Manchester City's siege mentality won out at Liverpool. Their quality with a man over telling, if not quite so obvious when both sides had a full complement of players for an hour of the game. Absolutely everything good about City in their 3-0 win was summed up by the classy performance of Elliot Anderson. Not for the first time since his mega-money move from Nottingham Forest, the midfielder's mastery on the ball was matched by his maturity off it. A 'bargain' at £116m, according to Jamie Carragher, every bit capable, in his own way, of exerting as much control and influence on games as Rodri did in this role. While the spotlight shines ever brighter on City as a club, and forensics pour over their spending, Anderson remains the picture of calm. Everything a manager would want in a modern-day holding midfielder: a robust runner, aggressive tackler and clever distributor. 'He dominates big games,' says Gary Neville. Rarely fazed by the occasion, Anderson has won at Anfield two years running - with two different sides. Of course the way Forest went about success last term shared few similarities with City's more technical display. The only common denominator? Elliot Anderson.
Florian Wirtz played his part with the pressing and the constant movement that was a hallmark of Liverpool's up-tempo approach that made life so difficult for Manchester City for an hour at Anfield. But that bit of magic that the supporters wanted was missing. Rayan Cherki provided that for City's third and final goal, by which point Wirtz was sat on the Liverpool bench having been substituted. Another big game in which the Germany international was unable to provide the spark for his side. Too many loose touches and loose passes, one or two tackles shirked. Victor Munoz and Lewis Koumas are easy for supporters to embrace with their bustling styles but Wirtz is a player who glides across the turf and he needs end product to justify his role. There was one shot lashed wide with the game goalless and better options to his left. It is no goals for Wirtz this season and just one in his last 16 Premier League appearances. Another opportunity missed for a classy player still seemingly unable to impose himself.
Source: Sky Sports Champions League · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing