OPINION
Liverpool secured a point when they drew 0-0 with Manchester City at Anfield on Sunday and there were plenty of talking points to take away from the game.
Riyad Mahrez missed a penalty in the 85th minute after Virgil Van Dijk fouled in the penalty area, but Reds goalkeeper Alisson managed to get a finger tip to send the ball way over the bar.
Liverpool had a few opportunities to secure all three points, but Manchester City stood firm to ensure that they had a share of the spoils.
Both sides are still unbeaten this season after this stalemate, and are now level on 20 points with the likes of Chelsea at the summit of the Premier League table.
Live 4 Liverpool has rounded up three things learned about Liverpool after their draw against Manchester City:
Keita looked off the pace and should be axed
It is safe to say that the £120,000-a-week [Spotrac] player was absolutely hopeless in this match. After coming on early in the first half due to a suspected injury from James Milner, he looked way off the pace for the rest of the clash.
Jurgen Klopp must not be afraid to wield the axe on one of his summer signings, as he definitely does not deserve a spot in the first team based on this performance. It was surprising that he was brought on in the first place, especially as he was injured in the Champions League clash with Napoli – Xherdan Shaqiri would have been a much better option in such a crucial clash.
The 23-year-old did not look like he wanted to be on the pitch, and he did not look as if he had any positive contribution on the game whatsoever. A lot more is expected from a player of Keita’s talent – as he looked a complete shadow of the player that shone at the start of the season.
Liverpool did not take their chances properly
There may not have been a flurry of chances from either side in this showdown, but the few that were presented to Liverpool were wasted entirely. Mo Salah had a chance to prove his doubters wrong, but he fluffed his lines at the most crucial of moments in this match, and that simply is not good enough.
The players know the importance of this match – they were playing the current Premier League champions after all. None of them seemed to recognise this when they were in front of goal and that just cannot happen in games that could ultimately decides who is victorious at the end of the season.
Fluffing your lines once is acceptable, but when it is more than once, then there is a problem.
Lovren shone in the defence
It was rather bizarre to see Dejan Lovren start in the centre of the defence alongside Virgil van Dijk, as we usually see Joe Gomez partnered with the Dutchman. Gomez was pushed to the right, but all in all, Lovren took his chance well and really shone in his role on Sunday.
He has certainly made a case for more first team starts after this performance and he has definitely caused Jurgen Klopp to have a selection headache. Many have raved about the Gomez and Van Dijk partnership, but the fact that Lovren is also available shows just how much depth Liverpool have in most areas of the pitch.
Defence is one area that they have been shaky in the past, but that has definitely now been put behind them – and Lovren has only gone to solidfy just how many top-quality options Klopp has after this showing.
