Tom Cairney admits he was shocked by what Liverpool did to Man City on Sunday

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Liverpool are back in action tonight for the first time since an impressive display against Manchester City on Sunday.

5-1 up from last week’s first-leg, the Europa League match with Sparta Prague should be a little less intense. Truly though, given the way Liverpool attacked City during the second-half last weekend, anything would be.

Without a number of first-team players, few had expected the Reds to take the game to the champions quite so readily. Certainly not Fulham midfielder Tom Cairney, who told the BBC Players Channel that Liverpool had ‘surprised’ him.

“I was surprised second-half by how much your team dominated the game,” Cairney told the podcast’s Liverpool supporting host.

“I don’t want to say Man City were running out of ideas because I don’t think that ever happens, but phew! There looked like there was only going to be one winner which I found so surprising.”

Liverpool pull out surprise

For anyone who has watched Liverpool play against Man City during Jurgen Klopp’s tenure, it shouldn’t have been a surprise to see the Reds actively taking on their opponents.

Few teams are good enough to go at Pep Guardiola’s all-stars and get away with it. You simply get picked off. It’s better to dig in, sit back and wait for an opportunity to strike back.

But Liverpool don’t work that way. Klopp doesn’t work that way. It isn’t in their make-up to take things easy and play with caution.

If there’s something on then you can bet that the German’s team will go for it. Roared on by a delirious Anfield crowd, they barely have an option not to.

Cairney is right though, having seen the line-ups pre-game, it had looked like being City’s to lose.

Not only were they without injured players like Alisson Becker, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Curtis Jones, but Mohamed Salah wasn’t even fit enough to start. It spelled trouble.

That prediction looked likely to come true as City controlled the game and then took the lead in the first-hald.

But Liverpool came roaring back. After Nathan Ake and Ederson conspired to gift them a penalty, the Reds took things up a notch. With the midfield working tremendously and Luis Diaz on a mad one, Liverpool didn’t give City a second.

That the pressure didn’t translate into a second goal may well come back to haunt the Reds in the title race. But you can’t fault them for giving it everything. It shouldn’t have been a surprise, but it was.