With 61% of the vote, there was a clear winner - so without further ado, let’s see what it was...
City 3-1 Liverpool, 25 August 2014
The Blues welcomed Brendan Rodgers’ side to the Etihad Stadium for their first home game of the season, on the back of a 2-0 away win at Newcastle on the opening day.
It was the first competitive meeting between the two sides since Manuel Pellegrini‘s men had pipped the Reds to the Premier League title just three months earlier.
In this encounter, a brace from Stevan Jovetic and a Sergio Aguero strike - 23 seconds after he had come on - sealed all three points to maintain City’s 100% start to the campaign, despite a late Pablo Zabaleta own-goal.
Starting XIs
City: Hart, Zabaleta, Clichy, Demichelis, Kompany, Fernando, Yaya Toure, Nasri, Silva (Navas 64), Dzeko (Aguero 69), Jovetic (Fernandinho 79)
Unused subs: Caballero, Kolarov, Sagna, Milner
Liverpool: Mignolet, Johnson, Moreno, Loveren, Skrtel, Henderson, Gerrard, Allen (Can 75), Coutinho (Markovic 60), Sterling (Lambert 79), Sturridge
Unused subs: Jones, K Toure, Sakho, Manquillo
Key moments
41’ - Jovetic opens the scoring, reacting well to sweep home from six yards out
49’ - Daniel Sturridge has a goal disallowed for offside
55’ - Jovetic doubles the lead, playing a neat one-two with Samir Nasri and smashing into the roof of the net
70’ - Aguero extends the advantage immediately after coming off the bench, slotting in Jesus Navas‘ pass
83’ - Rickie Lambert forces Zabaleta into putting through his own net to give the visitors a consolation
Match highlights
Man of the Match
MAN OF THE MATCH: You voted for @stevanj35 (#motmjovetic). Thanks for taking part! #cityvliverpool #mcfc pic.twitter.com/OU4NfMYAdr
— Manchester City FC (@MCFC) August 25, 2014Reaction
“It’s all about taking your chances in crucial games like this and in that respect, City were a class apart.” - David Clayton, MCFC
“The pleasure for Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini will not just come from the victory, but also from the fact that it was achieved without ever truly hitting the heights against the team who pushed them to the final day of last season’s title race.” - Phil McNulty, BBC Sport
“Sergio Aguero stepped onto the pitch and, 23 seconds later, the match was over. As Manchester City’s third goal hit the net, Liverpool were done. So close last season, the gulf between the two clubs looked significant on Monday night. There, in Aguero’s goal, Manchester City’s power was encapsulated.” - Martin Samuel, the Daily Mail.
“Pellegrini’s team have started the season as if they mean business and it must be ominous for their rivals that he admitted afterwards the champions had not fully clicked.” - Daniel Taylor, the Guardian
“It was all about City making a statement at the Etihad, and the manner of their emphatic victory certainly sent their title rivals a message.” Pete Hall, Sky Sports
