Midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain deservedly received the Man of the Match award as his Liverpool side simply blew away league leaders Manchester City, with the England international grabbing a goal and an assist to help the Reds to a dramatic 4-3 victory.
It was indeed the home side who started the brightest, and it was Oxlade-Chamberlain who found the opening goal after a powerful drive through the heart of the City midfield. The summer signing picked up the ball from forward Roberto Firmino from some way out, before surging towards the City goal and smashing a long-range, accurate effort into the bottom corner to give his side a one-goal lead.
When the away side found their way back into the tense affair through a Leroy Sane goal, it was once again Oxlade-Chamberlain who was hugely effective going forward for Liverpool as his inch-perfect through ball found Firmino, who shrugged off John Stones with ease before finishing coolly beyond Ederson to put the home side back in front. Two goals followed for either side in a dramatic second half, yet the Reds managed to see out their rivals with a result that sends them third in the table. Liverpool are now joint with Manchester United and Chelsea on 47 points, although the former play their game in hand with Stoke later this evening, with all three sitting 15 points behind the runaway leaders.
With 67 touches in the game and eight crosses – the most for Liverpool on both occasions – along with 31 completed passes from 39, three chances created and two out of two shots on target, the midfielder was hugely impressive under the lights at Anfield, much to the delight of both Jurgen Klopp and the jubilant home fans.
Liverpool have now scored 85 goals in all competitions this season, just seven short of the tally they managed in the whole of last season (92), and Oxlade-Chamberlain is now in his best scoring season in the Premier League, with several important games still remaining.
The Reds now travel to Swansea on Monday night as they continue their pursuit of Manchester City, before taking on West Brom in an important FA Cup 4th Round tie some days later. Oxlade-Chamberlain will once again be central to Liverpool’s attacking play as they continue to deal with the loss of playmaker Philippe Coutinho, yet considering their phenomenal display against Pep Guardiola’s side, perhaps they needn’t worry.
