A brace from Stevan Jovetic and a goal from Sergio Aguero was enough to secure a victory for the defending champions against last season’s runners up. An 83rd minute own goal from Pablo Zabaleta gave Liverpool some consolation but it was too little too late.
Though both teams seemed a bit out of sorts in the first half, Liverpool were the livelier of the two dominating a better part of the possession for the first twenty minutes. Raheem Sterling’s eagerness to penetrate and wriggle through defenders was a joy to watch but he was unable to find his teammates with a final ball. There was a lot of sparring between the two sides for a better part of the half until Stefan Jovetic scored the opener thanks to an error from Liverpool debutant Alberto Moreno. The half ended 1-0 in favour of the Champions.
In the second half, City came out with confidence and simply outplayed their opponents in all areas of the pitch. Smart movement from Jovetic, Nasri and Silva had Liverpool’s defense in a state of confusion and the strategy paid off in the 55th minute when Jovetic got his second goal for City. Liverpool fought hard but they seemed to lack the extra spark they had last season, this will definitely be a concern for Brenden Rodgers and his coaching team. An injury to Edin Dzeko forced Manuel Pelligrini to bring on Sergio Aguero and 23 seconds later he scored City’s third goal.
A late own goal from Zabaleta thanks to a vicious low cross from Daniel Sturridge and pressure from Liverpool substitute Ricki Lambert ended the tie 3-1. Once positive Liverpool can take with them is the fact that their debutantes for the night (Alberto Moreno, Ricki Lambert, Can Emre and Lazar Markovic) all had good games and with the likes of Adam Lallana and Mario Balotelli yet to feature, the Merceyside team is sure to bounce back.