Liverpool must be bold, brave and fearless…sit back and City will blitz them
Jurgen Klopp's men go into Champions League quarter-final second-leg with a 3-0 lead but cannot afford to sit back
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FOR eight months they scared the life out of opponents so much that plenty were beaten even before kick-off.
The prospect of taking on the best team in the Premier League had some buckling as they walked out of the tunnel.
It has always been the way with the top sides. Manchester United had that effect. So, too, did Arsenal at times.
This season the fear factor has been with those trying to stop Manchester City’s relentless march.
Until a week ago, that is.
Two defeats, six goals conceded and all of a sudden there’s a fallibility about Pep Guardiola’s side which no one expected.
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It’s why Liverpool will go to the Etihad tonight hot favourites to finish the job in their Champions League second leg.
It is why I expect Jurgen Klopp’s men to be in Friday’s semi-final draw... as long as they are bold, brave and fearless.
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I know that’s a lot easier to say than do, especially with what is at stake. And there is no doubt City have the talent to score the goals.
What Liverpool can’t afford to do is sit off, try to contain and hold what they have after last week’s 3-0 win at Anfield.
They must have the courage to take them on again, like they did in the first leg.
It’s what the few sides which have enjoyed any success against City this season have done, because you CAN get at them and you CAN rattle them.
Liverpool did it at Anfield. United did it in the second half of that incredible Manchester derby on Saturday.
Beyond that, Bristol City did the same in the League Cup and so did Wigan — although I admit they also rode their luck hugely at times — in the FA Cup.
Which is why, incidentally, Lee Johnson and Paul Cook should certainly be given a chance to manage at a far higher level.
That’s another story. But what they all did, though, was show City — for all their brilliance going forward — do have a vulnerable side.
Liverpool exposed it ruthlessly with their pace. Not for the first time, either.
They did so in their 4-3 Premier League win at Anfield and, even though they lost 5-0 at the Etihad back in September, there were even patches before Sadio Mane was sent off when they tore City apart.
The big thing for Liverpool is they have to show they can manage a game — and that’s something in which they have fallen short on occasions.
If they go to Manchester to defend, to try and strangle the life out of City, it could all go horribly wrong... and they would deserve it as well.
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But just as Pep’s team have shown they are vulnerable at the back, we’ve known that about Liverpool for months.
They have improved in that area recently but you still could not back them with any great confidence to keep out City for the whole game.
A week ago you certainly wouldn’t have put a penny on City not managing a shot on goal for the entire 90 minutes.
Equally so, you wouldn’t stick anything on them not finding a way through at least once tonight, either.
If the City we saw in the first half of Saturday’s derby turn up, I can easily see them scoring a couple before the break against Liverpool as well. And then it really is game on.
That’s what all the neutrals would love, because it would make for a real thriller. Yet I reckon Liverpool will score as well.
So for me, it’s City to get in front, get the place rocking... and Liverpool to nick at least one and see the job through.
Even if there are a few hairy moments before it’s done.