Man City turn on the title-winning machine at Brighton
There may yet be a vulnerability that others will exploit in Manchester City’s last five Premier League games of this title race, although it should be said that on this occasion Roberto De Zerbi, one of the Pep Guardiola disciples of the era, never got close to finding it.
The champions roll on while others fall away. City are just five wins away from a sixth Premier League title in seven years and a level of pre-eminence in the English game that none have matched. That epic Premier League legal battle awaits but in the meantime one has to say that they are making the football part look very easy. The five-month anniversary of their last defeat in any competition falls a week on Monday, by which time they may be three wins or less from that tenth league title.
De Zerbi has some good ideas about the game, and plenty as to how he might defeat City although none of them lasted 30 minutes at the Amex. It was a quiet stadium at half-time as the home side went off three goals behind, with what noise there was saved for expressing dismay at Jarred Gillett. The Australian referee had given City a dubious free-kick for Phil Foden’s first goal, and later Gillett and his VAR team decided a collision between Nathan Ake and Joao Pedro was not a penalty.
In the end, those details were relegated to the margins as City flicked on the machine again and passed Brighton into oblivion. At the sharp edge of those long possession sequences were Foden and Kevin de Bruyne, with two goals for the Englishman and the first ever headed goal of the latter’s career. Two virtuosos of the City side with an understanding of the game, its rhythm and its opportunities, that is just beyond the grasp of the rest.
This was all without Erling Haaland again, whom Guardiola said with a shrug may be back for the trip to Nottingham Forest on Sunday, or may not. The great Norse goal-machine feels better, Guardiola said, and yet whether he returns or not does not yet seem as consequential as it might. City appear to be fine without him and Julian Alvarez, Haaland’s understudy, scored the fourth in the second half.
As for the bigger title picture, Guardiola was polite about Liverpool’s collapse at Goodison Park the previous night and declared it just one of those things that happen in football – although not, it seems, to City.
They were up against a Brighton team who now have one win in nine Premier League games, and for whom confidence is evidently in short supply – along with the problem of many injury absentees. De Zerbi stuck to what he said was the team’s “DNA and characteristics”, which was a version of City’s passing football. That it felt impossible at times, with the young players on the pitch and the calibre of the team against them, was no reason, he said, to abandon it.
He started for the first time with the Argentine teenager Valentin Barco, a promising left-back who nevertheless, De Zerbi said, was responsible for two of City’s goals. Certainly the 19-year-old was left with the ball in the 34th minute in a passing sequence in the home penalty area that seemed designed to end with Brighton losing possession. That was the outcome and the third City goal emphatically ended any possible chance of jeopardy in the result.
For Brighton there was also a start for the 20-year-old Cameroonian midfielder Carlos Baleba, and a second half for substitute Odel Offiah, 21, nephew of the rugby league great Martin. This was just how it has to be, shrugged De Zerbi, at a club which has to develop young players and operate without the squad depth of others. This will be the future of the club, he said, “with me or without me – I don’t know – but it will be the crucial part of Brighton.”
Brighton had felt aggrieved with the award of the free-kick for the second goal, Foden’s first, which saw the little ghost of a playmaker simply slip over just outside the home area. There had been a nibble at his ankles a few paces earlier from Joel Veltman but when Foden went down he did so of his own volition. It was with a sense of inevitability for the home crowd that Foden’s strike from the free-kick flicked off Pascal Gross and past Jason Steele.
By the end De Zerbi was generous enough not to try to make it about Gillett. The truth was that Brighton could not get near the levels of City’s possession and in particular Foden and De Bruyne, despite the measures taken to deal with both of them. Jakub Moder followed De Bruyne wherever he went. Jan Paul Van Hecke tried to do something similar with Foden. Although when the cross from Kyle Walker on the right came on 17 minutes, De Bruyne had just disappeared into a pocket of space that had not been there moments earlier.
His goal, a loopy header which he generated the momentum for by flinging himself at full length was not unlike Robin Van Persie’s great header for Holland against Spain at the 2014 World Cup finals. Not quite as spectacular but certainly unusual. Shortly afterwards, Barco was gently relieved of the ball by Bernardo Silva and Foden stroked it past Steele.
The fourth confounded the usual Guardiola playbook. A long ball from Ederson and Kyle Walker ran in behind down the right channel, got past Barco’s challenge and reached the ball before Steele. He hooked it back to Alvarez for his first goal in the Premier League since Jan 31.
City sweep aside Brighton: as it happened
10:37 PM BST
Here’s Pep
The statement is three points. That’s the only statement. We arrive at home at 2am tonight and in two days we go to Nottingham.
We have been here but that doesn’t mean that just because we’ve been here in the past it’s going to happen.
We found the right rhythm, the right feel. We scored in important moments. We [were able to] punish them.
One game at a time. We recover and then it’s Nottingham.
This week is a tricky one. Nottingham are so fast. We have to prepare well.
Many things can happen. Liverpool dropped two games but that can happen to us and Arsenal. Nobody is safe from that.
10:14 PM BST
De Bruyne and Foden’s joint interview
Kevin De Bruyne “It was a good game. We played really well in the first half. I don’t now about statement. All we can do is win the game.
[On his goal] “The only way I could reach it was to jump and it went in like a little lob but it’s not what I’m good at. But I’ll take it.
“I think [Phil] will end up centrally; he was always a number 10. It’s hard to play centrally in a Pep side. It’s not offensively [that he had to improve] but defensively. Sometimes on the wing it is a little easier.”
Phil Foden They’re a very challenging team, they go man to man. After Kev’s first goal, I was a bit lucky with my first goal. We grew into the game. The first half was frightening, the way we attacked.
Playing with the best players in the world like Kev has really helped my game. I really like playing inside. I’ve moved more inside this year. It’s where I want to be. I feel like I can score a lot of goals and create things.
10:03 PM BST
How the top of the table looks after City’s victory
The full table is here.
09:58 PM BST
Full time: Brighton 0 City 4
City move to 76 points, one behind Arsenal, with a game in hand after a fairly emphatic victory. Brighton will curse Jarred Gillett but one erroneously awarded free-kick and one fairly convincing penalty appeal turned down were not the reasons for City’s dominance nor for Brighton’s defeat. Bernardo Silva, Kevin De Bruyne and Phil Foden are simply a joy to watch.
09:55 PM BST
90+4 min: Brighton 0 City 4
Steele saves with his feet from Doku when the Belgium winger had been played down the left after winning the first header by a cute Alvarez reverse pass.
09:54 PM BST
90+3 min: Brighton 0 City 4
Decent cross from Barco forces Ake to get in front of O’Mahont at the near post to head it behind for a corner.
09:53 PM BST
90+1 min: Brighton 0 City 4
Five minutes of stoppage time are signalled which is the prompt for Alan Smith to name his man of the match who is Phil Foden. I think De Bruyne was equally as good but fair enough. He has no need for more baubles.
09:51 PM BST
90 min: Brighton 0 City 4
City started the day 12 goals behind Arsenal on goal difference. They’ve made up four so far and now sit only a point behind the leaders with a game in hand.
09:49 PM BST
88 min: Brighton 0 City 4
Lots of empty seats understandably. Blue Moon rings around the stadium as well as the theme from The Great Escape. I know not why.
09:48 PM BST
86 min: Brighton 0 City 4
A chorus of boos for the referee when Baleba’s pass strikes him 40 yards out. He stops play and restarts with a drop. Nice play between Joao Pedro and Igor from that to work an overlap with Igor heading to the byline to pull it back for Joao Pedro, eight yards out and just in front of the near post. He opens his gait to try to stab it towards the back post but can’t turn his ankle sufficiently outwards to engineer it, poking it wide of the near post instead.
09:44 PM BST
83 min: Brighton 0 City 4
Van Hecke holds off Grealish and shepherds a free-kick, slid down the right side of the box, out for a goal-kick.
09:41 PM BST
81 min: Brighton 0 City 4
Baleba picks out Barco on the left but as the rain teems down, he overhits a dipping cross that sails out for a goal-kick.
Should we admire Brighton for taking such a bold tactical approach against the best team in the land? Or is this just foolish? Either way, it really hasn’t worked. De Zerbi has effectively tried to out-Pep Pep, with a much worse group of players.
09:40 PM BST
79 min: Brighton 0 City 4
Triple City change:
Gomez ⇢ Walker
Doku ⇢ Bernardo
Lewis ⇢ Rodri.
09:37 PM BST
76 min: Brighton 0 City 4
Baleba is booked for a tug of Nunes’ shirt as he tried to barrel down the right.
09:37 PM BST
74 min: Brighton 0 City 4
Welbeck fashions a shooting opportunity from distance with a dip of the shoulder but wellies it into the crowd. That’s his last touch of the ball:
O’Mahony ⇢ Welbeck.
09:35 PM BST
72 min: Brighton 0 City 4
Couple of mistakes from Jarred Gillett tonight, I think. Brighton fans’ ire has fizzled out for now.
Grealish ⇢ De Bruyne
Nunes ⇢ Foden.
09:33 PM BST
69 min: Brighton 0 City 4
Shouts of ‘W-----!’ greet the referee’s decision not to award Brighton a penalty when Joao Pedro goes down. Gvardiol was behind him when he ran into the box and definitely touched him. But he waves it away and the VAR backs him up, much to the home fans’ contempt and the disbelief of Sky’s Alan Smith.
09:30 PM BST
67 min: Brighton 0 City 4
Chance for Adingra to exploit Rodri’s slip but when he plays in Joao Pedro, the winger slips.
09:28 PM BST
65 min: Brighton 0 City 4
Van Hecke leaves a bit on Fiden, knocking him over and catching him on the back of the head with his own brow. Touch of spite in that one, Foden thinks, who gives him the skunk eye when he offers a hand of apology.
09:23 PM BST
GOAL!
Brighton 0 Man City 4 (Alvarez) City give Walker a chance to gallop down the right with a long, diagonal chip, catching Igor and Barco out of position. He chests down the bouncing ball and advances into the box, gulls Barco into a slide and taps it round him to slide in with the keeper, stabbing his shot into Steele before they collided. The ball comes off the keeper to the centre of goal 12 yards out and Alvarez helps himself to his first league goal since January.
09:21 PM BST
60 min: Brighton 0 City 3
Surprisingly weak effort from Alvarez who is played down the inside-right by Bernardo and Foden and invited to shoot from 20 yards. But he scuffs it straight at Steele. A minute later the World Cup-winner chops in from the left on to his right and goes for the Crysencio Summerville-special but can’t get it to bend back in at the far post.
09:19 PM BST
58 min: Brighton 0 City 3
Van Hecke and Dunk collide at the corner and the former lands on top of his partner and winds him.
09:18 PM BST
56 min: Brighton 0 City 3
Third Brighton substitute: Igor ⇢ Gross. Barco goes to the wing. Adingra sprints down the right and fires over a cross that strikes Ake on the wrist and goes behind for a corner. The home crowd, irritated by the referee and by Foden, whistles and howls for a penalty but all they get is the corner.
09:16 PM BST
54 min: Brighton 0 City 3
Barco seizes on Walker’s error and strides down the left before slipping it to Joao Pedro who tries to wriggle his way through attempted tackles that make the ball ricochet around. Ederson comes out and slides headlong to grab but Joao Pedro arrives just before him and stabs a shot onto his sternum.
09:13 PM BST
52 min: Brighton 0 City 3
De Bruyne runs over the ball and whips an outswinger with his left. Rodri makes the near-post run but Joao Pedro read it and managed to telescope out a leg to poke the ball behind for a corner.
09:12 PM BST
50 min: Brighton 0 City 3
Moder has started to drop between Van Hecke and Dunk, allowing Barco and Adingra to push up the flanks. But the latter is penalised for a foul and De Bruyne stands over the free-kick wide on the left.
09:09 PM BST
49 min: Brighton 0 City 3
Alan Smith says he thinks it was a penalty because although it did start outside the box, it continued into it.
09:08 PM BST
47 min: Brighton 0 City 3
Gross goes down in the City box when Rodri grabs his right biceps to stop him cutting across him. The ref waves play on and VAR decides not to intervene. Looked like a foul to me, possibly outside the box in which case the VAR can’t intervene.
09:06 PM BST
46 min: Brighton 0 City 3
Two changes for Brighton:
Adingra ⇢ Lallana
Offiah ⇢ Veltman.
08:51 PM BST
Half-time: Brighton 0 City 3
City have dominated and can relax. Brighton have an attractive style when everyone’s fit but their kids are too inexperienced to pull it off against City’s seasoned crew of elegant assassins.
It has been fascinating to watch De Bruyne tonight. He plays in a completely free role these days, rather than in his old position on the right of the midfield three, and he’s been popping up all over the pitch tonight. Sometimes at centre-back, sometimes at centre-forward. He’s destroyed Brighton.
08:49 PM BST
45+3 min: Brighton 0 City 3
Quite a lot of empty blue seats are visible but I presume they’ve popped off for a pint or gin and Bovril rather than nicked off home.
08:47 PM BST
45+1 min: Brighton 0 City 3
Brighton push City back from their corner but the visiting side lay siege in the final third, probing patiently, patently enjoying themselves.
08:46 PM BST
44 min: Brighton 0 City 3
De Bruyne darts infield and into the box when fed by Foden on the right. Welbeck gives pursuit and never gives up, stalking his stride. He still gets the shot off but it strikes Dunk and goes behind for a corner.
08:44 PM BST
42 min: Brighton 0 City 3
Alvarez chases a long up and under from the left by Gvardiol but Steele comes out to whack it back upfield.
08:43 PM BST
40 min: Brighton 0 City 3
Brighton stick to their guns with their short passing game from the back. ‘Easy to lose your confidence,’ says Alan Smith. They haven’t.
08:42 PM BST
38 min: Brighton 0 City 3
Barco’s mistake has not harshed his vibe and he tries to make amends with a thumping shot from a tight angle on the left that hist Walker and comes back to him. His encore effort is deflected behind for a corner. Brighton can’t do anything with the set-piece but they have given their stunned supporters some heart.
08:40 PM BST
36 min: Brighton 0 City 3
Veltman is booked for legging up Foden out on the City left and then hoofing the ball away.
08:34 PM BST
GOAL!
Brighton 0 City 3 (Foden) At 2-0 down the last thing you want to do is hoot yourself in the foot but that’s exactly what Brighton do. Sticking to their convictions they try to play their way out of the box when pressed high, Steele moving it to Baleba and on to Barco in a triangle. Barco seems to have wriggled away from trouble to give it back to Steele but then Baleba gives it to him again and he is caught 16 yards out, giving Foden the opportunity to sweep a shot into the bottom left.
We wrote earlier that this was a big test for Barco. We also wrote that City punish mistakes. Those two things came together in that goal... as Foden punishes Barco. This is getting ugly.
08:32 PM BST
30 min: Brighton 0 City 2
Brighton will complain about the goal because the award of the free-kick was soft at best. But Football Man can never abide a player who turns his back in the wall and hence there was a whiff of just deserts for that alone.
08:26 PM BST
GOAL!
Brighton 0 City 2 (Foden) Adds injury to the insult of the erroneously awarded free-kick. Foden’s left-foot curler strikes Gross above the number on his shirt as he turned his back on the left extremity of the wall. The free-kick was on target, heading towards the bottom left where Steele was heading, but it was Gross’s touch that ballooned it into the middle of the nets and betrayed the keeper.
The Brighton supporters are not impressed. They did not think it was a free-kick to City and, to be honest, the replays suggest they were right. Foden seemed to lose his footing. It feels harsh on Brighton but City are ruthless. They punish all mistakes, even those committed by the referee.
08:26 PM BST
25 min: Brighton 0 City 1
Foden is given a very cheap and unfair free-kick 20 yards out after he slips when dribbling through the middle. The ref is certain he was tripped but the replay shows he lost his footing.
08:24 PM BST
23 min: Brighton 0 City 1
De Bruyne and Alvarez are giving Barco a torrid time down the City right and De Bruyne slips in Alvarez between the left back and Dunk to hammer a daisycutter that whistles past the far post.
08:23 PM BST
20 min: Brighton 0 City 1
City switch off momentarily and allow Brighton to fashion an immediate chance of an equaliser for Dunk from a corner but he glances it straight at Ederson.
Kevin De Bruyne has scored some gorgeous goals over the years and that’s up there with them. I can’t imagine he has scored too many like that. A proper diving header. What a player.
08:18 PM BST
GOAL!!!
Brighton 0 Man City 1 (De Bruyne) Diving headers are hard to execute. Most are bullets but De Bruyne has just scored one with great poise and control with a hint of Van Persie’s for Holland against Spain at the 2014 World Cup. Foden slides the perfect, diagonal pass down the right for Walker who stands up the cross to the right of the penalty spot for De Bruyne to swallow dive and steer it over the leaping, soaring Steele.
08:18 PM BST
15 min: Brighton 0 City 0
Foden whips it behind the Brighton line, stationed at 18 yards. Ake times his run well to beat the trap and slides in to the right of the penalty spot to try to hook it in with his right leg. He makes contact but only with his sole and studs. Too much of a stretch.
08:15 PM BST
13 min: Brighton 0 City 0
Baleba is penalised for barging over De Bruyne, withstanding a collision rather than dipping his shoulder. Lallana protests his team-mate’s innocence but the ref isn’t having it. Free-kick, wide left, 40 yards out.
08:13 PM BST
11 min: Brighton 0 City 0
City are bossing the possession again but it’s nip and tuck. Two well-drilled teams looking for space.
08:10 PM BST
10 min: Brighton 0 City 0
Kovacic, by nature a dribbler, plays it safe as a City player, dinking and sweeping short passes rather than driving up the channels.
08:09 PM BST
8 min: Brighton 0 City 0
Heart in mouth time for Steele who raced out of goal to his right and out of the area to stop Foden stealing in down the left. When he passes it to Dunk, whose missed header gave City a chance of nipping in, he was immediately surrounded but he managed to scramble it back to Steele who added some haste to his clearance.
08:07 PM BST
6 min: Brighton 0 City 0
Joao Pedro harries Akanji after initially miscontrolling the ball, wins it back and then drives towards the box. He has Welbeck nearby and Veltman on the overlap down the right and chooses the right-back, who makes a hash of his return pass and Ake clears up for City. Good run from Joao Pedro and he deserved more precision from Veltman in return.
08:05 PM BST
4 min: Brighton 0 City 0
De Bruyne is penalised for a shove out by the right touchline. Brighton horseshoe the ball across the back four and then back to Steel to chip it long to the left for Barco.
08:04 PM BST
3 min: Brighton 0 City 0
City playing at their own tempo until Welbeck pounces in a deep-lying centre-forward role to take the ball off Foden, play a one-two and then fire a shot from the left of the D with his laces that Ederson dives to his left to smother.
08:02 PM BST
1 min: Brighton 0 City 0
City kick off and move the ball back to Ake and Akanji who sweep it forward up the left for Alvarez to take on Veltman. Brighton deal with the ball when he passes it into the box.
07:59 PM BST
Out come the teams
Brighton are in blue and white shirts, blue shorts and socks as Sussex by the Sea is sung. City are wearing their third kit of navy with sky blue lightning forks. Shades of blue ... Fat Pop!
Quite the test for young Valentin Barco tonight. The teenager has never started a game for Brighton but here he is, up against Manchester City. He’s an exciting young talent but this will be a very different challenge to anything he has experienced before.
07:49 PM BST
De Zerbi takes his turn at the mic
We have to play well because we have to make points [as] we are fighting to reach another season in European position and it is not finished yet for us.
Pep is the best coach and it is very tough playing against City and Pep.
We are Brighton, we play with courage and we try to play a good game. But it has been a very tough season. Especially from January it is difficult to choose the first XI [because of the spate of injuries]. We have the quality to play well to fight for our fans and our club.
07:39 PM BST
Guardiola speaks again
After the games against Madrid and Chelsea it was really tough but they have had two days’ rest. So they are fresh, I think, [or will be] at 8pm. The challenge is always win the next game. We have won lots of titles because we only look to the next game.
[De Zerbi] is brave, he imposes his game. His process with the central midfielders, defenders, goalkeeper, his teams are so attractive. They are just exceptional for so many reasons. He is the perfect person to be in football. The way he plays is recognisable and despite many injuries very good. I like to watch it.
07:34 PM BST
Unlike Welbeck…
Adam Lallana has scored against Manchester City, the first in a 3-0 victory at Anfield back in March 2016.
07:17 PM BST
At left-back in blue and white: Valentin Barco
Brighton’s £8 million signing from Boca Juniors in January is playing his second league game for the club as what I’m contractually obliged to call ‘a marauding left-back’, made his Argentina debut last month.
He looks a player:
07:07 PM BST
Your teams in black and white
Brighton Steele; Veltman, Van Hecke, Dunk, Barco; Gross, Baleba; Lallana, Moder, Joao Pedro; Welbeck.
Substitutes Verbruggen, Igor, Webster, Enciso, Adingra, Fati, Buonanotte, Offiah, O’Mahony.
Manchester City Ederson; Walker, Akanji, Ake, Gvardiol; Rodri, Kovacic; Bernardo Silva, De Bruyne, Foden; Alvarez.
Substitutes Ortega, Dias, Stones, Grealish, Doku, Gomez, Matheus Luiz, Bobb, Lewis.
Referee Jarred Gillett (Queensland)
07:03 PM BST
City make three changes
Gvardiol and Kovavcic replace Stones and Grealish in the starting XI and Ederson replaces domestic cups keeper, Ortega:
Your City team to face Brighton! 🩵
XI | Ederson, Walker (C), Akanji, Ake, Gvardiol, Rodrigo, Kovacic, De Bruyne, Bernardo, Foden, Alvarez
SUBS | Ortega, Dias, Stones, Grealish, Doku, Gomez, Nunes, Bobb, Lewis#ManCity | @etihad pic.twitter.com/PJGsBKmbHv— Manchester City (@ManCity) April 25, 2024
07:01 PM BST
Lallana starts for Brighton
TEAM NEWS! 🚨 Here's our starting XI to face @ManCity in the @PremierLeague. 👀📝
📲 https://t.co/S3j1TIedJv // #BHAFC 🔵⚪️ pic.twitter.com/fbS6ZACOin— Brighton & Hove Albion (@OfficialBHAFC) April 25, 2024
07:00 PM BST
Hot stat
Courtesy of Manchester City, Kevin De Bruyne has scored or set up a goal every 43 minutes in away Premier League matches this season:
05:31 PM BST
Guardiola: I thought this was the year City would blow up in title race
Pep Guardiola has conceded he felt this might be the season Manchester City finally blew up in the title race – only again to be left marvelling at his team’s staying power.
The City manager believes the champions will have to win all of their remaining six Premier League games if they are to pip Arsenal and Liverpool to the post and deliver an unprecedented fourth consecutive top-flight title.
But Guardiola has revealed how he feared this would be the campaign his players finally hit a wall physically and mentally after years at the top and their extraordinary Treble excursions last term – and is amazed they continue to prove him wrong.
“We played a lot of games. Madrid was really intense for many things, we were out of the Champions League having done really well and after two or three days we were tired here,” Guardiola said.
Guardiola
“Not just in the legs, complaining more they were tired here [pointing to the head]. These guys have three weeks off, one month [last summer], not much rest to recover.
“People sitting in chairs say: ‘Ah, I complain.’ But I defend my players, I know what I’m talking about, much much better than the people outside.
“The human being does not have no limits, science says you need a certain time to recover many things, not just physically – mentally as well.
“And for many, many years we don’t give them that but, despite that, still we are there. That’s why I say I’m really impressed but all the time I’m thinking ‘They will fall down’. This time [I thought] it would not be possible and still they make it possible.
“That’s why when I reflect on my period here I will always admire these types of players for many years still for finding a way to still be in. And this is unbelievable.”
05:23 PM BST
Preview: Brighton’s costly casualty list
Good evening and welcome to live coverage of the Premier League match between Brighton & Hove Albion and the champions Manchester City. Since their promotion under Chris Hughton in 2017, Albion have played City 13 times in league matches, winning one, drawing one and losing the other 11. Even the victory, at the fag end of the 2020-21 season, came when City had already won the title but Dan Burn’s winner at the Amex still had Sussex by the Sea raising the rafters for Graham Potter’s side as they forged ahead of Burnley to finish 16th.
That was the last season of struggle for Brighton whose upward curve took a steeper trajectory in Potter’s final season with the club and under De Zerbi until the last few months. Since City were beaten by Villa on Dec 6, they have won 13 and drawn four in the league. By contrast the Seagulls/Dolphins in the same span have won four, drawn seven and lost six. De Zerbi always gets a tune out of his players but with an injury list comprising Estupiñan, Enciso, Ferguson, Lamptey, Gilmour, Milner, March, Mitoma and Hinshelwood, it’s going to be very tough tonight particularly considering Danny Welbeck has yet to break his duck against City after 18 games for Man Utd, Arsenal, Watford and Brighton against them.
City, by contrast, have only Erling Haaland unavailable and, after Liverpool’s defeat yesterday and four days’ rest and preparation after overcoming Chelsea at Wembley, will relish the chance to go second with a victory that would put them a point behind Arsenal with a game in hand. An emphatic performance with a touch of the old swagger understandably absent in the Cup semi-final would go a long way to shorten their title chances, currently about 8/13 according to the tic-tac men, even further.
