Jürgen Klopp's Liverpool fell to their first league defeat of the season in a pulsating Premier League title clash. It was a fellow German who struck the decisive blow, with Leroy Sané continuing to impress.
Image: picture-alliance/empics/M. Rickett
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Among the dozens of threads woven into Thursday night's tense and thrilling spectacle, it was the dual strands of pressure and pressing that proved to be the most critical to Manchester City's 2-1 win.
"It was big pressure on the game. Very intense and we were unlucky in our finishing moments," lamented Klopp after the game.
From the off, this tussle between the best two teams in the Premier League was played at the most frantic of paces. Two minutes in, Liverpool keeper Allison uncharacteristically shanked the sort of backpass he'd usually stroke out to a teammate into the stand. He wasn't the only one. As Manchester City players swarmed around their visitors, Klopp's charges looked nervy, the German coach's signature tactic was being used against him.
"How many times do you see this many unforced errors," Klopp asked after the game. "It was because every time they had the ball, three men were jumping on them."
Charged atmosphere
City pressed more on Thursday than they have for most of this season, and certainly more effectively than they have in their recent run of poor form.
Jürgen Klopp's side lost their first league game of 2018-19Image: picture-alliance/empics/PA/A. Yates
The crowd at a stadium often justifiably criticized for its lack of anything approaching an atmosphere was rocking, every touch of every player in red was booed with a ferocity matched by their players, at times it even sounded a little like Anfield — or even the Westfalenstadion.
"We went toe to toe with a very aggressive and physical team and matched them," said City skipper Vincent Kompany after the game. "We are a better team when we play with emotions.”
But, after the initial shock, Liverpool got back into the game and were 1.2 centimeters away from taking the lead when John Stones cleared into his own goalkeeper before desperately hacking off the line. Both teams probed for weakness until Sergio Aguero found one in the shape of the cumbersome Dejan Lovren. The Argentine's movement was far too sharp for Lovren, whose body shape was poor, and his finish from a narrow angle was emphatic and deadly.
As the second half began, the home side had control thanks largely to a relentlessly excellent display from Fernandinho in the home side's midfield. Klopp reacted by introducing his own all-action Brazilian midfielder, Fabinho, and Liverpool soon got back in to the game.
Sané, who had been relatively quiet until that point, allowed his direct opponent — Trent Alexander-Arnold — to cut inside far too easily and pick out Andrew Robertson. The Scottish left back cushioned a volley back across goal and Roberto Firmino did the rest.
Moment of redemption
The momentum seemed to have switched in a game that never left the knife's edge. But when Sterling escaped Robertson to feed Sané, the former Schalke winger fizzed a low shot of redemption off both posts and in.
The winner was his 15th goal involvement (goals and assists) in the Premier League this season, one every 105 minutes. After his shock omission from Germany's World Cup squad, the 22-year-old winger has upped his game, and now he's stepped up when it really mattered, when the pressure was on.
After the game, Klopp cut a disappointed but not dejected figure, understandable given Liverpool remain four points clear. But, for all that he rightly says this one could've gone either way, he also knows that Liverpool haven't won the title for 29 years. Sané and City will know that too, they look equipped to keep the pressure on.
Jürgen Klopp's career in football
It's been a long journey for Jürgen Klopp as he developed from a second division player into a coach of one of the biggest clubs in the world. However, he failed in his bid to win a Champions League title with Liverpool.
Image: Getty Images/A. Livesey
Playing career
Jürgen Klopp played professional football for 15 years, spending 11 of them in Mainz. He only reached the second division in Germany. beginning as an attacking player but ended his career as a defender. He retired midway through the 2001-02 season to fill the coaching vacancy at Mainz after the club sacked Eckhard Krautzun.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/K. Nietfeld
Making Mainz
During Klopp's playing career, Mainz frequently fought against relegation to the German third tier. That changed when he took the helm at the club. In Klopp's third season, Mainz earned promotion to the Bundesliga for the first time in club history. Klopp enjoyed three seasons in the top flight before Mainz were relegated again in 2007. He left the club a year later to join Borussia Dortmund.
Image: AP
Big step up to BVB
Klopp's appointment was part of a broader strategy change at Borussia Dortmund: to make football stars instead of buying them. He committed to 20-year-olds Mats Hummels and Neven Subotic as his center back pair — the youngest in the Bundesliga. Dortmund finished in sixth place and fifth place in his first two seasons at the club.
Image: picture alliance/dpa/B. Thissen
Trophy run
From 2010 to 2012, Klopp lead Dortmund to their most successful two-year stretch in club history. They won their first Bundesliga title in nearly a decade in 2010-11. Klopp followed that accomplishment up by leading BVB to their first domestic double in club history the next season.
Image: Picture-alliance/dpa/T. Silz
Fan favorite
It didn't take long for Dortmund fans to fall in love with Klopp. His press conferences became a weekly spectacle and his energy on the touchline became contagious. On the pitch, he implemented an active, high-pressing system that brought BVB, a club that was only a few years removed from near insolvency, back to the pinnacle of German football.
Image: Reuters
European precipice
Klopp did not secure domestic silverware after that two-year run, but he did lead Dortmund to the Champions League final in 2013 — their first final since their 1997 title. His side ultimately came up short against Bayern Munich, losing 2-1 late on to hand their German rivals a piece of their treble that year.
Image: picture alliance/augenklick
Bitter end
Klopp's last season with Dortmund in 2014-15 was far worse than any other. His side was second bottom at the winter break, though Klopp wound up leading them to a seventh place finish. He did manage to get BVB to the German Cup final before losing to Wolfsburg. Dortmund and Klopp decided to part ways after the season, ending his seven-year stint with the team.
Image: Reuters/Ina Fassbender
'The Normal One'
It didn't take long for Klopp to land back on his feet. Liverpool appointed the German coach in October of 2015, less than five months after he parted ways with Dortmund. In his first press conference, Klopp dubbed himself "The Normal One" — after being asked how he fitted in compared to the likes of Jose Mourinho, who notoriously once called himself "a special one."
Image: Getty Images/A. Livesey
Roaring Reds
Liverpool fans took to Klopp's highly animated coaching approach, but it didn't initally lead to success. The Reds finished eighth in the Premier League in his first season, though he did lead them to the Europa League final before losing to Sevilla. But he guided Liverpool to the Champions League with a fourth-place finish the following season before their third place finish this past season.
Image: Getty Images/M. Steele
Adored once again
Much like he was in Dortmund, Klopp has become a club favorite at Liverpool. His passionate personality and the attractive attacking football enabled by players like Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane have proved a real hit in the stands. On Saturday, Klopp could provide fans with a sixth European Cup/Champions League title. But the real prize remains a league title; Liverpool's last was in 1990.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/B. Thissen
Opportunity missed
Jürgen Klopp guided Liverpool to the brink of the biggest title in European club football. However, an injury to Mo Salah and two blunders by German goalkeeper Loris Karius put paid to Liverpool's hopes of winning the 2018 Champions League as Real Madrid made history at their expense.
