Liverpool handed Manchester City their first Premier League defeat of the season thanks to a Mohamed Salah strike in an enthralling encounter at Anfield.

The Egyptian raced onto a long pass from Alisson with 14 minutes remaining before slotting past Ederson to give the Reds just their third league win of the season.

City were frustrated to see Phil Foden’s second half goal ruled out following a VAR check for a foul by Erling Haaland in the build-up.

The result leaves Pep Guardiola’s men four points behind league leaders Arsenal, while Liverpool move up to eighth after a much-improved showing.

A high-octane start to the game did not lead to many early chances, with Ilkay Gundogan forcing the first save from either goalkeeper in the 15th minute, but his hopeful strike from 25 yards was easy for Alisson to deal with.

Liverpool's first opportunity came through Diogo Jota, who could only place his header from a cross by Harvey Elliott straight at Ederson, before Andrew Robertson received the ball on the left of the penalty area after the City stopper had palmed away a James Milner cross, but the Scot fired his effort over the crossbar.

Bernardo Silva sliced a shot into the Kop from the edge of the box on the half-hour mark, while Haaland tested Alisson on two occasions, also seeing a header loop over the bar.

The hosts should have been ahead shortly after the restart when Salah was played through on goal by Elliott, but Ederson got the slightest touch to it to tip the Egyptian's finish just wide of the right-hand post.

City thought they were ahead moments later when Haaland burst through, forcing a save from Alisson before Foden put the ball in the net on the rebound, but referee Anthony Taylor ruled it out after the VAR asked him to check the monitor, with Haaland having fouled Fabinho in the build-up.

It was Liverpool who took the lead on 76 minutes when Alisson caught a Kevin De Bruyne free-kick before launching it downfield to Salah, who outfoxed Joao Cancelo before finishing calmly past Ederson.

Reds boss Jurgen Klopp was sent to the stands by Taylor late on after reacting furiously to the referee's refusal to award his team a free-kick, but it did not matter as Liverpool held on for a win that could turn around their slow start to the campaign.

Mohamed Salah ended his Premier League goal drought by finding the net against Manchester City to move ahead of Steven Gerrard into second place in Liverpool's all-time list of scorers in the competition.

The Egypt international matched Gerrard's tally of 120 league goals for Liverpool in August's 2-1 defeat at Manchester United, but he had gone five top-flight matches without scoring since then.

However, Salah raced clear of the City defence on Sunday to usurp Gerrard with his 121st goal and move to within seven strikes of matching Robbie Fowler's club-record haul of 128 in the Premier League.

Salah now has three goals in nine appearances in the competition this season and has scored at least 19 league goals in each of his five full seasons as a Liverpool player to date, meaning Fowler's record looks destined to fall in the near future.

When it does, it will represent the latest in a long series of landmark goalscoring achievements for the talismanic winger. 

Salah's 32 goals in 2017-18 remain the most scored by any player in a single Premier League campaign, and he has found the net at least 20 times in four separate seasons.

Liverpool have had a player reach that tally on 11 occasions throughout their Premier League history, with Salah responsible for twice as many instances as any other Reds player.

Meanwhile, Salah has overtaken Gerrard's tally despite the former captain playing over 300 more Premier League games than the 30-year-old, who was making his 189th league appearance for Liverpool in the meeting with Bournemouth. 

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp named Darwin Nunez and Trent Alexander-Arnold on the bench as his team prepared to face Manchester City in the Premier League.

Despite scoring in each of his last two appearances, Nunez made way in the Liverpool attack, along with Fabio Carvalho, following the 7-1 Champions League win at Rangers. Diogo Jota and Ibrox hat-trick hero Mohamed Salah came in.

Alexander-Arnold had been expected to miss Sunday's fixture entirely after suffering an ankle injury in the 3-2 loss at Arsenal, but he was surprisingly among the substitutes for the clash at Anfield.

James Milner got the nod to start at right-back in place of centre-back Ibrahima Konate, who missed out through injury, meaning Joe Gomez moved inside to partner Virgil van Dijk in the middle.

There were two more changes from the thrashing of Rangers as Jordan Henderson and Kostas Tsimikas were replaced by Thiago Alcantara and Andy Robertson.

City made five changes following their 0-0 draw in Copenhagen, with Ruben Dias, Nathan Ake, Phil Foden, Bernardo Silva and Erling Haaland coming in for Aymeric Laporte, Sergio Gomez, Riyad Mahrez, Jack Grealish and Julian Alvarez.

Frenkie de Jong's future at Barcelona remains up in the air after a drawn-out saga ahead of the season.

The Dutch midfielder had interest from Barcelona but wanted to stay at Camp Nou.

However, De Jong's opportunities have been limited this season, perhaps encouraging further bids.

TOP STORY – LIVERPOOL MOVE IN FOR BARCELONA'S DE JONG

Liverpool have entered the race to sign the unsettled De Jong from Barcelona, claims SPORT.

De Jong resisted interest in from United with a strong desire to play Champions League football, which Jurgen Klopp's side can offer.

Liverpool midfielders Naby Keita, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and James Milner are all out of contract at the end of this season, when Arthur's loan will also expire, so the club are assessing their options.

The domestic struggles of the Reds could precipitate January transfer activity, given their need for midfield reinforcements.

ROUND-UP

– Liverpool may try to hijack Chelsea 's move for RB Leipzig's Christopher Nkunku, claims The Sun. The Reds sent scouts to watch the French forward against Celtic in the Champions League in midweek but fear Chelsea are well down the line with Nkunku, and they have missed the boat.

– Talks between Everton and Chelsea target Anthony Gordon on a contract extension have stalled, according to The Sun. Gordon reportedly wants approximately £100,000 per week.

– Manchester United have reached out to Lautaro Martinez's agent about the Inter forward's availability, claims Gazzetta dello Sport. Martinez is contracted until 2026, while Barcelona are also interested.

– United have joined Chelsea and Manchester City in having an active interest in Milan's Portuguese attacker Rafael Leao, claims The Mirror. United sent scouts to watch him against Chelsea in the Champions League.

– Chelsea are interested in Napoli's Slovakia international Stanislav Lobotka, reports Calciomercato. Napoli and the midfielder are close to sealing a new deal.

– Newcastle United have commenced discussions with the agent of Vasco da Gama midfielder Andrey Santos, reports Torcedores. Barcelona are also interested in the Brazilian, who has a release clause of £34.6million (€40m).

Jurgen Klopp joked Pep Guardiola should take a four-year sabbatical when his Manchester City contract expires at the end of the season.

Guardiola has led City to four Premier League titles in the last five seasons, but his future at the Etihad Stadium is unclear with less than 12 months remaining on his deal.

On Friday, Guardiola said he was not considering his contract situation for the time being, declaring there would be "plenty of time" for talks after the Premier League breaks for the World Cup next month.

Liverpool have often suffered due to Guardiola's brilliance, finishing as Premier League runners-up to City on two occasions, and Klopp says there can be no questions over his rival manager's quality.

Asked whether he thought Guardiola would remain at City beyond this campaign, Klopp said: "I would prefer for Pep to be doing a sabbatical for four years or something, 100 per cent.

"Actually, my preferred solution would have been if he had a sabbatical these past four years. Honestly, it's a joke, but I have no idea.

"I've said it, I don't know how often; he is the best manager in the world. He has proven that all the time, every day. It's special, what they are doing, and I respect that."

Asked whether Guardiola's incredible standards made his own job the toughest in football, Klopp said: "Yeah, but it's fine, I am a very happy person. I have no problem with the situation.

"I'm not [Roger] Federer and Pep is not [Rafael] Nadal, they compete on the highest level and are best friends. Pep and I are not best friends because we don't know each other.

"But I respect him a lot, I know he respects what we are doing as well, so that's fine. For a rivalry you don't need to be disrespectful.

"Around the games, we have a good relationship; during the games we are both competitors. I could always admit brilliance when I saw it, and with him, that's the case."

While Guardiola has brought 11 pieces of silverware to City since his 2016 arrival, he has yet to deliver the Champions League trophy, but Klopp says that has no bearing on his standing in the game.

"I am not here to name City's targets. They are the best team in the world, I think it's obvious," Klopp said. "I think they won an awful lot, to be honest, and were unlucky in moments to not go through in the Champions League, nothing else.

"Last year they should have gone through, but that's how life is. From a sports point of view, I couldn't respect what they do more, that's the 100 per cent truth.

"What Pep is doing, it's absolutely outstanding. He will never stop, he wants to win each game desperately… he has so many things which are special for a manager."

Jurgen Klopp acknowledges Liverpool cannot compete with Premier League rivals Manchester City and Newcastle United financially, declaring "some clubs have a ceiling".

Liverpool go into Sunday's encounter with City trailing the champions by 13 points, having made their worst start to a league campaign since 2012 – when they took nine points from their first eight games.

Pep Guardiola's side beat Liverpool to the Premier League title by just one point last season, and have gone from strength to strength since the arrival of Erling Haaland from Borussia Dortmund.

Meanwhile, with Newcastle enjoying a strong start to their first full season under their hugely wealthy Saudi owners, boss Eddie Howe declared there was "no ceiling" for the Magpies on Friday.

Asked how Liverpool could keep pace with City, Klopp said they were one of three clubs in world football operating without any economic restraints. 

"You will not like the answer, and you all have the answer already," Klopp said. "Nobody can compete with City. You have the best team in the world, and you put in the best striker on the market.

"No matter what it costs, they just do it. I know City will not like it, nobody will like it. Liverpool can not act like them. It's not possible. 

"It's just clear. There are three clubs in world football that can do what they want, financially. It's legal and everything, fine. But it's a fact.

"It's not a problem at all for me, it is what it is. But don't ask me that question. You all should know it, it's not possible to deal with that, and it will be like this.

"I hear now at Newcastle they said, 'there's no ceiling for this club'. He's absolutely right, there's no ceiling for Newcastle. Congratulations, some other clubs have ceilings."

Haaland has played a massive role in City's unbeaten start to the season since his big-money move, scoring 20 goals in 13 appearances for the club.

Pre-season saw comparisons drawn between Haaland and Liverpool's new frontman Darwin Nunez, who has only scored two Premier League goals, but Klopp wants the Uruguayan to focus on his own game.

"I'll say it like this: I think Darwin Nunez would have scored a couple more goals if he could play in the centre for Man City this season," Klopp said.

"He would be a good striker for them too, finishing the situations off. We have to improve our game to bring more situations.

"I don't know. I hope he's not in a process where he compares himself with Erling Haaland, but I think he's really making steps here. You could really see in his face and everything, his goal [in a 7-1 thrashing of Rangers on Wednesday] was really important to him.

"You need these moments, I hope he's not doing that or thinking about that. I don't see that. We are in our situation and want to solve our situation, that's all we are concerned about."

The outoome of Liverpool's clash with Manchester City is likely to hinge on how Virgil van Dijk copes with "absolute phenomenon" Erling Haaland, according to Gary Neville.

City trail Premier League leaders Arsenal by a point ahead of their trip to Anfield on Sunday, while Liverpool are 13 points further back, seemingly out of title contention already.

Pep Guardiola's men are the only unbeaten side in the Premier League, thanks in no small part to the extraordinary exploits of Haaland.

Having only played nine games in the top flight, Haaland has already broken the records for most goals (15) and goal involvements (18) in a player's first 10 appearances in the competition. 

A trip to Merseyside will see Norway striker face arguably his toughest opponent yet in Van Dijk, and Neville is excited by the prospect of their duel.

"I still think, no matter what form Liverpool are in and where they are, Sunday will still feel like the toughest game they [City] are going to face," Neville told Sky Sports.

"Look, at the end of the day you know what I feel about those two clubs, but on Sunday you can't help but think of Haaland against Van Dijk.

"You just can't stop thinking about how that's going to play out. The best centre-back in the world for the last three or four years, who has struggled a little bit more this season. 

"But he's against this absolute phenomenon. That Liverpool back line, which pushes up with space in behind… I'm fascinated by that, I can't wait for it, to be honest."

Liverpool are winless in their last five Premier League meetings with the champions (D3 L2) – they have never previously gone six without a victory against City in the league.

Jamie Carragher has told Liverpool to focus on stopping Kevin De Bruyne in Sunday's clash against Manchester City, which he believes would cut the supply to Erling Haaland.

Jurgen Klopp's side welcome City to Anfield after a disappointing start to their Premier League campaign, sitting 13 points behind their opponents following a defeat to Arsenal last week.

Stopping City from extending that gap will be tough, particularly with Haaland in such incredible goalscoring form. The former Borussia Dortmund has already scored 15 league goals, only eight fewer than the 23 managed by Golden Boot winners Son Heung-min and Mohamed Salah last season.

While that may encourage Liverpool to pay special attention to the 22-year-old, former Reds defender Carragher believes the key factor will be limiting De Bruyne's influence on the game.

"I'd almost be more focused on De Bruyne rather than Haaland in this game," he told Sky Sports' Essential Football podcast.

"If you stop De Bruyne, you take 50 per cent away from Haaland as well as the connection the two have got is there already. And for me, De Bruyne is the best midfielder in the world.

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola says he is "not thinking one second" over a potential contract extension as his team prepare to face Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday.

Having joined City in 2016 and led them to four of the last five Premier League titles, Guardiola's side once again look favourites to win the league.

They are the only remaining unbeaten team in the Premier League this season and are kept off the top spot by just Arsenal.

But with Guardiola's current set to expire at the end of the 2022-23 season, there are fears he may depart in similar fashion to the sabbatical period he took when leaving Barcelona in 2012 if a new agreement is not made.

However, Guardiola says he is not even considering his contract situation yet. 

"You know I am not thinking one second about that," he said.

"We have two or three weeks until the World Cup and this is an important time. After that, we have plenty of time to talk about that."

Sunday's fixture sees City face their closest competitors over the past couple of years, with the Citizens and Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool finishing as the top two in three of the past five campaigns.

After finishing as runners-up in both the Premier League and Champions League last term, Liverpool have struggled at the beginning of this season, winning just two of their eight league games and already finding themselves 13 points behind City and 14 behind leaders Arsenal.

Liverpool's star forward Mohamed Salah has faced particular criticism for his poor start, but Guardiola believes the Egypt international will come good.

"These type of players always score goals in their career," Guardiola added. "Sometimes they struggle a little bit, but the quality is there.

"They get chances, they convert it. We played many times against Liverpool. Just because Salah isn't scoring goals now doesn't mean he's not going to score."

Jurgen Klopp says Liverpool will experience a familiar rush heading into Sunday's clash with Manchester City, despite writing off their Premier League title chances.

Klopp has openly dismissed the possibility of the Reds contending for top spot this term, having already slipped 14 points behind leaders Arsenal and 13 adrift of champions City.

Liverpool have regularly been City's closest challengers in recent seasons, twice taking them to the final day and winning the title themselves in 2019-20.

As such, matches between the two teams have made for compelling viewing, with the championship seemingly on the line.

Yet Klopp, while acknowledging his side will not be celebrating come May, suggests the title element could still be relevant this weekend as Liverpool welcome City – "definitely the best football team in the world" – to Anfield.

"It could be [a title decider] this year... just not with us," Klopp said.

"When you play City, the results left and right are not really important. This game requires all your focus, requires all the things you know about football.

"I enjoy preparing the game really, but it's the biggest challenge you can face in football.

"Football is all about closing down spaces, closing down players, making challenges in the right areas, these kind of things. With City, it's always: if you close down here, they are there; if you close down that gap, you open up that gap. The pitch is so big, and we have only 10 players to close all the gaps.

"It's always a challenge. It's not that we now feel different; it's a home game, it's Anfield, it's us against Man City.

"They are, at the moment, definitely the best football team in the world, that's how it is. But we will give it a try anyway, knowing there are no guarantees. We get help from a full Anfield and we try to use that."

Liverpool come into the match on a high after winning 7-1 against Rangers in the Champions League.

That was an encouraging result and performance for Klopp, but having also beaten Bournemouth 9-0 this season before again struggling, he added a joke at his team's expense.

"It's helpful when these boys at least still know where the goal is," he said. "We just need to spread the goals a bit more to different games.

"We should not focus on one, then nine, then seven, then nil. We know that."

Jurgen Klopp became aware of Erling Haaland's "insane" potential when he faced Liverpool with Salzburg, and the Reds boss believes the striker has found "a perfect fit" at Manchester City.

Liverpool were drawn into the same Champions League group as Haaland's Salzburg in the 2019-20 season.

Then 19, having hit a hat-trick against Genk on his Champions League debut, Haaland netted in a 4-3 defeat at Anfield.

The Norway international has scarcely stopped scoring since, earning moves to Klopp's former club Borussia Dortmund and then City, where he has an astonishing 20 goals in 13 games in all competitions.

Ahead of facing Haaland again on Sunday in the Premier League, Klopp was asked for his take on the dominant forward.

"Even when he was very young, younger than he is now, you could see the potential was insane," Klopp said.

"Physically, he sets new standards. The combination of being really physical and technical and [having] sensational awareness, his orientation on the pitch is exceptional, he is barely offside, he resets really well – there are so many things that make him a striker.

"Now, at City, he has some of the best players around him in the world in setting up goals and finding the right moment for the passes, with Kevin De Bruyne, Ilkay Gundogan, Bernardo Silva, Phil Foden, [Riyad] Mahrez, whoever. They all are really good at that.

"It's a perfect fit, there is no doubt about that."

Asked how Haaland might compare to other elite forwards, with Robert Lewandowski name-checked as a player Klopp worked with previously, the Liverpool manager said: "For Erling, I think it's that he combines so many things, and it's rare.

"His finishing skills are exceptional, but he also moves really smart. You can only use the speed if you use it in a smart way, because just running is not helpful if you forget the ball or whatever. Especially behind the line, you need to make sure that you are patient enough in not being offside.

"The package makes him special."

So, do Liverpool have any special plans for dealing with Haaland? That is tricky, Klopp said, when he plays for a side as good as City.

"When you play against, at the moment, the best striker in the world, you have to make sure he doesn't get that many balls," Klopp explained.

"That's what we will try, but against City, obviously the problem is if you close Haaland down with too many players then you open up gaps for all the other world-class players, so that will not make life easier.

"It's a challenge, a football problem. We will try to find solutions."

Pep Guardiola is ignoring Liverpool's below-par start to the Premier League season ahead of Manchester City's trip to Anfield on Sunday, declaring: "Nothing changes what I feel about Liverpool."

City and Liverpool have finished as the Premier League's top two teams in three of the last four seasons, but the Reds trail the champions by 13 points after a poor start to the new campaign.

Liverpool's tally of 10 points is their lowest at this stage of a season since 2012-13 (nine), and Jurgen Klopp's team have already lost as many league games this campaign as they did throughout the entirety of last term (two).

That form represents quite the drop-off for a side who went tantalisingly close to a stunning quadruple in 2021-22, but Guardiola believes City will still face a stern test.

"I had the feeling at Anfield we have played really well [in the past]," Guardiola said on Friday. "It's different circumstances, but you have to behave at a top, top level. 

"In Anfield, winning or losing, we have behaved with an incredible personality. It's a football game, Liverpool is important because of the quality they have.

"Liverpool were going for a prestigious achievement of four titles. For two little details, they didn't achieve what no English team has done.

"I pay zero attention to them being in a good moment or bad moment. They know in the last years, we have fought for most of the competitions and titles, and it's been really close.

"We were a bit better, especially in the Premier League, but nothing changes what I feel about Liverpool."

Pushed on whether Liverpool remain title contenders, Guardiola said: "Liverpool have always been our biggest challengers, and they will be now. Being in the position that we are, with the World Cup, anything can happen."

City have picked up four points from their last two league trips to Anfield, just one fewer than they earned in their previous 17 visits to Liverpool (D5 L12).

Should Guardiola's men avoid defeat on Sunday, it will represent the first time they have done so in three consecutive away league games against Liverpool since December 1992.

City's efforts could be hampered by the absences of England trio Kalvin Phillips, John Stones and Kyle Walker, but Guardiola says Erling Haaland and Bernardo Silva are raring to go after being rested at Copenhagen on Tuesday.

"John Stones will be back in, I don't know, maybe one week or 10 days. Kalvin is doing really well, but Kyle is out," Guardiola said.

"We have a lot of games, like all the teams. Players are recovering better. Erling could not play all the games last season. Bernardo was tired, but they feel good and are ready for Sunday."

Haaland has only played nine Premier League games for City, but he has already broken the records for most goals (15) and goal involvements (18) in a player's first 10 outings in the competition.

The Norwegian is just one goal away from matching the record for most goals scored by a player across any 10-game stint in Premier League history, set by former Liverpool attacker Luis Suarez – who from October to December 2013 scored 16 goals for the Reds.

Joao Felix is increasingly frustrated with life at Atletico Madrid after dropping out of the starting XI in recent games.

The 22-year-old Portuguese is yet to score for the side in LaLiga or the Champions League this season and was an unused substitute in the midweek 0-0 draw with Club Brugge.

Atleti boss Diego Simeone has preferred Antoine Griezmann, Alvaro Morata, Matheus Cunha and Angel Correa in attack recently.

TOP STORY – JOAO FELIX WANTS ATLETICO EXIT

Joao Felix has requested to leave Atletico Madrid in January, reports Fichajes.

The forward is frustrated that he has been used sparingly, largely outside the starting XI this term.

Joao Felix's contract runs until 2026 and it will likely require a hefty fee to sign him from Atleti, who paid €126 million for him in 2019.

Relevo claims that Atleti are not considering selling the Portuguese any time soon.

ROUND-UP

– ​ Frenkie de Jong is growing frustrated at his lack of first-team opportunities at Barcelona and will look to exit the club in January should the situation not improve, claims SPORT. De Jong was at the centre of a drawn-out off-season saga, amid links to Manchester United.

– Granit Xhaka will earn a contract extension at Arsenal, reports Football Insider. Xhaka, who is out of contract in 2024, has been in top form this term and will be rewarded after the World Cup.

– Chelsea have an interest in RB Leipzig's Austria international midfielder Konrad Laimer, reports Bild. Laimer is out of contract at the end of this season and the Blues will look to sign him for free if he is not sold in January.

– Chelsea along with Arsenal are now also keen on pursuing Rennes winger Jeremy Doku, claims Fichajes. The 20-year-old is already being chased by Liverpool, Napoli and Juventus.

– Bild also claims Chelsea are monitoring versatile Bayern Munich defender Benjamin Pavard.

– The Telegraph reports Thomas Tuchel is interested in the England managerial role should Gareth Southgate depart after this year's World Cup. The German has reportedly declined two Premier League jobs since leaving Chelsea last month.

Roberto Firmino was not supposed to be Liverpool's go-to man this season. If widespread reports were anything to go by, Firmino himself did not even envisage himself being at Anfield this campaign.

And yet here we are, midway through October, and no Liverpool player – not even the £350,000-a-week Mohamed Salah, despite his record-breaking six-minute hat-trick against Rangers – has played a part in more goals in all competitions this season than Firmino's eight.

Far from being the odd man out following the arrivals of Luis Diaz and Darwin Nunez this year, Firmino has regularly stepped up for the Reds this season and is surely in contention to start Sunday's Premier League showdown against Manchester City.

Liverpool quite simply have to win at Anfield, where Firmino will come face-to-face with Europe's hottest striker in Erling Haaland, a player boasting 20 goals – six more than anyone else in Europe's top-five leagues – from his 13 appearances for City and feeling refreshed after a midweek rest. 

Ahead of the meeting between the Premier League's two most dominant forces over the past four seasons, Stats Perform looks at Firmino's figures in more detail and just why he may hold the key to Liverpool getting the better of the champions.

KLOPP'S FAITH PAYS OFF

Amid all the noise surrounding Firmino's future heading into the 2022-23 campaign, with Juventus said to be in advanced talks to sign him, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp branded the forward "the heart and soul" of the team.

No wonder the German thinks so highly of the 31-year-old, with no Liverpool player playing more games (332), featuring for more minutes (23,899) or registering more assists (70) during Klopp's seven years in charge.

The arrivals of Diaz and Nunez, plus the impressive form of Diogo Jota, looked as though it would curtail Firmino's playing time, but he started three of Liverpool's opening four matches of the campaign, including the Community Shield win over City.

Firmino failed to register a single goal or assist in any of those matches, yet he retained the faith of Klopp – albeit helped by Jota being injured and Nunez suspended – and truly kick-started his campaign in the 9-0 thrashing of Bournemouth at the end of August.

In that game, a joint-record winning margin for a side in Premier League history, Firmino became the first Liverpool player to be directly involved in four goals in the first half of a match in the competition en route to scoring two and assisting three. If a reminder was needed of Firmino's qualities, this was very much it.

An important equaliser followed in Liverpool's next match, a late 2-1 win over Newcastle United; two goals to drag Liverpool back from two goals down in a 3-3 draw with Brighton and Hove Albion; another equaliser, this time in defeat to Arsenal; and then another two-goal and an assist showing in the 7-1 midweek Champions League rout of Rangers.

Those 12 goals and assists in all competitions is level with Salah's tally for the season, and double that of next-best Diaz, who has started three games more than the Brazil international. Per minute, no Liverpool player is performing better this season in an attacking sense.

FIRMINO THE FOCAL POINT

Perhaps most remarkable of all as focus turns to Liverpool's meeting with City, Firmino is only one goal short of Haaland's tally for October (five goals compared to six). Across clubs from Europe's top-five leagues, when taking all competitions into account, Monaco's Wissam Ben Yedder is the only other player with five or more goals this month.

Firmino's five goals have come from an expected goals (xG) value of 1.43, incidentally, compared to six from an xG of 3.03 for Haaland – a difference of 3.57 and 2.97 respectively, suggesting the quality of Firmino's chances have been lower than those teed up for Haaland.

That is not to say Firmino is in the same league as Haaland right now – who is? – but on a personal level this is by some way his best start to a campaign for Liverpool. His eight goals after 11 games is at least two more than he has managed in his previous seven seasons at Anfield, while only in 2019-20 has he had more assists than his four this term.

But exactly why is that? Playing against a Bournemouth side unable to defend any balls into the box has admittedly skewed the figures somewhat, though it is clear to see that Firmino's game has also changed this season compared to last.

Just under 11 per cent of his touches of the ball in the Premier League this season have come within the width of the goal inside the penalty area, which is an increase on a figure of six per cent last time out. It was further back last season, and more towards the right, that he more occasionally touched the ball.

Indeed, all eight of his goals this season have come from that central zone inside the box – one via his head, three with his left foot and four with his right. 

Another interesting aspect of Firmino's game this season has been his movement, or more specifically his off-the-ball runs into the penalty area. He has made 89 of them in the Premier League in his 468 minutes on the field, which is the most per 90 minutes (17.1) of any player, followed by Haaland (14.1).

That may well be a tactic Liverpool will aim to take full advantage of against City, a side in which Firmino has scored or assisted against seven times in 14 top-flight appearances – only versus Arsenal (13 combined) does he have a better record against among top-five clubs.

So while plenty of the build-up to Sunday's showdown will – justifiably – be centred around Haaland and his remarkable scoring run, Liverpool will have born-again Bobby to call upon in a game they simply must win if they are to keep alive any hopes of challenging for the title.

Toni Kroos has called for a full apology from UEFA for the chaos that occurred outside the Stade de France before the Champions League final.

European football's governing body has already said sorry for what it acknowledged as "frightening and distressing events" that preceded the match between Real Madrid and Liverpool.

Madrid midfielder Kroos wants there to be acknowledgement of mistakes made in the hours leading up to the May 28 match in Paris.

Kick-off was twice delayed due to what UEFA initially described as "security reasons" outside the Stade de France due to crowd congestion.

Liverpool fans complained of heavy-handed policing outside the stadium, with video footage showing tear gas being used on supporters, with Kroos saying his wife, Jessica, and their children were among those held at the entrance.

UEFA blamed ticketless fans trying to force entry and supporters using fake tickets, but it later announced an investigation seeking "to establish a full picture and timeline of what occurred during the day".

Kroos has answered 90 questions for a special edition of a newspaper designed to raise funds for the Toni Kroos Foundation.

Among them, Kicker's Jorg Jakob asked Kroos: "Should UEFA apologise to the fans for what happened in the Paris final?"

Five-time Champions League winner Kroos said, quoted in AS: "I don't know if the investigations have already been closed, but I do think it's time for them to apologise.

"My wife spent two hours at the gates of the stadium with the children. Her feeling is that there was no aggressiveness on the part of the fans of the two clubs.

"What's more: they were very considerate, because there were many children in the crowd.

"Shortly before taking the field, I received a message on my mobile that reassured me: everyone had entered the stadium without any problems. The question only deserves a yes."

Madrid went on to lift the trophy by defeating Liverpool 1-0 after the match started 36 minutes late.

The independent review panel investigating the final chaos is due to publish its full findings by November 2022, UEFA has said.