruyne pass, but there would be no decisive goal.

Related items

  • Kaiserslautern 0-1 Bayer Leverkusen: Xhaka stunner seals DFB-Pokal triumph Kaiserslautern 0-1 Bayer Leverkusen: Xhaka stunner seals DFB-Pokal triumph

    Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen battled past second-tier Kaiserslautern 1-0 on Saturday to win the DFB-Pokal and secure the club's first domestic double.

    Leverkusen missed out on a treble after losing 3-0 to Atalanta in the Europa League final on Wednesday, in what was astonishingly their first defeat of the season in all competitions, after a European record 51-game unbeaten run.

    But at Berlin's Olympic stadium, which will host the Euro 2024 final in July, Xabi Alonso's side ensured they capped off a remarkable campaign with another piece of silverware thanks to Granit Xhaka's stunning 16th-minute strike.

    The ball rolled out to the former Arsenal man around 25 yards out, and he planted an unstoppable first-time effort into the left-hand side of the net.

    They controlled the pace even after they were reduced to 10 men following Odilon Kossounou's second booking a minute before half-time.

    Kaiserslautern rarely threatened after the break, with Leverkusen limiting their opponents to just 0.2 expected goals.

    And even though they could not add to their lead, Leverkusen were able to comfortably wrap up their second trophy of the best season in the club's history.

    Data Debrief: Leverkusen join the club

    Leverkusen are only the fifth different side to win the double in Germany since the Bundesliga was founded, after Bayern Munich (13 times), 1. Koln, Werder Bremen and Borussia Dortmund.

    Xhaka's strike was a worthy winner. He became the first Swiss player to score in a DFB-Pokal final.

  • Barcelona coach Giraldez celebrates 'one of the happiest days' after Women's Champions League triumph Barcelona coach Giraldez celebrates 'one of the happiest days' after Women's Champions League triumph

    Barcelona coach Jonatan Giraldez celebrated "one of the happiest days" of his life after his side claimed the Women's Champions League title.

    Giraldez led Barca to a 2-0 victory over fellow heavyweights Lyon in Bilbao on Saturday.

    Aitana Bonmati and Alexia Putellas got the goals in the second half, as Barca beat Lyon for the first time and won the Champions League for a third season out of the last four.

    Giraldez will now leave Barca to take charge of Washington Spirit in the NWSL, but was able to leave on the highest note possible, having won a quadruple this term, becoming the first European team since Arsenal in 2007 to manage such a haul in a single campaign.

    He told DAZN: "It was an incredible game, I am really happy, one of the best days of my life for sure.

    "We did an amazing job with the ball, without the ball. we suffered in the last minutes, but I'm very proud of all of them."

    Barcelona defender Lucy Bronze, whose future with the club is uncertain, told DAZN: "We knew that that's what we needed, to be a club to make history.

    "It's not easy, it's hard to win it once. To win it back to back, Lyon showed how difficult it is and this team has finally done that. We go down in history as one of the best teams in Europe."

    Barca's two Ballon d'Or winners scored their goals, with Bonmati breaking the deadlock just after the hour before Putellas lashed home in stoppage time.

    "She's the captain of the team, she's the Queen of Barcelona for a reason," Bronze said of Putellas.

    "She's always so confident in the team and showed today why she is a back-to-back Ballon d'Or winner.

    "She's got the quality to do that in the last minute of the Champions League final when we were up against it at the end and just sealed the win for us. It was amazing."

  • Juventus 2-0 Monza: Departing Alex Sandro scores as Bianconeri round off with a win Juventus 2-0 Monza: Departing Alex Sandro scores as Bianconeri round off with a win

    Juventus completed their Serie A campaign with a comfortable 2-0 home win over Monza thanks to first-half goals from Federico Chiesa and Alex Sandro.

    Juve ended their season on 71 points, third in the standings, though they can still be overtaken by Europa League champions Atalanta, who sit fifth and have two matches left to play.

    Chiesa broke the deadlock after 26 minutes on Saturday and long-serving left-back Sandro, playing in his final game for the Bianconeri before departing as a free agent, doubled the lead two minutes later with a header from a corner.

    Juve came close to scoring a third early in the second half, but Chiesa's attempt from the edge of the box hit the woodwork.

    Thiago Motta is expected to take charge of Juve in the coming days, after his departure from Bologna was confirmed.

    Monza ended the campaign in 12th place with 45 points.

    Data Debrief: How's your luck?

    Chiesa's effort against the frame of the goal means that, since the beginning of the last season, only Inter (36) hit the woodwork more times than Juve (35) in Serie A.

    Juve will be hoping to be that bit more clinical next term as they aim to challenge for the title under Motta. 

© 2023 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.