Five things learnt as special Salah goal sees Liverpool beat Man City

Milner silences critics (again)

Social media was flooded with Liverpool fans fearing the worst when they saw James Milner would be starting at right-back against the in-form Phil Foden. The versatile 36-year-old has proven to be a crucial part of Liverpool’ success over the past few years, but there are still sections of the home supporters who fear he can be exploited against better teams.

However, Milner put in a brilliant shift to keep Foden quiet for most of the match and frustrating the City attackers. It’s not the first time Milner has stepped up for Liverpool when they needed him and will almost certainly not be the last.

VAR anger

Anthony Taylor was always going to have some tough decisions to make in this game and both managers felt aggrieved at different points of the matches. But the biggest talking point came in the 53rd minute when he disallowed Foden’s goal after Erling Haaland was adjudged to have fouled Fabinho in the process.

VAR sent the match official over to the pitchside monitor with Taylor eventually ruling a foul, much to the dismay of Guardiola and City supporters. It appeared to be the right decision in the end, but that moment sparked the match into life with the noise around Anfield immediately going up a few decibels.