Liverpool 2-2 Man City: Player ratings as title favourites play out entertaining draw

Liverpool and Manchester City played out a 2-2 Premier League draw on Sunday, with all four goals coming in a scintillating second half.

After a quiet first period the game burst into life with Phil Foden, Kevin De Bruyne, Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah all netting in an absorbing 45 minutes. The result does neither side any good with Chelsea remaining top of the table following their 3-1 win over Southampton on Saturday.

The game got off to a frenetic start but City soon took control of proceedings and began to make life very difficult for their opponents. Clear-cut chances were at a premium, though. The closest either side came was when Phil Foden broke free in the box, but only managed to head Kevin De Bruyne's excellent cross well wide.

The game opened up after the break and inside five minutes Diogo Jota swivelled on the edge of the box and forced a fine save out of Alisson. Liverpool continued to click into gear in the second half and took the lead just before the hour mark with a lightning counter-attack.

Mohamed Salah slipped past Joao Cancelo and drove forward before playing in Sadio Mane, who dinked the ball over Ederson to make it 1-0.

10 minutes later, City grabbed an equaliser. Phil Foden was the scorer, taken Gabriel Jesus' pass perfectly before reversing his finish to leave Alisson with no chance. Soon after, James Milner somehow escaped a second yellow card, leading Pep Guardiola to erupt on the sideline.

On the pitch, Salah then stole the show. He turned both Bernardo Silva and Aymeric Laporte inside out before smashing home an unstoppable effort to put the Reds in pole position.

There was further drama to come when De Bruyne's fierce effort from outside the box flew in via a sizable Joel Matip deflection. Liverpool then squandered another great chance to win it at the end, with Rodri producing a match-saving tackle to deny Fabinho a tap-in.

Here are you player ratings for both side from Anfield...

Liverpool player ratings

1. Goalkeeper & defenders

Alisson (GK) - 5/10 - Made an error in the first half that could have easily proved fatal. Produced some good saves, though.

James Milner (RB) - 4/10 - Showed his age at times, particularly when Foden motored past him just after half time and he committed an assault on the youngster. Should have been sent off. Pretty weird he wasn't.

Joel Matip (CB) - 5/10 - A couple of sloppy moments but he did his best to keep City at bay early on. So unlucky for the second goal.

Virgil van Dijk (CB) - 6/10 - Looked a bit uneasy early on but settled down and impressed more and more as things progressed.

Andrew Robertson (LB) - 6/10 - Was not able to bomb forward like we know he can. Did well defensively, though, showing plenty of aggression.

2. Midfielders

Jordan Henderson (CM) - 5/10 - Played an important defensive role. His passing was pretty poor, however.

Fabinho (CM) - 5/10 - First half very much passed him by. Looked more like his controlled but destructive self afterwards. Missed a huge chance in the dying embers.

Curtis Jones (CM) - 5/10 - Was neat and tidy when he got the ball but was not the most influential.

3. Forwards

Mohamed Salah (RW) - 8/10 - Created the first goal with a terrific piece of skill and run forward. His second was unbelievably good. What a player.

Diogo Jota (ST) - 6/10 - Struggled to get into the game at first, but livened up after the break - before he was subbed.

Sadio Mane (LW) - 7/10 - Took his goal so, so well. Also showed great perseverance to keep making the run, despite his lack of success early on.

4. Substitutes

Roberto Firmino - 5/10 - Little to report.

Joe Gomez - 5/10 - Slack marking in the build-up to the equaliser.

Man City player ratings

5. Goalkeeper & defenders

Ederson (GK) - 4/10 - Could not prevent Mane chipping over him. Might have done better for both goals in fact. Nearly punished for a horrific error at the end.

Kyle Walker (RB) - 6/10 - Solid and dependable, as is mostly the case these days.

Ruben Dias (CB) - 5/10 - Made one poor error in the first half and received a yellow for hauling Diogo Jota down. Never looked entirely comfortable.

Aymeric Laporte (CB) - 5/10 - Looked calm and composed in possession. People will only remember Salah putting him on his arse, though.

Joao Cancelo (LB) - 5/10 - Some excellent line-breaking passes from left-back, but beaten far too easily by Salah for the first goal.

6. Midfielders

Bernardo Silva (CM) - 6/10 - A couple of seriously impressive moments. So good on the ball. Faded towards the end.

Rodri (CM) - 7/10 - Helped City dominate possession early on, but struggled when Liverpool sorted their press out in the second half. World class tackle to deny Fabinho a winner at the death.

Kevin De Bruyne (CM) - 6/10 - Created a few chances for his team but nowhere near his best. Decisive at the end when his effort deflected in off Matip.

7. Forwards

Gabriel Jesus (RW) - 5/10 - Not as eye-catching as he has been recently. Decision-making was an issue.

Jack Grealish (ST) - 5/10 - A few bright sparks but largely looked lost in a unfamiliar role. Only Pep Guardiola would pay £100m for a player and then field him out of position.

Phil Foden (LW) - 8/10 - Threatened with pace and trickery early on, causing Milner big issues. Went on to score a terrific goal and looked excellent throughout.

8. Substitutes

Raheem Sterling - 5/10 - Lacked that killer instinct.