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• Manchester City manager and Liverpool captain argue
• Glen Johnson tackle on Joleon Lescott at issue

Manchester City’s second home defeat in four days ended in acrimony on Wednesday night as Steven Gerrard and Roberto Mancini argued in the tunnel. The Italian had asserted that Glen Johnson should have been sent off in the closing moments of the Carling Cup semi-final.

Gerrard, the Liverpool captain whose first-half penalty secured a 1-0 first-leg lead for Kenny Dalglish’s team, accused the City manager of double standards, for demanding a red card for Johnson having condemned Wayne Rooney for doing likewise before Vincent Kompany was sent off in the FA Cup defeat by Manchester United on Sunday.

Kompany’s absence was sorely felt by City as his replacement, Stefan Savic, conceded the decisive penalty with a foul on Daniel Agger. But it was Johnson’s late challenge on Joleon Lescott that provided controversy. The Liverpool defender won the ball with both feet off the floor, leaving the City manager aggrieved that the same letter-of-the-law interpretation that led Chris Foy to dismiss his captain on Sunday – and resulted in a four-game ban for Kompany – was not applied by Lee Mason.

Ironically Kompany, defending himself on Facebook before the game, had asked: “I wonder though if we are now going to see an unprecedented wave of red cards on match days because we sanction ‘ifs’ and ‘maybes’?”

Gerrard denied Mancini’s complaints that Johnson’s tackle was more dangerous than the one committed on Nani by the City captain. “I don’t think so. It was a clear winner of the tackle,” said the Liverpool captain. “I’m surprised at Mancini. He had a go at Wayne Rooney last week for trying to get one of his players sent off. Now he’s trying to get one of our players in trouble. I don’t think that’s right.”

Gerrard aired his view directly to Mancini, who said: “It was worse, this tackle was worse. Johnson’s tackle was worse than the one Vinny did against United. Everyone can see this. It was worse. Gerrard came to me and said, ‘You said this.’ Gerrard can say what he wants. No problem. The world is going down because people do not apologise. I make a mistake and I apologise. I say what I think and it is not important what Steven Gerrard and other players say.”

City, having gone unbeaten at home in 2011, have lost twice in cup competitions in four days, with Liverpool becoming the first away team to keep a clean sheet here this season. Dalglish, who said he did not see Johnson’s challenge, said: “We gave two different performances in each half. In the first half we looked a lot more threatening but in the second, after getting the goal advantage, we just battened down the hatches. Not too many teams have come here and not had goals against them, so it’s a fantastic effort by us.

“It wasn’t the prettiest performance, but it didn’t fall short in terms of desire or commitment in any shape or form. Once we got ourselves in front, we were determined not to lose it. We might have a slight advantage with the goal, but there will be nobody jumping through hoops at our place. We’ll just be as professional as we can at our place.”

Mancini bemoaned a lack of cutting edge from a City team who missed the injured David Silva and saw Mario Balotelli limp off with a suspected ankle injury after 39 minutes. The City manager said: “The first half we didn’t play well. After six months that can happen. But in the second half Liverpool did not pass the middle of the pitch. We had chances but didn’t score but we knew before the game it would be difficult.

“It is difficult because we were without three or four players. The result is not right. For me it was a draw. We played two difficult games. I knew that was going to happen. January is going to be an important month but I think in both games we didn’t deserve to lose. The second leg is going to be difficult. Liverpool are favourites because they won 1-0 away.”

Gerrard echoed Dalglish’s view that the semi-final was finely poised for the second leg, at Anfield on 25 January.

“It is good to be back. I feel like a footballer again,” said Gerrard of his second successive start. “It’s games like this I have missed and games like this I have worked to get back so hard for. We defended well from back to front. We were playing one of the big powers in world football. There is no way this game is over yet and it is set up nicely for the game at Anfield.”

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• Johnson dedicates goal to Brad Jones’s son
• Victory at Chelsea was ‘probably best I’ve felt’

Glen Johnson has admitted that Liverpool must replicate their superb away form at Anfield if they are not to throw away the chance of breaking back into the Premier League top four this season.

Johnson’s solo goal helped to sink his former club Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Sunday and moved Liverpool within striking distance of a Champions League spot. The 2-1 win put Liverpool level on 22 points with Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal in arguably the most fiercely contested battle ever to qualify for Europe’s premier club competition.

“Normally a team’s best form is at home,” Johnson said. “As long as we can start picking up a few more points at home and doing what we are doing away then we won’t be too far away. We haven’t been playing badly at home. We’ve created some fantastic chances and if we’d taken one of them in a few games then we’d have nine or 10 more points and it would make it a whole new ball game.”

There will be no better time for Liverpool to begin to put that right than the match against City on Sunday. Describing the game against Chelsea as “probably the best I have felt”, Johnson said: “Hopefully the injuries are behind me now.”

The 27-year-old England full-back proved that with the 87th-minute run in which he expertly controlled Charlie Adam’s crossfield ball, beat Ashley Cole and drove into the box before scoring.

“It was great to score,” said Johnson, who spent four years at Chelsea. “There was plenty of space all day and I told Charlie I was waiting 75 minutes for that pass. He’d been trying to do that all game but once was enough. It was a good goal and I’m pleased.

“I tried not to celebrate too much because I had a few great years here, but when you score a late winner like that it’s hard not to celebrate.

“We finished the stronger. We dominated the first half but Chelsea are a great side and we expected a reaction. Chelsea will have periods whoever they play when they are on top and I thought we dealt with it quite well other than the goal.

“We showed great character to bounce back. Last time out [against Swansea City] was disappointing so to come here and win was fantastic. We are aiming for the top four – that’s what we are fighting for.”

Johnson’s goal was his first since February and he dedicated it to the goalkeeper Brad Jones’s five-year-old son Luca, who lost his long battle with leukaemia last Friday. “I can’t even begin to know what Brad is feeling,” said Johnson.

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• ‘It’s something we’ve got to continue working on’
• Dalglish expects fiercely contested Merseyside derby

The Liverpool manager, Kenny Dalglish, has said there is still defensive work to do within the team after keeping only one clean sheet this season. So far the club’s only shut-out has come in the 2-0 win away at Arsenal, who were reduced to 10 men for a large part of the second half.

But although lapses at one end have been masked by goals at the other, Dalglish’s fifth-placed side currently have a goal difference of zero. That is worse than eighth-placed Aston Villa and Sunderland, in 14th.

The Liverpool defence can expect to be tested in the 216th Merseyside derby at Goodison Park on Saturday and while Dalglish is not overly concerned he accepts there is work to do. “I wouldn’t say we’re worried about it,” he said. “It’s something we’ve got to continue working on but if we keep scoring more goals than the opposition then fine.

“But it’s always nice to have your opposition with a nothing after their name, isn’t it? Last week against Wolves (a 2-1 win) we might have been under pressure a little bit and got a couple of tackles in around the box but for me we had by far the greater and most chances in the game.

“It looked more likely that we would have extended our lead than lost it. If you keep scoring goals, it makes it more difficult for the other team. If you want to get points, then it’s helpful not to lose any [goals] but I wouldn’t say we’ve got a problem with it.”

Injuries in defence have not helped the consistency of the team with right-backs Martin Kelly and Glen Johnson both missing matches while the centre-half Daniel Agger is just returning to training after breaking a rib at Tottenham a fortnight ago. Kelly is now fit again but neither Johnson nor Agger will be available tomorrow.

“I don’t think the changes in defence have affected it particularly,” said Dalglish, who returns to the ground where, just over 20 years ago he quit as Liverpool’s manager after an epic 4-4 FA Cup draw with Everton. “Sometimes you go through phases where you don’t lose a goal for games.

“We don’t like losing goals but we understand in the division we are playing in there are a lot of good teams and good players who are likely to score a goal.”

Everton may be below their near-neighbours in the Premier League, having played one match fewer, and coming off a defeat at Manchester City but Dalglish knows that will make little difference.

“[The Everton manager David Moyes] Moysie has done a fantastic job and we’ve got a great deal of respect for David Moyes and also for the football club,” he added. “They have done well and were unfortunate to have to go to Manchester City last week having played extra time on the previous Wednesday night, not having the benefit City had of making wholesale changes.

“They put on a very resilient performance even though they lost but last year they won 3-0 so we know they will be competitive and we have to match it. They will play to their strengths and we will play to our strengths.”

Liverpoolguardian.co.uk