Liverpool’s Sadio Mane made Manchester City goalkeeper Zack Steffen want the Wembley pitch to open up and swallow him whole this evening.
By 20 minutes, Liverpool had one foot in the final of the FA Cup.
Ibrahima Konate powered a stunning header past Steffen after only nine minutes.
Eight minutes later, it was two.
Steffen took far too long on the ball following a back pass from John Stones, and the Liverpool attacker pressured the American goalkeeper and bundled the ball into the net via sliding tackle.
It was a farcical way in which to concede a goal, but Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola will ultimately take responsibility.
That’s because the Spaniard made a conscious decision to use the 27-year-old – who only has two Premier League appearances – instead of the tried-and-tested Ederson.
And John Terry tweeted out immediately that Guardiola should’ve used his best-possible XI.
In hindsight, Terry is right and City supporters will be lamenting their manager’s decision to rest Ederson.
Then again, the former Barcelona manager clearly had his reasons and although it backfired against Liverpool during the opening 45 minutes, second-guessing a coach of Guardiola’s vintage is a tad silly.
Yes it’s looking like the wrong decision, but there was almost certanily method to the madness and we’ll see if Steffen can atone for that mistake during the second half.
The truth is that Liverpool have a three-goal lead, with Mane adding a third toward the end of the half, and it’s very difficult for Steffen – or any City player – to turn this around.
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