Rajasthan Royals moved to the top of the Indian Premier League as they survived a Marcus Stoinis blitz to claim a three-run victory over Lucknow Super Giants.

The Royals were grateful to Shimron Hetmyer, whose stunning 59 not out helped them recover from 67-4 to post a competitive 165-6.

No team had successfully defended a total at the Wankhede Stadium in the IPL this season, but the Royals changed that despite some near heroics from Stoinis.

Trent Boult took two wickets in the first two balls of Lucknow's reply and, though Stoinis moved them to within 15 runs of triumph heading into the final over, Kuldeep Sen produced some excellent death bowling to help Rajasthan cling on.

Jos Buttler (13) and Devdutt Padikkal (29) put on 42 for the first Rajasthan wicket, only for the Royals to lose four for 25 runs in the space of five overs.

Hetmyer blasted six maximums in a remarkable 36-ball effort, receiving able support from Ravichandran Ashwin, who struck 28 off 23 deliveries.

A stand of 68 gave Rajasthan something respectable to defend, and Boult immediately put them in the driver's seat with the dismissals of Super Giants captain KL Rahul and Krishnappa Gowtham either side of a wide in the first over of the reply.

Despite Quinton de Kock's 39, it looked as if the game was up for Lucknow when the superb Yuzvendra Chahal (4-41) reduced them to 126-8.

Yet Stoinis, who hit 38 off just 17 balls, had Lucknow in position to deny Rajasthan, but Sen ensured there was to be no dramatic late turnaround, with the Royals now heading five teams on six points because of their superior net run rate.

Hetmyer's hot streak

Hetmyer continued his strong start to the IPL season in some style, reaching his half-century in just 33 balls, his pivotal display following scores of 32, 35 and 42 not out. His average of 84 is bettered only by Suryakumar Yadav (120), who has played two innings fewer.

Stoinis almost saves Lucknow

Stoinis struck four sixes and two fours in a destructive performance that almost rescued the match for Lucknow, but his final maximum came after Sen restricted him with three successive dot balls to clinch victory for Rajasthan.

Pep Guardiola suggested Manchester City missed the chance to claim victory when on top against Liverpool and insisted his side must win all their remaining Premier League games otherwise the title race will be over.

Liverpool were as far as 14 points behind in mid-January, but a 10-game winning run in the league slashed City's lead to just one point to set up what was billed as the title decider at the Etihad Stadium.

Kevin De Bruyne struck after just five minutes with his sixth goal in as many games on Sunday, before Diogo Jota soon restored parity in a thrilling end-to-end affair.

Gabriel Jesus then found the net against Liverpool for a fifth time in all competitions, only scoring more for City against Everton (eight), to send Jurgen Klopp's side in at half-time trailing in the league for the first time this season.

Sadio Mane immediately levelled after the interval to keep the title race alive and Guardiola called on City to win their remaining seven games to win the league.

"Both teams wanted to try to win, we did everything we could but unfortunately we could not win," he told Sky Sports.

"I had the feeling we handed them a life, but listen Liverpool is a joy to watch and the threats they have in attack, how good they are, so no doubts about how difficult they are.

"But I think we performed really, really well, I'm so incredibly proud of my team. Now, both teams know with seven games left we have to win all of them, otherwise it will be over.

"In Anfield, we played an incredible first half and it was the same result, I had the feeling we missed an opportunity to get three points but it doesn't matter what happened this game, this was never going to be over.

"I would say the same with defeat, or victory, this was massive game to take advantage of, but we know what we have to do.

"Go to [Atletico] Madrid [in the Champions League quarter-final return leg], then FA Cup [semi-final against Liverpool] then back to the Premier League and win as many as possible.

"Seven games in the Premier League is a lot to play, it will be tough, I don't know whether we are going to win the title at the end of the season but to be in the game, like we played today, it makes me admire a lot to perform that way."

Guardiola also hailed the work of Jesus, who has scored four times against Klopp's Liverpool in the Premier League, as he explained his match-by-match plan for each specific opponent.

"Gabriel Jesus deserves to play a lot, he is a fantastic person but all of them, [Ilkay] Gundogan, Ruben [Dias] they all have quality but we thought we could find spaces with the players we put out for the way they pressed today," he added.

"Maybe next Saturday [in the FA Cup semi-final] from what we saw, maybe we change something. I put out a specially specific line-up for the demands of the team we are going to play, not because of who I prefer."

Klopp and Guardiola are familiar foes, given their time spent managing Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich in Germany, and the Spaniard expressed his admiration for his opposite number.

"Listen, I don't know if Jurgen respects me but I respect him a lot, he has made me a better manager with his sides in Germany with Bayern and Dortmund, and then here," he added.

"His teams are always positive and want to attack, I try to imitate him in that sense. We are not friends, we don't have dinner together, I don't call him but I have a lot of respect for him, but he knows next Saturday I'm going to try and beat him."

David Goffin secured his sixth ATP Tour title by coming from behind to beat Alex Molcan in the Grand Prix Hassan II final on Sunday.

Slovakian Molcan, in search of a first triumph at main tour level, came flying out of the blocks, but ultimately Belgian Goffin's experience showed as he recorded a 3-6 6-3 6-3 victory.

World number 65 Molcan, who defeated Goffin in the first week of the season in Melbourne, was in early control of this meeting in Marrakesh, a set to the good and serving at 2-1 up in the second.

However, former world number seven Goffin responded from that point onwards and did not look back as he won in one hour and 58 minutes.

Goffin feels he can take confidence from this success into the rest of the clay-court segment of the 2022 season.

"I'm very happy, proud of my week. It was not easy, a lot of tough matches," Goffin said. "But at the end, I have my sixth title, here in Marrakesh. It gives me a lot of happiness and confidence for the season on the clay.

"It was the case twice before that match that I lost the first set and I always stayed calm the whole week to turn it around. It was the case again today, because he was playing well.

"He was better than me in the first set, and then I managed to play better and better, serving better, being more aggressive in the middle of the second. I was the better player [after that]."

Quoted on the ATP website, Goffin said: "I was playing even better in the third set, so I'm really happy the way I finished with another break [and] a good match point. I didn't want to serve for the match, I preferred to finish with a break."

Molcan reflected on a positive week in Morocco that saw him most notably beat top seed Felix Auger-Aliassime.

"It was an amazing week for me," he said. "I won a lot of matches and enjoyed it very much."

Captain Jordan Henderson was delighted with Liverpool's character after they twice came from behind in an absorbing 2-2 draw with Premier League title rivals Manchester City.

The England midfielder was nevertheless disappointed with the Reds' defending as an absorbing draw kept Jurgen Klopp's team one point behind City at the summit, with seven rounds of games remaining.

Liverpool are now winless in their last five Premier League matches against City (three draws, two losses), their joint-longest run without a victory against them along with a five-game run between November 2011 and December 2013.

However, Henderson was keen to stress the importance of remaining in touch with Guardiola's men after Diogo Jota and Sadio Mane cancelled out goals from Kevin De Bruyne and Gabriel Jesus.

"It was an intense game, which we knew it would be," Henderson said. "We knew it would be tough coming here, they're a fantastic team, but we wanted to come here and give everything to try and get the win.

"Unfortunately, we couldn't do that, but at the same time, we didn't lose the game. Of course, we wanted to do better, but it's not the end of the world, we're still in the race. [There are] positives and negatives."

Liverpool were second-best for much of the first half at the Etihad Stadium, twice going behind and seeing the likes of Raheem Sterling and De Bruyne miss chances to extend City's lead.

However, the Reds skipper commended the response to going behind, with Mane's goal levelling the game at 2-2 just 46 seconds after the break.

"I think we started okay, but we were a bit hectic at times, trying to clear it rather than getting it down and trying to play, and we gave them one or two chances early on," Henderson told Sky Sports.

"We knew we were going to come under pressure early on. They're a fantastic team, and we knew they'd come out fast.

"After they scored we settled down, started playing more, and that caused them one or two problems, and we ended up getting the goal from that.

"That was pleasing, how we've come twice from behind. It takes a lot of character to do that here, but we wanted to do better with the [City] goals."

Mane's goal marked the first time Liverpool had scored in the opening minute of the second half in a Premier League game since January 2019 (Mohamed Salah against Crystal Palace), and the first time City have conceded a league goal in the 46th minute since doing so to Norwich City's Damien Francis in November 2004.

After the two teams drew by the same scoreline at Anfield earlier in the campaign, City and Liverpool have drawn both of their Premier League meetings for the first time since doing so in the 2012-13 season, but Henderson refused to be drawn on whether the result helped City more than the Reds.

"We'll have to wait and see [if the draw was better for City], I suppose," he added.

"They don't drop many points, we know that, but for us, we've got to concentrate on ourselves, win as many games as possible, and if they do slip up we've got to be there right behind them.

"It's not the end of the world, we'll stay positive and keep going until the end."

Jamie Carragher hailed Liverpool’s "mentality" after they twice fought back to seal a 2-2 draw with Premier League leaders Manchester City on Sunday.

The Reds remain just a point behind Pep Guardiola's side with seven games remaining after Sadio Mane's goal early in the second half.

Diogo Jota had earlier cancelled out Kevin de Bruyne's deflected opener, before Gabriel Jesus restored City's advantage.

Mane's fine strike meant City had scored the first goal and not gone on to win in the Premier League this season for the first time this season, the reigning champions having done so in all 22 games when scoring first prior to the visit of Jurgen Klopp's men.

Carragher, who made 737 appearances for Liverpool between 1996 and 2013, was impressed with his former's side ability to dig in for a draw after being blown away by City in the first half.

"From Liverpool's point of view, the mentality to come out in the second half and turn it around after that first-half display was impressive," he said on Sky Sports.

"It looked like they didn't have any energy in the first half, but their mindset changed. I don't think they did anything particularly different. They still played a high line.

"Considering how good City were in the first half, to then come out and give that performance and match them – maybe be even better than them for the first 30 minutes in the second half – was so impressive."

The result meant Liverpool are now winless in five Premier League matches against City (D3 L2), which is their joint-longest run without a victory against them along with a five-game run between November 2011 and December 2013.

Despite that, former Manchester United midfielder Roy Keane said Klopp's men deserve plenty of credit for their performance. 

"We saw today the different qualities, City outstanding first half and Liverpool showed their quality second half," he said. "All the talk was it would not be decided today [the title] but they played like it was going to be. It was like a final. I think a draw was a fair result.

"What impressed me with all these top-quality players was their desire to keep going for their win at the end. No team was going to dominate for long spells as there is so much quality on both sides.

"Liverpool showed their character in the second half. But then City had great chances as well. A great reminder to us all of what this game is about."

It was billed as the title decider of all title deciders, a clash of titans to determine who would go on to win the Premier League, and yet at the end of 90 breathtaking minutes it remains as you were.

Manchester City, for all their attacking intent and brave play, could not find a killer knockout punch against Liverpool and so it will all come down to the final seven games and who can hold their nerve.

The Citizens have the advantage given they retain a one-point lead, but Pep Guardiola will feel his team deserved more, and Jurgen Klopp can still dream of a quadruple after what he described as a "wild" game.

As it turns out, fortune does not always necessarily favour the brave – though credit must also go to Liverpool for themselves contributing to another Premier League classic between these heavyweights.

It became clear an hour before kick-off that Guardiola would be true to his word: City had no intention of playing for a point in the biggest game of a thrilling campaign that had seen the chasers close the gap on the leaders from 14 points to just one heading into this showdown.

With Gabriel Jesus recalled for his first league start since New Year's Day in an attack that also included Raheem Sterling, Phil Foden, Kevin De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva, City were out for blood against a Liverpool side on a 10-game winning run in the competition.

For a manager now famed for over-thinking his team selection, this was a masterstroke from Guardiola. De Bruyne and Jesus were on the scoresheet, the latter ending a run of 37 shots without scoring in the competition, while Sterling had a goal ruled out for offside by VAR.

But the reward at the end of it all was only a point as Liverpool, who went with the line-up many had been expecting, twice hit back to ensure this enthralling title race has another chapter of drama still to come.

Five minutes was all it took for City's attacking approach to pay off. Moments after Sterling was denied by Alisson from close range, De Bruyne's long-range strike – via a telling deflection off Joel Matip – went in off the post to give the reigning champions lift-off.

That was the 10th goal City have scored in the opening 10 minutes of Premier League games this season, each of the last four netted by De Bruyne in the fifth minute – a remarkable quirk. The outcome when City have taken the lead, regardless of the minute, had always been the same: won 22, drawn none, lost none.

The title race was over, on that basis. Except of course it wasn't.

Diogo Jota's leveller eight minutes later, following brilliant interplay between full-backs Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold, had Liverpool back on level terms in a match that lived up to its pre-match billing. Did you really expect anything else?

If the previous omens had been stacked in City's favour, now Liverpool had something similar to cling to given Jota had not lost in any of the previous 32 Premier League games in which he had scored. Make that 33 on a day when Klopp's own selection calls were justified by the final result.

Jota's record was under threat when City continued to probe with more intent than their rivals and regained the lead through Jesus, who got on the end of Joao Cancelo's pass in behind Alexander-Arnold and finished past Alisson.

Trailing in a Premier League game at half-time for the first time in exactly a year, when coming back to beat Aston Villa, Liverpool needed just 46 seconds of the second half to level through a Sadio Mane goal assisted by Mohamed Salah – the Egypt international's 159th Premier League goal involvement for the Reds, a tally only Steven Gerrard (212) can better.

It was the first time City had conceded in the first minute of the second half in a league game since November 2004 against Norwich City, though once again their response did not take long to arrive, albeit with Sterling's finish against his former club rightly ruled out for offside.

That attacking intent remained clear to see when Riyad Mahrez replaced Sterling, rather than a more cautious option being introduced, and the Algeria international twice went close to winning the game when clipping the post from a free-kick and chipping over both Alisson and the crossbar when through on goal from the final act of the game.

And so for all the to-ing and fro-ing, 2-2, and one point the gap between the sides, is how it remained come a full-time whistle that no neutral was ready to hear. A second meeting between these sides this season, a second four-goal thriller, and still there is next to nothing to separate perhaps the two greatest sides in world football.

It sets up a tense and intriguing final six weeks of the season and, the best of all, we get to do it all over again when the sides face off in an FA Cup semi-final next Saturday.

Unlike on this blockbuster day of Premier League football, there has to be a winner at Wembley.

Kevin De Bruyne believes Manchester City had the upper hand in their 2-2 draw with Liverpool as he called on his side to produce similar performances with seven Premier League games left to play.

City needed just five minutes to edge ahead when De Bruyne, via a deflection from Joel Matip and the right post, cannoned in his sixth goal in as many games before Diogo Jota equalised.

Gabriel Jesus restored the lead in the first half for Pep Guardiola's side with his fifth goal in all competitions against Liverpool, only scoring more for City against Everton (eight).

That was the first time Liverpool had trailed at half-time in the league all season, but Sadio Mane levelled immediately after the break at the Etihad Stadium to keep the title race alive.

City remain a point clear of Jurgen Klopp's side and, with a return leg in their Champions League quarter-final with Atletico Madrid and an FA Cup semi-final against Liverpool, De Bruyne urged his team to play as well as they did on Sunday.

"It was hard. I think we played excellent. I know we conceded two goals but the way we played today was very good; we should have scored more but it is what it is and we keep going," the Belgium star told Sky Sports.

"I think we should [have won]. Obviously the way the second half started that is the disappointment but we know in a couple of chances that Liverpool can score.

"We created enough chances to win the game but it didn't happen.

"I think it demonstrated how close it is between the two teams, but we played really well and had the upper hand even if we didn't win – that can happen. This is the way we need to play and approach the other games."

As for whether the clash at the Etihad Stadium would decide the destination of the title, De Bruyne suggested City had not secured the advantage by earning the draw.

"No, I think it is similar. I know a lot of people spoke saying whoever wins the game wins the title, but I don't think either team would think that way – it's way too hard," he responded when asked if the result was decisive.

"The schedule is way too hard for both teams to win all the games, so we're going to try, but I think the way we showed today was the way we need to move forward."

Substitute Riyad Mahrez could have snatched victory in the closing stages but wastefully chipped over, though De Bruyne holds no grudges.

"It's a clear chance, obviously. Riyad chose to chip the goalkeeper and if it goes in it's a wonder goal, but it didn't go in today, so that's it," he said.

Keshav Maharaj and Simon Harmer starred with the ball as a dominant South Africa edged closer to a series victory over Bangladesh in Port Elizabeth.

Bangladesh resumed at 139-5 on the third day of the second Test, but an efficient Proteas attack picked up where they left off on day two with the ball, dismissing the tourists for just 78 further runs.

The hosts declared at 176-6 in their second innings after Sarel Erwee (41) and Kyle Verreynne (39 not out) helped them to a 412-run lead, before removing Tamim Iqbal, Mahmudul Hasan Joy, and Najmul Hossain Shanto in quick fashion to put themselves on the brink of a 2-0 triumph.

Bangladesh managed to hold off the Proteas attack for much of the morning, reaching 192 without any further losses through the efforts of Yasir Ali (46) and Mushfiqur Rahim (51), but Maharaj's dismissal of Ali was the catalyst for a fine display of bowling from the hosts.

One day after producing the best batting performance of his Test career to drag South Africa to 453 in their first innings, Maharaj removed Mehidy Hasan Miraz (11), while Harmer dismissed Mushfiqur, Taijul Islam (five), and Ebadot Hossain, the last of the trio for nought. 

The hosts went in search of quick runs when they picked up the bat, reaching 60 before captain Dean Elgar was dismissed by Taijul for 26.

Erwee, Verreynne and Bavuma (30) then posted decent returns to set the tourists a mammoth target, before Elgar declared in hope of a rapid victory.

Bangladesh's second attempt with the bat began in even worse fashion than their first, with Hasan Joy caught by Wiaan Mulder from Maharaj's first ball.

Maharaj and Harmer claimed another wicket apiece before the day was through, with the former sending Hossain Shanto for just seven runs and Harmer dismissing Iqbal for 13. 

The hosts now appear certain to clinch the series on day four, with the below-par tourists needing 386 to level the series.

Maharaj superb once more

Having recorded just his fourth Test half-century to put South Africa in a commanding position on day two, the 32-year-old spinner starred in more typical fashion on day three.

He set the home attack on their way by adding two more first-innings wickets, before claiming two dismissals for just 17 runs as the visitors saw their top order decimated later in the day.

Harmer gets in on the act

Harmer was also outstanding with the ball, claiming the other three wickets at the end of Bangladesh's first innings before wrapping up a fine day's work by dismissing Tamim. 

Sadio Mane kept Liverpool in the Premier League title hunt with a priceless second-half equaliser in a gripping 2-2 draw with leaders Manchester City.

Jurgen Klopp's side sat 14 points behind City in January, but a 10-game winning run cut the gap to just one point to set up what many billed as a title decider at the Etihad Stadium.

Diogo Jota cancelled out Kevin De Bruyne's opener in an enthralling start, and Mane followed suit swiftly after the interval following Gabriel Jesus' 36th-minute strike.

Neither side could find a winner, with Raheem Sterling seeing a goal disallowed, as Pep Guardiola's side kept their slender lead intact with seven games left to play.

Sterling squandered a glorious chance after five minutes as he was denied by the onrushing Alisson following a square Jesus pass, but City were ahead just seconds later.

De Bruyne profited from a quick Bernardo Silva free-kick before arrowing a left-footed effort home, the ball going in off the right post following a fortuitous deflection off Joel Matip.

Liverpool responded within eight minutes, with Andy Robertson finding Trent Alexander-Arnold, who played the ball back from the far post for Jota to squeeze a low strike under Ederson.

De Bruyne whipped narrowly wide in search of his second before Jesus latched onto a Joao Cancelo cross and coolly finished via the underside of the crossbar.

Mane levelled up within a minute of the second half getting under way, racing onto Mohamed Salah's throughball to slot powerfully past Ederson, who thwarted Jota's prodded effort shortly after.

Sterling thought he had nudged the hosts ahead again, but a VAR check showed the forward was offside when De Bruyne passed the ball, while Salah curled just off target at the other end.

Substitute Riyad Mahrez provided a late scare for the visitors as he clipped the post with a free-kick, and then chipped over after a sublime De Bruyne pass, but there would be no decisive goal.

Mohamed Salah has moved above Robbie Fowler into second place for the most goal involvements by a Liverpool player in the Premier League.

The 29-year-old assisted Sadio Mane's goal early in the second half of Sunday's crunch meeting with Manchester City to make it 2-2 at the Etihad Stadium.

That was Salah's 159th goal contribution for the Reds in the competition, moving him in front of Fowler (158 goal involvements) and behind only Steven Gerrard (212) on the list of combined goals and assists among Liverpool players.

Michael Owen (148) and Roberto Firmino (116) make up the rest of the top five, with this the 30th season of the Premier League era.

Salah came into the game at City with 115 goals and the assist took him to 44 in 174 games, which compares to 128 goals and 30 assists for Fowler in 266 games.

With his contribution to the equaliser, Salah moved to 20 goals and 11 assists in this season's Premier League – eight more goal contributions than next-best Son Heung-min of Tottenham.

Salah's most prolific campaign to date came in 2017-18 when scoring 32 times and setting up 10 goals, with that tally of 42 goal involvements the fifth-most ever in a Premier League season.

Trent Alexander-Arnold is Liverpool's assists king – and he emphasised his creative threat when setting up Diogo Jota for an early equaliser at Manchester City on Sunday.

The attacking right-back played Andy Robertson's cross back to striker Jota, who beat Ederson to cancel out Kevin De Bruyne's deflected fifth-minute strike.

The 13th-minute leveller meant Alexander-Arnold has now had an assist for a Liverpool goal against all 19 of their current Premier League rivals.

He is the only player to have completed a full set of assists against the current group of teams in the English top flight, Opta said.

It was his 12th assist of the Premier League season, which is a league high, and meant he was one short of matching his best tally in the competition (13 in 2019-20).

City restored their lead by half-time, with Gabriel Jesus putting the home side 2-1 in front at the Etihad Stadium.

Neymar hailed fellow hat-trick hero Kylian Mbappe and PSG assists king Lionel Messi as "geniuses" after the 6-1 win over Clermont.

The Brazilian also echoed Mbappe's verdict that it was a "shame" the superstar trio had not been able to link up more often this season.

Messi claimed three assists in the Ligue 1 leaders' rampant away victory on Saturday night, becoming the first player to claim three assists on two separate occasions in the French top flight since Opta data for the competition began in 2006-07, having previously assisted three goals against Saint-Etienne in November.

The former Barcelona captain has averaged an impressive 0.73 assists per 90 minutes on the pitch during his first season in Ligue 1, a team-high.

Meanwhile, the trebles scored by Mbappe and Neymar meant they became the first Ligue 1 team-mates to net hat-tricks in the same game since Mbappe and Edinson Cavani did so against Guingamp in January 2019. Prior to that, the last team to achieve the feat were Bordeaux against Valenciennes in August 1979.

Speaking after reaching double figures for Ligue 1 goals this season, Neymar was delighted with PSG's performance and said the relationship between the front three is improving with every match.

"I am very pleased to have scored my first hat-trick of the season," Neymar said.

"And [I'm] even happier with the win and our attitude. It's important that the chemistry between us get stronger in every match."

The win represented just the 14th occasion across all competitions when all three attackers have started together this season, leading Mbappe to say it was a "shame" PSG fans had been forced to wait until now to see them perform regularly together.

Neymar delivered a similar sentiment, while labelling his attacking partners "extraordinary".

"Unfortunately, everyone has gotten to pretty much 100 per cent only at the end of the season," Neymar said, quoted on the official Ligue 1 website.

"It's a shame, but I am very happy with everything that we are showing on the pitch. It's a lot easier to play with players who are very intelligent.

"Leo and Kylian are extraordinary, they are two geniuses."

PSG's last 11 Ligue 1 goals have been scored by Mbappe (five), Neymar (five) or Messi (one), and Mauricio Pochettino's men are closing in on the French title.

Neymar, meanwhile, has now scored against 24 of the 25 opponents he has faced in Ligue 1, the exception being Brest, and the treble was his first since January 2018, when he scored four goals against Dijon.

Gabriel Jesus and Phil Foden were recalled to Manchester City's starting line-up for Sunday's Premier League clash against Liverpool, with the Reds making three changes.

Brazil international Jesus made his first league start since City's New Year's Day win against Arsenal in place of the benched Riyad Mahrez.

Foden made an instant impact from the substitutes' bench by assisting Kevin De Bruyne's winner against Atletico Madrid in midweek and was rewarded with a place in the XI.

He had scored in each of his past three top-flight games against Liverpool, including a goal in October's 2-2 draw at Anfield in the reverse fixture.

Kyle Walker was also included from the beginning, with Ilkay Gundogan and Nathan Ake the other two players to make way from City's European win against Atletico.

Ruben Dias missed out through injury as expected, meaning John Stones again partnered Aymeric Laporte in the heart of defence at the Etihad Stadium.

Liverpool also brought in three new faces from their 3-1 Champions League win against Benfica in midweek for what was billed as a likely Premier League title decider.

Diogo Jota replaced Luis Diaz alongside Sadio Mane and the out-of-form Mohamed Salah up top, while skipper Jordan Henderson took over from Naby Keita in midfield.

Salah had scored in four of his last five Premier League games against Man City, including each of his last three in a row.

The Reds' other change saw Joel Matip recalled alongside Virgil van Dijk in place of Ibrahima Konate.

Liverpool entered the contest on a 10-game winning run in the Premier League, which had seen them close the gap on the leaders to just a point ahead of Sunday's huge clash.

City had lost just one of their past 12 home league games against Liverpool ahead of their latest showdown, going down 4-1 at the Etihad in November 2015.

The Reds were also without a clean sheet in any of their past 11 Premier League away meetings with City since a goalless draw in February 2010.

Man City XI: Ederson; Walker, Cancelo, Stones, Laporte; De Bruyne, Rodri, Silva; Sterling, Foden, Jesus.

Subs: Steffen, Mahrez, Zinchenko, Fernandinho, McAtee, Lavia, Grealish, Gundogan, Ake.

Liverpool XI: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Matip, Van Dijk, Robertson; Henderson, Fabinho, Thiago; Salah, Mane, Jota.

Subs: Kelleher, Jones, Tsimikas, Konate, Gomez, Milner, Keita, Firmino, Diaz.

Mohamed Salah could ruin his Liverpool legacy if he leaves and is not "sensible" in his contact negotiations, according to Reds great Jamie Carragher.

Salah has starred for Jurgen Klopp's side since joining from Roma in 2017 for £34million (39m euro), but uncertainty remains over his future with his contract set to expire at the end of the 2022-23 season.

Reports suggest the Egypt forward, who has won the Premier League Golden Boot award twice, is looking to be made the highest-paid player at the club by a considerable distance.

Liverpool appear unwilling to budge on their wage structure, though Klopp previously suggested he is "happy" with how the ongoing negotiations are going.

Carragher pointed towards former Reds talisman Fernando Torres as he urged Salah to be cautious in how he approaches the discussions, otherwise he risks tarnishing his reputation.

"I don't think Liverpool will up their offer at this moment," Carragher said on Sky Sports ahead of what is being billed as the Premier League title decider between Manchester City and Liverpool on Sunday.

"But I think Mo Salah should be sensible, he and his representatives should understand the situation they have at Liverpool.

"He will still be getting an amazing contract. But the football he's playing now, he's playing for one of the best managers in the world, one of the best teams in the world.

"What he's done over the last four or five years makes him one of the greatest players to ever wear a Liverpool shirt. And I just think it would be sad if he was to move on, maybe to a rival in this country.

"I think he'd lose his legacy, if you like, at Liverpool. If you look at what happened to Fernando Torres, going to Chelsea... I just don't think it'd be great for his career.

"Where could he go that's better than Liverpool right now? I don't think there is anywhere."

Torres formed a formidable partnership with Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard after joining in 2007, scoring 81 times in 142 appearances, but his relationship with the Anfield faithful turned sour when he joined Chelsea in 2011.

That move coincided with a downturn in the former Spain forward's career and Carragher believes Salah could face a similar problem, though the centre-back is hopeful the forward will stay.

"I still believe he will sign, I think this is the best place for him," he said.   

"It's not as though Mo Salah came to Liverpool as a superstar, he became a superstar at Liverpool and I think Jurgen Klopp, the way his team plays brings out the best in him.

"I don't think it would be a sensible move for him if he was to move on, I really don't. I think it would be better for him and obviously the club if he could put pen to paper."

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