Manchester City hammers Liverpool to keep pressure on Arsenal

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MANCHESTER – Manchester City kept the pressure on Premier League leaders Arsenal as Pep Guardiola’s side roared back to beat Liverpool 4-1.

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The Etihad was stunned after Mohamed Salah scored a fine goal to put a vibrant Liverpool side ahead but Julian Alvarez, starting in place of the injured Erling Haaland, equalized in the first half.

[ MORE: Player ratings out of 10 ]

Quick-fire second half goals from Kevin de Bruyne and Ilkay Gundogan did the damage and Jack Grealish scored a fourth to send the home fans (who did the Poznan) wild as Pep Guardiola was delighted with the way his team surged away from Jurgen Klopp’s dejected Liverpool.

[ MORE: How to watch Premier League in USA

In the end this was a routine win for City as they’re now on 64 points, still eight points behind Arsenal who beat Leeds later on Saturday but Guardiola’s boys do have a game in-hand and Arsenal to play on April 26. Liverpool remain on 42 points and have lost ground in the top four race after back-to-back away defeats in the Premier League.


City cope just fine without Erling Haaland

With their star striker out with a groin injury, City turned to Alvarez to fill the significant void. Turns out having a World Cup winning striker as a back-up option is pretty decent. La Arana scored the first, consistently made good runs and Liverpool just couldn’t cope with the movement of Alvarez, Mahrez, Grealish, Gundogan and De Bruyne (all of whom had at least a goal or an assist) in attack. It was a different feel to City’s attack and reminded you that even if goal-machine Haaland is out, they have a Plan B and it works pretty well. That plan won them the title last season and this display gives ammunition to those who say Haaland makes City a little too predictable to play against. They were anything but that against Liverpool as Guardiola was delighted with the movement, pressure and intensity of his forward quartet. Haaland was seen celebrating Alvarez’s goal jubilantly in the stands alongside his father, former City midfielder Alf-Inge, and this display showed there’s no need to rush Erling back and they can get him fully-fit for the Champions League quarterfinal showdown against Bayern Munich on April 11.


Jack Grealish reflects on stunning display

Pep Guardiola says that was one of City’s ‘best ever games’


Jurgen Klopp unimpressed with Liverpool’s performance


Stars of the show; Manchester City vs Liverpool player ratings

Mohamed Salah: Took his goal superbly and was always a threat. Had very little help around him.

Riyad Mahrez: Didn’t score but was superb in setting the tone. Almost unstoppable when he’s in this form.

Kevin de Bruyne: Got a goal and yet another assist as he drove City on.

Jack Grealish: Probably his best display in a City shirt. Set up one, scored another and could have had more.

Graphic via FotMob.com

What’s next?

Man City head to Southampton on Saturday, April 8. Liverpool head to Chelsea on Tuesday, April 4 before hosting Arsenal on April 9.


How to watch Manchester City vs Liverpool live, stream link and start time

Kick off: 7:30am ET, Saturday
TV Channel: Peacock
Online: Stream via Peacock Premium


Manchester City vs Liverpool live analysis! – By Joe Prince-Wright at the Etihad Stadium

FULL TIME: Manchester City 4-1 Liverpool – Well, that was rather straightforward in the end, wasn’t it? City were sensational in the second half and Liverpool just couldn’t recover from that early goal after half time.

Alisson saves from Jack Grealish, as his volley is straight at the Liverpool goalkeeper. City are just messing around now. Liverpool in full damage limitation mode with their trip to Chelsea coming up in midweek.

GOALLL! Manchester City 4-1 Liverpool. Jack Grealish slots home after a lovely pass from Kevin de Bruyne. Erling Haaland may struggle to get back into this Man City team…

Liverpool having a bit of go here to see if they can make it interesting but City are keeping the ball extremely well.

SAVE! Jack Grealish looks to bend one into the far corner but Alisson tips it away. Great effort from Grealish, who has been really good today.

CLOSE! Gakpo’s shot deflects just wide. Liverpool aren’t giving up here.

GOALLL! Manchester City 3-1 Liverpool. That should be that. Julian Alvarez with so much time in the box. His shot is blocked and the rebound falls straight to Ilkay Gundogan who slots home.

Liverpool still have a threat as Gakpo just can’t beat the offside trap after a nice ball over the top. City ominously cranking through the gears.

GOALLL! Seconds after the second half starts Kevin de Bruyne puts Manchester City 2-1 up. Poor defensive mistakes from Liverpool and Mahrez crosses for KDB to poke home. Liverpool and Klopp can’t believe it.

HALF TIME: Manchester City 1-1 Liverpool – A hugely entertaining first half. Liverpool a real threat on the counter, while Man City have been a little clunky but are still carving out plenty of chances sans Haaland. Intriguing second half coming up.

Moments after being shown a yellow card, Rodri takes down Cody Gakpo cynically as he goes to start a counter. That should be another yellow card. Liverpool players and Jurgen Klopp incensed. And rightly so. Getting spicy out there as TAA catches Grealish unintentionally. Grealish is then taken out by Trent moments later.

GOALLLL! Manchester City 1-1 Liverpool. Julian Alvarez taps home. Great play from Mahrez and Gundogan to set up Grealish and he finds Alvarez to finish. The TV screens here at the Etihad show Erling Haaland going crazy up in the stands as he celebrates. Minutes later Mahrez almost finds Alvarez but his pass is just too heavy. It is all City now.

A bad giveaway from John Stones and Salah and Liverpool are away again, but Jack Grealish works so hard to get back and stops Salah in City’s penalty box. Great defending from Grealish.

OVER! A flurry of chances arrive for City as they can’t convert a cross and then Mahrez smashes over from inside the box. Great opportunity wasted.

GOALLLL! The goal stands. Mohamed Salah puts Liverpool 1-0 up at Manchester City. A wonderful ball over the top to Jota, who just stayed onside, and Salah finishes superbly. What a goal! I was right in the line with that in the press box here at the Etihad and thought that was offside. Akanji just kept Jota onside.

Mohamed Salah puts Liverpool ahead but it looked like Diogo Jota was offside when the initial ball came over the top. VAR check for offside now…

Now a counter attack as Salah and Elliott both have shots blocked. Lively start, this.

CLOSE! Riyad Mahrez whips a free kick inches wide of the far post. Most of the stadium through that was in. Great effort.

CHANCE! A few decent efforts from City now. Gundogan almost finishes at the back post, then Alisson saves a shot from the edge of the box. Liverpool opened up a few times with long balls over the top.

City look a little rattled early on. Liverpool pressing them high and it is working.

KICK OFF! We are underway here in Manchester. Salah has started up top with Gakpo underneath him. Very attacking lineup from Liverpool and they are pressing very high up the pitch. Extremely similar tactics to when they played against City in their 1-0 win at Anfield earlier this season.

The atmosphere is bubbling up very nicely here. The warmups are done and the star attackers from both City and Liverpool were spanking in shots galore. The music is pumping over the PA system here. It is go time. This rivalry has delivered so much drama over the years, let’s see if there are even more twists and turns. I’m sure there will be…

Big, big, big (did I mention big!?) team news is that Erling Haaland is OUT for Manchester City. He has not recovered from his groin injury and Julian Alvarez starts up top. It will be intriguing to see how City cope without their main man who was absolutely on fire before the international break. The rest of the team news is as expected. Jota, Salah and Gakpo up top for Liverpool with Darwin Nunez fit enough for the bench.

Hello and welcome to Manchester for this huge game! It has been a glorious sunny morning here, but the clouds are bubbling up just as the action is about to on the pitch at the Etihad. Buckle up. Sparks always fly when these two meet.


Key storylines & in-form players to watch

The loss of Haaland is obviously a huge concern for City as he suffered a groin issue and did not play for Norway over the international break and returned to Manchester for treatment. Julian Alvarez comes in, which is a pretty good back-up option. Elsewhere, City are flying with Jack Grealish, Riyad Mahrez and Ilkay Gunodgan having a big role to play with Phil Foden out following his appendix issue. As always, Kevin de Bruyne is the main man and will relish this chance to cut Arsenal’s lead atop the table.

Liverpool just can’t find consistency right now. They have improved defensively but they are a real Jekyll and Hyde team. Jurgen Klopp isn’t a fan of that and showed his frustration after their defeat at Bournemouth, which was their last Premier League game and was way back on March 11. He’s had a few weeks to stew over that loss and it will be intriguing to see what plan he has come up with. For this game as earlier this season Liverpool beat Man City 1-0 at Anfield by playing a front four which pinned City in.


Manchester City team news, injuries, lineup

OUT: Phil Foden (appendix removed), Erling Haaland (groin)

Liverpool team news, injuries, lineup

OUT: Calvin Ramsay (knee), Stefan Bajcetic (groin), Luis Diaz (knee), Thiago Alcantara (hip), Naby Keita (muscle)



Reports: Tottenham Hotspur to hire Celtic’s Ange Postecoglou as next manager

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Multiple reports say that Ange Postecoglou will be leaving Celtic to become the next manager of Tottenham Hotspur.

Celtic had reportedly granted permission for Spurs to speak with their trophy-collecting boss, and things apparently progressed quickly as the 57-year-old looks set to oversee the club’s big rebuild.

[ MORE: Recalling Zlatan’s “unicorn” career ]

Spurs suffered through an inconsistent 2022-23 season with Antonio Conte at the helm, followed by Cristian Stellini and Ryan Mason in interim stints.

Tottenham will not have European football this season and is at risk of losing legendary center forward Harry Kane. The club has eight players including Kane going into the final year of their contracts, including Ivan Perisic, Davinson Sanchez, Eric Dier, and Hugo Lloris.

Spurs finished eighth last season, 15 points off the top four despite spending much of the season inside of it. The club’s finished fourth just once in the past four seasons despite qualifying for the Champions League the previous four seasons.

Ironically, Celtic is being linked with pursuit of Brendan Rodgers and Jesse Marsch if Postecoglou departs this week.

Who is Ange Postecoglou?

Postecoglou, 57, was born in Greece and moved to Australia at a young age, starring for South Melbourne as a player and earning for caps for the Socceroos.

He is coming off a domestic treble with Celtic and won five of six trophies available to him in his two seasons with the Bhoys.

At Celtic, Postecoglou played with a 4-3-3 for much of the first half of his tenure but played a lot of this campaign in a 4-2-3-1.

Postecoglou won trophies as a manager with South Melbourne, Brisbane Roar, and Yokohama F. Marinos, claiming the Asian Cup during his stint as Australia national team coach.

He said he expects tricky early times wherever he goes.

“Wherever I’ve been, the initial part is always rocky, because my ideas are… well they’re not extreme to me but I can see how they can be seen as extreme from the outside. It takes a while. Usually it can take me six months, it can take me a year to really bed them in, depending on how many opportunities I have to change the playing squad and the staff and all those kinds of things.”

Five players to watch in the Premier League’s summer transfer window

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There’s going to be turnover in the Premier League this offseason, and it seems likely the big boys will again be looking to the top young talents in other leagues to get in when the getting is good.

There will be big price tags attached to some players this summer, but in the case of the players below we may be talking about players just a window away from having unattainably high price tags for most clubs.

[ TRANSFER NEWS: Arsenal | Liverpool | Chelsea | Tottenham | Man City | Man United ] 

Most of these names have danced through ProSoccerTalk‘s transfer rumor mill at least once during the past season or two, and in one case have been on the radar for a half-decade or so.

Here’s a look at five players who may well find their way to the Premier League in the very near future, and could move somewhere this summer.

Xavi Simons, PSV Eindhoven

At times the teen hype around Xavi Simons coming out of Barcelona’s academy was akin to the recruitment of Martin Odegaard out of Norway so many years ago. But Simons couldn’t break through at Barca and his move to Paris Saint-Germain didn’t take off as expected. So Simons, who just turned 20 in April, landed at PSV Eindhoven. All he did was lead the Eredivisie in goals. PSG has a buyback clause but Simons would have to want to go there… and there are plenty of rumored suitors for the playmaker. Simons chipped in eight assists and was Fotmob’s highest-rated Eredivisie player.

Possible fits: Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool

Jurrien Timber, Ajax

Still 21 for a couple more weeks, Timber got Mancunian tongues wagging when he attended the FA Cup Final between Manchester United and Manchester City. The star center back played under United boss Erik ten Hag at Ajax and now has 15 caps for the Netherlands senior team. He has a ridiculous passing and ball progression profile for his position, and has showed enough attacking acumen to get any team excited about him.

Possible fits: Manchester United, Manchester City

Randal Kolo Muani, Eintracht Frankfurt

The 24-year-old has acknowledged dreams of playing in the Premier League following a blockbuster first season at Eintracht, where he scored 23 goals with 17 assists amongst all competitions. Moving to a new country did not slow him at all after his time at Nantes, and he was linked with a number of PL sides even before he admitted his interest in the league.

Possible fits: Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United

Sepe Elye Wahi, Montpellier

The 20-year-old nearly scored as many goals as his age in his third season with Montpellier’s first team, and has attracted interest from Paris Saint-Germain, Arsenal, and Chelsea amongst others. Wahi is still very raw when it comes to passing the ball but part of his statistical deficiencies could have to do with his club’s relative struggles. A eager presser, his best traits are finishing and that’s the stat that drives the bus for him.

Possible fits: Tottenham, Chelsea, Arsenal

Gabriel Veiga, Celta Vigo

Here’s another playmaker linked with Arsenal, but you can see why he could fit in Mikel Arteta’s system. His 11 goals were 13th in La Liga this season and his four assists means he had a goal contribution on 15 of Celta’s 43 league goals. An eager dribbler, he delivered 80 shot creating actions this season and ranked in the 99th percentile for midfielders when it came to non-penalty goals.

Possible fits: Newcastle, Arsenal, Man CIty

How many times has a team won the treble? Man City goes for history

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There’s been a lot of treble talk these days, talk that’s found a new level of buzz since Manchester City moved within one win of joining the club.

It’s an elite club, by the way, of teams that have won their domestic league, top domestic cup, and the European Cup.

Nine times in history has a team won the treble, and only once has it been done by a Premier League club.

[ MORE: Recalling Zlatan’s “unicorn” career ]

That’s why Man City’s defeat of Manchester United earlier this month in the FA Cup Final rings so true for the Citizens; The blue side of Manchester would join the red side as treble supporters, as United won the treble in 1998-99.

Man City goes for the third jewel of its treble crown on Saturday versus Inter Milan in Istanbul when it kicks off the UEFA Champions League Final.

For more treble trivia, head below the jump.

How many times has the treble been won?

Bayern Munich and Barcelona have each done it twice, with Bayern doing it in 2012-13 and 2019-20 and Barca pulling it off in 2008-09 and 2014-15.

Celtic was the first to win a treble, doing it in 1966-67, while Ajax was the next in 1971-72.

PSV Eindhoven then won it in 1987-88 before Man United made it happen 11 years later. Inter Milan is the only Italian team to pull it off, winning in 2009-10.

(UEFA.com)

Manchester City vs Inter Milan: How to watch Champions League Final, odds, predictions

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Manchester City is on the chase for a historic treble and standing in the way is Inter Milan, one of Europe’s precious few clubs to claim such an honor.

[ LIVE: Manchester City vs Inter Milan ]

The Premier League winners three times running have an FA Cup under their belt after beating Manchester United on June 3 and the final jewel in their treble crown awaits with a win in Istanbul on June 10.

[ MORE: How to watch Premier League in USA ]

Pep Guardiola could lead a second club to a treble after he did it with Barcelona in 2008-09, and they would give heated rivals United domestic company on the treble stage right down the road.

Guardiola says it’s now okay to talk about the treble. We agree, and we’ve laid out why the achievement is so special after the jump.

Here’s everything you need to know ahead of Manchester City vs Inter Milan.


How to watch Manchester City vs Inter Milan live, stream link and start time

Dates: 3pm ET June 10, 2023
Online: Live updates via NBCSports.com
How to watch: TUDN, Paramount+


What Premier League clubs have won the treble?

Manchester United won the Premier League, FA Cup, and Champions League in 1998-99.

Sir Alex Ferguson’s Red Devils are the lone Premier League club to win it.

That’s it. For now.


How many times has the treble been won?

Nine times in history has a team won its domestic league, top domestic cup, and the European Cup.

Bayern Munich and Barcelona have each done it twice, with Bayern doing it in 2012-13 and 2019-20 and Barca pulling it off in 2008-09 and 2014-15.

Celtic was the first to win a treble, doing it in 1966-67, while Ajax was the next in 1971-72.

PSV Eindhoven then won it in 1987-88 before Man United made it happen 11 years later. Inter Milan is the only Italian team to pull it off, winning in 2009-10.

(UEFA.com)


Champions League Final odds (Betting odds provided by our partner, BetMGM )

BetMGM is our Official Sports Betting Partner and we may receive compensation if you place a bet on BetMGM for the first time after clicking our links. 

Man City (-250) vs Inter Milan (+625) | Draw over 120 mins (+380)

Over 2.5 goals (-160). Under 2.5 goals (+110)


Champions League Final predictions

Joe Prince-Wright: Man City 2-1 Inter Milan
Andy Edwards: Man City 3-1 Inter Milan
Nick Mendola: Man City 2-0 Inter Milan


Manchester City team news, injuries, lineup options

QUESTIONABLE: None

Inter Milan team news, injuries, lineup options

QUESTIONABLE: Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Joaquin Correa. OUT: Dalbert.