Man City 1-4 Liverpool: Five talking points from the Etihad

Liverpool stunned Manchester City on Saturday Night Football.

A first-half blitz saw them storm into a 3-0 lead, with Philippe Coutinho, Roberto Firmino and an Eliaquim Mangala own goal putting the visitors in charge. 

Sergio Aguero pulled one back for Man City just before half-time but a Martin Skrtel strike put the result beyond doubt. 

Here, we round up five talking points from the game...

Brilliant Coutinho

"Philippe Coutinho was out of this world."

Jamie Redknapp heaped praise on Liverpool's Brazilian playmaker after his man of the match display at Man City. Coutinho scored one, set up another and was a thorn in the hosts' side all evening. It's become a familiar feeling for Man City defenders, too - Coutinho has scored more goals against them than any other Premier League team (four).

However, while Coutinho has grabbed headlines with superb long-range strikes against the likes of Stoke and Chelsea this season, it would have been his link-up play with fellow forwards Roberto Firmino and Adam Lallana which would have delighted Jurgen Klopp.

"Liverpool [were] very bright on the break," Frank Lampard told Sky Sports. "When Liverpool have runners like that you can't stop them. They've been playing one-twos around the box and Man City haven't been able to deal with it. It's been like watching the same thing happen over and over again."

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Man City's major problems

After watching his former side crash to defeat, Lampard outlined four key problems facing Manchester City which could potentially damage their title challenge.

"When Vincent Kompany doesn't play, they struggle at the back," he said. "Yaya Toure is a massive player for the club but when he's not at his best I think he's a problem for them - do you play him in a two or advanced?

"David Silva's not fit, he's massive for them. And there's an over-reliance on Aguero - he's one of the best strikers in the world but when he's not there you wonder where they can make up the points.

"If they can sort two or three of those issues out they'll be alright because they have such quality there and I still fancy them to win the league. But if they don't, they are going to have days like this again."

Sterling suffers

Raheem Sterling's switch from Liverpool to Manchester City dominated the back pages throughout the summer but the £49m man was unable to make his mark against his former club at the Etihad on Saturday.

Two blocked shots and just the one pass leading to an effort from a team-mate were the sum of his efforts. But that wasn't for the want of trying. No player from either side made more sprints than Sterling (60). He also clocked the fastest speed of any player on the field (33.97 km/hr).

However, such a heavy defeat to his old employers will be a tough blow to take. This was supposed to be the moment Sterling showed Liverpool fans why he'd made his move. Instead, he must re-focus on helping his new team-mates bounce back from a potentially damaging defeat.

Liverpool outwork their hosts

It's become a familiar statistic to roll out: how much did Liverpool out-run their opponents? (Answer: 110.36km to 108.46km). But the speed and precision with which Liverpool pressed Man City on Saturday was remarkable.

"City were nowhere near their best, that was apparent after the first 10 minutes. They were off the pace," said Lampard. "With Liverpool, you had the feeling Jurgen Klopp had wound them all up in the dressing room and then let them all go. They were flying into the press."

It was a mentality which ran throughout the team. While the hard work on show from the likes of midfield engines Lucas Leiva and James Milner has come to be expected, the likes of Firmino and Lallana have also, unquestionably, bought into Klopp's way.

Man City 1-4 Liverpool - report

Read our match report from the Etihad

For Liverpool, only Alberto Moreno and Lucas won the ball back more times than Firmino (eight), while only centre-backs Martin Skrtel and Dejan Lovren made more clearances than Lallana. The former Southampton forward also ran further than any other Liverpool player bar Lucas and Milner and made more sprints (53) than any other Reds player.

"There are a few luxury players in that Liverpool team: Firmino, Coutinho, Lallana - but make no mistake they worked harder than anybody to get the ball back," said Redknapp. "They won so many balls back. They won it high up the pitch and that allows the back four to push up and then the flair players can start to play."   

Klopp was impressed. "You cannot win against a team like Man City without this [passion]," he told Sky Sports. "We tried to close the spaces where we want to play, we pressed high and I think the crowd was nervous when they couldn't build up their play like they want. That's the first step in the game."

Liverpool on the charge?

Liverpool are now six points off the top four. Their next six Premier League games are Swansea (h), Newcastle (a), West Brom (h), Watford (a), Leicester (h) and Sunderland (a). It's time, says Redknapp, for the Reds to go on a run.

"They have to sort out their home form - they've only won two at home so far this season," he said. "They should go on a run. It's exciting times."

Liverpool have scored as many goals in their last two away Premier League games (seven) as they managed in their 11 before that. With Daniel Sturridge nearing a return, Lampard says the future seems bright.

"They've got good quality, they've got people coming back on the bench with fantastic quality and they're going in the right direction," he said.