Before Saturday's early kick-off, many were predicting a closely fought battle between Premier League giants Manchester City and Liverpool.

During the early stages at the Etihad, the latter looked by far the better side, with Mohamed Salah destroying Nicolas Otamendi on numerous occasions.

Then, Jurgen Klopp's side were caught out by a beautiful pass from Kevin De Bruyne, with Sergio Aguero latching onto it and making it 1-0 to the hosts.

However, the decisive moment of the match was just around the corner, with Sadio Mane the centre of attention for the wrong reasons.

The Premier League Player of the Month was set free from a ball over the top, but then he clattered into City goalkeeper Ederson.

Mane's foot was high and he connected with the Brazilian's cheek, injuring him in the process.

He appeared to have eyes only for the ball but Jon Moss did not hesitate to brandish the red card. Afterwards, 10 man Liverpool were destroyed by City, losing 5-0.

Gabriel Jesus scored twice, as did Leroy Sane as City moved to the top of the table temporarily.

Now, given the effect Mane's dismissal had on his team, you'd think it would have been Klopp's main complaint after the conclusion of the match.

Well, think again, because the German boss was far more infuriated by his team's prolifgacy.

"My biggest problem was that we had all we needed to score goals,’ said Klopp, per Metro. "But we didn’t make the chances.

"Afterwards the players felt the intensity. There was not a lot of right decisions made. A very bad experience but that’s how life is.

"We have to take it. 5-0 is better than 5 1-0’s. We have to show a reaction to this.

‘"t’s hard but it’s how it is. We have to take it – we lost a game that’s not cool but we were not that bad in the beginning and I will not forget that.

"I thought we should have been in the lead in the first half. I will try to help the boys ignore the result today, not the mistakes."

It was certainly a humbling experience for Liverpool and now, they must regroup for their Champions League tie with Sevilla.

The only positive news is that Philippe Coutinho is likely to be involved in that fixture.

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