Liverpool vs. Man City REACTION: Penalty controversy, tactical battle & title percentages | ESPN FC

On The Gab and Juls Show, Gab Marcotti and Julien Laurens break down all the talking points and controversy from Liverpool and Manchester City’s 1-1 Premier League draw at Anfield.

0:00 A fitting end to Klopp vs. Pep in the PL
2:23 Surprised Pep substituted De Bruyne?
3:54 Did Liverpool deserve an injury time penalty?
8:50 Breaking down the goals
16:12 Who shone and who disappointed?
25:06 Title percentages

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There’s one place to start because Liverpool against Manchester City and before we break down the game and the title implications and everything I thought as a neutral I was thoroughly entertained in this game and I was entertained despite the fact that there was no controversy there weren’t a

Bazillion goals in fact one of the goals was was a result of an individual error the other one was kind of like a Freakazoid moment a clever Freakazoid moment a Freakazoid moment nonetheless I just thought this is what good football is and and and thank than you to

Liverpool and City yeah and I I thought it was a sad day in English for English football because we won’t have any more of those Club vuola in the Premier League which is which is a shame and is sad but for the last time they gave us

An amazing spectacle really I think Klo said after the game he said exceptional to qualifier I think that was right even if it’s a one-1 one of the best one- ons that you would see all season in all leagues combined there was a lot of intensity there’s a lot of things to

Talk about from obviously the penalty at the end but also all the press and tactically what Liverpool did and what city did and the Kevin De BR substitution all of that which was wonderful to watch one of the papers here titled and I just want to get a

Sense just just Tak a step back more broadly uh they titled City better in the first half Liverpool better in the second half Arsenal better in the end because obviously in case you’re under a rock or something this result coupled with Arsenal’s win means that Arsenal

And Liverpool are joint top of the table although Arsenal have a better goal difference City one point behind is that a fair summation yeah I’m not sure the whole first half was good from City for the first 25 minutes after that Liverpool I I felt took took the lead and took the

Game away from City uh not creating massive chances the soos header really is the only one and he should have done better but we saw what tactically klopp did I F with the double pivot of endo and mallister very much and then soos a bit higher up on the pitch that worked

But really in the second half where Liverpool dominated City like we’ve rarely seen them uh being dominated this season but yeah yeah you could you could sum it up like that City first half hour Liverpool for most of the rest of that game but then Arsenal the winner of the

Weekend for sure uh we’ll get into the incidents like we said and of course that that that penalty um this is called teasing and foreshadowing but uh I want to talk about what the significance was um if if you think there was any when he took off the

Uh because at that stage it’s one1 look you replaced de bryne with kovic and obviously they then went on and you know they hit the post with do whatever it is not an attacking substitution it a substitution that tells me I need more cover here because I do not want to

Concede another goal yeah Deo wasn’t happy we’ll break that down later but just broadly were you surprised when when we saw that from Pep is that an UNP like thing so I thought pep would ask de bro to play deeper I thought they were overrunning Midfield and mostly because

The Brun was too high up on the pitch in that second half it worked at the start of the game and they had that really high line of five with foden with Bernardo uh de Brun Holland and and Alvarez I I felt there was a time in the

Game when Liverpool were the better team because they were fitter because the Press was so good that de Bru needed for for City’s sake to be deeper that was not the case Kovac is is a very good press resistant midfielder so he made a lot of sense if you don’t want to bring

The BR deeper because you don’t think that physically can do it you don’t you don’t think he was having a good game for whatever reason then you bring kovic on to hold the ball a bit more and steady the ship because they were really sinking at the time and I think that

Worked so credit to pep you don’t have an issue it is I guess some pet pragmatism which some people say isn’t part of his locker but I think he certainly added to it uh at this stage uh if we were in uh in Italy or Spain

All we would have talked about until now is the the late penalty that was not given to Jeremy doku on uh mallister um I thought it should have been given I can understand why it wasn’t and that is some of the V issues we can get into but do you agree that’s

A penalty yeah I thought it was a penalty uh I was surprised Jamie carer for example on on UK television said he was the the right call he hates Liverpool notoriously jly dku touch the ball first and I get that and that’s what the explanation I think that

Michael Oliver the referee gave ygen club and everybody else which is which is fair I still thought he almost chopped mallister in two and as soon as the ball bounces in the box where we said a million times on this show let never let the ball bounce dku is done

Because the only thing he can do I is either leave and he probably should have let mallister controlling the ball and then hope for the best but if he start putting his his his foot higher he could have tried to hook it be like that been

Very and very clumsy from theu got away with it there yeah all right Jo the the penalty defensively I mean we’re talking off here about this Jeremy doku not accustom be in this position yeah hindsight is always 2020 you said it basic thing the kids are always taught

Don’t let the ball bounce once it bounces he knows where mallister is I think it’s fair to say it was also kind of uncoordinated the way he went yeah completely which again you don’t nor toku is normally coordinated um I I just think it’s it’s it’s one of those

Moments yeah yeah completely I mean I think clubs sum it all well like really well is after the game he said it’s 100% a penalty it could really have hurt maista I think which is a fair point too uh and in the end they just got lucky

And I know V are will have an explanation of course and the referee and we mentioned that if do is the ball first remember in the Manchester Derby the tackle from medison on garad show where he gets the ball first but then it’s a really Reckless tackle and then H

Said that should have been a pen and we discussed it and we said you touch the ball first it’s not always because you get to the ball first that it’s not a foul behind that and I think there’s something to maybe clear off within the rules or I don’t know within the

Referee’s explanation of like it’s not always because you get to the ball first especially if behind that you are Reckless with your position that it’s okay I mean what what they do a lot of times is they look at all right you got the ball first but then did you follow

Through or whatever which I think is kind of stupid because in this situation would have been stupid he’s not thinking about why he’s you know I’ve heard people say well you know he gets the ball first and he doesn’t then follow through I me well first of all he’s not

Karate kicking anybody right he’s just trying to get the ball away right I his mind isn’t thinking oh let me follow through and do McAllister at the same time right that’s not how a person not how a normal person’s brain works with that kind of tackle yeah I think very

Simply what what happen here is and maybe they’ll release a VR maybe they won’t I know I’m still waiting on on Howard web to uh to explain the Tyranny thing and why tyranny then popped up again as a v in the Arsenal game I I I think that is just unconscionable

Personally but and and I say this to somebody who likes how web and actually likes it when he comes out and gives explanations but um I think very simply the the V who was steart Atwell saw it and said you know olly or Mikey or whatever the hell you calls him right he

Says did you get a clear view and Oliver said yeah um he gets the ball first um so I don’t think it’s a I didn’t think it’s a foul like he says like did I miss something is that not what happened does he not get the ball

Yeah and then at well presumbly says no he does get the ball and then I think vs have been given this instruction not to quote quote unquote re- referee games yeah yeah at that point when Atwell says well he saw correctly didn’t get the ball he saw the incident he saw where he

Was he did get sorry he did get the ball yeah I can’t go back to him and say well look at it again and say it’s a foul because then I am specifically reeree yeah now I know those guidelines exist I’m wondering if they should exist I

Wonder we don’t want to re- referee everything but certain decisions there’s no doubt in my mind that had Oliver been on the V yeah he would have he would have assumed it was a penalty yeah yeah yeah and there’s no doubt in my mind also that if Oliver had given his a penalty

At wouldn’t have said oh no but look you got the ball right yeah definitely is this one of those I think we just have to accept yeah exactly I agree and as it happens if you’re a Liverpool fan it’s could end up deciding the title but you can understand the frustration 100%

Them’s the breaks you know as as as they say there other big decision um oh let’s let’s go chronologically yeah the first goal amazing all right so for those who haven’t seen seen it it’s a free kick those seen is there anybody listening to us who hasn’t actually seen this highlight right it’s

A corner kick Kevin De brne goes to take it they do a set play um where essentially mallister is on the near post his job is to cut things out Nathan a basically goes around essentially sets a pick so that mallister can’t move yeah

Um Darwin I think is on stones or is the closest to Stones anyway is yeah Stones breaks for the near post just as de Brina delivers the ball low and hard with a bounce to the near post and he I mean he was really really close because

To be fair like Keller reacts pretty quickly but he kind of like bundles the ball over the line right it’s not something we often see I want to get you first because since you’re the techers guy on how difficult the pass from De bro was because when I first saw it I

Said well what’s the more I see it the more difficult it becomes in my mind I expect a professional footballer to be able to hit the ball low and hard but then he didn’t just hit the ball low and hard which would have been a cool set play

Anyway he hits the ball with such a Spain there even after first of all it doesn’t go out of play which is difficult to do from that uh from that angle if you’re going to keep it that tight but also in such a way that after the bouns it almost like bounces and

Accelerates into stones’ pass yeah I mean more because of the rain I think more because of the page that’s fine but he’s still doing it it’s more the height of it because he could have it had to be the perfect height for stone to just put the inside of his right foot in

Opposition to the ball for the ball to if you look at Stones he doesn’t do anything the ball is just so perfect that he has to just put his foot in and the ball bounces off his foot into the goal and I think that’s perfect and yeah

I think naam texted me NE Manu texted me and said that ball is incredible I said yeah of course it is but kdb so good that I expect him to be able to do that I don’t know if he could do for example

Like 10 in a row or 20 in a row exactly like that but it turned out for something that they only trained the day before and stone dead after the game we only we we trained we had three or four yeah yeah but I believe him I don’t know

Why he would not have said the truth so I really believe in it’s something they saw against Forest anyway so it was only the weekend before so I I I I fully believe him when he said that that they tried it and I think there’s something

With so okay m is very naive 100% And I think there’s a case to very old school having someone at the near post at the near post proper near post and not at the angle of the sixy box where Mista ra but put him on the post and that goal

Never happens okay yeah nobody does that anymore yeah gr up there was always one of the near post one literally by the post near post and far post there’s a reason why clubs don’t do that anymore yeah but then because you take somebody out of mar that opens up for

You so s with the famous origi Trent goal where you know Barcelona fell asleep there was just the structure defensively was no all over the place and and I I don’t know what Darwin is doing he was not sure that he was zonal or manm marking it was not sure against

Florest I don’t think he’s very sure in in Liverpool’s defensive structure onset PC there very simply like it looked really cool it was tremendous amount of skill from De Brer for me defensively yeah this is on mallister if you want although you know he’s got AR’s big

Square body on him right yeah so maybe it’s a but this is on Darwin if you see Stones there’s no off sides on a corner kick right Darwin knows that yeah you see Stones who’s not a little man breaking towards the goal I expect you

To not be two steps behind him yeah yeah that’s you know like if he had if he had floated it in and Stones had headed it we would be destroying Darwin right now but if he focusing on this other yeah but if he’s Z Mar maista is the one ahead of Darwin

Then yeah that’s fine but for mist’s but sorry Z marking Darwin doesn’t have to follow Stones this is not how Z zonal marking you stay in your zone no no I understand how zonal marking I understand how zonal marking works but you can see when the delivery comes in

That it’s not floated up in the air and so it’s not going to be mallister heading the ball away right yeah yeah yeah so you can see that so you can see that the only way the ball gets through is on the ground he gets a big jump on

You so I think to some degree that’s has to very clever way from from from City’s point of view I think really credit from clever to not so clever ak’s back pass Darwin’s through Edison goes and takes him out in a really weird uncoordinated way which then means he’s injured which then means

Liverpool get a penalty which mallister converts and ederson is to come on and Stefan Ortega and his mustache come on um this is just an ederson brain fart I don’t know what’s most stupid the p or Edison well no if you do a pass like that when you know that you’re playing

Against DWI nunz if if gakpo had been the number nine for Liverpool he would not have right like read the game like Darwin this is what Darwin does so I was very disappointed by Edison this is not the first time that he does crazy things because you said

Unco the uncoordinated yeah I just think he thinks he can get the ball so he’s basically his body and his leg is like I’m going to kick the ball and instead he kicks Darwin because he’s so late and I’m thinking why are you even trying to

Play the ball go go towards Darwin stand him up yeah he’s not going to it’s completely like I just don’t understand for such a good goalkeeper but you’ve said before this season how average is been and for me this is a perfect example of it this was a terrible

Mistake from medison yeah when people make such Craven mistakes I don’t generally lump it into their judgment of their performances right unless it’s a lot because this to me seems so extreme I think it’s simply a case he had a lapse in concentration he switched off he had something that

Goes beyond you know said I I agree with you week to week I don’t think he’s been tremendous this season I don’t think he was tremendous last season frankly but this is just something that it happens you take on the chin uh we don’t have information now on how serious his

Injury is um I do think he’s a much better play goalkeeper than than Stefan Ora not that Ora is bad or anything no but yeah for sure think if it is a prolonged injury then I think this is going to have some some serious impact I

Mean I know AK is uh the the the defeat at Arsenal where he deflected Martinelli shot I know it’s not technically his fault but between that goal and the penalty it’s not it’s not it hasn’t been a great season in some of those big games by the way City against the top

Eight we’ve said that before five draws and and one win so far and one sorry five draws one defeat so far so in other words they’re not doing they’re not winning their head to- heads yeah no I’m just saying in those top top games it’s been top and we even

Mentioned theal coming up right so that’s um the next game yeah so yeah that that’s that’s when they win the first one there you go uh you and I both wax lyrical about all the um all the pressing and stuff like that and how well that was actually by

Liverpool I mean I gota say Darwin Nunes as you know I’m not a Darwin guy but the effort and the efficiency he gives you off the ball yeah L off sides but that’s another issue um offside yeah actually I want to hit the offside Point first right on my

Commentary somebody said like oh like he’s he’s off sides five times this game and erling Holland’s been off sides once all season right I remember Cherry HRI going off sides all the time I remember people in zagi going off sides all the time yeah you don’t want to be stupid

About it you want to read the last Defender and whatever but if you’re offsides this soften it’s because you’re playing on the shoulder of the last Defender and you’re gambling and you’re going quickly like that stat in isolation I don’t think means that much does it no I don’t think so unless it

Happens week in and week out and then in that case there’s a problem because your the the timing of your runs is just not good enough so you have to be more clever but in this game you have to say that the back three City worked so well

The line works so well just quick thing on the on the back three this is another game where we saw Ruben Diaz drop for a kanji and I kind of thought they went for the more mobile back three with with with a is this becoming a thing I don’t know

I I’ve said to I didn’t think that Ruben has been very good this season e like in some games this season maybe in in top games I was still surprised to see him bench I was I won’t lie I was surprised and and I wonder this is where you think you get

Into the the man management the hold that the coach has on the players the trust that the players have in him because Ruben Diaz to all right you know after rodri and kdb and the goalkeeper I’m the next automatic choice right I kind of feel like that’s that’s how it

Is felt yeah really up until this season big player and now aangi you know 100% I think you can’t drop Walker in a game like that because of against Diaz then I I can see why you want a left foot player there too sool was coming he was coming off in I don’t

Think guol is 100% fit no and I don’t think he’s better than I for a game like this so then it’s between aangi and and and if you want a more mobile player like you said to play in that in the mid middle of those three then I think it

Makes sense to have aangi and to be fair he did he did I thought he did really well in a game it can’t be easy to have Darwin all the time running at you and running and being in your face all the time it can’t be easy and to continue on

The pricing thing this was the best in the second half especially the best I’ve seen Liverpool price this season I thought they were just incredible to to a point where he was tiring to watch on television because of all those red shirt running everywhere at high intensity I think people underestimate

Not some I think the high price everybody can run a lot and there’s players who can do better do more than others of course but you can you can work on people’s Fitness and people running a lot it’s not so much that it’s just that imagine if you’re the

Opposition how difficult it must be to face a team like that because you know that again it’s not so much the running is the pressure that it puts on you mentally in the sense that every time you get the ball if you’re akenji Walker Diaz Edison stones and and Ry especially

That every touch has to be perfect that if you m touch if you misc control the ball if you mis plast misplaced the pass if one of your pass is overweight they will recover the ball high and you’ll be in trouble it and I think this is made possible

It’s training mentally but it’s made possible not just by the fitness but by the coordination of of the passing because yes it feels really intense and I agree with you tiring on television but there’s always specific triggers there’s always coordinated movements with it it’s not it’s not

Simply like you know you know I one of the stupid terms that has come up in this country the last couple years that I hear from xros he’s like hunting packs let’s huntting pack I’m like this is so stupid really hunt impacts like why don’t you just say

Press press high that the same thing right it’s the same thing right and you can watch it and you can see the triggers I thought saas not good on the ball clearly maybe not fully fit yet and stuff but I thought he was actually one of the keys to it together with ellot

And Diaz you know I was thinking like all right who was Liverpool’s best player I would have given it to Diaz if not for all the goals goal chances that he was unable to he missed so I gave it and I gave it to Dyke in the end because

I thought he was phenomenal and we need to talk that because we haven’t mentioned the large blonde Norwegian yet yeah he had the one-on-one um with Van dijk which ended up in a in a teame shot but he was still a shot he was still a shot but yeah

Stretching to get the shot off it’s a shot on target it’s still a shot you going to you didn’t think van DJ was magnificent in that game no no I thought he was great in the game surrounded by quansa Joo at left back Bradley who I thought played really well right back qu

Is well as well apart from one mistake I mean I know we’ve had we’ve had moments of criticism of van djk but this was a tremendous yeah it was amazing it was really really amazing really amazing and Highland was really disappointing I thought apart from a few touches there

And there the ball for dku before the post stuff like that but overall is just this is just not a game for him I think I think foden also one or two moments but then I I expect he has to score in the second half one1 yeah when when you get anointed the

Best player in the league you know it was almost like a curse and you know I almost wonder if kdb’s like wait a minute he’s not even one of the three best players on this team and now all of a sudden the coach the Gaff I know I’m

Not suggest maybe you’re right maybe maybe it’s a good points but I do Wonder right he’s not one of like we know how much you love rodri yeah he’ll take kdb ahead of him and I presume he’ll take Holland ahead of him right yeah so yeah I know I know I know

Um on the kdb thing we’ve seen this before and it’s funny and I don’t know because he always had that short hair and he’s got red hair and stuff and he always looks kind of nerdy right now that he’s gone for the shaggier look is he maybe just psychologically it seems

Like he’s a little more vocal and rebellious he does not like it’s not the first time we’ve seen it I mean 32 I and I and pep went over to talk to him during the game which I’ve never seen anything like this you don’t often see

That no people are saying like oh let’s not uh make it bigger than what it is okay tell me another manager in in like a big manager in a big team I’m not talking like some dude in League one or something right who after a substitution

In a game like this where there’s so much tension and pressure it’s one one you’re under the you’re under pressure you are dominated you go and sit down next to your player to have a little like like a little chat to con to confort him or something I’ve never seen

This happen ever and certainly not in Pep’s career yeah we’ve seen pep do unusual thing we’ve seen sitting down sitting down next to someone in a game uh I I don’t know if it was mind things I don’t know if the situation is more serious than actually happened than we

Actually know of maybe something was said and but felt he needed to intervene straight away um I I I I just don’t know how to read this because it seems so strange two guys who’ve worked together for so long yeah and in such a public sphere and obviously emotions are running high but

These guys are these guys are professional these guys are superstars not just because they’re good but because they control their emotions right or they Channel their emotions so do you think kdb could have said why did you take me off or do you think kdb was saying to pep there’s clearly a problem

Here look we can’t keep the ball up or we can’t you mean once pep sat down with him and they were having a conversation so already when he come off he he told him I guess the same thing that then they discussed again after because if

It’s if it’s something that kdb said to pep look I don’t understand why we can’t keep the ball and look so so and so is too wild I don’t know whatever tactical it is I’ve got no issue with it and pep sits down because he will learn something maybe from kdb’s observation

From the pitch if it’s kdb saying why do you take me off there’s 20 20 minut Mak it all about him then I’ve got slightly more of an issue because you can’t question your coach’s decision not at that time not yeah you’re right certainly not during that game and then

He comes and sit down next to you instead of like focusing on the pitch so this is what I would like to see but pep seems to be quite dismissive after this and yeah it’s okay we has happen I wonder if they’ve secretly promoted him to assistant coach because what’s his

Name is getting older juo yeah yeah yeah um all right we got to play the percentage game so despite the fact that Manchester City are in third place technically uh The Bookies have still have Manchester City as favorites to win the title yeah and guess what so do I okay am I crazy

No what did I tell you the other day producer Freddy or maybe P Freddy wasn’t there did I say something like 35 32 and 31 something like that I would keep it the same I just think that it’s still super tight and I would not have anybody

More than a few per ahead of the others too all right I have would you go I was very scientific I I did the postgame show with uh uh on YouTube with Y with yanish and uh and Donaldson and I went City 38% yeah um liver uh Arsenal

Liverpool I gave them both 31% okay that’s less than the last time we did this like two or three weeks ago right what for City yeah because they’ve gone down yeah yeah they they’re they’re in third place you know when when facts change opinions change that’s very true

But I still think it’s theirs it’s theirs to lose right and I still think the experience matters the quality matters the injuries for Liverpool because you know what oh it’s great there’s Muhammad Salah that’s not Muhammad Salah right that’s not the Muhammad Salah we know because he’s

Coming off an injury he’s not where he needs to be we don’t sa there there’s no there’s no Jones I don’t need to see gako again but if those other guys keep playing like that I’m going to have to see gako again right so I put those that’s without getting into Alexander

Arnold at the back who again if Bradley plays like that maybe I Alexander arold you lose a lot of move Tren him to Midfield though yeah there was a lot of Crea there was a time where he felt like Liverpool could only create by recovering the ball high in the

Attacking third which she’s not really sustainable you should be able to create chances in different ways you need to find room for Trent on the the pitch right uh wherever that is so I and and there’s no Allison either by the way yeah so all these things together

Whereas City don’t have any significant injuries greish will be back shortly so for me and Arsenal are a lot less experienced yeah to me these factors come together um and and to me they matter now Arsenal could be out of Europe by this time next week yeah maybe

That moves the needle a little bit but um anyway that’s those are my percentages Just