After an emphatic display by his attack, Jürgen Klopp was just as emphatic in explaining the thinking that drove them – and the solution to something that had become a dilemma to the rest of the Premier League. It had been put to the Liverpool FC boss that he had been brave in going at Manchester City, given that was what they did at the Etihad in September and got beaten 5-0. The feeling is few go toe to toe with Peo Guardiola’s side and stay on their feet, but Klopp stood his ground.

“You need to be brave,” Klopp responded. “And you need to play football... you have no alternatives to beat City.”

To prove that, Liverpool became the first Premier League side to beat them in 30 matches, while seemingly setting a template for everyone else.

Liverpool vs Manchester City player ratings Show all 23 1 /23 Liverpool vs Manchester City player ratings Liverpool vs Manchester City player ratings <b>Liverpool:</b> Alisson: 6 out of 10 Not his busiest afternoon. Looked uncomfortable in possession a couple of times but nothing egregious. REUTERS Liverpool vs Manchester City player ratings Joe Gomez: 6 out of 10 More of a centre-back than a right-back and Liverpool missed Trent Alexander-Arnold’s ability to get forward on the right. Defensively solid, as you would expect. EPA Liverpool vs Manchester City player ratings Dejan Lovren: 8 out of 10 Perhaps fortunate not to concede a penalty on Aguero in the first half, and on Jesus in the second, but otherwise a good performance with some crucial challenges. Rewarded his manager’s bold call to bring the Croatian in. REUTERS Liverpool vs Manchester City player ratings Virgil van Djik: 7 out of 10 Probably a leading contender for man of the match until his late transgression. A fairly needless challenge on Sane with the German likely running the ball out of play. Otherwise magnificent (again). REUTERS Liverpool vs Manchester City player ratings Andrew Robertson: 6 out of 10 Kept Riyad Mahrez virtually silent throughout the game, but wasn’t his usual self in terms of attacking threat. REUTERS Liverpool vs Manchester City player ratings Georginio Wijnaldum: 6 out of 10 Hard work as ever from the Dutchman. Unable to impact the game going forward. REUTERS Liverpool vs Manchester City player ratings Jordan Henderson: 7 out of 10 Lead from the front with a battling performance in midfield. Composed on the ball and tackled excellently. AFP/Getty Images Liverpool vs Manchester City player ratings James Milner: 6 out of 10 Substituted in the first half with a hamstring injury. Impressed early on, and Liverpool perhaps missed his experience and delivery when he went off. AFP/Getty Images Liverpool vs Manchester City player ratings Mohamed Salah: 5 out of 10 Still doesn't look himself. Wasted a couple of opportunities and the front-three’s lack of cohesion will be a concern for Jurgen Klopp. Getty Images Liverpool vs Manchester City player ratings Roberto Firmino: 6 out of 10 Pressed superbly and tracked back notably well. Not a vintage performance from any of Liverpool’s star offensive trio against a tough Manchester City defence. PA Liverpool vs Manchester City player ratings Sadio Mane: 6 out of 10 See Salah and Firmino. Mane was similarly ineffective getting forward but worked hard. AFP/Getty Images Liverpool vs Manchester City player ratings <b>Substitute:</b> Naby Keita: 6 out of 10 Tidy performance after coming off the bench in the first half. Positionally very solid. REUTERS Liverpool vs Manchester City player ratings <b>Manchester City:</b> Ederson: 6 out of 10 No major errors, which is a positive given what happened last season. Liverpool’s press worried him early on but otherwise comfortable with the ball at this feet. No real saves to make. PA Liverpool vs Manchester City player ratings Kyle Walker: 6 out of 10 Restricted going forward aside from one moment where he bizarrely chopped back inside. Defensively solid. EPA Liverpool vs Manchester City player ratings John Stones: 7 out of 10 Overcame early nerves to perform well alongside Laporte. Salah only really got beyond the pair once and Stones used the ball nicely when stepping out of defence. Getty Images Liverpool vs Manchester City player ratings Aymeric Laporte: 8 out of 10 Perhaps his best performance in a Manchester City shirt. Virtually faultless after the aforementioned early shakiness. Several superb challenges and interceptions. AFP/Getty Images Liverpool vs Manchester City player ratings Benjamin Mendy: 7 out of 10 Guardiola will be very pleased to have Mendy fit again. Showed his defensive steel, not giving Salah and co. an inch. Looked one of Manchester City’s more dangerous players when he got forward. A couple of poor passes but otherwise a strong return to action. Getty Images Liverpool vs Manchester City player ratings Fernandinho: 6 out of 10 Somehow escaped the game without a yellow card despite several booking-worthy challenges, but broke up play well and sparked several attacks for his team. Shielded his defence well. AFP/Getty Images Liverpool vs Manchester City player ratings Bernardo Silva: 7 out of 10 Probably the best non-defender on the pitch. Playing in what was, for all intents and purposes, a two-man defensive midfield pairing, Silva was excellent, breaking up play and playing clever little passes. Showed his electric dribbling ability more than once, too. Impressive performance from a man who continues to show his versatility. AFP/Getty Images Liverpool vs Manchester City player ratings David Silva: 6 out of 10 An intriguing tactical switch from Guardiola to deploy David Silva in a different role just in behind Sergio Aguero. Silva was less influential than he typically is, but worried the Liverpool midfield and knocked them off rhythm. REUTERS Liverpool vs Manchester City player ratings Raheem Sterling: 5 out of 10 Quiet and struggled to make an impact in the final third. Sterling didn’t look entirely comfortable on the left wing. Substituted with 15 minutes to go. PA Liverpool vs Manchester City player ratings Riyad Mahrez: 4 out of 10 Awful, awful penalty miss, and in truth it characterised a lacklustre showing from Mahrez. He hasn’t really found his place in this Manchester City team and used the ball poorly in the final third throughout. AFP/Getty Images Liverpool vs Manchester City player ratings Sergio Aguero: 5 out of 10 Continued his lean run against Liverpool and was anonymous for most of the 65-or-so minutes he was on the pitch. Contributed little. AFP/Getty Images

It is one of the discussions that naturally starts to take over when a team has been as high-scoring and highly difficult to defeat as City, and one that will inevitably drift towards the philosophical. How do you beat them? Or, maybe more relevantly, what’s the best way to try and give yourself the best chance of beating them? Brave or safe? Proactive or reactive? Attacking or defensive?

Klopp was certainly dogmatic. That's also the benefit of winning.

But is he right in general...or was he just right for his own team?

The German did add that, “being Liverpool”, they should not just try and sit deep. While he was speaking on the basis of the club’s identity, status and ambition, he may as well have been speaking on the basis of the players’ identity. This just isn’t a team built to sit back, and if they tried to do that they would probably be pummelled.

Really, with a Liverpool squad constructed like this, you have no alternatives but to attack in any game, let alone against City. That’s Klopp’s way.

He did raise a deeper football point, though, that went beyond the depth of his squad and even philosophical difference.

“You could win the lottery,” the German went on. “You can stand deep in your own box [against City] and hope nothing happens but that is not really likely.”

Even if a team is blessed with a strong defence, and even if a manager is inherently defensive-minded, it is difficult to deny that such an approach is more dependent on luck – “the lottery”, as Klopp rightfully calls it. The issue is that by inviting a side as good as that on, you are also inviting twists of fate and unfavourable bounces of the ball.

You aren’t playing the game on your terms so it is essentially out of your control. It is instead in control of one of the most technically gifted attacks in the game. Given the amount of time that the ball will then spend around your box, and given their talent and quality, the maths become obvious. It is statistically highly probable they will score at some point.

Klopp admitted that sitting off City and defending can feel like a 'lottery' (Getty)

As such, the defending side ends up trying to beat the clock as much as the opposition. They must hope they keep getting the rub of the green before the opposition run out of time.

Klopp refused to do this, and got at a backline that is clearly there to be got at. There is a reason why many managers refuse to do what the German does, however, and that’s because of another of his team’s results: that 5-0.

Sadio Mane was sent off as LIverpool lost 5-0 earlier in the season (AFP/Getty) (AFP/Getty Images)

If you look to take the game to City, and it doesn’t go 100 per cent right, you just get taken to the cleaners. You just make yourself too vulnerable to an attack that is too vigorous. That is how Liverpool got ripped apart at the Etihad. They couldn’t take their initial chances, conceded the first goal and got a man sent off, and then got picked apart more and more as they were forced to throw more men forward.

It is also why it comes down to the identity of the attackers. It is a lot easier to play against City on the front foot, and a lot easier to preach about the benefits of it, if you have some of the finest developing attackers in the game.

And sure, there is an even deeper debate here about the fact that Klopp has the bravery and coaching principles to develop that attack, but his team are still on an extreme end of the spectrum. Most sides have to be more pragmatic, and weigh up those lottery numbers.

And this is the fundamental dilemma.

If you play it safe and sit deep, the scoreline is likelier to be narrower, but the chances of actually winning are lessened.

If you try to play, you give yourself a higher chance of winning, there’s also the higher chance of getting pummelled to the point it looks a massive mistake.

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That fundamental dilemma is then further complicated by the team available.

Not everyone has the players available to Klopp, but then not everyone coaches in the proactive way he does.