December 23, (THEWILL) – Manchester City defeated EFL defending champions, Liverpool 3-2 to advance to the quarter-finals on the strength of goals from Erling Haaland, Riyad Mahrez and Nathan Ake, as playmaker, Kevin De Bruyne, put on a clinic of his own.
In their first match following the World Cup break, the two Premiership heavyweights put up a thriller at the Etihad Stadium, from which the current English Premier League champions rightfully prevailed.
In the first half of a thrilling match on Thursday, Fabio Carvalho tied the score after Haaland had given the hosts the lead in the 10th minute, scoring his 23rd goal in all competitions for the Blue side of Manchester.
At the beginning of the second half of the game, Mahrez gave City the lead again, only for Mohamed Salah, through a Darwin Nunez assist, to quickly equalise as soon as the ball was back in play, with his 15th goal of the season.
Unfortunately, Jurgen Klopp’s team was unable to respond for a third time, after the excellent De Bruyne supplied Nathan Ake with his second assist of the game, and the Reds fell to City for the first time in six games. Action returns to the EPL on Boxing Day at Villa Park when Liverpool takes on Aston Villa while on December 28, City will clash with Leeds.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
