Premier League 2021-22 review: matches of the season

“It was a wild ride,” said Jürgen Klopp after a pulsating draw. He wasn’t wrong. Liverpool had their feathers ruffled and more, going behind in the 27th minute as Ethan Pinnock finished a smart move involving Ivan Toney. The futuristic little Community Stadium almost rattled out of its foundations and didn’t stop shaking. A few moments later Diogo Jota headed home to make it 1-1. When Mohamed Salah gave Liverpool the lead with his 100th goal for the club the expectation was that Klopp’s side would gain control. Brentford had other ideas, throwing caution to the wind and bombarding Liverpool’s penalty area until, finally, Vitaly Janelt equalised. It felt like a cup tie. A deflected Curtis Jones strike sent the away fans into raptures in the 67th minute and, when Salah went clean through 10 minutes later, a 4-2 victory looked inevitable only for the Egyptian to loft over wastefully. On came Yoane Wissa to seal a famous draw with a feather-toed finish over Alisson.

When the final whistle sounded on a thrilling match at Anfield it was clear the two rivals were streets ahead in the Premier League. Pep Guardiola’s side showcased their suffocating control in a gripping first half in which Liverpool had Alisson to thank for not coming in a goal down. Whatever Jürgen Klopp gave his team at half-time, it worked. They flew out of the traps, with Salah cutting through midfield to lay on Sadio Mané for the Reds’ first. City responded like champions with the brilliant Phil Foden finding space where there appeared to be none and smashing into the far corner with unerring accuracy. Cue that solo goal from Salah, in which he picked up the ball in a position that appeared to pose no threat before bamboozling Bernardo Silva and Aymeric