MANCHESTER: Advantage Manchester City. Their 2-2 draw with Liverpool kept them one point clear at the top of the Premier League and handed them the psychological advantage on the title run-in.

City have the less difficult seven-match run-in so Liverpool had the greater need of victory in their continuing pursuit of a unique quadruple.

The rivalry will be renewed on Saturday at Wembley in the FA Cup semi-finals. Inbetween, come respective Champions League distractions against Atletico Madrid and Benfica.

Liverpool are without a win in five league games against City, while the champions have lost only one of their past 12 top-flight home matches against the Reds. So little separates the stars of Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp. The scoreline was a repeat of last autumn’s Anfield draw.

City, chasing a fourth title in five seasons, were better in the first half of an enthralling duel which showcased the best of Premier League football around the world. Liverpool responded magnificently after the break.

City manager Pep Guardiola said: “I think City and Liverpool and fans all around the world enjoyed it. Both teams were incredible. Both teams tried to win. I think we left them alive but Liverpool are a joy to watch. We know how difficult they are. I’m so proud of my team. We performed incredibly well. I had the feeling we missed opportunities to get the points.”

Liverpool’s Jurgen Klopp said: “What a game! A better start for City. We can describe it as a boxing fight. You put both arms down for a moment and you can get a massive knock. Then the start of the second half was much better with the goal and better football.

“City were more direct than us but it was a great game and a result we can live with. The intensity of the game was crazy. It was good fun. I liked it. Now we meet in seven days with maybe extra time and possible penalties.”

Mutual admiration

Guardiola and Klopp had behaved like two old English gentlemen in the run-up to kickoff. They praised each other, praised each other’s team and thanked each other for pushing them to ever-higher heights of performance.

This has been a very different personal rivalry to the angry bitterness which marked great old duels such as Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger or Jose Mourinho and just about anybody.

City were missing only injured Ruben Dias from the centre of defence with Bernardo Silva was preferred to Ilkay Gundogan on the right of midfield. Liverpool were at full strength with Sadio Mane, on his 30th birthday, being partnered in attack by Mo Salah and Diogo Jota.

Liverpool kicked off trailing City by only one point where once the deficit had been 14. They had also won all their previous 10 league games. But it was City who began at a high tempo and were rewarded.

First goal

Alisson made a fine save from Sterling but was helpless moments later as City captain Kevin de Bruyne brushed off Fabinho and saw his low shot deflected wide of the goalkeeper off Joel Matip. Good for City, bad for Liverpool. Liverpool have not kept a clean sheet in any of their 12 league visits to City since February 2010.

Virgil van Dijk escaped a penalty appeal after a tangle with the lively Jesus and Liverpool immediately capitalised on their fortune. Andrew Robertson crossed from the left, Trent Alexander-Arnold crossed from the right and Jota stabbed home his 15th league goal of the season.

The pace was breathless as both teams sought to justify their billing as the two best teams in the world. The action was relentless. De Bruyne and Joao Cancelo shot narrowly wide then Jesus ran in behind the Liverpool back line to sneak his first league goal since September.

Quick recovery

Klopp would have been concerned at halftime with Liverpool’s failure in defence to control Jesus and the failure in attack to create more chances. They put that right immediately. Just 47 seconds after the restart Salah set up Mane to equalise. Now 2:2, the same as the final score at Anfield last autumn.

This was a different Liverpool. Hungry, aggressive. Alisson saved well from Jota and Sterling had a ‘goal’ disallowed for offside. In the last 20 minutes, with the teams locked together, both managers looked to the subs’ bench to regain the initiative. Klopp sent on Luis Diaz, Naby Keita and Bobby Firmino, Guardiola called up Riyad Mahrez and Jack Grealish.

Mahrez clipped a post and shot high over in stoppage time but the draw was fair.

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