16 Conclusions On Man City 2 Liverpool 2

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* What a game. See, this is why we need Liverpool back. Much as laughing at them as they make fools of themselves is great fun, it makes for a much better Premier League to have a strong and competitive Liverpool challenging the big boys, and indeed getting back to being one of those big boys again. Two draws away at Arsenal and Manchester City should represent a good week's work, but they should be frustrated that they don't have two wins, chucking away two leads as they have done. So at what point is 'encouraging' no longer enough and 'winning a few more games' becomes more urgent? Listening to Brendan Rodgers, they have been 'encouraging' for most of the season, but the team and manager have to deliver pretty soon. It's coming, though.

* It was deja vu all over again for Liverpool. Earlier in the season they were impressive against Manchester City, taking a deserved 2-1 lead before handing the champions a point with a late and calamitous individual error, that time by Martin Skrtel hitting a suicidal backpass straight to Carlos Tevez. As impressive as Liverpool were at Eastlands, it's worrying that these sort of errors continue to sabotage them.

* Title over? Last season has taught us that brash and premature statements should be avoided, but it is difficult to see this Manchester United side, often low on quality and winning games seemingly through sheer force of will, throwing away another commanding lead at the top of the Premier League. Roberto Mancini was asked after the game if everything was wrapped up, saying: "Absolutely not. Two games and the championship is re-opened. Probably we need to win 11-12 games." With 13 games remaining, there's really no margin for error.

* So what of Manchester City? "The strikers didn't play well. We didn't play well as a team. We were too nervous," said Roberto Mancini after the game. Really? Too nervous? That's what you're going with, Roberto? The Premier League champions 'too nervous' in a league game against Liverpool? That sort of excuse is weak, at best.

* There is a sense that this is a squad in need of a pep-up, or even a proper clear-out. Only Matija Nastasic (more on him later) of their summer recruits could conceivably be called a success, while Samir Nasri goes missing more often than not, Edin Dzeko is inconsistent and Carlos Tevez seemingly wants to walk at the end of his contract in 18 months, something that even a club of City's means cannot allow. Mancini said before the game that he is already working on potential summer recruits, and even if they do somehow claw back United's lead this season, they need to be plentiful and they need to be right.

* Speaking of Tevez, it was curious to see him remain on the bench while Nasri came on. In a game that City needed to win, his energy and invention would surely have been a better option than the Frenchman's 'occasional' talents.

* Many doubted the wisdom of Liverpool buying Daniel Sturridge, including writers on this very website, but on the evidence so far it looks like money well spent. Sturridge was superb against Manchester City, adding creativity and an uncharacteristic unselfishness to the qualities we already knew he had. Sturridge attempted five shots in his 88 minutes on the pitch, with two of them on target and of course scoring one goal, but perhaps even more impressive was his all-round play. He created three chances for teammates, completed three successful dribbles (Luis Suarez managed two) and even blocked two shots at the other end.

The obvious impression is that Sturridge recognises this is his chance - he is playing in the position he wants to play in, in a team where he is one of the key players - and he is trying his darndest to take it. This is good news for Roy Hodgson too, and it's a pity that the thigh twang that prevented him from properly sprinting throughout the game will keep him out of Wednesday's friendly against Brazil.

* Should Joe Hart have saved Sturridge's goal? He had little chance with Steven Gerrard's strike, but he seemed slow to get down for Sturridge's long-range strike. A clean hit it undoubtedly was, but perhaps the England man should've done better.

* That Pepe Reina is a shadow of the goalkeeper he once was is not in dispute, and has been written about many times before, so there's little need to cover it here. Other than to say that, according to Opta, since the start of last season the Spanish stopper has made eight errors that have led directly to goals. Even many Liverpool fans accept that he should probably be replaced in the summer, making their apparent unwillingness to move for the impressive young Jack Butland for a knock-down price in January even more baffling.

However, while Reina's decision to meander out to the City right, realise that was probably a mistake then carry on anyway was obviously curious at best, he might justifiably wonder why there was no Liverpool defender covering the vacant goal. Of course, those defenders might say that they didn't bother because they didn't think Sergio Aguero could possibly score from that position. Which is sort of fair enough really...

* Martin Skrtel was dropped in favour of Jamie Carragher for this and the Arsenal game following some poor recent performances, but it was arguably his erstwhile partner Daniel Agger that was at fault for City's first goal. He dawdled and played Edin Dzeko onside, then lost his man in the six-yard box, allowing the Bosnian space to slot in James Milner's cross. Reina's error was more obvious, but Agger's was equally costly.

* Ah, Steven Gerrard. Football is a game in which moments create an impression of a player, and over his career Gerrard has provided more than many. It's tempting to think he's coming to the end of his career, and I wrote earlier in the season that he shouldn't start every match, but you can't blame Rodgers for playing his captain in every minute of every league game this season. If nothing else, he might just spank one in from 35 yards when you least expect it.

* F365 wrote rather extensively about Roberto Mancini's fascination with switching to three at the back earlier in the season, and how it seemed to make little sense/wasn't implemented properly. He tried it against Liverpool, but this time there was a little more logic, largely because it didn't look like a move with defensive considerations in mind. In the second half the game looked as if it was getting away from City, with Liverpool attacking with some threat, and when City did get forward virtually nothing came of their attacks. David Silva was becoming a rather peripheral figure, so Mancini moved him infield to play just behind the two strikers, where he could have more influence. If Mancini had stuck with a back four and three in midfield, they would have lost width, so the simple solution was to bring Aleksandar Kolarov on to play at wing-back, thus ensuring the City team didn't become too narrow. Of course, he made a mockery of that logic by removing Silva shortly afterwards, but still...

* In the 'player of the year at this stage of the season' discussions that intermittently take place, the names of Robin van Persie, Luis Suarez, Gareth Bale and Leighton Baines are all quite correctly mentioned, but how about a nod for Matija Nastasic? It's frankly astonishing that the Serbian centre-back is only 19 years old. 19! His assurance for someone so young is remarkable, and seems to have that invaluable but intangible ability to anticipate where the ball will be. It's a little reminiscent of ice hockey great Wayne Gretzky's famous comment that he didn't skate to the puck, but rather where the puck was going to be. Aside from one moment in the first half when Sturridge outstripped him for pace, the young man was enormously impressive again. It fair to say he's an upgrade on Stefan Savic, and it was rather surprising that he, rather than Joleon Lescott, was removed when Mancini made his tactical switch in the second half.

* Can we all agree that Liverpool did nothing wrong for their first goal? Yes? Good. If Edin Dzeko's leg was hanging off then Manchester City may well have had a case, but he seemed to go down in mild embarrassment at having lost the ball. He then refused treatment when the physio came on, preferring to bawl out the linesman, for which he was rightly booked. So we're agreed? Splendid. I do like it when everyone comes together on these things.

* Football fans really are ridiculous creatures sometimes. Following on from the West Brom fans booing Kyle Walker for being spat at by Goran Popov earlier in the day, Manchester City supporters booed Daniel Sturridge after he left their club for a more lucrative contract, then when he was subbed chanted 'there's only one greedy bastard'. No comment required on that one.

* What's worse? A 'muted celebration' after scoring against a club you made 21 appearances for then left, or a body-pop after scoring against a non-league side? Tough call...

Nick Miller - follow him on Twitter