With nine minutes left in this breathtaking 1-1, an incredibly complex 1-1, a 1-1 draw for the ages, Luis Díaz headed towards the left touchline. This is a football player who, from the first minute to the last minute, always seems to be in the process of escaping a burning building, with no cruise adjustments or echo equipment, always going straight into Madness Mode.
With a matador-like pull-back, Díaz cut inside Kyle Walker, evaded Rodri, raced towards the six-yard box, forced a corner and collapsed on the grass, his muscles screaming with lactic acid, shouting to the crowd from his seat. The man, who could no longer walk at that moment, was still there trying to struggle all day long.
Relating to: Doku was on both sides as Liverpool and Manchester City shared the spoils
Díaz’s performance seemed to capture the tone and texture of this play, the constant conflict between energy and control. Manchester City had dominated the first half, looking like a team from a more advanced sporting galaxy, roaming the pitch in spacesuits, equipped with superior technology, a firmer grasp of logic, greater access to teleportation devices.
After the break it was Liverpool’s turn to apply more destructive energy. In that period, Díaz missed at least three clear scoring chances. He also never stopped, settled down, or managed to tear himself away from the show.
In fact, no one stopped at any point here. And all of this had a rare beauty. Elite sport is living in pain, fear and nerves most of the time. Football often involves acrimony and anger. What was most striking here was how much the players enjoyed this game.
It felt like a reminder that, for 90 minutes, a 1-1 draw retains the capacity to express so much drama, so many moments of shifting energy. The Premier League may face its own hidden horizon, the withdrawal of powers from the scene, looming court dates and the opposing gravity of its own economic weight. Who knows how long this thing will last in this form? But it still remains a sensational sports league that lives in the golden age of Hollywood.
By the end of the game, it made sense that the most influential player on the field was probably Alexis Mac Allister, because Mac Allister had spent the first half snitching, stalking, scouting and chasing the blue jerseys.
Anfield was a damp and cold place at kick-off, on one of those days when the top of the stand was like a headland overlooking the Irish sea. That very baroque musical brocade was there at kick-off; signs, banners and sheets, a pageantry of names, history, emotions, forebodings and magic.
It’s all part of the attempt to create a narrative, a way to win. The truth is, this City team is a winning machine for generations. Here they blasted Liverpool at the start, making the pitch look small, cutting off angles, making every pass or change of direction a puzzle to be solved.
Relating to: Jurgen Klopp says Liverpool can ‘go far’ in title race
For a long time, John Stones was the outstanding player on the pitch, these days not only moonlighting as a midfielder but also a key presence, receiving the ball on the half-turn, setting the tempo, breaking up play and controlling it with a spidery Xavi. He scored the opening goal with an extremely well-executed corner routine. At the time, the Stones were a cold, clear blue beam of light that Liverpool struggled to create static, friction and sparks.
It took a minute of the second half for the game to change. Darwin Núñez played an outstanding game here. At one point he had as many offsides (five) as there were passes completed. At intervals he would turn around like a rebellious labrador, disrupt dinner service, trample your Lego set, it almost looked like he wasn’t playing football at all, it was more of a parkour exercise of sorts. But he was there to bring down Nathan Aké’s weak back pass and win the penalty that made it 1-1.
Mac Allister buried the shot into the top corner. And Mac Allister was excellent in the second half. He was still snitching and chattering, never able to dominate the game or control the tempo, because in that half the game seemed to be a fugitive entity in itself, outside the players.
-
Download the Guardian app from the iOS App Store on iPhone or the Google Play store on Android by searching for ‘The Guardian’.
-
If you already have the Guardian app, make sure you’re on the latest version.
-
In the Guardian app, tap the Menu button at the bottom right, then go to Settings (gear icon) and then Notifications.
-
Turn on sports notifications.
Mac Allister grew as the season progressed. An unconventional elite midfielder. He is not fast, tall or graceful or overtly aristocratic in his own way, but he is gifted with brilliant playing intelligence, fearlessness and the ability to spot a transit, read the movements of the planets orbiting him. In the end he had four shots on goal, four tackles, a goal and endless bruising clashes on his behalf.
For a while Anfield threatened to pulse with its old winning energy, the Kop end acting like a funnel of noise. The city was too strong to bend. They may have won in the end. It must be said that they did all this while playing with nine outfielders; Once again contained by top-notch defenders in a big game, Erling Haaland had almost zero impact on the game. One day he will turn one of these events for City. On days like these, for all their spectacular numbers, it can feel like watching a competition winner play up front for the world champions, just another variation on a great game.