Arne Slot got genius Liverpool move spot on as 'unstoppable' Pep Guardiola admission says it all

Moving nine points clear at the Premier League's summit, Liverpool simply had too much for Manchester City. And the gulf was not just in terms of quality.

While Pep Guardiola's team struggled for intensity, looking leggy, tired and increasingly dishevelled as the first half wore on, Arne Slot has injected exuberance into Liverpool. The Reds have been where Manchester City is now — in dire need of a rebuild — and in Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai, there was blatant proof of what happens when that goes well.

Bernardo Silva and Ilkay Gundogan was not a particularly convincing midfield duo and Guardiola didn't pick Kevin De Bruyne, presumably out of a fear of him not being physically up for the battle. As it was, Manchester City was ran all over regardless.

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The inclusion of Szoboszlai was eyebrow-raising. Curtis Jones was exceptional midweek against Real Madrid and with Liverpool having dominated the European champion, most would have gone with the same trio again.

Once more, though, Slot thought differently, pulling off a masterstroke of a selection call. Jones wasn't called upon until very late in proceedings, with starting Szoboszlai proving to be a genius decision.

The Hungarian is a pressing monster who was always likely to be perfect for the Jurgen Klopp style. Here, Slot borrowed from that playbook, combining efficiency with intensity.

Szoboszlai set the tone almost from the off with his relentless sprinting after the ball. He also tested Stefan Ortega with a couple of shots from distance that further encouraged the crowd.

Jones, of course, would have been similarly energetic. But where the Scouser is more about guile and technical quality, Szoboszlai's physical qualities were ideal to exploit Manchester City's glaring weakness — and Slot knew it.

"The first 10-15 minutes was almost unstoppable — it was so difficult," Guardiola told the BBC post-match. In the main, that was driven from midfield by Szoboszlai, who started in electric fashion.

Buoyed by scoring last weekend at Southampton and with Manchester City captain Kyle Walker having elected to kick towards The Kop in the first half, Liverpool started with everything its opponent lacked: speed, intensity, and desire. Szoboszlai was not the only one, but his inclusion set the tone perfectly. Within minutes, it was clear there was only going to be one winner.