Manchester City's Undefeated Streak Snapped in 4-3 Loss to Liverpool

Liverpool ended Manchester City's 33-game unbeaten domestic streak Sunday as the Premier League leaders were defeated 4-3, collapsing under the weight of the relentless Reds at Anfield.

Jurgen Klopp's side showed clear signs they've got the strength to cope with Philippe Coutinho's loss as goals from Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah completed a memorable win. 

Bernardo Silva came off the bench to add a late strike for the Citizens before Ilkay Gundogan chested down to convert his second Premier League goal.

Leroy Sane's equaliser to Oxlade-Chamberlain's early opener had the two teams level at the break, but the Reds put the afterburners on in the second period to hand the Citizens their first league defeat since April. 

In Liverpool's first meeting with one of the Premier League's elite since selling Coutinho to Barcelona, Oxlade-Chamberlain started in a central role with Salah and Mane flanking Firmino.

Dejan Lovren and Joel Matip formed the central defence in the absence of injured Virgil van Dijk, while Loris Karius started in goal. Sergio Aguero started up front for City, with former Red Raheem Sterling and Sane to his right and left, respectively.

Both teams entered the meeting on the back of impressive form, and the Merseysiderscame into the home fixture with three wins from their last three league outings:

Four months have passed since Liverpool suffered a 5-0 humiliation at the Etihad Stadium in September, and Jurgen Klopp's side looked adamant to make up for that loss with a determined approach to Sunday's clash.

Their early initiative paid dividends, too, when Oxlade-Chamberlain steadied the ball 40 yards from the City goal. He drove past two players, opening enough space to rasp a low-driven shot across Ederson's goal and into the bottom left corner after only nine minutes to improve what's already shaping up to be his best term in some time, per Sky Sports Statto:

Mane's speed down Liverpool's left flank, combined with the support provided by the similarly speedy Salah and Oxlade-Chamberlain, offered City problems throughout the first half, but the Citizens kept the deficit to one goal.

That was until Kyle Walker's cross-field ball to Sane sucked Joe Gomez toward the line, giving the German room to bear down on Liverpool's goal. He jinked his way back toward the touchline and unleashed a stinging shot at the near post that Karius failed to keep out.

The Reds goalkeeper will court the larger portion of blame after failing to properly block his front post, although football writer Kristan Heneage was deservedly in awe of Sane's skill building up to the strike:

That score tied the two teams level going in at the interval, and City's quickened response at the end of the first hald laid the groundwork for a more embattled start to the second, opening chances for Kevin De Bruyne and Sterling.

But with Liverpool set up to counter, it worked in favour of Klopp's men to absorb pressure, and Firmino turned the tide further in his side's favour when he triumphed in a one-on-one battle with John Stones.

Oxlade-Chamberlain's hopeful ball through was picked up by the Brazilian forward, who nudged Stones off the ball before chipping the onrushing Ederson. The Independent's Miguel Delaney lambasted the England defender's contribution:

Bournemouth earlier came back from a goal down to beat Arsenal 2-1 at the Vitality Stadium, a result that saw them go four away matches in succession without a win for the first time since 2014, per AllArsenal.com. City now faced a similar revival attempt but in a far more intimidating setting.

Fernandinho almost gifted the hosts a two-goal when he passed the ball to Mane inside his own area, and though the Senegalese star could only thump the outside of the right post from range, he made up for the miss moments later.

Salah's pressure in the City half put City on the back foot. His ball out to the left found Mane, and his decision to take on the shot alone was justified when it pierced Ederson's top-left corner from 20 yards out, much to the amusement of commentator Derek Rae:

Liverpool made it three goals in nine minutes when Ederson rushed out to clear his lines, only hitting the ball as far as Salah, who swiftly chipped the Brazilian from 35 yards to add to his sensational 2017-18 tally:

Silva entered the fray with 20 minutes remaining and added a second goal for City entering the game's final exchanges, sweeping the ball home despite Liverpool's best efforts to block the Citizens onslaught on goal.

Liverpool tensions hit fever pitch when Aguero chipped up for Gundogan to control and finish from close range in the 91st minute, with City looking to complete one of the best comebacks in recent Premier League memory.

The Reds ran it close but kept City at arm's reach until the final whistle, seeing them climb to third and pulling them level on points with Chelsea and second-placed Manchester United.

The Red Devils can now climb within 12 points of City if they beat Stoke City at Old Trafford on Monday, while Liverpool will bask in the new life this result has injected into their campaign.