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Liverpool need to get at Man City again - unlike Anfield the Etihad is no Lion's Den
Jurgen Klopp's side cannot sit back for Champions League second leg
John Aldridge
Before the first leg against Manchester City I think we just wanted to get a lead to take back to the Etihad Stadium but it was just ridiculous.
We never thought we could do that to them and keep a clean sheet but we did.
It was a game of two halves and we got at them early on and then defended really well and that was as good as I've seen us manage a game.
The whole night was brilliant and the atmosphere probably exceeded what I expected, it was fantastic.
For the people connected with Manchester City who said the Anfield atmosphere was never going to make any difference, they haven't got a clue.
It's been the same for at least 40 years since St Etienne – and probably before then too – they don't realise what happens in the stadium and what the fans do to try and get the team over the line.
Fans of Liverpool before the UEFA Champions League Quarter Final Leg One match between Liverpool and Manchester City at Anfield on April 4, 2018 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images ) (Image: Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
It certainly had an impact.
I think teams believe they can handle that but until they're put in that situation and experience just how fervent the fans are.
As a visiting player it can make you snatch at things in an uncharacteristic manner and that's what it did with City and it's happened to much bigger clubs than them in the past.
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Jurgen Klopp took a lot out of them when we beat them 4-3 in the Premier League and they tried to do the same this time out and it worked and was even more comprehensive.
We didn't have an awful lot of chances but those we did have, we took really well. The finishing was sublime given how many times we actually got into their box.
I've been lucky, I've been watching Liverpool for 50 years so I've seen much better performances than that but what we've seen over the past couple of years, in terms of managing a game, that's as good as I've seen in some time.
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That's what we've got to do at the Etihad.
We need to be positive at City and when we get the ball we have to run at them and cause problems and get the shots in because we just need that one goal and that should take it beyond Manchester City.
Mohamed Salah of Liverpool celebrates the opening goal during the UEFA Champions League Quarter Final Leg One match between Liverpool and Manchester City at Anfield on April 4, 2018 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
You've got to be brave but the one thing about going to the Etihad is it's not like going into a Lion's Den, it's not a stadium known for its atmosphere.
There's no need to be intimidated, you've just got to do the right things at the right time.
We know what they can do, we know what we have to do and keep 11 men on the pitch and defend like we did in the second half at Anfield but attack whenever we do get the ball.
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You can't just sit back. As Manchester United have shown, if you get at City then defensively they are vulnerable.
What happened to them on Saturday night won't have helped them, it's a massive knock.
All of a sudden they've lost to us and their main rivals, it hits the confidence in the squad somewhat.
If you're on a roll and turning everyone over with ease and then suddenly that happens – there are seeds of doubt although we can't take anything for granted.
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We know Sergio Aguero will be back, Kevin De Bruyne will start and all their big guns will be firing so it's up to us to do the things we're good at.
The season could finish with a bit of an anticlimax for City if they get knocked out but for Liverpool it's all in our own hands.
It looks like we're going to comfortably get in the top four again – we probably only need another five points to do that – so it's looking rosy but if we go through it's all about managing the team in the Champions League and if we can get past City who knows what could happen?
Magnet Van Dijk has been massive
We saw a couple of Klopp's big buys from this season show their worth against City at Anfield – one who has been an instant hit since January and another who arrived in the summer but has been a slow burner that has now come good.
Virgil van Dijk is massive for us. He controls the back four, he talks, correspondents and communicates in every situation.
Loris Karius of Liverpool collects the ball from the feet of Gabriel Jesus of Manchester City as he is challenged by Virgil van Dijk (Image: Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)
We've got a couple of young lads in defence too but although they can make mistakes, they're streetwise, are quick and full of vigour.
Dejan Lovren has also been given a new lease of life because of Van Dijk.
He's not the leader at the back now and lets Van Dijk do all the bits and pieces and he's just working off him.
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Some people said that one man wouldn't be the answer but he's certainly gone a long way to sorting us out.
For balls into the box and crosses Van Dijk is like a magnet.
He's knitted the back four – and the goalkeeper – together as a unit as we've had seven clean sheets in the last 10 games.
We were also treated to a wonder goal from Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
It took him a bit of time to settle because we wanted to play him in a different role to the one he was used to at Arsenal.
He's had to really work on it with the manager in training and now it's paying dividends.
Oxlade-Chamberlain wanted to go from being a wide man but with the structure we play with three in midfield under Jurgen it's perfect for him.
Merseyside Derby just flickered out but it was Blues best chance to beat us for some time
Given what is at stake in the Champions League, the Merseyside Derby was very much our third game of the week.
I've seen a few derbies like that in the past that have just flickered out.
We were all panicking because of injuries and looking at the young lads on the bench so personally I was just looking at getting a result and through to the second leg against Manchester City unscathed.
Tom Davies of Everton is challenged by Gini Wijnaldum of Liverpool (Image: Jan Kruger/Getty Images)
For Everton, it was the best chance for some time to beat us.
They had a could of good opportunities late on but they probably fell to the wrong people and they squandered them.
As a whole nobody deserved to win, it had a draw written all over it.
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Gini Wijnaldum did okay in a deeper role at Goodison but it's not Manchester City.
If you look at what they've got in the centre of the park he's going to have to play one of the best games of his career.
Alex Oxlade Chamberlain
Merseyside derby
Barclay's Premier League