Liverpool 1-1 Manchester City: Daily Mirror match report

Battered, bowed and almost beaten, Manchester City still emerged from an Anfield bruising with enough credibility to suggest they have the stuff of champions.

Winning titles in the unique ­intensity of the Premier League is not all about skill and sublime goals, it is also a massive test of character and bottle.

Against a vibrant, fired-up ­Liverpool in a passionate Anfield cauldron that would have broken many teams, they showed plenty of both.

Visibly wilting in the second half after their midweek Champions League endeavours and against fine, fresh and ferocious opponents, City showed the strength of will to survive even the harsh dismissal of sub Mario Balotelli, and withstand a battering in the final few minutes.

They had Joe Hart to thank as much as their defiant back-line, with the keeper making a breathtaking double save as a magnificent game entered a breathless stoppage time. The England number one denied sub Andy Carroll a dream intervention, and followed it up with another ­audacious stop as Luis Suarez fired the rebound goalward.

Only then did Liverpool accept the winner they richly deserved wasn’t coming.

And only then could City reflect on the fact their efforts were so defiant they almost stole the game ­themselves, when David Silva’s late run saw him round keeper Pepe Reina only for his shot to be steered off the line by Martin Skrtel.

Maybe the draw was a just result, if only because both sides deserved something from one of the games of the season. It had everything, skill and passion, along with the usual controversy that pursues Balotelli.

He was unlucky in that he was on the end of another poor decision from trigger-happy ref Martin Atkinson.

But in every other respect, the Italian deserves no sympathy, because when he emerged from the bench 25 minutes from the end, his body language was appalling, and his attitude stank the place out. He was booked for a lazy, limp attempt to impede Glen Johnson, and then received a second yellow when he merely tried to shield the ball from Skrtel, and accidentally caught the defender, who made more than a meal of the challenge.

By then, an outstanding Liverpool performance had threatened to snatch victory as they took control the longer the game went on.

Yet for all Liverpool’s impressive, intense efforts City were still ­compelling on the ball, in the first half at least, and still able to frequently outmanoeuvre the home side with their slick passing skills.

It made for a fascinating contest, a high speed, high quality affair, where the sheer ferocity of the pace was always going to force a mistake that could prove decisive.

In the first half, both sides were hounded into glaring errors that led to much excitement, and a goal apiece.

City had posted early notice they had the ability to keep playing even in the face of Liverpool’s ­wonderfully relentless pressing, when Yaya Toure shot over from a fine position, and Samir Nasri wasted possession when a simple pass would surely have given Sergio Aguero a goal.

The opening soon came though, with the home defence forced into an error, as from Silva’s corner, Vincent Kompany was picked up not by a central defender but Dirk Kuyt, and he made the most of the opportunity by steering the ball into the corner via his shoulder.

Liverpool were grateful for the error from the visitors that brought them almost immediately level.

Charlie Adam was an influential figure all afternoon with his probing passing and his ability to close down swiftly, but his shot from outside the box appeared to be heading tamely wide.

Inexplicably though, Joleon Lescott appeared to lose his ­bearings, and where he could have ushered the ball to safety, he aimed a wild hack that served only to wrong-foot Hart, and slice ­embarrassingly into his own net.

It was only the athleticism of Hart that denied Liverpool several times in a fascinating second half. He saved well from Adam’s right-foot effort, then denied Stewart Downing with another good stop.

Hart was a grateful observer as Suarez’s trickery put Lescott in another panic, only for another hack to deflect agonisingly wide via a deflection off Kuyt.

Perhaps inevitably amid a frenetic siege, City tired first after their midweek exertions, and began to defend deeper and deeper.

Skrtel was inches away from converting after another scrambled corner, and then Downing had the best chance when Johnson’s ­brilliant cross found him in front of goal, but he volleyed wide.

Somehow City survived though, which is the mark of champions, and Roberto Mancini will reflect if he can keep the Balotelli circus from fatally undermining his side, they have a fine chance of ­challenging Manchester United’s Premier League dominance.