Pep Guardiola hails collective effort of Manchester City ahead of Liverpool clash

Premier League leaders, despite being without Aguero and De Bruyne, could go 10 points clear of reigning champions if they win at Anfield on Sunday

Ilkay Gundogan is Manchester City's joint-top scorer in the Premier League - alongside Raheem Sterling - with seven goals this season. AP

Manchester City head to Anfield without the greatest goalscorer and the reigning PFA Player of the Year and with the chance to go 10 points ahead of the reigning champions. If Liverpool felt their title defence was ending with Wednesday’s defeat to Brighton, City have the chance to supply the knockout blow.

Should Pep Guardiola win his third Premier League title, it will be a triumph of the collective. City are invariably described as star-studded but they are shorn of Sergio Aguero and lacking Kevin de Bruyne. Rather than being a star vehicle, their manager believes they are a team that is greater than the sum of their parts.

Perhaps the division’s best defensive record reflects that. Ruben Dias has been a revelation and John Stones is enjoying the best form of his life but six successive clean sheets are not secured by any one player, nor even a partnership. Guardiola looked further up the field for evidence of a shared commitment.

Minus the injury-hit Aguero, who is recovering from coronavirus and whose last league goal came in January 2020, City’s joint-leading marksman is Ilkay Gundogan – alongside Raheem Sterling – who already has a career-best total of seven goals. But the fact the German only has 17 per cent of City’s goals illustrates how everyone has contributed.

“Our top scorer has seven goals in the Premier League,” said Guardiola, noting that 13 other players began the weekend with more. “If anyone is going to save us it's the group: that's everyone. When this happens we can compete.

"When we believe that it is myself that is going to do it, or this guy alongside me is going to win the game then we are going to lose. Our success all the time is [not just] the quality we have as a players but being as a team.

"In the statistics we are far away from the best clubs but our statistic as a team is really good. That is why we are first. If we don’t understand we have done everything so far, all together, if we don’t continue to understand this, we are going to drop.”

City have made light of absentees at times; indeed, it has brought the best from Guardiola. When a rash of Covid-19 cases meant he only had 14 senior outfield players at Chelsea, he used De Bruyne as a false nine who inspired a 3-1 win.

_____________________________________________________________________

Burnley 0 Manchester City 2: player ratings

BURNLEY RATINGS: Nick Pope - 5: Knows he should have done better with first goal when he parried straight to Jesus. Quick off his line to make vital tackle on Sterling who was through on goal after Lowton error after 20 minutes. Denied England attacker a second goal saving with foot just after half-time. Reuters

Matthew Lowton - 4: Easily beaten by Sterling in build-up to opening goal and needed Pope to rescue him after failing to deal with a long ball over top that allowed in the City attacker later in first half. Reuters

James Tarkowski - 6: A hard night dealing with City’s pace and movement. Won some important headers from City crosses and made some timely challenges. Should have conceded a second-half penalty, though, for foul on Jesus but somehow escaped punishment. Reuters

Ben Mee - 6: Good block on Cancelo pile-driver in opening 20 minutes and generally kept going in face of bewildering City movement. Reuters

Erik Pieters - 6: Continues to deputise for Charlie Taylor at left-back and had hands full dealing with Mahrez. PA

Johann Gudmundsson - 5: Forced into plenty of defensive work trying to deal with threat of Sterling down City left. Gifted chance to Gundogan with woeful pass across own penalty area just after break and was relieved when the German failed to score. Reuters.

Ashley Westwood - 6: Beautiful first-time pass to put Vydra through on goal just before half-time, although Czech had strayed offside. Found same player in second half with equally good ball over top but Vydra fired over. Reuters

Jack Cork - 6: Never stopped chasing and harrying City. Tracked back well on hour mark and made superb tackle on Mahrez. Ran himself into ground. EPA

Dwight McNeil - 5: Good cross over to back post after 20 minutes that gave Burnley their first sniff at goal. Had to double up with Pieters to try and nullify threat of Mahrez. Quiet game and not his usual threat from out wide. PA

Matej Vydra - 6: Found himself one-on-one with Ederson after 40 minutes but smashed wide of post and was caught offside anyway. Good control and decent volley over just after hour mark with Burnley’s first real sight on goal. Never gave up. Getty

Jay Rodriguez - 4: Not easy coming up against such an in-form and organised City defence but never looked like scoring and made very little impact. EPA

SUBS: Dale Stephens – (On for Cork 71’) 5: Picked up the game's first booking for foul on Mahrez. Getty

Joel.Mumbongo – (On for Rodriguez 77’) N/A. Swedish attacker was booked for foul on Stones. PA

Josh Benson - (On for Westwood 81’) N/A, AFP

MANCHESTER CITY RATINGS: Ederson - 6: Not a save to make to make the entire match. Plucking a few crosses out of air was the extent of his night’s exertions. AFP

John Stones - 8: A huge bonus for City - and England - that the centre-back’s confidence and form have returned with a vengeance. Some lovely passing out form the back, generally cool and calm. EPA

Ruben Dias - 7: Hardly troubled by Burnley’s attack and the Portuguese’s partnership with Stones was excellent. EPA

Aymeric Laporte - 7: Filling in on the left, delt comfortably with Gudmundsson and was his usual reliable self at the back. Getty

Rodri - 8: Great on the ball and so hard-working off it. A rock hoovering up in midfield and also whipped in some dangerous crosses into box. PA

Ilkay Gundogan - 8: German midfielder is at the top of his game at the moment and supplied perfect cross for Sterling’s goal. Blasted effort from outside of box just over just after half-time and produced another stunning pass to put Sterling through on goal minutes later. Man of the match. PA

Bernado Silva - 7: Nice turn followed by shot that Pope could only parry straight to Jesus for the first goal. Lively throughout, lots of nice passing and oozed quality. AP

Riyad Mahrez - 7: Lovely little pass to Gundogan before German set up Sterling goal. Had ball in net 10 minutes after break but was marginally offside. Some of his control and first-touches were breath-taking. AFP

Raheem Sterling - 8: Making his 400th career appearance, played key role in build-up to opening goal then tapped home the second himself. Should have scored another just after break but low shot was saved by Pope. Reuters

Gabriel Jesus - 7: Headed home from edge of six-yard box after just three minutes for his 75th City goal. Brazilian led the line well for City. AP

SUBS: Oleksandr Zinchenko – (On for Cancelo 64’) 6: City were already in cruise control by the time the Ukrainian came on and he slotted in without any problem. Getty

_____________________________________________________________________

City’s previous game at Everton had been postponed – Jurgen Klopp wrongly said City had a two-week break because of coronavirus – and Guardiola was surprised a manager he admires had strayed into the world of mind games in the build-up to a game.

It is something when he tries to avoid doing. “Sometimes I did it, I admit, but it was a mistake,” he said. “I say to my players, when you complain you find excuses and when you find excuses you cannot go forward.”

City have struggled to progress at Anfield, a place where they have not won since 2003. Klopp has more victories against Guardiola than any other manager and Raheem Sterling has not scored away against his old employers since his 2015 move.

"The last game, when we lost 3-1, he made an incredible game, an exceptional game," Guardiola said. "I am more than satisfied with this."

But this will be Anfield with a difference, which may give City a greater chance than usual. “Life is different,” Guardiola said. “This season is exceptional because the world is exceptional. We don’t have fans in the stadium and the world is weird.

"I have to go to meetings for two or three different groups [due to social-distancing restrictions], the players cannot take a shower here in the CFA so everything is different.”

_____________________________________________________________________

Liverpool 0 Brighton 1: player ratings

LIVERPOOL PLAYER RATINGS: Caoimhin Kelleher – 7. The Irishman made good saves from Gross and Trossard late on after spending much of the match with nothing to do. He showed good instincts coming off his line when the back four were caught flat-footed. AP

Trent Alexander-Arnold - 4. Brighton made a concerted effort to put pressure on the full-back It paid off because the 22-year-old lost Burn on the back post before the goal and was not as effective as usual going forward. AFP

Nathaniel Phillips - 6. The 23-year-old looks more like a first-team player with every game. He was good in the air and can feel better about his performance than the majority of his teammates. EPA

Jordan Henderson - 7. The captain fills a gap in the centre of defence but leaves a bigger hole in midfield. His passing from the back was excellent but the team needs him to be pushed forward to a more natural position. EPA

Andrew Robertson - 5. The Scot is nowhere near as dangerous going forward when Mane is not in the side. Brighton deployed March to keep the left-back occupied defensively and the tactic worked . AFP

Georginio Wijnaldum - 4. The Dutchman was lacking his usual vigour. He tried to drive forward but found it hard to generate much momentum. Withdrawn for Oxlade-Chamberlain in the 64th minute after looking heavy-legged. AFP

Thiago Alcantara - 4. Another outing that failed to live up to expectations for the 29-year-old. His passing lacked adventure and he could not deal with the Brighton press. PA

James Milner - 4. A laboured display from the 35-year-old. He could never be criticised for a lack of commitment but workmanlike efforts like this are not enough against solid defensive sides when inspiration is required. PA

Mohamed Salah - 6. The Egyptian missed chances in both halves but still looked the sharpest Liverpool attacker. Brighton were able to crowd him out on a disappointing outing. Getty Images

Roberto Firmino - 5. The Brazilian had to drop deep in search of the ball. He showed sparks of invention in the box in the second half. Replaced by Jones with 11 minutes to go after shooting wide with his last kick. AP

Xherdan Shaqiri - 3. The Swiss struggled to get involved wide on the left. He switched to the right in the second half but was no better. Replaced by Origi after 64 minutes. AP

SUBS: Divock Origi - 3. The Belgian joined the game with 26 minutes to go, replacing Shaqiri. He was unable to shake the Brighton defence out of their comfort zone. Poor. Reuters

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain - 4. Brought on to provide a bit of craft when Wijnaldum left the game with 26 minutes remaining, the 27-year-old never got to the pace of the action. He had one shot that did not trouble the goalkeeper. Getty Images

Curtis Jones - 5. Replaced Firmino with 11 minutes left. The 19-year-old could not influence the match against the massed ranks of defenders. AFP

BRIGHTON PLAYER RATINGS: Robert Sanchez - 5. The Spaniard was in his comfort zone for most of the game but one strange excursion after a cross in the final quarter-hour could have cost his team dearly. Showed safe hands from a stoppage-time corner. AFP

Ben White - 7. The 23-year old was disciplined and solid. He anticipated and closed down potential danger very quickly. Made sure Shaqiri was anonymous. Getty Images

Lewis Dunk - 8. A rock at the heart of the defence. The captain made repeated blocks and marshalled the side confidently even when they were under massive pressure. He made a telling block from Firmino. PA

Adam Webster - 8. The 26-year-old needed to be alert to deal with the threat of Salah. He was awake to the danger when Liverpool tried a clever free kick in the second half. No one read the game better. PA

Steven Alzate - 7. The 22-year-old closed down Thiago and was a big part of his team’s ferocious press. He was in the right position to score the winning goal, although the ball might have come off Trossard. Reuters

Pascal Gross - 7. The German showed clever movement and passing going forward and whipped in a nice cross for Maupay just before half time. He had a fine effort foiled by Kelleher in the second half. Reuters

Yves Bissouma - 8. The Malian patrolled the area in front of the back three effectively and distributed the ball well when in position to go forward. His late shot dipped over the bar and worried Kelleher. AP

Dan Burn - 7. The defender missed a first-half opportunity when he skied a shot over the bar. He looked to get forward against Alexander-Arnold and provided an excellent headed pull-back to set up the goal. AFP

Leandro Trossard - 7. The Belgian was strong running with the ball and the first line of defence when Liverpool had possession. He will feel he has a claim on the goal and he later went close to scoring a second. Substituted for Zeqiri with three minutes to go. Reuters

Neal Maupay - 7. The Frenchman held the ball up well and provided an outlet for an under-pressure defence. He was replaced by Connolly with seven minutes to go. Getty Images

Solly March - 7. The 26-year-old worked the line, helping out at the back and providing the cross that led to the goal. He limped off after 67 minutes and was replaced by Lallana. Reuters

SUBS: Adam Lallana - 6. Returned to his old Anfield stomping ground with 23 minutes left when March was forced off. He brought an injection of energy to the team. Getty Images

Aaron Connolly - 7. Came on for Maupay with seven minutes left and harassed the Liverpool defence in the closing stages. He proved adept at keeping possession and relieving the pressure. Reuters

Andi Zeqiri – 5. Replaced Trossard with three minutes to go. There were no alarms for the Swiss as the clock ran down to victory. AFP