Man City 0-2 Liverpool player ratings: Salah wins Egyptian showdown as Reds push towards championship glory
Although there is still a lot of football to be played, Liverpool‘s pursuit of a 20th league title feels almost inevitable after they forcibly grabbed the Premier League torch from defending champions Manchester City with a commanding 2-0 victory at the Etihad this evening.
The latest showdown was billed as a clash between two Egyptian internationals: the master, Mohamed Salah, and the apprentice, Omar Marmoush. However, despite the expectations, very few backed City’s latest forward recruit, as Salah, the league’s most valuable player, inspired another victory for the Reds, leaving them 11 points clear of second-place Arsenal, albeit having played one game more.
FT: Man City 0-2 Liverpool
Liverpool go 11 points clear at the top of the Premier League, and 20 points clear of Manchester City…#MCILIV | @bet365 | #Ad pic.twitter.com/9BZEkfJ9Uf
— Squawka Live (@Squawka_Live) February 23, 2025
Salah and Dominik Szoboszlai were the winning duo. Szoboszlai created Salah’s opener, and Salah returned the favour by assisting the Hungarian international for his goal. In doing so, he became the first player in Premier League history to score and assist in both games against the reigning champions in a season.
A much-changed City team, missing their own goalscoring talisman, Erling Haaland, didn’t play poorly, but they lacked the cutting edge. The Reds’ organisation and head coach Arne Slot’s clever tactical game plan ensured another win on the road, putting them on track to equal Manchester United as the most successful league side in the history of the English top flight.
Man City player ratings
Ederson: 49%
Another game without a clean sheet, making only two saves—one of which was inside the box. Ederson’s long passing accuracy stood at 50%, frequently leaving his teammates in difficult positions. Unfortunately, he did not replicate last weekend’s assist.
Josko Gvardiol: 58%
Usually the one to get City out of a tricky situation, even Gvardiol struggled today. He did win three aerial duels and made three clearances, which illustrates just how much he was on the back foot. Progressing the ball also proved difficult for him, as he successfully completed only two of three attempted take-ons.
Nathan Aké: 53%
Had the unfortunate deflection that broke the deadlock, but the Dutch international somewhat redeemed himself through his attacking contributions with 10 successful passes into the final third.
Abdukodir Khusanov: 66%
This wasn’t as disastrous as his Premier League debut, with Khusanov producing a last-man tackle, winning possession four times in the defensive third, and registering an impressive 99% retention rate.
Rico Lewis: 58%
Lewis couldn’t impact the game as he usually does by moving into City’s midfield. It wouldn’t have been wise to leave Diaz alone on Liverpool’s left flank. Although he won possession three times in the defensive third, this was one of his more forgettable performances.
Nico González: 59%
Gonzalez received praise after his last Premier League match, but this performance was more challenging, especially after Liverpool took control. He won possession four times in the middle third and once more in the final third. He was also the only other City player, besides Doku, to successfully make a pass into the penalty area.
Kevin De Bruyne: 62%
No longer the De Bruyne of old, the Belgian playmaker was rarely a significant presence in today’s match. He managed only one wayward shot off target from two attempts, neither of which hit the goal. He created two scoring opportunities, but neither could be classified as ‘big chances.’ Additionally, he completed just one of his two attempted take-ons.
Jérémy Doku: 64%
The issue with Doku today was his end product. He had no trouble getting past Alexander-Arnold, successfully dribbling past him several times. However, he only created two scoring opportunities, and neither were considered a ‘big chance’, after completing 13 of 19 attempted take-ons. In that sense, getting past the Reds defence but failing to produce more is a disappointing return.
Phil Foden: 50%
Although he had two shots on target from three attempts, Foden’s expected goals (xG) score was a modest 0.1. This suggests that his attempts were not truly threatening to Alisson in the Liverpool goal. While his five layoff passes were encouraging, they did not create opportunities for City to breach the away team’s defensive line.
Savinho: 61%
Savinho created four chances today, his second most in a Premier League game this season (five against Southampton in October). However, none of these chances would be classified as ‘big chances.’
Omar Marmoush: 66%
Had the ball in the back of the net, but he was judged to be marginally offside. Marmoush was initially positioned as City’s ‘false nine’ in the absence of Erling Haaland. However, he shifted to play in central midfield alongside Kevin De Bruyne, while Foden took the lead in attacking.
Liverpool player ratings
Alisson: 81%
He never seemed to be in trouble, as City rarely attempted to shoot at his goal. That said, his five total saves included two from inside the box. His long passing accuracy of 12.5% should have been capitalised on by the hosts, which further illustrates their disorganisation.
Andy Robertson: 60%
This was a more subdued performance from Robertson, who normally flies down Liverpool’s left-hand side. The veteran full-back nevertheless contributed defensively through four clearances and one blocked cross. He also won another tackle.
Virgil van Dijk: 71%
Another strong performance from the Dutch giant, who recorded three blocked shots and was confident in possession. Van Dijk’s retention rate of 93.6% was the highest among Liverpool’s starters.
Ibrahima Konaté: 67%
The busier of Liverpool’s central defenders was Konate, who made numerous key interventions. He also successfully initiated two offside traps.
Trent Alexander-Arnold: 63%
Thoroughly examined by Doku from the start. Alexander-Arnold was dribbled past by the Belgian winger four times before 20 minutes had even elapsed. He ultimately lost 11 challenges, three more than all of his Liverpool teammates combined. On a slightly positive note, Alexander-Arnold won possession six times in the defensive third and completed five passes into the final third, one of which led to Liverpool’s second goal.
Alexis Mac Allister: 57%
Mac Allister completed more successful passes into the penalty area and entries into the penalty area than any other Liverpool player; however, he was dribbled past on two occasions, which limited his rating from being any higher.
Ryan Gravenberch: 64%
No player in Red had more interceptions that led to retained possession than Gravenberch. He also achieved a 100% success rate for take-ons. Additionally, only Luis Diaz won possession more often in the middle third, while only Alexander-Arnold completed more passes into the final third.
Curtis Jones: 57%
Jones put in another solid performance, frequently playing as one of two deep-lying forwards for Liverpool, as Slot chose a 4-2-2-2 formation. Unfortunately, Jones had a goal disallowed because Szoboszlai was deemed offside in the buildup.
Dominik Szoboszlai: 69%
He had Liverpool’s first real effort on goal before providing the pass for Salah’s opener. However, it didn’t count as a ‘big chance created’ since the Egyptian still had some work to do, and the goal took a fortunate deflection off Nathan Ake, but Szoboszlai before the stroke of half-time doubled their lead with a neat finish.
Mohamed Salah: 77%
For the eighth consecutive game, Salah scored a goal for Liverpool with his effort in the 14th minute, a well-worked corner that undoubtedly originated from their training sessions. He returned the favour, marking the 11th occasion this season in which he has scored and assisted in the same Premier League game, which is the most by a player in a single season in one of Europe’s big five leagues since Lionel Messi for Barcelona in 2014/15 (11).
Luis Díaz: 43%
He again led the line and ended his outing with one shot on goal, which, although on target, is disappointing considering he registered six touches in the opposition box. Diaz was also caught offside once.
How do Squawka player ratings work?
Squawka’s new player rating system is wholly stats-based. Player scores are based on the numbers they put up across a range of on-ball events, from goals scored to tackles won.
We tailored each score to the players’ respective positions using extensive research and expertise. For example, forwards are rated on metrics like shots on target, touches in the opposition box, and big chances created. Meanwhile, centre-backs are rewarded for winning aerial duels, making blocks, successful long-range passes, etc.
