Benjamin Mendy reacts to Liverpool draw and Riyad Mahrez miss

Premier League title contenders City and Liverpool went head-to-head at Anfield, playing out a goalless draw to remain joint-top of the table with Chelsea.

But it could have been far better for Pep Guardiola and co but £60m summer signing Riyad Mahrez blazed a late penalty way over the bar.

City have not won on Merseyside in the league in 15 years and their dreadful record continued over the weekend.

Mendy, who started and played the full 90 against Liverpool having overcome a recent foot injury, knows his side should have claimed a vital victory.

But the France World Cup winner was satisfied with how City performed.
The 24-year-old said: “We can do more here. We played very strong and hard today and missed some chances.
“We are ok but we knew we could have done more here, we have to keep going.
"We were aggressive and focused. We trained to defend this way during the week and it was a good point for us."

City had arguably the better of a game which failed to live up to its hype.

The Etihad giants could have had two earlier penalties before Mahrez’s miss while the Algerian also dragged a good chance just wide.

Chelsea’s win at Southampton yesterday means they, City and Liverpool all sit atop of table on 20 points going into this week’s international break.

While clearly disappointed at missing out, Guardiola shrugged off Mahrez's penalty shocker, saying: "He had the courage to take the penalty - in training sessions he takes penalties - and in the end it is okay, it sometimes happens.

"We had our chance in the last minutes to win the game but we missed it and next time we will try to do better.

"We didn't concede one shot on target so that is quite special. We defended well - the back four was so good - and we had our chance but football is like that."

The City chief added: "We want to create but when you make a mistake, if it is an open game at Anfield, you don't even have one per cent of a chance. Up and down they are the best team in the world in these transitions.

"We had a clear chance in the last action, so we controlled quite well. We know how complicated it is playing in this stadium and how dangerous they are.

"They are incredibly quick and we controlled them. We didn't create much but that is normal because they are so strong.

"It is a point. We were close, more than ever to winning here, but it is better than last season. We had our chance."
City return to action in two weeks when they host Burnley.