Manchester City v Liverpool Live Commentary & Result, 22/12/2022, League Cup

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City return to Premier League action on December 28 against Leeds on the road. Liverpool face Aston Villa on Boxing Day at Villa Park.

Manchester City secure their place in the EFL Cup quarter-finals with a 3-2 win over Liverpool at the Etihad Stadium. Erling Haaland broke the deadlock in the first half with a close-range finish, but Fabio Carvalho responded for the visitors to leave the scores level at the break. City exploded into life after the break as Riyad Mahrez restored their lead, only for Mohamed Salah to peg them back within a minute. However, Nathan Ake scored the decisive goal with a header from close range from Kevin De Bruyne's pinpoint cross. City advance to the last eight, while the holders crash out of the competition.

90' + 5' FULL-TIME: MANCHESTER CITY 3-2 LIVERPOOL

90' + 3' Gomez looks for Henderson down the right flank, but the midfielder moves a fraction too early and is caught offside.

90' + 1' Keita tries to thread a pass through to Nunez, but the ball is just too far ahead of the forward and Ortega gathers.

90' There will be four minutes of added time.

Bernardo Silva

İ. Gündoğan

88' Gundogan is down with cramp and now makes way for Silva for the closing stages.

86' City are trying to work the ball around the pitch to take time off the clock. Liverpool have to be aggressive now.

84' BLOCK AND SAVE! De Bruyne latches on to a loose ball and angles a strike towards goal that is heading into the net before Fabinho blocks it on the line. Foden pounces on the rebound and fires towards the near post, only to see his effort saved by Kelleher.

N. Keïta

Yellow Card

83' Keita is late on Lewis in the middle of the park and goes into the book.

81' Rodri attempts to attack a cross from the right flank from De Bruyne, but he fouls Kelleher in the process to give away a free-kick.

Rodri

Yellow Card

79' Rodri goes into the book for his reaction as he shoved Fabinho.

Fabinho

Yellow Card

79' Fabinho goes into the book for his part in the melee with Rodri. His rough challenge started the scuffle.

78' Rodri and Fabinho collide in the middle of the park after a challenge by the Brazilian. Both men have to be separated.

75' Grealish has room to run at Gomez down the left flank, but the defender uses his body well to fend off the winger to win his team a goal-kick.

J. Grealish

C. Palmer

73' Palmer was influential in the first half, but he makes way now for Grealish on the left flank.

P. Foden

E. Haaland

73' Haaland makes way for the home side after a quiet second half. Foden enters the action.

72' NUNEZ HAS TO SCORE! Nunez is played through on goal by Gomez and only has Ortega to beat. He lines up a right-footed strike that he places wide of the left post. It's the third time he has missed the target today. Nunez had to make that one count.

N. Keïta

Thiago Alcântara

70' Keita enters the action for Liverpool after a period out with injury. He replaces Thiago in the midfield.

68' Oxlade-Chamberlain goes down under pressure from Ake in the box and everyone looks to the referee David Coote. The official waves play on, much to the relief of the home side.

65' OVER! Robertson gets excited at the back post as a loose ball falls his way and blazes his strike over the bar. Not the best strike from the Scot.

64' Matip plays a throughball to release Gomez down the right flank. The defender has space to whip in a cross, but sends his delivery straight at Ake, who clears the danger.

62' Kelleher has to scramble to prevent Haaland from pouncing on a loose ball in the Liverpool box, smothering the ball at the feet of the forward.

J. Stones

M. Akanji

61' Akanji makes way for the home side and is replaced by Stones.

K. De Bruyne

Assist

58' De Bruyne arcs a brilliant delivery to the back post from the left flank after playing a one-two with Palmer, allowing Ake to score.

N. Aké

Goal

58' GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!! AKE HEADS HOME!!!!!!!! 3-2!!!!!!! Ake missed a header in the first half, but he converts on this occasion to put City ahead for the third time. De Bruyne plays a one-two out from a corner on the left with Palmer and curls a brilliant cross to the back post. Ake arrives late and plants his header away from Kelleher into the back of the net.

J. Henderson

H. Elliott

57' Elliott is withdrawn for the visitors and is replaced by Henderson.

55' Palmer runs down the left flank and curls a precise delivery into the middle that Phillips heads clear away from Haaland.

54' WIDE! Palmer has space on the left flank again and angles a strike at goal on his left foot, only to slice his effort wide of the target.

53' It has been a frenetic start to the second half. The two sides have come out firing with both defences well and truly on the back foot.

51' Lewis has to race back and put in a covering challenge to prevent Salah bursting through on goal. Lewis had to get the ball there and did.

D. Núñez

Assist

48' Nunez produces a great run down the left and unselfishly picks out Salah to score on his left foot.

Mohamed Salah

Goal

48' GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!! SALAH RESPONDS FOR LIVERPOOL!!!!! 2-2!!!! Liverpool are level within a minute as Salah slots a strike into an empty net. Nunez surges at the City defence down the left flank and outpaces Laporte with ease. He cuts a low ball back to Salah, who does not expect it, but still manages to convert on his left foot.

Rodri

Assist

47' Rodri angles a fine ball into the feet of Mahrez, who does the rest with a fine touch and finish.

R. Mahrez

Goal

47' GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!! MAHREZ RESTORES CITY'S LEAD!!!!!! 2-1!!!! Mahrez takes a sublime touch before curling a strike beyond the reach of Kelleher. Thiago loses the ball in the middle of the park and it allows Rodri to arc a pass to Mahrez in the inside-right channel. His first touch creates space for a strike and he duly converts with a curling effort on his left foot.

46' We're back under way at the Etihad Stadium.

A. Oxlade-Chamberlain

Fábio Carvalho

46' A surprise as the goalscorer Carvalho is withdrawn for Oxlade-Chamberlain.

Fabinho

Stefan Bajčetić

46' Fabinho replaces Bajcetic in the Liverpool midfield.

Both managers will be satisfied with the performances of their teams considering the break. Jurgen Klopp may have had concerns at the start, but his side responded to adversity and found their rhythm. The second half should be a thriller as neither side will be interested in additional time.

It's all square at the break in the EFL Cup clash between Manchester City and Liverpool. Erling Haaland fired City in front by converting Kevin De Bruyne's cross from close range, but the Reds responded through Fabio Carvalho's neat finish. Both teams had chances to add further goals, but were lacking in a clinical edge. There are more goals here for sure.

45' + 3' HALF-TIME: MANCHESTER CITY 1-1 LIVERPOOL

45' + 2' INCHES WIDE! Nunez latches on to a perfect cross from Robertson from a free-kick on the left flank. He connects first-time with his strike, but steers his attempt wide of the target. A huge chance spurned.

45' + 1' OVER! Palmer has space to roam in the final third and has De Bruyne in support on his left. He ignores his team-mate and shoots, only to clear the bar with his strike.

45' There will be two minutes of added time.

45' Rodri latches on a clearance from Matip and is encouraged to shoot. He curls a right-footed effort towards goal that Kelleher watches comfortably wide of the left post.

43' Phillips puts in a brilliant challenge in the Liverpool box to stop Haaland in his tracks. The defender had to get that right.

42' CHANCE! Gomez sends a ball over the top for Nunez in space in the inside-right channel. He pulls the trigger first-time, only to drag his attempt wide of the left post. City were expecting the offside flag which did not come.

41' Mahrez tries to bundle his way through the Liverpool defence down the right flank. Robertson and Matip are there and win a goal-kick for the Reds.

N. Phillips

J. Milner

38' Phillips replaces Milner for the Reds, which will see Gomez move out to the right flank.

38' Milner is down for the visitors and will have to make way. He was struggling with the pace of Palmer.

37' WHAT A SAVE! Ake is denied by a great reaction save from Kelleher. De Bruyne swings a perfect cross into the middle for Ake to attack with a diving header. He connects with a powerful effort, but Kelleher spreads himself to make a brilliant save.

36' SAVE! Kelleher denies Gundogan with a good stop with his legs. De Bruyne finds acres of room down the right flank and places a low cross to Gundogan on the charge. He shoots low and hard, only to see his effort blocked by the legs of the Liverpool keeper.

Stefan Bajčetić

Yellow Card

35' Bajcetic is booked retrospectively after bringing down Palmer on the charge.

34' City break through Palmer, who gets brought down by Bajcetic on the charge. The referee waves play, but the home side cannot take advantage as Mahrez's pass is cut out by Thiago.

32' Bajcetic releases Carvalho in the final third, who tries to thread a pass through to Salah. It's a tad ambitious between two defenders and travels through to Ortega.

30' Elliott manages to squeeze an offload into Salah in the City box, but the forward gets surrounded and cannot get the ball out of his feet amid the pressure from blue shirts.

28' Kelleher gathers the resulting free-kick from De Bruyne and tries to release Salah with a kick out from the back, only to overhit his offload through to Ortega.

27' Milner sticks out a leg and brings down Palmer on the left touchline. The Liverpool skipper is not having an easy time of it.

26' BLOCK! Mahrez works a clever offload to Palmer from a corner on the left flank, but the winger sees his left-footed strike closed down by a wall of red shirts.

24' Lewis draws a foul from Carvalho down the right flank, but the resulting free-kick from De Bruyne is cleared by the Reds.

23' CLOSE! Palmer turns Milner inside and out and clips a cross to the near post from the left flank. Mahrez makes a run, but fails to make enough contact on his header and takes it away from Haaland behind him.

22' Liverpool have needed players to come to the fore to ease the burden on Salah, Carvalho has notched an important strike there to stem the tide.

J. Milner

Assist

20' Milner finds space on the right flank and sends a perfect low cross for Carvalho, who holds his composure to find the back of the net.

Fábio Carvalho

Goal

20' GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!! CARVALHO EQUALISES FOR THE REDS!!!! 1-1!!!! Out of nowhere Liverpool are back in the game as Carvalho sweeps home Milner's cross. Milner is afforded time and space in the inside-right channel and he picks out Carvalho with a low cross. The forward calmly steers his effort away from Ortega into the bottom-left corner with a composed finish.

17' City have been on their mettle from the off and are playing through the Liverpool midfield with ease. Guardiola will be very happy with the way his side have started.

15' OFFSIDE! Nunez strikes the post from close range, but the flag goes up for offside as he latches on to Elliott's cross from the right flank.

13' Liverpool apply pressure in the final third and Rodri almost turns his way into trouble. He just gets his offload away before Carvalho can put in a challenge.

12' Palmer twists and turns down the left flank and tries to pick out Haaland in the middle, but Gomez clears the danger.

K. De Bruyne

Assist

10' De Bruyne puts his disappointing World Cup behind him with an assist 10 minutes into his City return. He angles a perfect cross into the middle for Haaland to react and convert with a neat finish.

E. Haaland

Goal

10' GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!! HAALAND FIRES CITY IN FRONT!!!!! 1-0 CITY!!!!! Haaland is back on the scoresheet for City with a fine finish with an outstretched leg at the near post. De Bruyne collects down the left flank and fires a cross into the box. Haaland makes a good run to get ahead of Gomez and sticks out his boot to steer the ball into the bottom-left corner.

10' SAVE! Palmer breaks down the left flank and cuts the ball back for De Bruyne on the edge of the box. The Belgian shoots first time into the ground, but it's an easy save for Kelleher.

8' De Bruyne skips past two challenges in the middle of the park and looks for Haaland. However, the ball rebounds off the shin of the forward and ends the City attack.

6' CHANCE! Akanji sends Haaland behind the Liverpool defence down the left flank. He fires a low ball toward Palmer, but the winger fails to sort out his feet and launches an effort well wide of the target.

5' De Bruyne gathers on the right flank from Gundogan's corner, but his cross fails to beat the first man.

4' It has been an open start to the game as City find space in the final third again. De Bruyne collects on the right flank, but he sees his cross deflected behind for a corner.

2' BLOCK! Liverpool respond as Milner sends Nunez behind the City defence down the inside-left channel, but Laporte deflects his strike wide of the target.

1' OVER! Gundogan releases Haaland straight through the middle of the Liverpool defence with Kelleher miles off his line. Haaland goes for a chip, but sends his effort harmlessly over the bar.

1' We're under way at the Etihad Stadium.

Manchester City have won just one of their seven League Cup games against Liverpool (D3 L3), winning 3-2 in the third round in 1969-70. However, the last such meeting between the sides was in the 2016 final, with the Citizens winning 3-1 on penalties following a 1-1 draw.

Klopp also has relatively fresh players to choose from for his starting line-up. Alisson and Virgil van Dijk are the major absentees after their exploits at the World Cup. Henderson starts on the bench for the Reds. Salah, Nunez and Carvalho form a three-man attack. Bajcetic gets the nod in the middle of the park, while Gomez and Matip anchor the backline.

Guardiola names a strong side for the contest, which sees Haaland lead the line fresh after a six-week break. Mahrez and Palmer support the forward in the final third. De Bruyne, Rodri and Gundogan are relatively fresh after their sides failed to make a meaningful surge at the World Cup. There's no Ederson between the posts as Ortega continues in the EFL Cup.

LIVERPOOL SUBS: Fabinho, Naby Keita, Adrian, Jordan Henderson, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Konstantinos Tsimikas, Calvin Ramsey, Nathaniel Phillips, Ben Doak.

LIVERPOOL (4-3-3): Caoimhin Kelleher; James Milner, Joel Matip, Joe Gomez, Andy Robertson; Thiago, Stefan Bajcetic, Harvey Elliott; Fabio Carvalho, Darwin Nunez, Mohammed Salah.

MANCHESTER CITY SUBS: Kyle Walker, John Stones, Joao Cancelo, Jack Grealish, Bernardo Silva, Sergi Gomez, Scott Carson, Phil Foden, Alex Robertson.

MANCHESTER CITY (4-3-3): Stefan Ortega; Rico Lewis, Manuel Akanji, Aymeric Laporte, Nathan Ake; Kevin De Bruyne, Rodri, Ilkay Gundogan; Riyad Mahrez, Erling Haaland, Cole Palmer.

Liverpool will also be aiming hit the ground running as they aim to defend the trophy they won last season. The Reds were taken to penalties by Derby County in the third round, but managed to overcome the Rams. Jurgen Klopp will have concerns over his side's rhythm, although the majority of his key men were not in too much action in the World Cup. Mohamed Salah will be fresh and ready for an important game tonight to reset the campaign for the Reds.

City return to action for the first time since the break for the World Cup. Pep Guardiola has a proud record in the EFL Cup, winning the competition in four of his previous six seasons with the club. City saw a run of four-straight crowns end last season in the fourth round with a defeat to West Ham United and will be determined to push back into the last eight, knocking out a huge rival in the process. Guardiola will want to see a rhythm from his side ahead of their return to Premier League next week.

Good evening and welcome to the live commentary of the EFL Cup clash between Manchester City and Liverpool at the Etihad Stadium.

Manchester City v Liverpool Live Commentary, 22/12/2022

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