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As it happened: Man City v Liverpool, Premier League

Man City faced Liverpool in what was a big game in the race for the top four.

Hello, and welcome to today’s liveblog.

As always, we’d love to hear your thoughts on the game. E-mail paul@the42.ie, tweet @the42_ie, post a message to our Facebook wall, or leave a comment below.

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Kick of is at 4.30pm.

Here are today’s teams…

Man City: Caballero, Fernandinho, Stones, Otamendi, Clichy, Yaya Touré, Sané, De Bruyne, Silva, Sterling, Agüero.

Subs: Bravo, Sagna, Fernando, Nolito, Kolarov, Iheanacho, A. Garcia.

Liverpool: Mignolet, Clyne, Matip, Klavan, Milner, Can, Wijnaldum, Lallana, Mane, Coutinho, Firmino.

Subs: Karius, Moreno, Alexander-Arnold, Woodburn, Lucas, Lovren, Origi.

We’re underway…

Liverpool win the ball high up the pitch, but Lallana falls over as he dribbles through on goal.

This game has started at a really frantic pace.

De Bruyne plays Sane through on goal but he’s marginally offside.

The German youngster looks lively in these opening stages.

It’s been cagey and scrappy enough early on.

Neither team is dominating and a clear patter for the game has yet to develop.

As I type, however, Mignolet gets down well to save a De Bruyne pot shot.

Aguero narrowly misses Fernandinho’s drilled cross.

Man City are well on top now.

Manchester City v Liverpool - Premier League - Etihad Stadium PA Wire / PA Images PA Wire / PA Images / PA Images

Klopp and Guardiola have both been quite animated on the touchline early on.

Sane beats Clyne and sees his shot saved by Mignolet.

David Silva blasts the rebound wide.

Silva is doing a lot of damage down City’s right-hand side with Liverpool under the cosh at the moment.

Yaya Toure gets booked for a reckless challenge on Can.

Co-commentating on Sky, Gary Neville suggests that could have been a red card.

Mane runs through on goal but Otamendi gets back well to put him off as he shoots.

There were strong appeals for a penalty by Liverpool there, but it would have been harsh judging by the replays.

More appeals for a penalty as Wijnaldum goes down under a challenge from Yaya Toure.

Liverpool are coming more into this game now, with Mane in particular causing problems.

Coutinho finds space on the edge of the area but curls the ball just over.

Liverpool have been the better team in these last few minutes, but both sides have lacked quality in the final third so far.

Matip heads just wide from Coutinho’s free kick.

That’s Liverpool’s fourth attempt compared with two for City.

I’m not quite sure how that has stayed out.

Silva crosses for Sterling, but Milner gets his foot to the ball ahead of him against the odds, before Fernandinho can only find the side-netting with an open goal.

A corner falls to Matip, but Stones does well to block his attempt.

It’s been an entertaining and pretty evenly fought first half.

Sane finds space down the left, but his cross is straight into Mignolet’s arms.

Both sides haven’t been clinical enough in those sort of positions.

HALF-TIME: MAN CITY 0-0 LIVERPOOL

The second half is underway…

Another half chance for Liverpool.

Lallana crosses for Mane, whose shot deflects off John Stones and goes just over.

PENALTY TO LIVERPOOL!

Firmino is played through on goal and Clichy appears to get some of the ball but impedes him in the process.

MAN CITY 0-1 LIVERPOOL (MILNER 51)

Milner sends the goalkeeper the wrong way.

Man City players are still not happy with the award of the penalty.

James Milner is about as reliable as penalty takers come.

He’s scored seven from seven penalties this season including today’s goal.

Good save from Caballero, who saves a one-on-one from Firmino.

“Look at Yaya Toure, it’s like a bus turning,” says Gary Neville.

The midfielder hasn’t been at his most alert today.

Sterling breaks but he then passes straight to a Liverpool jersey.

Both sides’ players are beginning to tire now.

Yaya Toure is replaced by Sagna.

That’s a change that needed to be made.

There’s been some sloppy passing in recent minutes.

Both De Bruyne and Milner have been guilty of conceding possession cheaply.

MAN CITY 1-1 LIVERPOOL (AGUERO 69)

City equalise!

De Bruyne drills in a brilliant cross and Aguero is in the right place to tap it home.

That’s seven goals in seven games for the Argentine international.

Firmino finds himself in a decent position but his shot hits the side-netting.

Meanwhile, Coutinho has been replaced by Origi.

So close!

Lovely interplay between Sane and Aguero, before the latter loses his balance, but the ball then falls to De Bruyne, whose shot hits the post.

City look the much sharper team right now.

They have Liverpool on the ropes.

Lallana has missed an absolute sitter.

Firmino crosses to him and he just can’t properly connect with the goal at his mercy.

Silva plays a glorious through ball to Sterling, whose touch goes just wide.

Down the other end, Firmino breaks and slices a shot wide when he should have crossed to Lallana.

Meanwhile, Fernando has replaced Sane in a defensive City change.

This has been a very entertaining match played at an incredible pace.

Players are understandably really starting to tire now, so there could yet be another goal/crucial mistake in this game.

Lovely link-up play between De Bruyne and Silva.

The latter crosses to Aguero, whose clipped finish goes just wide.

Mane gets booked for a poor tackle on Silva.

Looks like both sides will have to settle for a point.

Sergio Aguero misses a glorious chance.

De Bruyne does really well down the right, crossing perfectly for the striker on the volley, but he uncharacteristically fails to hit the target with his finish.

Mane gets man-of-the-match.

There haven’t been too many standouts, although De Bruyne and Silva have both impressed in patches for City.

The ball falls to Aguero on the edge of the box, but he shoots over the bar.

The Argentine international has really livened up in these last 20 minutes.

FULL-TIME: MAN CITY 1-1 LIVERPOOL

That’s that. 1-1 is probably a fair result. Both sides had good spells and decent chances to win it.

Thanks for reading and commenting, and we’ll have more reaction to follow.

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Paul Fennessy
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