Striking First

Manchester City kicked off.

From the opening whistle, City's players followed Guardiola's instructions, patiently keeping possession and inching forward.

Liverpool, meanwhile, stuck to Klopp's plan and pressed high with relentless intensity.

Two utterly different football philosophies collided head-on at Anfield.

De Bruyne controlled the midfield, constantly directing the ball around the pitch.

Every pass seemed to have exact coordinates, landing neatly at a teammate's feet.

In the fourth minute.

Mbappe received the ball on the right and burst toward Achraf!

Achraf wasted no time closing him down.

But Mbappe shifted direction, gained half a step on Achraf, then raced toward the byline at full speed and whipped in a cross!

The ball flew in low and fast, straight toward Aguero in the box!

"That's dangerous!"

At the critical moment, Van Dijk got there first and headed it clear!

"Beautiful! That's the value of a world-class center-back!"

"Heh... Mbappe's pace is as terrifying as ever."

"Liverpool will have to watch out today."

City had rattled the home side right from the start, but Liverpool's battle-hardened players showed no panic. They kept playing to their own rhythm.

Finally, in the ninth minute, Liverpool launched a threatening attack.

City attempted a pass through midfield, but Rodri read it early and stuck out a foot to intercept!

The ball reached Chen Anno.

Fernandinho closed him down immediately.

Fernandinho knew better than anyone how dangerous the gifted captain of his national team could be.

That was why Guardiola had given him one task today: mark Chen Anno out of the game.

But Chen Anno knew Fernandinho just as well.

With his back to Fernandinho, Chen Anno received the ball, dropped a shoulder, and feinted as though he would break to the right.

The Liverpool fans in the stands seemed to sense what was coming. They