TA: After being successfully restricted by O Reilly, Salah failed to score or assist for the first time in the past 10 Premier League games against Manchester City.

In the 11th round of the Premier League on November 10, Manchester City defeated Liverpool 3-0 at home. In this game, Guardiola arranged for youngster O'Reilly to mark Salah successfully, and the Englishman completed the task well. Theathletic commented on O'Reilly's performance.

In the game against Liverpool, the 20-year-old O'Reilly pressed Salah, the fourth scorer in Premier League history, for almost the whole game. However, it is Salah rather than the young left-back who is really entangled and unable to escape. Even with leg cramps, O'Reilly refused Guardiola's offer to make a substitution and continued to chase down Gwadiol's errant pass.

When Salah approached the bottom line, he seemed to be tired of his opponent's tenacity and exhausted. In the end, the offside flag saved him, preventing O'Reilly from suppressing the 33-year-old Salah to the end again. This is the first time since July 2020 that Salah has failed to score or assist in a Premier League game against Manchester City. In those nine fights, he's faced Cancelo, Zinchenko, Ake and Gwadiol, but no one has been able to contain him as successfully as O'Reilly.

Although Salah is no longer young, he can still crush the opponent's full-backs on his own. He had multiple opportunities like this on Sunday, but O'Reilly was determined. No matter how Salah changes direction or moves quickly, he remains calm, always keeps his eye on the ball, and forces Salah to retreat or successfully intercept the ball.

Ake was once the left back deployed by Manchester City for this special task in recent years because he performed well in one-on-one defense. However, he failed to contribute offensively. In contrast, O'Reilly became the main target for passes after City won the ball. In last Sunday's game, space was mainly on the left, rather than on the right as against Bournemouth a week ago, and Guardiola was shouting from the sidelines to arrange this tactic.

For Guardiola, who ushered in the 1,000th game of his coaching career, this game was his most active this season. The team has performed well, especially Nico Gonzalez and Doku, but no one embodies City's new look this season better than O'Reilly. He sprinted back and forth frequently, as if he had his own running track at the Etihad Stadium. He was no slouch, and had he not run out of energy, he might have taken advantage of his last two chances instead of hitting the ball high.

O'Reilly's presence shows how Guardiola trusts him to play a role in all stages, whether it is organizing the attack, counterattacking, cutting inside to help Doku play or dropping back to protect the left flank. This summer, with the signing of Aite Nouri, it is difficult to imagine how much playing time O'Reilly will have, because Gvadiol and Ake can also play as a left back. It wasn't until last season's injury crisis that Guardiola rediscovered his potential.

Facts have proved that this is a coup. O'Reilly stabilized the left wing, forcing Guardiola to put Aite Nouri, whose transfer fee was as high as 31 million pounds, on the bench. In fact, O'Reilly's rise would not have been so rapid had it not been for Aite Nouri's injury against Brighton in September. At that time, Manchester City's defense looked so fragile that winning the championship seemed out of reach.

O'Reilly didn't really break into the first team until February. In just a few months, he not only became a regular starter, but was also continuously selected for the England national team. This kind of rapid rise is something that few players can experience. He has started seven of the last eight Premier League games, with the only game in which he did not start, Manchester City's 0-1 loss to Aston Villa.

This is the fourth time Guardiola has kept a clean sheet against Liverpool in 25 games, and the first time in the past 14 games. The win all but confirmed a two-horse race between Manchester City and Arsenal, with the latter currently four points clear.