Manchester City and Liverpool both opened the new year on a disappointing note, dropping valuable points as neither side managed to score. Liverpool were held to a frustrating goalless draw by Leeds United at Anfield, while Manchester City were forced to settle for a 0-0 draw away to Sunderland.
Leeds’ disciplined defensive display ended Liverpool’s four-match winning run across all competitions. It was also Leeds’ first clean sheet since August, highlighting the scale of their effort against the Merseyside giants.
“𝑾𝒆 𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒔, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒕𝒐𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔𝒏’𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆,” 𝒂 𝑳𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒑𝒐𝒐𝒍 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒄𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒍𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉.
Leeds Frustrate Liverpool, City Falter at Sunderland
Liverpool dominated possession and chances, registering 18 shots compared to Leeds’ four. However, a compact five-man Leeds defence stood firm throughout the match. Former Everton striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin briefly ignited Anfield when he found the net as a substitute, but celebrations were cut short by the offside flag.
This result marked Leeds’ second draw against Liverpool in under a month and extended their unbeaten run to six matches. A victory would have allowed Liverpool to reduce the gap to third-placed Aston Villa, but the missed opportunity proved costly.
Meanwhile, Manchester City saw their eight-match winning streak come to an end at the Stadium of Light. Sunderland extended their unbeaten home run to ten matches with a resilient performance.
Bernardo Silva had a goal ruled out for offside, while Erling Haaland and Brian Brobbey were denied by sharp goalkeeping. Josko Gvardiol came agonisingly close late on, striking the post with 16 minutes remaining.
“𝑴𝒂𝒓𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒔 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒔𝒎𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒐𝒏𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒘𝒆 𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒅𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕,” 𝑮𝒖𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒊𝒐𝒍𝒂 𝒂𝒅𝒎𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒓𝒂𝒘.
Points Table Impact
Liverpool remain on 33 points from 19 matches, while league leaders Arsenal sit comfortably at the top with 45 points. Manchester City, who began the round just two points behind the Gunners, now trail by four points with 41 points from 19 games.
The remaining fixtures of the new year also produced draws, with Tottenham and Brentford failing to score, while Fulham earned a 1-1 draw against Crystal Palace after falling behind.
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