Brilliance and fine margins summed up Kyle Walker's and Man City's display against Liverpool

Manchester City played out a thrilling 2-2 draw with Liverpool on Sunday, a result that, while keeping them a point clear at the top of the Premier League table, feels slightly less than they deserved.

Pep Guardiola's side were brilliant for large swathes of the contest, dominating the first-half in particular but failing to make the most of the chances they created. Guardiola adopted a Liverpool-esque direct approach to attack, his side playing far more balls in behind their opponent's defence than normal.

But against a team as good as Liverpool, fine margins can make all the difference. The performance of Kyle Walker summed that up perfectly and served as a microcosm of City's general team performance on the day.

One of Walker's biggest assets is his pace and ability to make recovery runs, something that was vital in keeping Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane largely quiet in the first-half.

With Liverpool riding a wave after Diogo Jota equalised, Salah lead a counter-attack on the right flank. The Egyptian was one-on-one with Aymeric Laporte - a foot race no City fan ever wants to see - but Walker recognised the danger and decided to act.

As soon as Salah took a heavy touch to knock the ball around Laporte, Walker sprinted over and collected the ball before the attacker could reach it.

On the ball, Walker was typically excellent. On Sunday he generally played higher and wider than has usually been the case this season, with Guardiola moving away from his usual full-backs tucking in approach.

On occasion, he did still find himself in a more central position, like when he received a short pass from Bernardo Silva while under pressure. In one smooth motion, he turned and controlled the ball before launching a perfect