THE NOTEBOOK: Man City should fight to keep Ilkay Gundogan this summer

THE NOTEBOOK: Man City should fight to keep Ilkay Gundogan this summer, Jurgen Klopp’s hatred of the early kick-off continues… and stars are out in force as Austin Powers heads for the Etihad!

  • Ilkay Gundogan showed his quality as Haaland was forced to watch in the stands 
  • Away fans unhappy with Liverpool’s second-half collapse left in disgust
  • But before kick-off rampant Reds fan Mike Myers was in high spirits at the Etihad

Liverpool had no solutions for the myriad problems Manchester City served them on Saturday afternoon as they overturned the visitors in a 4-0 win that looked the model of a classy team performance. 

Although the Reds were first off the mark, with Mohamed Salah’s gutsy strike imbuing Jurgen Klopp’s side with confidence, Julian Alvarez’s goal just before the half-hour mark raised the alarm. 

After half time, City swept Jurgen Klopp’s players aside as Kevin De Bruyne, Ilkay Gundogan, and Jack Grealish added to their tally, and Liverpool’s near-eight year hunt for a Premier League win at the Etihad rolls on.       

Here, Sportsmail’s JOE BERNSTEIN reviews some of the aspects of the match you might have missed.  

Jack Grealish pulled off one of his finest performances in sky blue as league action returned 

Nobody told the many Japanese fans outside the Etihad wearing half-and-half scarves about the recent toxicity of this fixture. There were hugs between club officials as well to lighten the mood but police weren’t taking any chances with lines of extra officers standing either side of the section of Liverpool fans in the upper tier to act as a deterrent for rival supporters coming together

Those fans ended up behaving better than the players who were quick to surround referee Simon Hooper at every opportunity, particularly Liverpool led by skipper Jordan Henderson after Rodri wasn’t given a second yellow card for fouling Cody Gakpo. A significant proportion of the travelling support were so disgusted by their team’s second-half collapse, they left once the scoreline had reached 4-1.

Jordan Henderson was defected after the match as Liverpool fight for a top four place

Many Liverpool fans left after watching their team’s second-half collapse against City

Haaland could only watch from the stands

It didn’t seem to bother four-goal Manchester City that Erling Haaland was watching from the executive boxes rather than being on the pitch – the first time the Norwegian hasn’t featured in a Premier League game at the Etihad.

Haaland was unavailable because of a groin injury but his face still graced the front of the matchday programme accompanied by a predictably soft interview in which the best quote was: ‘My job is to put the ball in the back of the net.’ 

In all competitions, Haaland has not played in seven matches this season – of which City have won six and drawn one.

Mo Salah often has some impact on a grand occasion and yesterday the Egyptian King scored against Manchester City in the fourth different match this season – a new club record. Salah had already netted in the Community Shield, EFL Cup and league game at Anfield when he beat Ederson after 17 minutes with a sweet strike, his first Premier League goal at the Etihad in open play.

It wasn’t a happy ending though and Salah was booked for only the second time this season for kicking the ball away and was later subbed. His other yellow was given against Manchester United when he took off his shirt to celebrate scoring.

Mo Salah is a big game player but couldn’t contribute more than his first-half goal on Saturday

Reds fan Mike Myers was an surprise celebrity sighting ahead of kick-off in Manchester

Big sporting events demand big celebrities and yesterday was no exception with Austin Powers himself, actor Mike Myers, at the Etihad. The acclaimed Canadian star is an avowed Liverpool fan who has appeared in SoccerAid for a world XI managed by Kop legend Kenny Dalglish.

Liverpool hate early kick offs. They’ve started six matches this season at 12.30 and failed to win any of them. Fortunately for Jurgen Klopp, no more have so far been scheduled. Their next game at Chelsea on Tuesday begins at the more civilised time as far as they are concerned of 8pm.

Ilkay Gundogan will be a huge miss for Manchester City if he leaves at the end of the season when his contract is up. The German exposed Liverpool’s lack of midfield guile by dominating that area of the pitch alongside Kevin de Bruyne and it was his goal to make it 3-1 after 53 minutes that effectively settled the game.

Ilkay Gundogan was inspiring in the midfield and City should fight to keep him at the Etihad

Jurgen Klopp’s side have lost all of the six games they have played with 12.30pm kick-offs

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