Salah ends Man City’s unbeaten start as Liverpool win

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Mohamed Salah ended Manchester City’s undefeated start to the season with his goal in the second half of the match that saw Liverpool win 1-0 against the defending champions of the Premier League.

On a dramatic day at Anfield, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp was sent off for furiously leaving his technical room, while City coach Pep Guardiola angrily protested to the home fans after seeing Phil Foden’s goal disallowed by VAR.

Salah – who scored the fastest Champions League hat-trick in history against Rangers on Wednesday – delivered the decisive moment in the 76th minute after Alisson’s smart long range landed right at his feet.

Salah raced clear and fired a shot past Ederson to send Liverpool ahead.

Minutes earlier, the attacker thought he was about to be substituted when his number was erroneously increased as Klopp prepared to make changes.

A defeat to City leaves Guardiola’s side four points behind leaders Arsenal, who won 1-0 at Leeds earlier in the day.

The win offers hope for Liverpool that they can recover from an inconclusive start to the season, which left them 13 points behind City before kick-off.

Despite Liverpool’s struggles so far this season, this still felt like a meeting of the Premier League’s elite after the two teams’ dominance in recent years.

This was underlined by an even first half, in which both had chances to take the lead.

Andy Robertson shot past Liverpool’s best chance, while Erling Haaland forced two saves from Alisson and might have done better with at least one header from close range.

The game came alive after the break when Salah swept into goal and was sure to score.

But the Egyptian’s effort went wide, and later replays showed that Ederson had provided a crucial touch.

That went unnoticed by the umpires and City resumed play with a goal kick, from which Foden eventually found the back of the net.

While the visiting fans were delighted, the VAR referee Anthony Taylor invited to watch the incident on the monitor at the side of the pitch.

Taylor walked past an enraged Guardiola, who protested wildly, and disallowed the goal for a foul on Fabinho in the build-up.

The City manager was furious and repeatedly turned to the Anfield fans behind the dugout to gesture.

The crowd rejoiced in his fury and erupted shortly after when Salah sacked Liverpool up front.

When Alisson picked up an inaccurate free kick from Kevin de Bruyne, the goalkeeper then launched a kick into the field to perfectly sort out his teammate.

This time Salah made no mistake with his finish.

There was still time for more drama when Klopp left his technical room to appeal a decision that resulted in him being shown a red card.

Substitute Darwin Nunez could also double Liverpool’s lead when he squandered a late chance with only Ederson to beat.

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