Liverpool beat Man City to extend lead at the top to 11 points

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Guardiola: Liverpool are 'the only team' that can lose Premier League title

Pep Guardiola reacts to his Manchester City side's performance and is asked whether Liverpool will be Premier League champions.

Updated: Feb 23, 2025, 02:00 pm

Liverpool took another step toward the Premier League title with a 2-0 win at Manchester City after talisman Mohamed Salah scored the team's first goal and set up Dominik Szoboszlai for the second on Sunday.

Arne Slot's side have 64 points from 27 matches and are 11 ahead of second-place Arsenal, who have a game in hand. City are fourth with 44 points as their early-season quest for a fifth consecutive title has unravelled into a chase for a Champions League berth.

Salah struck his league-leading 25th goal of the season in the 14th minute following a corner with a blistering shot from near the top of box that deflected off the outstretched foot of City defender Nathan Ake and past goalkeeper Ederson.

Szoboszlai took advantage of City's atrocious defending to double the lead in the 37th minute. Salah found the unmarked Hungary international in the box for an easy pass into the net, to the dismay of City fans, whose dismal mood was matched by the driving rain. 

Thousands were gone before the final whistle, while the Liverpool fans gleefully sang: "We're going to win the league."

The 32-year-old Salah has scored and assisted in 11 league matches this season, the most by a player in a single campaign in one of Europe's big five leagues since Lionel Messi's 11 for Barcelona in 2014-15.

City, missing leading scorer Erling Haaland with a knee injury, held their own for much of the game, dominating possession with 66% to Liverpool's 34%.

It was Liverpool's lowest percentage this season and the lowest they have had in winning a game since the compilation of the possession statistics began 20 years ago.

The hosts had five shots on target to Liverpool's four.

City's Omar Marmoush, who bagged his first hat-trick for the club in their 4-0 thrashing of Newcastle United just over a week ago, thought he had scored with a sumptuous finish into the far corner in the first half but the offside flag went up.

The Egyptian striker unleashed another shot that sailed just wide in the second half as City boss Pep Guardiola buried his head in his hands.

Curtis Jones whipped the travelling Liverpool fans into a frenzy with what he thought was a goal in the second period before it was ruled offside by VAR.

The visitors had done enough though and rejoiced in beating City home and away for the first time since 2015-16.