Pep Guardiola’s game plan was clear. Give the ball to Jeremy Doku and watch him go. Watch him run with the ball and attack the space left behind by Trent Alexander-Arnold drifting into midfield.

For the most part, it worked. Doku completed 11 dribbles, where he beat his defender and kept hold of the ball, the most by a player in a Premier League game since September 2021 and the most by a City player under Pep Guardiola.

He attempted 16 dribbles in total. Only once has a player attempted more for City under Pep and that was Raheem Sterling against Leeds in 2022. In fact, the top seven dribbles attempted in a Premier League game for City under Pep before this game were all Sterling.

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Doku gave him the runaround but Alexander-Arnold won possession more times (10) than any other player, made the joint-most tackles (3) and interceptions (3) for Liverpool and also made the most passes in the City half for Liverpool. 

Jeremy Doku was tasked with exploiting the spaces left behind a drifting Trent Alexander-Arnold

The Liverpool right back had the last laugh, though, silencing the Man City end with his equaliser