Around the 35th minute of Manchester City’s Premier League match against Liverpool at Anfield, they were awarded a free-kick about 35 yards from the goal. The deficit was still narrow, just the one goal. City, instead of attacking the box, played a short routine to Bernardo Silva, who dribbled to the right, then played a short pass, indulged in some more intricate passing, sent the ball back to the left wing—and eventually Liverpool tackled City out of possession.
Pep Guardiola had a night to remember. Some of his expressions will be framed in Premier League promos, others into memes. His expression after this free-kick routine was worth watching on loop. City hadn’t had a shot on the Liverpool goal thus far, and Guardiola could not believe what he was watching.
City did a lot of things you expect them to. They walked off at half-time with 46% possession, and ended the game having more possession than Liverpool. The second half was almost entirely played at their tempo. Once Jeremy Doku came on, they even threatened to seize the game. Off-the-ball, they ran hard and made their tackles.
What one can’t account for is the mistakes, the elementary slips that leave everyone scratching their heads, not least their coach.
