For a moment, as the ball dropped to Manchester City midfielder Fernandinho in the Liverpool box deep into injury time, it seemed as though an unlikely comeback was on. But the Brazilian’s shot was deflected over the bar by Virgil van Dijk and Liverpool’s 3–2 lead in the FA Cup semifinal was preserved. Jürgen Klopp’s side goes on to the final, where it will meet either Chelsea or Crystal Palace, its dreams of a double still alive.
But Liverpool and City are probably the best two club sides in the world at the moment, and theirs has become such a rivalry that matches between them are not just about that game, but reflect on previous matches and help create the environment for the future. After last week’s 2–2 draw in the league, City still holds a one-point lead in the Premier League title race, while if both win their semifinals, they will meet for a fourth time this season in the Champions League final. Liverpool has already won the League Cup and becomes only the 11th side ever to reach both domestic Cup finals in the same season.
No manager, over any significant time frame, has such a successful record against Pep Guardiola as Klopp, who has won 10 of 24 meetings, losing eight. That statistic though does not quite tell the full story of their relationship. Klopp had not won any of the previous five meetings, two of which were lost heavily. In both 2–2 draws in the league this season, City had the better of the first half without taking advantage. The sense was that, despite Liverpool’s squad improving, Guardiola had begun to get the better of their personal battle.
This was an emphatic rejoinder: 3–2 did not represent Liverpool’s domination; this time it was the turn of Klopp’s side to dominate the first half and then find itself under pressure later on. The one caveat would be that this was far from City’s strongest side with Kevin De Bruyne, İlkay Gündoğan, Rodri, Aymeric Laporte and Riyad Mahrez all left on the bench—a result of a grueling fortnight for City in which it overcame Atlético Madrid over two legs as well as facing Liverpool. Liverpool may point out that it also won a Champions League quarterfinal in that time, but it led 3–1 after the first leg against Benfica, which is, anyway, not such a physical test as Atlético.
